Friday Favorites - Ciopinot Seafood Grille

Ciopinot Seafood Grille is my favorite seafood restaurant in SLO County. We tried it for the first time a couple of years ago when my mom came to visit and hadn't been back since last weekend. Steve and I decided to go ALL OUT and made a reservation for 7:00 and arrived all dressed up and ready to indulge! The place was jam packed and the host apologized for the delay after seating us at 7:40. He promised us a good bottle of wine for the wait. Sweet!

We took our time sipping on a $50 bottle of Napa Zin and munched on bacon wrapped, cheese stuffed prawns and crab cakes. I got the lobster tail with garlic mashed pototoes and Steve got the house specialty, the Reserve "no work" Cioppino with dungeness crab. The food was absolutely incredible and my taste buds were bursting with pleasure. After dinner we splurged for dessert. Steve got the creme brulee and I got something surprising... for those of you who know me know that I am a chocolate nut! They had two delectable chocolate themed desserts on the menu but I passed them up to try the infamous warm blueberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. I made the right decision! You guys, this dessert was insane!! Everytime I took a bite, my eyes automatically closed. Seriously, I was on cloud 9, nearly yelping out with joy! I probably shouldn't have, but I ate the entire thing. Soon, I finished the bottle of wine and Steve was smacking on his nightcap drink, Sambuca.

Two hours later and there we were, stuffed, happy, smiling, buzzed, and in love. Best night ever. But wait, it gets better!! The waitress came over with the bill and said, "Your meal is on Leonard tonight, so all you have to do is sign right here". We looked at each other, stunned! Leonard, the man who promised us the bottle of wine was about to pay for our entire $250 meal. A meal, we would normally NEVER experience. And now it's all free?! Wow!  So, we laughed, signed the bill, gave the waitress a generous tip, thanked Leonard on the way out (who we learned owns the place!), and rubbed our full bellies in delight all the way home.