The Ultimate SLO Bucket List
May 1, 2024
Todo Bueno was recently featured on Redfin’s bucket list article for new residents of San Luis Obispo, CA by Darby Mulligan on Redfin.com!
Located between the lush green peaks of mid-California lives San Luis Obispo, or SLO for short. Near the coast and with a vibrant downtown scene, SLO offers the perfect balance of outdoor and indoor activities for all. Whether you’ve lived in SLO for years or are looking to buy a home or rent an apartment here, below you’ll find a compilation of the top San Luis Obispo bucket list items. Ranging from downtown activities to cafes to hikes and bikes to restaurants, this bucket list has it all.
Read the full article HERE or just check out #7.
7. Try new cuisine
If a tri-tip sandwich isn’t your cup of tea, SLO has several incredible restaurants to choose from. If you’re looking to try a new cuisine, like Ethiopian, Ebony SLO is one of the best, and is both minority- and women-owned. Created with the goal of bringing community together over food, Ebony has indoor and outdoor seating which is perfect for those sunny California days, Ethiopian music, and “[It’s] a must visit for the amazing, vegan, organic and gluten-free food cooked with love and care.” according to the place itself. If you’re looking for unique fusion food, another great restaurant option is Todo Bueno All Good Grill, a wok-seared, California-Mexican joint. This place has balcony dining with a view of the SLO Public Market and a great selection of draft beers and local wines.
Owner John MacKinnon gets Up + Adam on Adam Montiel’s podcast
January 12, 2024
We talk to Hollywood’s Sam Rubin from KTLA. He’s one of the founders of the organization that is presenting the 29th Annual Critics Choice Awards. It’s live Sunday and airs on CW (KSBY)
It’s Day #1 of SLO’s Restaurant Week. Adam meets John MacKinnon, owner and chef at Todo Bueno. They are a Cali-Mex spot in the SLO Public Market. The Mexican fare there is absolutely excellent! Also since Todo Bueno means, “all good”, they have some favorite dishes that are not Mexican under their ‘All Good Grill’, and Adam thinks he might have stumbled upon the best burger in SLO! If you love burgers, this HAS GOT TO BE on your list to try.
Their pairing is a Surf and Turf Taco pair with a Modelo. You get one Seared Beef Taco, and one Oaxacan Shrimp Taco.
To check out the food and learn more, visit TodoBuenoSLO.com
You could win $1,000 in gift cards to ALL the participating SLO Restaurant Week spots!
For all the info on SLO Restaurant Week, visit SLORestaurantWeek.com
20 of SLO County’s Newest Restaurants
Stacked quesadilla from Todo Bueno and the All Good Grill in San Luis Obispo, CA
Hungry? Here are 20 of SLO County’s newest restaurants, coffeehouses and sweet shops
BY Sarah Linn, The Tribune - San Luis Obispo
TODO BUENO AND THE ALL GOOD GRILL In May, a new fast-casual restaurant held its soft opening at San Luis Obispo Public Market at Bonnetti Ranch, 3845 South Higuera St. in San Luis Obispo. Located in upstairs in the Public Market’s main hall, Todo Bueno and The All Good Grill serves up California-influenced Mexican food and all-American fare from a walk-up order counter. Chef and co-owner John MacKinnon is a managing partner of Moonstone Beach Bar & Grill in Cambria.
SEAR IT TO BELIEVE IT Todo Bueno's seared beef quesadillas are made with meat that's cooked in a wok, flour tortillas that are lightly crisped on a grill, and a custom blend of cheeses and slaw.
Wok the Talk
Tacos from Todo Bueno and the All Good Grill in San Luis Obispo, CA
Todo Bueno brings wok-seared Mexican food to the SLO Public Market
BY BULBUL RAJAGOPAL, New Times - San Luis Obispo
Just look up
Todo Bueno is located upstairs in the San Luis Obispo Public Market on 3845 S. Higuera St. They're open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Check out their website todobuenoslo.com and follow them on Instagram @todobuenoslo.
