With sunshine and blue skies, Saturday was a great day to spend in Arroyo Grande. One of the Five Cities, the historic village of Arroyo Grande has a lot to offer. We started with a birthday brunch for Wade’s mom.
Branch Street Deli and Pizzeria
203 E Branch Street, Arroyo Grande, California. (805)489-9099. Open everyday from 11AM until 3PM Monday and Tuesday and other days until 7-8:30PM.
Driving back from tutoring, I often pass through Arroyo Grande or AG as it’s commonly called. In the slower traffic, I did notice the eye-catching black and white stripped awning of Branch Street Deli.
By the time we got into town not long after 12 noon, the streets were already packed. A car was just leaving across from Branch Street Deli and so I pulled into it in our rental, the unfortunate result of someone running a stop sign and then taking off. I spotted Wade’s parents walking toward the restaurant. They had parked near City Hall. There is also a parking lot behind Branch Street Deli.
Wade and I headed to the outdoor seating, which was surprisingly large. I had no idea this was part of the restaurant. There were only a few vacant tables by this time. Large families had gathered, putting smaller tables together. The resident rooster strutting around as the servers weaved around tables to look for order numbers.
We headed inside to order. The line holding menus trying to decide was longer than the line ready to order. We stood next to the dessert fridge and near the drinks fridge as people moved about with a smile, unbothered by the little congestion.
The menu had a lot of dishes, meeting diverse tastes. Wade and I ordered the Pear and Arugula Salad and beef dip to share and his parents went with a burger and zucchini fries. I took our cups to get unsweetened tea. A plate with lemons sat next to the drink dispenser which offered the usual pop options. For tea, there was a plain black tea and a fruit tea. Both unsweetened. No gross stevia to contend with. I got the black tea for Wade’s dad and I mixed the two for myself, garnishing both with a slice of lemon.
The food came quickly which was a good thing as we were all ready to eat. Everything was delicious. They loved their burger which was thick and filling. We tried their zucchini sticks which were not so heavily breaded so they tasted light. Very good. The salad bowl was quite big with candied walnuts and sliced pears. The beef dip was tri-tip and delicious with the dip and the creamy horseradish.
Branch Street Deli is a popular place and it was easy to see why. The staff were friendly and quick. Perhaps because it was the weekend and sunny, people were generally in a good mood. The restaurant had several dessert options. We had a surprise birthday party, with two cakes, planned for that afternoon so probably good that his mom was too full for dessert. Maybe next time, there will be room for a cannoli.
The Gallery
213 E. Branch Street, Arroyo Grande. (805) 202-8600. Opened Wednesday to Sunday from 12PM and by appointments Monday and Tuesday.
The next spot was the Gallery, just next door to Branch Street Deli. Opened since 2021, this is one of Wade’s mom’s favourites. You can sit outside, enjoy some wine, and order food from Branch Deli.
The Gallery has a good range of art and artists. When you enter, a stunning (and large) piece mounted on the back wall welcomes you.
Monarch Books
201 E. Branch Street, Arroyo Grande, California. (805) 668-6300. Open daily.
The last Saturday stop for Wade and me was Monarch Books. We had to go home to set up for the surprise party and to meet a buyer for a surfboard.
Here to Explore Our World is an affiliate of Bookshop.org. You can check out our book list here. I read a lot and a lot of places I go to have great stories, from their history to the supernatural. As an affiliate we can choose a local bookstore to support. Bookshop distributes a portion of their revenue to them. Ours is Monarch Books.
So it was pretty cool to finally drop by to check it out. And it was packed! Monarch Books is well set up with different display set ups. While I already have a long list of books to read, a few like Fox Wife, got my attention. I also looked through their art supplies and other gift ideas. Each year they have a Book Tree. Customers can purchase books for participating schools whose requests have been fulfilled this year.
The historic village of Arroyo Grande is a great spot to visit. There’s a lot more to see, including the Swinging Bridge, the guitar store, other eateries, and historic buildings. Here are the posts about our first visit to Arroyo Grande and then to the Swinging Bridge.