The first Friday of the month is Art After Dark in San Luis Obispo, California. Hosted by SLO County Arts Council, this event is a self-guided tour. Visitors and residents can visit participating San Luis venues. These are galleries as well as local businesses. Another program the organization offers is Open Studios Tour, which is October 11-12 and October 18-19 in 2025. During these two weekends, the public can visit artists’ working studios. It’s a good way to support artists as they keep 100% of commissions.

For April’s Art After Dark, I went with my Wade’s parents.

Shake Shake Fresh Noodles

First, we went to the newly-opened Shake Shake Fresh Noodles downtown San Luis. Located at the Creamery Marketplace, this new Chinese restaurant took over the space of the old Chinese restaurant, Bamboo Bamboo. Better luck to Shake Shake.

This new joint specializes in hand-pulled noodles. Lā Miàn/拉面. Like the name says, a single lump of wheat-flour dough is cut then folded and pulled into long thin strips, a technique that gives springy noodles with texture. Hand-pulled noodles is common to northern provinces of China and is fascinating to watch.

Wade’s parents ordered Braised Pork Belly Noodles, I ordered Tomato Beef Over White Rice, and we shared chicken dumplings. The Shake Shake Fresh Noodles special is Noodle with Beef Bone. I saw a few people order it and one thing to note, their food photography is not glammed up and the food looks more appetizing than the photos suggest.

For me, the wheat noodle was a no go. Plus, tomato and beef with rice was one of my dad’s favourite and go-to meals to cook. So.

Be prepared to cut your noodles with scissors they serve with them. Cutting noodles is such a normal thing in a Chinese household. And my mom is very specific with what each pair is for.

Also the restaurant gave us a side dish to try. I didn’t quite catch what it was. The staff were all very busy and it took time to grab hold of someone for questions we had. Like so many restaurants, ordering is done via the QR code, which takes diners to a menu with little information about the dishes. Physical menus are available.

Art After Dark

April’s Art After Dark had a number of venues earmarked for our visit. One was an art museum, another was a real estate office, and the rest were shops so Art After Dark is a stroll through town for art, some shopping, and refreshments.

San Luis Obispo Museum of Art

Just a short walk from Creamery Marketplace is San Luis Obispo Museum of Art. Lots of people were already there, enjoying art and refreshments.

Bubblegum Alley

Off of Higuera Street, between Broad and Garden, is Bubblegum Alley. If Wade’s parents didn’t point it out, I probably would have walked by it, perhaps just thinking off-handedly, what a curious spot. The walls of this 70-foot long narrow alley are the canvas for a different kind of graffiti. Chewed bubblegum. Nothing new, this landmark is decades-old. Still, its organic growth and expression is colourful and unexpected.

Blackwater

Whenever we drove by it, for some reason I thought it was a plant shop or an occult shop. They do sell plants. And their name refers to a Doobie Brothers song.

Blackwater is one of those stores that you take your time in, make a few loops, because there is so much to look at. Vintage, novelty, contemporary, SLO merch…with an upcoming trip, I was on the lookout for gifts. Given its layout, it wasn’t surprising that there wasn’t much Art After Dark art on display.

Making SLO

Making SLO is located in the building that housed the historic business Marshalls Jewelry for nearly 130 years. Manuel Marshall opened the original shop in 1889 and since then it’s passed onto three owners before closing in 2018. This stand-alone building has character and charm, a space for different kinds of gems – local makers.

By the time we got there, we had already missed the reading and signing of Creepy Frank Finds a Friend. I did get a chance to look at all the various art from makers, including colourful and fun sea creature prints.

Another great shop for SLO gifts.

Hands Gallery

This was another place Wade’s mom had wanted me to see. It has a wall of cute and funky clocks, plus lots other interesting items. Hands Gallery, which is celebrating its 35th year, was probably the biggest shop that night so far and we each wandered through it, looking closely at this or that.

Century 21 Hometown Real Estate

This is an office on Toro Street close to Petra Mediterranean Pizza and Grill, which was featured in an episode of “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives”. Here, I found a nice sparkling water to enjoy while looking at art. Aside from the SLO MOA, this was the most art so far that night. There were some fabulous paintings and Jay Stieler, a local artist, was outside painting, chatting with a visitor.

Art Central

This was our last stop. Part of the shop was given over to an exhibition of several artists. We had just made it, before they closed at 7PM. There were several pieces I was drawn to. I also made a loop through the store while Wade’s mom picked up supplies. I was pondering the etching tools. Opened by an artist for artists, Art Central has a wide array of art supplies.