Argentina is proud of its empanadas, and I’ve eaten many of them in Buenos Aires and elsewhere, most of them quite good. Then, one Sunday, I had really sensational empanadas, not in Argentina but on the coast of California at Pismo Beach.
They were pulled pork empanadas filled with the most succulent, flavorful m
eat you could hope to eat. The pork had been cured overnight with a dry rub of paprika, cayenne, garlic and onion, then braised slowly and, finally, combined with specially made barbecue sauce and wrapped in flaky pastry.
It takes a serious chef like Evan Treadwell to elevate turnovers to this level. Mendocino-born Treadwell is executive chef of the Dolphin Bay Hotel’s Lido Restaurant. And he’s intent on making the Central Coast known for serious 
cuisine.
Lido’s Sunday brunch should go a long way toward making this happen. The food is spectacular. And so is the view from the restaurant, a broad curve of shore and sparkling ocean. When the weather is nice, you can sit outside.
The three-course brunch allows plenty of time to appreciate the view. The menu, which changes seasonally, offers many choices, and not just omelets and quiches. The empanadas, paired with a lively carrot, jicama and apple slaw, are among the starters.
That alone was enough for brunch, but I am no one to resist a beautifully cooked prime flat iron steak crowned with a pillar of buttermilk fried onion rings.
There were a lot of flavors on that plate, including caramelized onions, garlicky green beans and a salsa verde for the steak. I expected a Mexican chile salsa, but Treadwell had something else in mind, an Italian style sauce that blended parsley, tarragon and thyme with capers, onion, garlic and olive oil
.
A rich dessert was overkill after this. Nevertheless, I consumed far too much of a chocolate hazelnut torte, an unctuous thing of creamy, rich chocolate, chopped nuts, whipped cream and a swirl of crème anglaise.
Brunch starts with a mimosa or champagne (I had a sparkler from Laetitia in the Arroyo Grande Valley) and includes coffee. The price, $29, is as extraordinary as the food.
Sunday brunch takes place from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Lido Restaurant at Dolphin Bay Hotel and Residence, 2727 Shell Beach Road, Pismo Beach, CA 93449. Tel: (805) 773-8900.
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