We don't need a thinker. We need a doer.: Day 2 of the Central Coast Man-cation

We arrived at Shore Cliffs Inn around 3 but the room wasn't ready. It was Friday afternoon and still time to catch the last hour of the Masters. We headed over to the Spy Glass Inn, a cliffside bar/restaurant with another spectacular view of the ocean.
This is the way to watch the Masters.

I ordered a Firestone DBA (Double Barrel Ale) from a nearby brewery in Paso Robles. DBA is Firestone's "trailblazing flagship brew that started it all back in 1996." This was the perfect brew for watching golf at an oceanside bar on a quiet Friday afternoon in California. Medium body, easy drinking, and not overwhelming in any way. It was just a damn good beer.

We had a beer, watched some golf, took a stroll along the cliffs, then made it back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

My dad is a creature of habit. If he finds a place he likes, he'll go there again and again. (No surprise that I'm the exact same way). That goes for the places we stay, the sites we see, and the restaurants we eat. Tonight was no different.

You ever go to a place when you were a kid and remember it for the rest of your life? F. McLintock's is that place for me. I love it. Love the rustic decor, the friendly hostesses, the waiters who pour your water from high above the table, the full-sized stuffed Bison in the gift shop, the big dinner portions, and the Cowboy Caliente hot sauce (I buy it as gifts for my customers). Every sight, smell, and taste of this place elicits nothing but pure joy. A trip to the central coast would have been incomplete without dinner at McLintock's.

I talk a lot about owning my own bar/restaurant. I doubt I'll ever make it happen, but it's my nature to believe that I could do it successfully. McLintock's is exactly the kind of place I'd want to own.

We enjoyed the onion rings they give you in the same manner other restaurants give you a basket of bread. I doused mine in Cowboy Caliente. You should, too. Don't forget the Crispy Turkey Nuts. Seriously.

Dad ordered the Baseball Cut Top Sirloin steak. Joe and I are a lot alike, but not when it comes to steak. He'd rather have a lean Sirloin Steak while I'd much rather have a Bone-in Ribeye. He wants his medium-well. I want to cry when I hear him order. He likes wine. I prefer beer or mixed drink. He short. I'm tall. Huh. Maybe we're not so alike.

Time for my confession. While eating at one of the great steakhouses in America, I ordered a Cobb Salad. A salad. I felt dirty. Like I had let down my entire family. This was a cardinal sin in my world. But the truth is, I turned 50 this year and I need to get my self right. In January, I gave up drinking. It's not like I needed to dry out or anything. It was just.......FIFTY! It hits you right in the face. So I thought I'd start the new year off on the right foot. So 31 days of no drinking. It wasn't a really big deal, and frankly, I didn't feel any different. Then after St. Patrick's Day, I thought I'd give up meat for a month. Aside from a little prime rib bone on Easter, I've been pretty much veggies only. I have to say, I feel pretty darn good. So when it came time to order dinner, Cobb Salad was the choice. All good by me.

After I paid the bill, we found a table over at the bar and had a drink while listening to a three-man band play old cowboy songs. It was a great Father-Son dinner. One I'll remember forever.

When we finished our drink, I ordered up an Uber ride to take us back to the hotel. This was dad's first experience with Uber and he was impressed with the fact that it worked. He was even more impressed when our driver, Aoltan, showed up within a couple minutes driving a BMW X5.

Dad went to bed and I walked next door to the Ventana Grille to have another Firestone DBA and a Jameson's. Check out this virtual tour of the place. Not a bad way to end a great day.

The story continues with a morning stroll on Pismo Beach, and the cliff-hugging, hair pin turns on the road to Big Sur.

Here's some more photos from the restaurant.