There are few ingredients in gastronomy that have become the object of widespread controversy and debate in recent history quite like foie gras. Beloved by many chefs and gourmets for its rich flavor and smooth texture, foie gras is made from the fattened livers of geese or ducks, with the fattening typically achieved by gavage, […]
As foodies return to dine-in service, one local eatery is commanding attention with its authentic and flavorful approach to Spanish-Mediterranean cuisine and robust wine selections. Sevtap Winery is a new tasting room in the Presidio that lures food and wine lovers on its breezy umbrella-shaded patio or inside, a naturally lit and airy dining room. […]
Tucked along Coast Village Road, Mesa Burger’s crowd is equal parts hipsters on-the-go and preppy families taking a respite from a day at the beach, which makes it very Montecito indeed. They all queue happily for Cat’s Cobb Salad and bodacious burgers and sandwiches like the San Roque (fried Chicken Sandwich) made with house-battered fried […]
For some of us, the pandemic was all exploring new food and discovering the convenience of delivery services. Remember that mouthwatering chicken marsala paired with a glass of Babcock chardonnay that you and your partner shared on the patio? Or the gourmet burger with grilled onions, goat cheese, and truffle aioli that you enjoyed while […]
The pandemic has inspired sweeping culinary changes throughout Santa Barbara, and notably at several area hotels where executive chefs work diligently to provide a refreshing new take on this unique era in dining. And hospitality is making a slow comeback as city nears the yellow tier of COVID reopening. Some hoteliers are utilizing their indoor-outdoor […]
A few weeks ago, I read a Los Angeles Times article featuring an interview with Marianne Faithfull and Courtney Love. The two celebrities are close friends, though they’re from different generations of rock artistry and debauchery. Who can forget Londoner Faithfull clad in leather in “Girl on a Motorcycle” or her generation-defining performance in The […]
Rosewood Miramar is hosting an All-American Cookout on The Great Lawn on May 30, from 12 pm to 4 pm. Cookout highlights include sliced USDA prime brisket, pulled pork or chicken, housemate beef sausage, burgers and classic sides like potato salad, coleslaw, and corn on the cob. Save room for all-star desserts like whoopie pie, […]
If you’re planning to spend more time outdoors, start thinking about the perfect beer and wine to pair with your al fresco culinary adventures. We caught up with a couple local beer and wine lovers to get their recommendations. Greer Shull, Third Window Brewery Third Window Brewing’s pilsner, The Light, is a delicious pairing for […]
Some of Santa Barbara’s finest takeout options aren’t coming from established restaurants. The best gourmet grocers, delis, and bodegas are sprinkled throughout Santa Barbara’s diverse culinary neighborhoods. From classic sammies, subs, grinders, heroes, and hoagies (the subs’ Italian cousins), local deli owners continued to serve beleaguered foodies during the pandemic, combining the traditional art of […]
When it comes to preparing the perfect spring salad, there’s no better place to start than your local farmers’ market. There you’ll find an abundance of lettuces, spring peas, green beans, apricots, artichokes, asparagus, fennel, radishes, cherries, mangoes, rhubarb, strawberries, Swiss chard, and zucchini in season. Popular herbs include basil, chives, cilantro, dill, mint, rosemary, […]
Celebrate your favorite moms this Mother’s Day by treating them to a special lunch at home or taking them out for a meal at one of these SB-area restaurants on May 9. Our roundup has something for everyone, including brunch and bubbly, multiple-course menus and delectable pastries for takeout. Reservations are strongly encouraged at most […]
Spring has ushered in some unique wine selections and tasting opportunities from local wine experts. We checked in with a few for some fresh ideas on what to pour. Before we dive headfirst into summer, and while many of us are at home preparing spring meals with family and close friends, I wanted to take […]
After a long winter, spring is a welcome renewal. Chefs reinvigorate their menus with vibrant green peas, bright red tomatoes, wild herbs, and a variety of citrus. Inspired by local bounty and the natural beauty of our locale, restaurants are rolling out some of their best spring dishes yet. Some chefs utilize fresh herbs and […]