Two flights of stairs make Todo Bueno the San Luis Obispo Public Market's hidden gem.
It's worth the climb.
Since May 4, Todo Bueno or the "all good grill" serves Mexican-inspired tacos, burritos, quesadillas, tortas, Mission-style burritos, and burgers, among a gallery of other options.
"I could eat Mexican food seven days a week," co-owner John MacKinnon said. "I want to serve upscale food at an affordable price."
SEAR IT TO BELIEVE IT Todo Bueno's seared beef quesadillas are made with meat that's cooked in a wok, flour tortillas that are lightly crisped on a grill, and a custom blend of cheeses and slaw.
MacKinnon runs Todo Bueno with his wife, Kernn MacKinnon, who handles the administrative work. Together, with Kernn's parents, they also manage Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill in Cambria. After years of specializing in seafood by the beach, the pair expanded their culinary interests to Mexican food in SLO with the help of a Hispanic-majority kitchen staff.
MacKinnon credits his use of nontraditional cooking methods as setting his food apart. He's passionate about grilling, sautéing, and even searing his riffs on Mexican fare in a 125,000 BTU (British thermal unit) wok.
"I went a little outside the box," he said. "Mexican food uses meats that are the lesser cuts, but those meats are flavorful. I use the same but having that wok ... we can use the same treatment on chicken, pork, and beef. We sauté our mushrooms and make a Mexican mirepoix with jalapeños."
The result is a wok that's seasoned with the juices and browned bits from the meat and vegetables. The Todo Bueno team then deglazes it with bone broths that are made from scratch.
"The heat of the wok cooks it down to a nice glaze. So, the meat ends up with a good chew and is moist, it's not all boiled down," MacKinnon said.
Todo Bueno extends another cooking format to an atypical space: grilled dessert. The Smores-A-Dilla is a cinnamon sugar-sprinkled flour tortilla thrown on the griddle. It's topped with marshmallows and chocolate once the inside is slightly candied. But adding the graham cracker element had MacKinnon scratching his head.
"I love Golden Grahams cereal and I thought those were nice and crunchy and ready to go. That was the finishing touch," he said. "We put a little honey and chocolate on that with ice cream. It's a messy bite but it's really good!
It's easy to see why MacKinnon loves Mexican food so much. While he's mixed and matched different culinary techniques within the cuisine, he also enjoys the versatility of the ingredients.
Photo Courtesy Of Ariette Armella
ON FIRE Todo Bueno's spicy pork taco may have been a one-day-only dish for the Bringin' On the Heat festival at the SLO Public Market, but all their proteins are sautéed and seared in a 125,000 BTU wok. Amp up the heat with the truly spicy house salsa.
"The nature of Mexican food is a nice thing to produce," MacKinnnon said. "When you have any menu that you're doing, you want your ingredients that are on the line to be multi-use."
These multi-use fillings feature in Todo Bueno's tortillas, tacos, tortas, bowls, and burritos. They include seared beef, herb chicken, barbecue pork, Oaxacan shrimp, and mushrooms. MacKinnon's award-winning chili con carne also makes an appearance both on its own and in quesadilla form.
Burnished mahogany in color and brimming with meat, MacKinnon's chili is a hearty feast that feels like a warm hug. It's a recipe that he's developed and tweaked since the 1990s, and the chili has won the annual Cambria Chili Cook-Off multiple times. It's available in a cup, in a 12-ounce bowl, slathered over cheese fries, or inside a quesadilla.
"It never was on the menu at Moonstone," MacKinnon said. "It's a sautéed, braised dish but how you put that together really matters. It's really about how you layer those flavors."
Kernn told New Times that her husband has always vied for the People's Choice award when it came to his chili.
"If he didn't win that year, he would taste what did win," she said. "He'd go, 'OK, where was I missing?'"
Todo Bueno serves a solid burger too. The All Good is a generous double patty creation that comes with shredded lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, and a light and tangy sauce. MacKinnon said he was conscious of the meat-to-bun ratio and added the second patty to even out the bread.
