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 […]
Proprietors Nick Bodden and Ronald Allen are the quintessential do-it-yourselfers of Santa Barbara’s food scene with an approach not unlike early rock ‘n’ roll musicians like Elvis who made their own recordings in order to get their sound noticed. Bodden and Allen do that with their creative recipes and passion for food. Prior to debuting […]
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 […]
With City officials urging a Safer at Home order aiming to slow the spread of the coronavirus, now more than ever is the time to support local businesses. Indoor dining is banned for the time being, and as we move into the winter months, dining outdoors is not ideal. But Summerland, a sleepy seaside community, […]
Best Vegetarian Holiday Dishes Looking for the perfect meatless recipes for the holidays? Santa Barbara-based recipe developer and photographer Riley Yahr has a few in mind. She creates modern vegetarian dishes for her popular food blog Mixed & Measured. Her simple yet creative recipes bring vegetables to the center of the table. We recently caught up […]
The prospect of sheltering during the holidays has thrown us all out of our comfort zone. But hunkering down and getting creative with your meal making should be a cinch, especially when you consider fondue, a classic holiday tradition that brings cohabitants together for an evening of festivity in the kitchen, dining room, or living […]
I was recently explaining to a clinical psychologist friend of mine that a coping mechanism I use during the pandemic is to mentally escape to another destination when times get stressful. “I’m sure I’m not the only one using escapism to cope,” I added. My friend, Weston, a college buddy, said he couldn’t understand why […]
The holidays are all about celebrating the season and the start of a new year with family and friends. One of my favorite wine selections this season – and one to consider for your own holiday tables – is the 2016 Joyce “Massa Estate” Chenin Blanc. Joyce Vineyards is a family-run small-batch winery that began […]
This rich and incredibly moreish stew has just three key ingredients, which come together to create a truly sumptuous dish. Don’t be put off by the time it needs on the stove. It couldn’t be simpler to make, and once everything is cooking you won’t need to do anything other than let it bubble gently […]
Some of Santa Barbara’s best flavors are savored during the holiday season: citrus, persimmons, sage, fennel, spicy pecans, Mexican chocolate, honey, fresh and dried chili peppers and, of course, seafood. Chefs are relying on the state’s bounty as a springboard for Thanksgiving, the year’s most important dinner in these parts, when coastal ranch, Mediterranean and […]
As autumn brings changing leaves and cooler weather, the season gives us mushrooms, brassicas, and root vegetables. Richard Sanford of Alma Rosa is an iconic producer of Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir, and his passion project, Alma Rosa, creates a fantastic “Barrel Select” Pinot Noir, which is handpicked from his favorite barrels of all the […]
The fall and holiday season that invites joyous family gatherings also brings fresh baked goods to your table. Artisanal breads, cakes, pastries, galettes, and rolls will make that seasonal meal. Local bread makers and pastry chefs have stocked their pantries and are busy kneading, rolling, shaping, and baking. So focus on your family recipes and […]
Mastering Bread: The Art and Practice of Handmade Sourdough, Yeast Bread, and Pastry, by Marc Vetri, Claire Kopp McWilliams, David Joachim (Ten Speed Press, Hardcover $23.99) The Vetri Cucina Bread Program began over a decade ago and has been part of the American movement to reclaim high-quality bread as a cornerstone of our food culture. […]
A seasoned Ethiopian chef on the art of making injera and a new approach to communal dining during the pandemic Petit Valentien serves bistro-style French cuisine with classic offerings such as Petrale Sole, but weekend brunch is another matter. That’s when diners gather at the bohemian-style café for Ethiopian feasts of spicy meats and braised […]
Stella Mare’s, a French-inspired dining room in Montecito just off Cabrillo Boulevard overlooking a scenic bird estuary, was one of the first restaurants to close during the COVID-19 lockdown. Now, five months later, the eatery has reopened with a new menu and an expansive outdoor dining area for 50 guests. Open at 25 percent occupancy, […]
Another notable restaurant to reopen this month with a handful of autumn-inspired dishes is Intermezzo by Wine Cask in downtown Santa Barbara. Formerly known as The Wine Cask, the popular upscale eatery closed its doors on March 15, and began a renovation, updating the physical space as well as the concept before quietly unveiling its […]
Ca’Dario Ristorante is serving a seasonal menu made up of hearty and comforting cuisine, according to executive chef and owner Dario Furlati. Chef Furlati, who hails from Tuscany, takes his cue from the Northern Italian countryside’s rustic cuisine. Look for butternut squash tortellini with creamy mascarpone sauce, sage and walnuts ($24), arugula and gem salad […]
Fall is here, and restaurant chefs in town have begun introducing new dishes that aren’t just inspired by the traditional flavors we associate with fall – such as root vegetables and wild game – but also the bounty of area farms for their autumn-inspired dishes. The timing couldn’t be better, with COVID-19 cases slowing down […]
It is easy to get lost among the winding hills and sprawling oak trees native to Santa Barbara County, but when you do, you might happen upon a few hidden gems. Nestled into the hillsides of Ballard Canyon lies a vineyard site unique in the Central Coast wine region, The Stolpman Family Vineyards. Tom Stolpman […]
In Santa Barbara, complying with evolving health guidelines and ensuring guests’ safety has been a challenge that restaurateurs, winemakers, and hoteliers have faced with energy and creativity. Perfecting the outdoor dining experience with new furnishings and socially distanced seating and alcoves for privacy are part of today’s operation. Outside areas, sidewalks, gardens, and parking lots […]
“I’m very simple in what I prepare in the kitchen these days,” Michael Krohnen says as he stands in a small yet tidy and well-appointed kitchen of a 1910 farmhouse in Ojai’s East End. Although not a classically trained chef, Krohnen is nonetheless known throughout the world, and his thoughts on cooking have been translated […]
It’s no secret that California’s Central Coast is a renowned wine destination, and one of the region’s greats is Daou Vineyards in Paso Robles. Its home on Daou Mountain has an extraordinary phenolic output – among the highest in the world – that yields rich, precision-based wines of prodigious color, texture, and structure. One of […]
Step into the al fresco dining area at Coast & Olive, the new California-style brasserie that recently opened at the historic Montecito Inn, and you get a sense of its history. The hotel, built by silent film star Charlie Chaplin in 1928, has been a beacon of hospitality for nearly a century with its Spanish […]
Santa Barbarans know late summer well. As the dusty heat ripens the last of the summer fruits, we savor each gushing peach and musky melon. The tangy ripeness of Broc Cellars White Zinfandel (75 percent Zinfandel, 25 percent Trousseau Gris) is a shout-out to the bright sun on your hot patio. The Zinfandel grapes are […]