Rusty Quirk is a chef and the owner of Linnaea’s Cafe in downtown San Luis Obispo. If you’ve spent any time in SLO since 1984, you probably remember the little cafe with the long walk to a leafy back patio with a koi pond. Linnaea’s is one of a rare breed of small, family-owned businesses in SLO that have retained their original charm for several decades. It’s a cozy, simple place where the focus falls more on fostering relationships and art than on getting esoteric with the coffee. And now with Rusty at the helm, it’s going to have even more delicious pastries, too. She has served as pastry chef at Hotel SLO, Bell’s in Los Alamos and Bar Le Cote in Los Olivos. (By the way, I butchered the pronunciation of that restaurant in our interview, and Rusty was gracious enough not to correct me. Anyway, mea culpa.) Here she talks about her experiences on the line in kitchens from New York to California, her background in graphic design, and how her musician husband is helping to boost the musical offerings at the cafe.
Website: linnaeascafe.com
Instagram: @linnaeascafe
Oddette Augustus, chef and caterer, Miss Oddette’s Creole Kitchen, Paso Robles
Janine Stone, food entrepreneur, A Bitch-In Kitchen, San Luis Obispo, CA
Brittany App, water activist and filmmaker, ”Where There Once Was Water,” Carrizo Plain, CA
Jim Clendenen, winemaker, Au Bon Climat Winery, Santa Maria, CA
Jack + Michelle Rudolph, farmers and cheesemakers, Stepladder Creamery, Cambria, CA
Kendra Aronson, cookbook author and creative, San Luis Obispo, CA
Matt Cross, owner, Broad Street Public House, San Luis Obispo, CA
Max Montgomery, brewer and owner, There Does Not Exist, San Luis Obispo, CA
Larry Kandarian, grain farmer, Kandarian Organic Farms, Los Osos, CA
Erin Primer, Food Services Director, San Luis Coastal Unified School District, San Luis Obispo, CA
Tim Veatch, chef and baker, Wayward Baking, Los Osos, CA
Sara + Jon Peterson, owners, Scout Coffee and HoneyCo Coffee Roasters, San Luis Obispo
Neal Maloney, owner and farmer, Morro Bay Oyster Company, Morro Bay
Erin Holden, beekeeper, Central Coast Beekeepers Alliance, Atascadero
Julien + Courtney Asseo, resturateurs, Les Petites Canailles, Paso Robles
Greg Clarke, author and illustrator, A Sidecar Named Desire, Thousand Oaks
Chris Dillow + Evan Toohey, chef and employee, Fig at Courtney’s House, Templeton
Mike Sinor, winemaker, Sinor-LaValle Wines, Avila Beach, + Ancient Peaks Winery, Santa Margarita
Chef Daisy Ryan + Greg Ryan, restaurateurs, Bell’s, Los Alamos
Jenn Harris, senior food writer, The Los Angeles Times
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