RATIO RULES A stickler for ratio, co-owner John MacKinnon created the solid and unpretentious All Good burger with two patties, shredded lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, and a tangy sauce.
It works. It's unpretentious, delicious, and leaves you full without the stodginess of a hefty burger.
Ratios and even distribution are important to MacKinnon. An elusively perfect burrito, according to him, is one that provides meat, rice, beans, and all the vegetables in every single bite. But a good one carries meat (or whichever protein of your choice) in every mouthful. He thinks he's achieved that through his take on Mission-style burritos.
Nachos, too, get the same treatment.
"When you get a traditional nacho [plate], you get maybe three chips that have everything on it, then some with just beans and cheese, and then there's a bunch of chips with nothing," he said.
At Todo Bueno, MacKinnon dishes out Nacho Bites instead. A small plate appetizer, it's four large tortilla chips individually topped with all the fixings. Patrons can choose from three meat choices.
Todo Bueno is open throughout the week and has ample seating both indoors and on the outdoor balcony without reservations required. Open for a little less than four months, their mission to do good through good food helped the restaurant hit the ground running.
The day before Todo Bueno opened, a family's excitement to try the cheese quesadilla was cut short when they discovered the restaurant was yet to open. But their trip to the SLO Public Market wasn't in vain.
"My husband happened to run into the owner who said they are opening tomorrow," the family member wrote on Yelp. "When he told him of our sweet girl with an egg allergy, the owner offered to just go ahead and make her a cheese quesadilla [that day], which she absolutely loved."
For MacKinnon, it's an added honor when the county's Mexican residents enjoy Todo Bueno's offerings.
"We have a pretty good clientele that come on a regular basis who are all, 'Thumbs up to the old gringo making good Mexican food!'" he said with a laugh. Δ
Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal is ready for the all the good burrito bites. Send salsa to brajagopal@newtimesslo.com.
Let’s talk about todo bueno’s burgers
Owner John MacKinnon gets real about his burger making!
“The hamburgers here at Todo Bueno use two patties instead of one. A simple answer for doing that is more flavor. When you cook hamburgers it's all about the sear. With two patties you got double the sear and double the flavor. We use a brioche bun and toast that on our griddle as well. We take special care in how the burger is built – where the tomato goes; where you stack the meat; where the onions go; having the sauce that goes on the top of the bun so that it gets into the shredded lettuce and holds that in the sandwich so that you can get some in every bite. It’s what makes the Todo Bueno burgers one of the best you can find.”
SLO Public Market’s newest restaurant serves up twin menus: ‘It’s all good’
Todo Bueno’s Dual menu proves “it’s All Good”! in San Luis Obispo, CA
By Kathe Tanner, The San Luis Obispo Tribune
What’s the food like at the latest restaurant to open at San Luis Obispo Public Market? As owner and chef John MacKinnon says, “It’s all good.” Located in upstairs in the SLO Public Market’s main hall, 3845 South Higuera St. in San Luis Obispo, Todo Bueno and The All Good Grill serves up California-influenced Mexican food and all-American fare from a walk-up order counter. The restaurant had its soft opening on May 4, and the eatery is now fully open. A San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting is in the works for sometime in June or early July.
MacKinnon said the fast-casual restaurant’s approach is based on his love of both cuisines and the lack of eateries offering those options in the busy market’s main hall. “We’re filling an empty hole” in terms of food offerings in the main building, he said, although Mexican restaurant California Tacos Cantina and Distillery recently opened in an adjacent structure. MacKinnon has 30 years of experience as a managing partner of Moonstone Beach Bar & Grill in Cambria.
John MacKinnon has opened Todo Bueno, the All Good Grill upstairs at the San Luis Obispo Public Market. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
Todo Bueno represented a chance for MacKinnon and his wife Kernn to go it alone as restaurant owners and managers, John MacKinnon said. The majority partners in Moonstone Beach Bar & Grill are six of his in-laws, some of whom live in that community. “Todo Bueno is a venture we were able to save up to do on our own,” he said, “a chance to do something special that’s just ours.”
