OK, so there are more than 10 places on this list. But Pismo Beach has a lot of fun places, whether you're looking for lunch or a new identity. Read on for where they are.

Best place to grab a pizza with the kids (or get one delivered): Del's Famous Pizzeria (401 Shell Beach Road, 805-773-4438). New York Style Pizza, pasta and Italian specialties in a casual family atmosphere. Family-owned since 1973.

Best classy place to have a drink: Steamers (1601 Price Street, 805-773-4711). Steamers is new and beautiful. The folks from McLintock's renovated the place and turned it into an upscale seafood restaurant, which has a fantastic view of the cliffs and ocean all the way up to Port San Luis.

Best family restaurant: Klondike Café, (104 Bridge Street, Arroyo Grande.) Ok, so technically this is in Arroyo Grande. Big deal; it's a five minute drive south on Highway 101 from Pismo Beach. And highly worth the drive. Klondike's is in the basement of a great old brick building in the historic Village. You get all the bowls of peanuts you want, and you get to throw the shells on the floor. Perfect for kids, as is the vast video arcade. The pizzas are excellent (get daring and try the white garlic sauce instead of tomato sauce). Arrive on a Saturday night, and you can sing along with the rest of the diners, accompanied by a vaudeville-style pianist. Lyric books are on the table, and you can finally learn all the words to the theme from "Gilligan's Island."

Best Clam Chowder and Casual Eats Spot: The Splash Café (197 Pomeroy Street, 805-773-4653). Still sandy from sun tanning on the beach? The Splash Café folks won't care. Shorts and beachwear are the norm (guys, put your T-shirt on though). This place is a long-running winner of the annual clam chowder contest at Pismo's summer Clam Festival. Both Bon Apetít and Gourmet magazines have asked for their recipe. Find out why - or get a burger and dessert. Love it? Plenty of people do. You can order Splash Café t-shirts, caps, and sweatshirts on their website, or get the chowder shipped to you, frozen.

Best Fun Fish Place: The Cracked Crab (751 Price Street, 805-773-2722). That phone number is 773-CRAB. You know you're in for fun at a restaurant that proudly advertises, "We've Got Crabs!" No, seriously, families love this place. Order the crab bucket and the waiters will bring it and dump it into the middle of your table. You pick up the steaming hot crab (or lobster!) and eat to your heart's content. Cheeseburgers, chicken, salads and desserts for those crabby non-crab lovers.

Best Patio/Deck Dining: Spyglass Restaurant (2703 Spyglass Drive, Shell Beach, 805-773-1222). Beautiful, breathtaking views up and down the coast; you can't beat it on a sunny day (and it also has the best Cobb Salad in the county).

Best Barbecue Joint: Mo's Smokehouse BBQ (221 Pomeroy Avenue, 805-773-6193). Mo's is a southern barbecue kind of place - a place where the meat is smothered in great barbecue sauce and you can find pork ribs, barbecue pork sandwiches, and sweet lemonade. Need more Mo's? There's one on Higuera Street in San Luis Obispo too, in case you're there and find yourself suffering from withdrawal.

Best Ribs: Alex's Bar-B-Q (853 Shell Beach Road, 805-773-5656). Alex's has been a local favorite for over 50 years. All their ribs and steaks are grilled over an oak pit barbecue, for ribs California style. Need we say more?

Best Casual Italian Place: Rosa's Ristorante Italiano (491 Price Street, 805-773-0551). The ravioli is home made daily, the bread is fresh and they keep bringing it to the table (great for kids!) and they take reservations. For lunch, there's a sunny patio outside. Perfect for a lingering meal.

Best Steak: F. McLintock's Saloon & Dining House (750 Mattie Road, Shell Beach, 805-773-1892). It's still the one, after all these years - the place to go when you're in the mood for a big, juicy steak, cowboy style. The views and the desserts don't hurt either, and yes you can bring the kids - they've got a great kids' menu, plus after-dinner toy trinkets.

Best Mexican: Vallarta's Mexican Restaurant (220 Five Cities Drive, 805-773-2772). Right next to the Pismo Beach Outlet Center and the Rose Garden Inn Pismo Beach, it's the place to go for authentic Mexican in a sunny, clean atmosphere. Perfect for a mid-shopping lunch.

Best Cinnamon Rolls: Old West Cinnamon Rolls (861 Dolliver Street, 805-773-1428). Could there be any other? This is the place for a mid-afternoon snack or nice morning breakfast. Buy some mix to take home with you. Or check out their website, and order some cinnamon roll mix on-line. Click the colored text to go to our Fun Links page and find the Old West website.

Best Coffee: Nancy's Espresso (783 Price Street, 805-773-9410). Relax with some coffee or a latte, Pismo Beach style.

Best Deli: Sypglass Liquor & Deli (2665 Spyglass Drive, Shell Beach, 805-773-1589). This is a great place to drop in and grab some sandwiches and a picnic lunch, or to go and browse through the fantastic wine collection.

Best Place In the Whole World to Play Pool: Hotshots Billiards (250 Pomeroy Avenue, 805-773-4542). Go. Even with the family. This place is clean and smoke free, and the staff insists, "We don't allow cussing." Hotshots is a family (really) pool hall that used to be the old Pismo Beach movie theater. The marquee is still outside. Inside, Hotshots has great Art-Deco columns on the colorful wall, a whole movie theater full of pool tables, and a nice burger and fish and chips grill and restaurant area where the screen and backstage used to be. The décor motif involves palm trees, not beer girlie posters. You don't have to know how to play pool to play pool there; you can just go for fun, and no one will laugh at you.

Best Place to Create A New Identity: Harry's Nightclub & Beach Bar: (Cypress & Pomeroy Streets, one block from the Pismo Pier, 805-773-1010). You can't miss Harry's. It's the one with the Old West-style wooden fronts on the outside, and all the music on the inside. Harry's is open 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily, with live rock and country bands and dancing seven nights a week. Saturdays and Sundays, the bands crank up at 3 p.m. They've got karaoke every Thursday night and keno and pool tables. If you can't get into some kind of trouble here, you're just not trying.

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