We had a few hours to kill in Santa Barbara before heading to the airport for our flight home. To have enough time to catch our flight, we took the pre-sunrise Amtrak Pacific Surfliner from San Luis Obispo. We walked into town from the train station, stopping at Joe’s, a friendly cafe at the bottom of State Street, where we sat outside to enjoy our last day in California. Fortunately, as train passengers, we could leave our carry-ons ($10 each) with the stationmaster, a service I didn’t realize had returned since the pandemic.

Joe’s is a very friendly cafe with sidewalk seating. We took advantage of that as we were heading back east. I tried their Mexican mule ($15) with gingerbeer with tequila while my friend sipped coffee ($4.75).

Like other Mexican food in San Luis Obispo, our breakfast was yummy. My dining partner tried the chorizo scramble with three eggs, Mexican sauce and tortillas. I had my usual huevos rancheros of two poached eggs on corn tortillas with Joe’s salsa, refried beans and cheese, a hearty meal that kept me satiated all day (each breakfast, $17.25).  It had to, as on my flight home, Delta ran out of their food for sale, not even midway through the plane!

Joe’s Cafe
536 State St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 966-4638
joescafesb.com