WHAT’S NEW SLO PUBLIC MARKET RESTAURANT LIKE?
Todo Bueno and The All Good Grill is situated in Suite 220 on an upstairs mezzanine that wraps around a skylight-lit, two-story atrium. There’s an elevator nearby. The restaurant’s décor is a sleek, semi-industrial mix of yellow-gold, white, red, black and metal.
Up to 89 diners can sit inside, at banquettes, bistro tables, a bar and other seating options. More tables are located on an adjacent balcony overlooking part of the plaza, MacKinnon said one indoor table that seats up to 10 people was custom made in a Lemoore woodshop, and it’s signed by the student artisans who created it.
WHAT MAKES TODO BUENO’S FOOD DIFFERENT?
MacKinnon’s cooking style at Todo Bueno requires a particular piece of equipment: an 18-inch-wide, 10-inch-deep wok set over a 125,000-BTU burner. “It’s awesome,” MacKinnon said of his new tool. “It doesn’t lose its heat, but you have to be moving it all the time you’re using it.” “My arms are getting very strong,” he added with a laugh.
He uses the wok because “when beef, chicken, pork, shrimp or fish are cooked on a barbecue or grill, in a fryer or braiser, some flavor can be lost,” he said. “When you cook it in that wok and saute it fast and hot, the flavor of the meat and everything you’ve put on it stays with it, in a really cool glaze,” MacKinnon said. “You get a good chew, and it’s tender and juicy.” Developing Todo Bueno’s richly seasoned fillings in a wok can be a lengthy, carefully choreographed process. For example, MacKinnon takes nearly 15 minutes to prepare a beef filling.
John MacKinnon shows how some ingredients are cooked in a wok for better flavor. He has opened Todo Bueno, the All Good Grill upstairs at the San Luis Obispo Public Market. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
As the meat browns, MacKinnon seasons it with garlic, herbs and what he calls the “John spice blend.” He then adds housemade beef-pork demi glace. Next into the wok is a mirepoix-like blend of chopped vegetables and jalapenos seared in flavorful rendered fat deliberately left in the pan. The vegetables sear, then simmer in their own juices. McKinnon then adds stewed tomatoes, more demi glace and a spicy hot sauce, resulting in a deeply savory, aromatic filling.
WHAT’S ON THE MENU?
The inspiration behind the restaurant’s twin menus began with MacKinnon’s love of spicy foods from the California-Mexico border.
“I could eat Mexican food seven days a week,” MacKinnon said, and he’s frequently fixed it at home. Offering burgers and seafood as well as Mexican fare “seemed like a natural fit,” he said. Todo Bueno serves up beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, fish, mushrooms and more enveloped in tacos, quesadillas and burritos in toasted flour tortillas, or in tortas on brioche rolls, although not all the proteins are available in all the iterations. Some offerings are stuffed with jalapeño cream sauce slaw or roasted pineapple slaw, while the slaw is served on the side with other entrees.
Seared beef taco using some ingredients cooked in a wok for better flavor. John MacKinnon has opened Todo Bueno, the All Good Grill upstairs at the San Luis Obispo Public Market. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
The slaw is a key component of the Slammin’ Slaw Bowls. The Mexican-style riffs on popular bowl meals include layers of rice, cheese, beans and slaw, topped with the diner’s chosen protein. On the café’s All Good Grill side, burger options include the Mile High with bacon and avocado, and the Fire! Burger, which adds jalapenos. Alaskan cod is lightly breaded and flash fried before being served with shoestring fries or tucked into a brioche bun. Desserts include ice cream floats, sundaes and the Smores-a-dilla, a crisp cinnamon-spiced flour tortilla stuffed with Belgian chocolate, molten marshmallow and frosted grahams.
Original Article: https://www.sanluisobispo.com/entertainment/restaurants/article276013201.html#storylink=cpy