Big Sur is good at a lot of things.

Being beautiful: yes. Having a Pacific Ocean: sure. Being big: obviously.

But it’s terrible... just terrible at opening new restaurants.

Wait. We’re being told it’s working on that.

Starting with Big Sur Roadhouse, a real-deal roadside joint (and the first new restaurant to open in Big Sur in a decade) filled with meat lollipops, muffulettas and cold beer, now open on a long stretch of Highway 1.

So, this weekend. Might as well make a day of it. Hop in the car and head south. Stop when you see what looks like a treehouse crossed with Frank Lloyd Wright’s summer bunker in Redwood National Park. That’s the place.

They have tables inside, so that’s nice. They’re surrounded by exposed ceiling rafters and vintage turquoise sofas. Sit next to the copper fireplace if you must. The chef’s from New Orleans, so expect anything from sea bass po’boys to gumbo with Dungeness crab and andouille sausage.

But...

We all know you’re going out to the back patio. It overlooks the Big Sur River and a canopy of redwoods and chestnut trees. It’s got two fire pits. It’s got some NOLA-based beers.

Although you’d probably just accept “beer.”