Les Petites Canailles

Cuisine: French lpcrestaurant.com

“It was a great surprise,” chef/owner Julien Asseo told me when I met him at his Spring Street restaurant. “It’s always nice to be recognized for what you do, especially from Michelin.”

What does it mean for Paso? I asked.

“It’s not that Paso needed any attention but what’s nice about Michelin is that Paso, known for wine, is now getting this [food] recognition,” Asseo pointed out. “It’s important to be able to offer more than a wine tourism experience and now we’ve proven we can by getting this recognition.”

Asseo spent his early years in Paso (his father Stephan Asseo, a Bordeaux native, launched L’Aventure winery here in 1998), then moved back to Bordeaux as a teen to enroll in a culinary school. From then his 17-year chef’s journey has taken him from Paris and Los Angeles to Las Vegas where he worked with the legendary Guy Savoy at Caesar’s Palace.

Asseo draws on his French heritage but sidesteps the traditional classic style. “We brought a fresh take on what French food can be because we are influenced by the Central Coast with a modern twist. We’re not in Paris or Burgundy; we are in California,” he said.

The menu begins with bites such as caviar and an artisanal cheese board. Among the appetizers is my favorite leeks à la plancha and Burgundy escargot risotto. Among the main dishes the signature steak au poivre is the crowd-pleaser.

Although Asseo comes from a Bordeaux wine lineage, his real love is food. “It’s not just cook-and-serve,” he insisted. “We host our guests every night. It’s a place of comfort, joy, and socializing. I tell my team we have the power to create an experience every single night. It’s not an easy career — it takes sacrifice and dedication.”

The wine list is local and French, including Asseo family wines.

The Hatch

Cuisine: American hatchpasorobles.com

“It’s really incredible, I can’t quite get over it yet it’s not something that was on our radar,” said the elated co-owner Maggie Cameron. "It feels amazing to be recognized for this specific food,” she added, referring to her comfort-food restaurant.

The Hatch is down-home simple and casual where everyone helps out in the kitchen led by longtime team member Jesus Campos. “When you make the same menu every day it’s hard to get excited about it,” said Cameron who opened the restaurant with her husband Eric Connolly in 2015.

A favorite with locals, the restaurant is known for Mary’s organic chicken, roasted or fried, and other comfort dishes like skillet cornbread, shepherd’s pie, meatloaf and shrimp and grits. The bar boasts a selection of 100 whiskeys and farmers market-inspired cocktails.

For Cameron the recommendation is indeed aspirational: “Enough to satisfy my team and to keep my chefs going. It’s not a goal that we had, but now I see what this means. You have to keep working hard to stay in the Guide.”