New York Times came to celebrate SLO County. Locals had some gripes | Opinion
You’ve reached the big time SLO County!
You have joined the ranks of Dubai, Helsinki, Marrakesh, Zurich and, of course, London and Paris, which are among the many tourist destinations The New York Times has included in its “36 hours in ...” series.
Now San Luis Obispo County has made the cut; the Dec. 18 travel article is all about us.
(This would be a good place to point out that the city of San Luis Obispo was featured all by itself back in 2015, but who can remember back that far?)
If you aren’t familiar with the “36 hours” concept, a NYT travel writer tells us how to get the most out of a-day-and-a-half visit to a particular locale by passing along recommendations for food, drink, lodging, entertainment and points of interest that would probably take at least three and a half months to properly appreciate.
Several SLO County locations earned mentions, including Sensorio, Tin City, Mighty Cap Mushrooms, the Palm Theater, Sebastian’s General Store, Hidden Kitchen, the Morro Dunes Ecological Reserve, the Shuck Shack in Avila and the Los Osos monarch butterfly preserve. (The Pismo butterfly preserve was deemed “too popular,” though Pismo’s Old West Cinnamon Rolls got a nod.)
An antidote to SFGATE
The timing of this piece was fortuitous, coming (sort of) on the heels of that unfortunate SFGATE piece about SLO that declared “Once thriving Calif. downtown is on the brink.”
It described downtown San Luis Obispo as being “littered with empty storefronts marked by darkened windows and for lease signs.
Ouch! Not exactly a beacon for tourists.
The NYT piece, on the other hand, dispensed with any negativity.
While there’s not much mention of downtown SLO in particular, it praises the entire county for its “miles upon miles of uncrowded beaches, cactus-and-boulder-dotted ranchland and breathtaking volcanic peaks” before moving on to list establishments where you will find blue-corn waffles, “forearm-sized sandwiches” and exceptional beer.
What, no Madonna Inn?
Remarkably, author Freda Moon, who has also written for SFGATE (but did not author the above-referenced article), managed to avoid any mention of Bubblegum Alley or the Madonna Inn.
Not that there’s anything wrong with Bubblegum Alley or the Madonna Inn, but it’s nice to see so many lesser-known attractions get a mention.
And yet, locals still had some gripes — mostly sins of omissions.
Here are some lightly edited comments posted on the NYT story by slightly disgruntled readers:
“No mention of Wayward Baking in Los Osos .... and what about the tastiest ever pizzas at My Friend Mike’s in SLO? Shocking?”
“There are better coffee shops in the area that should have gotten spotlighted. ...”
“SLO County’s southernmost Nipomo was nearly forgotten, having likely the best steakhouse this side of the Mississippi. ...”
“This article gives very short shrift to Paso’s beautifully landscaped, high-quality and largely laid-back wine country. ...”
“Astounded Montana de Oro wasn’t mentioned. ...”
“How on earth did you not include the Madonna Inn?!”
“Article missed the boat. Central Coast is also a famed spot for surfers — big waves.”
“A glaring omission was the Fremont. ... Was the writer even in San Luis Obispo?”
I get it.
I mean, how could Freda have missed Village Cafe, or Ron’s Nursery, or Wine Sneak, or the Bob Jones Trail or Monarch Books or Tribe coffee?
But hey, she didn’t harp on the empty storefronts. Or complain about parking. Or bike lanes.
She showed us in our best light.
Thanks, Freda.
