Wool Growers Restaurant, Los Banos, CA

When planning dinner at Wool Growers Restaurant, 609 H Street in Los Banos, it’s a good idea to skip lunch. Bring a hearty appetite and pace yourself – they serve a lot of food. Being a rookie, I was full long before the entrées arrived.

A no-frills restaurant known for generous portions of hearty French Basque cooking, Wool Growers is a family-style place where you’re seated at long picnic tables. Our waitress offered a choice of pork chops, tri-tip, lamb, prime rib and chicken. She then brought bread, a bottle of red wine, a hearty beef vegetable soup, green salad, potato salad, baked beans, French fries and rice before my entrée of two large thick pork chops. Ice cream comes with each meal.

All of this was only $18. Lunch is $15. If you make the 387-mile trip north to the Central Valley, bring cash, as checks and credit cards aren’t accepted. They’re open Tuesday through Saturday 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., 4:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. and Sunday 11:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. You can reach them at (209) 826-4593.