{"id":332,"date":"2016-07-29T14:22:41","date_gmt":"2016-07-29T14:22:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=332"},"modified":"2016-07-29T14:22:41","modified_gmt":"2016-07-29T14:22:41","slug":"jockos-steak-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=332","title":{"rendered":"Jocko\u2019s Steak House"},"content":{"rendered":"

Power Tasting doesn\u2019t do restaurant reviews so this is not a restaurant review.\u00a0 It is about a restaurant that is definitely a place worth a visit if you ever happen to be in Nipomo, California.\u00a0 Actually, no one ever just happens<\/em> to be in Nipomo, so we\u2019re really saying that if you ever are wine tasting in San Luis Obispo County or nearby Santa Maria, make a pilgrimage to Jocko\u2019s.<\/p>\n

A visit there is not just about the steak although the steaks are very good.\u00a0 It\u2019s about the experience.\u00a0 For one thing, you feel as though you have been transported to a Saturday afternoon western of your youth.\u00a0 (You do remember Saturday afternoon movies, don\u2019t you?)\u00a0 The bar is wood-paneled, with the heads of various dead animals (deer and such, not cows) shown proudly.\u00a0 Sorry, the door is just a door, not of the swinging variety.\u00a0 Surprisingly for a restaurant smack in the middle of Wine Country, the list is not particularly impressive although you\u2019ll surely find something to enjoy with your steak.<\/p>\n

Then there are the folks who assemble there.\u00a0 Ten gallon hats and boots are much in evidence.\u00a0 Everybody is a regular or, more likely, they treat everyone as though they were regulars, which is even better.\u00a0 You\u2019d better have a reservation as Jocko\u2019s is quite well-known locally and seems always to be crowded.\u00a0 Not that you\u2019ll actually get a table at the time you reserved, but it will put you in the running to get a table and give you time to enjoy the bar.\u00a0 Then, when it is your turn, you\u2019ll hear your name bellowed out to overcome the din.<\/p>\n

The dining room is a large, open space with cinderblock walls and Formica covered tables.\u00a0 This is not a restaurant for gracious, elegant dining.\u00a0 It\u2019s for seriously committed carnivores.\u00a0 Oh, they give you salad and vegetables, too, but the raison d\u2019etre<\/em> of Jocko\u2019s (not that they\u2019d ever use a phrase like raison d\u2019etre<\/em>) is enormous slabs of meat, mostly of the bovine variety.\u00a0 There are some fish items as well, but really, why bother?<\/p>\n

\"jockos\"<\/p>\n

The firepit at Jocko\u2019s.\u00a0 Photo courtesy of A. Rios on Flickr.<\/em><\/p>\n

So now you\u2019ve ordered your dinner.\u00a0 You can go out back and watch them cook it in a great, wide open, wood fired barbecue pit.\u00a0 There are dozens of steaks and ribs and chops being cooked at any one time and at least one of them is yours.\u00a0 The fellow tending the grill must be able to stand the heat, because he\u2019s staying in the kitchen.<\/p>\n

Go to Jocko\u2019s for the experience.\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry, if you\u2019re a meat-eater, you\u2019ll love your meal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Power Tasting doesn\u2019t do restaurant reviews so this is not a restaurant review.\u00a0 It is about a restaurant that is definitely a place worth a visit if you ever happen to be in Nipomo, California.\u00a0 Actually, no one ever just happens to be in Nipomo, so we\u2019re really saying that if you ever are wine … Continue reading Jocko\u2019s Steak House<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=332"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":334,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332\/revisions\/334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}