Ask a New Yorker about the ideal hot dog and they’ll likely say it’s a Nathan’s dog slathered in mustard and covered in sauerkraut, wrapped in tin foil. Another extreme might be the kind of exotic sausages – rabbit and rattlesnake, anyone? – served at hipster-friendly eateries like Wurstküche in Los Angeles. Whatever your passion […]
Celebrate the season with dishes that make the most of its best and brightest produce and pair them with fresh selections from our local fish markets. Let’s start with Meyer lemons, which are sweet and famous for their herbal aroma. As a relish, this winter and early spring citrus pairs perfectly with fresh salmon. This […]
Have you ever heard a baby cry and felt a sense of relief? It’s as if all of your bottled up emotions and the pressures of life get released with every little wail, like a valve letting out a bit of steam. I had this experience recently while I was standing on line at the […]
Spring brings two delicious holidays: Passover and Easter. With restaurants moving into the red tier and opening their doors, local chefs are rolling out new menus with unique offerings. Now is the time to savor this forward-thinking season. From a swank steakhouse with a rack of lamb special; to a Scandinavian bakery with buttery pastries; […]
This winter, public officials asked restaurant owners, workers, and diners to mostly stay home as lockdowns once again took effect. Now that progress is being made with vaccinations going up and COVID-19 cases going down, restaurants are opening up again just in time to unveil spring menus and debut new outdoor dining spaces. That means […]
At some point, every local food-chaser has swung through this 1970s-ish retro diner for breakfast or lunch, sliding into the vinyl booths or perching at the counter. Cajun Kitchen’s country-style café on Chapala Street has a history of satisfying diners with wholesome, soulful cooking. These days, guests nosh on Southern classics in the adjacent […]
You can still experience the thrill of visiting a winery and taking part in its on-premise wine tasting with a handful of carefully curated wine programs offered locally. Since the onset of COVID-19, many wineries across the country have either suspended or limited in-person attendance at their tasting rooms. To compensate, some of our local […]
There’s a new chef and fresh burst of inspiration in Belmond El Encanto’s kitchen. The Old Hollywood glamour-style hotel, perched on the Riviera, gets its first major menu change in four years, thanks to Bruno Lopez. He’s the former executive chef at the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage and Raffles L’Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills and is […]
With their revolutionary perspective on the fundamentals of food preparation and flavor combinations, UCSB Arts & Lectures’ featured chefs Samin Nosrat and Yotam Ottolenghi represent a new paradigm of cooking ideals and styles. Moderated by Sherry Villanueva, Managing Partner at Acme Hospitality, “Chefs in Conversation” will feature the two James Beard Award-winning cooking book authors […]
A few nights ago, I woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep. Instead of counting sheep, I counted the number of great meals my family enjoyed at our old home in Long Beach’s historic Bluff Park neighborhood. My husband, Nick, and I recently put our Long Beach home on the market, thinking it might take […]
Regular patrons of Olio e Limone are fans of the eatery’s Southern Italian fare as much as its owners Elaine and Alberto Morello. But there was a road that led the Sicilian chef and business partner wife to Santa Barbara. The two embarked on a business venture and romance that has lasted more than three […]
Making a commitment to someone you love is one thing. Committing your time and energy on a complex recipe is another. Keep your Valentine’s Day meals simple by focusing on using quality ingredients and placing flavor over ambition. Silky and savory with warming spices, Asian curries are a welcome dish during the winter months. It […]
This year, diners are getting ready for a different kind of Valentine’s Day with restaurants focusing on both dine-in and takeout options. Because the holiday falls on a Sunday, some eateries are offering their special menus on preceding days. It’s one of the busiest days of the week on one of the busiest days of […]
