There’s usually good food to be had at wine tasting events, but have you checked out who’s going to be at this year’s Earth Day Food & Wine Festival? Just the list of restaurants alone reads like a Who’s Who of the Central Coast’s stellar spots for pleasing your palate!

Here’s a look at just some of the highlights in the lineup …

Artisan has been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Sun-Times and Bon Appétit and Chef Chris Kobayashi was one of 20 semi-finalists in the 2009 “Best Chef: Pacific” category of the prestigious James Beard Awards.

Owner Charles Myers of Big Sky Cafe has been a longtime champion of local foods and the restaurant has gotten good press from the New York Time and Sunset Magazine.

Brown Butter Cookie Company just got a big “Yum-O” from Rachel Ray.

Chow is the latest culinary creation from Robin Covey of Novo Restaurant and Lounge and Shanny Covey of Robin’s Restaurant – both of whom have been shopping at farmers’ markets for their restaurant produce for over 25 years.

Chef Tom Fundaro recently opened Farmstand 46, offering artisanal charcuterie and lots of other tasty things, but he’s also still the chef at Villa Creek, one of Paso’s destination restaurants.

Il Cortile Ristorante has added another great place for Italian food in Paso Robles, and celebrates all things mozzarella!

The McPhee’s Grill locations in both Templeton and Avila Beach feature the wine-friendly cuisine of Chef Ian McPhee, a champion of local wines for almost three decades.

Native Restaurant and Lounge offers a savvy spot for fine dining and sipping in SLO.

Pier 46 Seafood offers fresh, fresh, fresh sushi-quality, sustainable seafood to take home to prepare, or they’ll set you up with a variety of menu items inside or on the patio.

SeaVenture Resort not only has a great seaside view, but also an extensive menu with something for everyone.

Splash Cafe is famous for their clam chowder, and the SLO location also features an artisan bakery.

Thomas Hill Organics sources produce right from the Thomas Hill Farm and the outdoor patio also features a wood-fired pizza oven.

Upper Crust has been serving pizzas, pastas and addictive raspberry salad dressing for over 20 years.

Once again, the 3rd Annual Pallet to Palate Event in August 2009 featured not only great food and wine (a big SIP poster made appearances at several events, and Baileyana/Tangent wines were poured at the SLOcovore event on Monday), but also a thought provoking panel discussion. This year’s topic was “Let’s Be Frank … About Local Food,” a perfect title since one of the participants was Larry Bain, co-founder of Let’s Be Frank, a company that produces and sells hot dogs made from sustainably raised grass-fed beef, family-farmed pork, and pastured turkey. Judith Redmond of Full Belly Farm and renowned chef Bradley Ogden, most recently of Root 246 in Solvang, ably rounded out the panel, but the remarks of the engaging Bain (whose résumé also includes running a social justice non-profit and opening Acme Chop House in SF, the country’s first sustainable steak house) were the ones that really stuck with me.
But wait, there’s more!