Meagan Friberg,Hayley Mattson,
Norma Moye, Margaret Holstine
Featuring a Delightful Dinner at Odyssey World Café
For this edition of entrée, we invited Norma Moye and Margaret Holstine to join us for dinner in downtown Paso Robles and talk about the Paso Robles Main Street Association. The decision on where to dine was an easy one – Odyssey World Café, of course! It’s Norma’s favorite, we love it, and Owners John Hawley and Dawn Gregory were thrilled to have us as their guests!
Since 1997, Dawn and John have worked alongside one another as owners and business partners. Their spouses, Steve Gregory and Shaun Hawley, often lend a hand to the rest of the Odyssey World Café team to serve up great food in a family-friendly, casual, comfortable atmosphere.
What a thrill to share a meal with such legendary Paso Roblans! Let’s get started!
Starters/Sides/Appetizers
John started us off with the Bombay Chicken Curry, Apple and Walnut Side Salad, Thai Noodle Salad, Traditional Potato Salad, Pesto Penne Pasta Salad, focaccia cheese garlic bread with olive tapenade and butter, and hummus with pita bread.
Nic’s Favorite: Thai Noodle Salad – a sweet and spicy delight with angel hair noodles, carrots, celery, peanuts, and peanut Thai sauce. “This has a mellow, sweet flavor on the first bite with a nice, spicy after-kick; it’s quite flavorful all the way through. It’s simple, but really, really good! Honestly, I have to say I am enjoying trying all of these different salads because I tend to eat the same thing every time I come here…and I like finding new favorites!”
After Nic commented on the freshness of the bread served with the salads, John said, “We make all of the bread we serve at Odyssey. We also make our own salad dressings and soups; really, everything we prepare here is fresh and just simple, good food!”
Entrees
Next, we sampled the Grilled Salmon Salad, Grilled Veggie Salad, Ahi Tuna Bowl, Melted Brie & Artichoke Hearts Sandwich with Almonds, Mediterranean Three Olive Pasta, and the Rib-Eye Beef Angus Steak.
Margaret’s Favorite: Grilled Salmon Salad – eggplant, yellow squash, roasted red peppers, zucchini, feta cheese, and toasted pine nuts served with mixed greens and romaine lettuce, topped with a house-made lemon vinaigrette. “I really like salmon, and this salad was so light yet filling. The grilled veggies have a great consistency, and I love the pine nuts and feta cheese; those are a nice added touch. Everything about this is just so fresh and healthy.”
Hayley’s Favorite: Mediterranean Three Olive Pasta – fettuccini pasta topped with basil, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and California, Greek Kalamata, and Spanish green olives, with a light olive oil. “The pasta was cooked perfectly, and I like the salty taste from the olives; the olive oil really tones down the salt so it’s not overwhelming. Overall, this is just a colorful, pretty dish with the sundried tomatoes and feta cheese giving it a great flavor boost. It’s fresh, light, and healthy!”
Norma’s Favorite: Everything! “Each dish is absolutely delicious – I love all of this! I have never tried the Ahi Tuna Bowl, so that was new for me and I would definitely order it again. And all of these salads are so fresh – I love them, every single one of them! I have to tell you, on weekends, I like to order the ribeye here; it is fabulous. I’m done with cooking…after four kids that was enough! Now it’s my turn to have someone cook for me, and everyone at Odyssey knows what I like…although now I have some new favorites!”
Throughout the evening, Norma shared info on the Paso Robles Main Street Association. “We have a lot of events, at least one every month, and most months we have two or three,” she said. “There is always something happening on Main Street…and we just love it!”
Margaret added, “I can’t think of any other small city that has as many organized events as we do. People come from everywhere to our events.”
In September, check out the Pajama Party Movie Night, Arte De Tiza, and Taste of Downtown. In October, there’s Pioneer Day Parade and festivities, Golden Oak Honey Festival, and Safe and Fun Halloween. November and December bring the Elegant Holiday Evening Downtown, Holiday Craft Bazaar, Downtown Lighting Ceremony, Christmas Light Parade, Vine Street Victorian Showcase, and the Teddy Bear Tea.
To say Norma…and her amazing crew…keeps busy day after day, year after year is an understatement! For dates and times of Main Street events, see pasoroblesdowntown.org.
Desserts
We ended this lovely evening while sharing slices of Seven Layer Chocolate Cake, New York Cheese Cake, and Lemon White Chocolate Cake – oh, my!
Meagan’s Favorite: Lemon White Chocolate Cake – “One word – delicious! Light, creamy, and a delightful summertime treat. Oh, who am I kidding? I could have this cake any season! And the portion sizes are huge…be sure to ask for two forks and share this tasty goodness with your dining companion.”
Our special thanks to the entire team at Odyssey World Café and Paso Robles Main Street Association.
With such dedicated community members, PASO is in good hands!
Maegan Friberg can be reached at meagen@pasomagazine.com