In the Kitchen with Leslie Zemeckis When Leslie Zemeckis saunters into a room, people pay attention. That’s because the Montecito-based actress-baker-author exudes a kind of charm and poise that makes it possible to swan her way through any room – even a kitchen. Her kitchen is her temple, her place for Zen. So is her […]
Craveable Carryout: Colossal Burgers, Spicy Vegan Pop-Ups, and Savory Pizza Pies It’s only natural to seek solace in food during an isolating winter. But with an ongoing regional ban on both indoor and outdoor dining severely affecting Santa Barbara’s restaurant scene, doing so has become much more challenging. Many restaurants continue to offer both take-out […]
When Skepticism and Humor Become the Perfect Recipe for Artisanal Bread Whenever I hear the name Le Cordon Bleu it reminds me of the time I took a “Savory Nibbles” cooking class at Le Cordon Bleu Paris with my mother-in-law, Marie. After completing the very first step of our course – to crack an egg […]
How do you gather food lovers together for a tour of downtown Santa Barbara’s most notable eateries in the midst of a global pandemic in which both indoor and outdoor dining are off limits? Taste Santa Barbara Tours seems to have found the answer: by offering safely social distanced walking tours featuring take-out food that’s […]
Santa Barbara Public Market is a culinary favorite for devoted foodies who come to sample the unique flavors of local chefs. The 19,400-square-foot gourmet food hall houses seven vendors with culturally diverse culinary offerings in a single location, and can now be combined in a single food order. Outdoor/indoor dining is not available but there […]
Bring a taste of Belmond El Encanto home with you. The iconic hideaway in the Santa Barbara Hills offers a new takeout menu available for curbside pick-up from 11 am to 10 pm daily. Roasted butternut squash soup ($18) served with cornbread croutons, a Belgium endive salad ($19) featuring Point Reyes blue cheese, maple duck […]
Inside the kitchen at Santa Barbara Rescue Mission a team of masked and gloved volunteers prepare six dozen turkeys – washing each bird, stuffing them with onions, garlic, and herbs, basting them with butter and seasonings – all in preparation for the most important dinner of the year, the Christmas Feast. It’s a time-consuming process […]
For a limited time through the holiday, Ca’Dario Ristorante is offering a complimentary bottle of wine with orders of $75 or more. Seasoned chef Dario Furlati creates rustic Northern Italian dishes served family style. Pair your next meal with the merlot or viognier by Dard. Available for carryout. Ca’Dario is located at 1187 Coast Village […]
Santa Barbara sunsets inspire cozying up next to a fire, winter sweaters and indulging in rich, soul-satisfying food and wine. One of my favorite wines of the season is the 2015 Jonata “Todos.” Jonata is best known for its world-class Cabernet Sauvignon and other single varietal wines crafted from its estate vineyard in Ballard Canyon […]
These days it’s hard to get excited about anything when days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months and the only glimmer of hope is your next home-cooked meal. Same salad dressing, same lemon chicken, same wine, and the same cloth napkins (just washed). Life has been, well, uneventful. That is, up until last […]
Yield: One cocktail Ingredients: 3/4 ounce Sazerac Rye 3/4 ounce Hardy VSOP cognac 3/4 ounce fresh Meyer lemon juice 1 1/4 ounces honey chamomile syrup 1.Combine all ingredients, shake well, strain into bucket glass with a large cube. 2. Garnish with Meyer lemon wheel, star anise, and cinnamon
These gorgeously shaped cakes are perfect for every holiday meal, according to San Ysidro Ranch pastry chef Michelle Straub. Throughout her time in the gastronomic world, Straub has put a focus on bringing new life to classic recipes using the best ingredients possible. “My goal has always been to do the basics extremely well, because […]
Montecito’s legacy shops have stood the test of time, braving the lightest of lulls to the meanest of bear markets. And in a year that has cratered traditional retail, the village’s small businesses have stood tall again. In the midst of yet another crippling lockdown, we feature a few of the area’s celebrated boutiques for […]
With new mandates affecting Santa Barbara’s restaurant scene, each week we will highlight exceptional takeout offerings to help ease our minds and our bellies during the pandemic. Bluewater Grill’s Seafare To-Go Eats Housed in a funky lighthouse building, Bluewater Grill serves up fresh seafood, favorite cocktails and wines of the Central Coast, all paired with […]