Restaurants in Paso Robles

Owner Rosalinda Tovar delights Fresno-area eaters with a menu of authentic, award-winning Mexican cuisine. On weekends, patrons can partake of the accolade-earning menudo, a hominy-and-tripe soup ($6.25 for a small bowl). Many a blushing taste bud has fallen prey to the tamales, a seductive selection of pork, chicken, or beef wrapped within a tailored waistcoat of fresh corn masa and an elegant corn-husk dinner jacket ($10.95 for a plate of two). The fajitas deluxe showcases a sizzling triumvirate of beef, chicken, and shrimp with mixed veggies, guacamole, and sour cream ($14.95). For chronic coin-flippers, the list of combination plates stumps the stodgiest statisticians with its overwhelming set of flavor coefficients (up to $10.95). All entrees come with rice and beans.

Ethel Reds Chop House is named for a red-haired woman hallowed in family legend and yarns: the indomitable Ethel. Her ninety-some years of life were apparently filled with daring adventures, from jumping off waterfalls to riding a bull. The Chop House still serves her famed chili, and massive cuts of steak and chops challenge patrons. The eatery brims with bone-in ribeye and pork ribs like a ballad written by a hungry cowboy, and bacon celebrates an affinity for beef by embracing cuts of filet mignon and piling on top of cheeseburgers.

Diners bond over live country music, chicken wings, and copious use of napkins in the Western-style dining room, which is decorated by saddles, horseshoes, and other riding accessories. On balmy days, visitors toting drinks from the full bar wander to the patio garden to take in the fresh air.