I am looking for recommendations (updated, I did a search) for restaurants and lodging between San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz.  Thx.

I would recommend staying in Monterrey, Pacific Grove, Carmel, or Big Sur. Depending on how much you want to spend per night as there is a wide variety in pricing.

Passionfish is highly recommended in Pacific Grove.

I second that.

Passionfish looks great. Thahnks.

Are there any decent places to stay in/near Santa Cruz?

Passionfish has great deals on mostly new world wines. If you are looking for old world wines, check out the Sardine Factory in Monterey. I was there in the beginning of October devouring their Burgundy selection. 1993 Dujac Clos de la Roche $125, 1993 Vogue C-M Amoureuses $175 etc.

Santa Cruz and Monterrey are day trips, so I can't really recommend a good place to stay. I have heard of good things about the Davenport Inn, just north of Santa Cruz. haven't stayed there though.

http://www.davenportroadhouse.com/

Thanks for the lead on the Davenport. I'll have to check it out.

The Sardine Factory sounds interesting, though I wish that I could look at the wine list online.

Sardine Factory is very nice and I love eating there. I'd say the food is on the expensive side, but very high quality, and the wine list is very good and quite very reasonable.

-Al

I wouldn't even know where to begin (as a local) as I believe The Monterey Peninsula has more great restaurants per square mile (& wine lists) than just about anywhere I visit. You've already been given some solid recommendations. Passionfish is a seafood place and not fancy but very nice and the winelist is basically at retail. Next door to Sardine Factory is The Whaling Station, which is a GREAT steakhouse (& seafood). They have a quality wine list and welcome BYO with a corkage fee. Other great spots in the area include Casanova's in Carmel, Marinus in Carmel Valley, Club XIX in Pebble Beach, Fandango's in PG, Peppoli at Spanish Bay and so on and so on.

That said, I'd recommend staying in Monterey/Carmel area way ahead of Santa Cruz if given a choice.

Thanks for the tips. We are staying in PG, but will spend one night in Santa Cruz. I had heard of Casanova. Good to hear that it is till very good. Fandango looks interesting. Nice menu, nicer wine list.

In Cambria, we ate at Robin's (on Christmas Eve) and at Madeline's on Christmas Night). Both were very nice, and I recommend both. Nothing unusual or great, but very nice for such a small town, especially on the Holidays.

Pacific Grove was a "foodie" paradise. Passionfsh was as good as everyone says, and the wine list is incredible. Next time, I need to go with about 4 other couples to really do some damage to that wine list. I need to find recipes for some of that food. Although the wine list is not nearly as nice, Melange also delivered the goods, and we really enjoyed our meal. The service at both restaurants was impeccable. The people at the neighboring tables were odd at both places, especially the two insufferable couples having a competition about whose children were more special since they had been accepted to certain colleges. They were better than the morose, silent, sour couple that looked like they were going to (or should) break up at the restaurant.

The surprise of the trip, although it probably should not be a surprise, was O'Mei in Santa Cruz. Really well-prepared, and unusual take on Chinese food. Next time, I may just dince on the little plates of appetizers that they bring out.

Thanks to all of you for your recommendations, and a Happy New Year to all of you.

Thanks for the follow-up. We have friends who love Cambria, and always invite us to meet them there (they live in LA). Will pencil in my book. Also for the tip in Santa Cruz. Where did you end up staying?

We stayed at the Fog Catcher in Cambria, the Lighthouse Lodge in Pacific Grove, and the Babbling Brook in Santa Cruz. We really liked the Fog Catcher. The Lighthouse has a great location, but we had some issues with the housekeeping. The Babbling Brook is getting a bit tired, but our room was very nice.

We have always loved Cambria, but it has been years since we had been there. The elephant seals were arriving, so that was a plus, as was the fact that we took a tour of the Hearst Castle with 8 other people. The town sort of closes up for Christmas, which made it hard to find places to eat, but we managed quite well, thanks to the staff at the FogCatcher.