Tag archives: food
We recently returned from a trip through Burgundy, where we went mustard tasting in Dijon. I now appreciate how the right mustard can be the “wow” factor to any meal. This recipe uses a slightly sweet mustard called Golden Dijon, available from Viva Oliva on Coast Village Road. It is the perfect complement to the […]
Let’s call it “extraordinary,” as it certainly was out of the ordinary. I am referring to, of course, the recent Our Common Table event that occurred on the grounds of Montecito Union School on July 26. “We were worried we wouldn’t have enough food, and then the firefighters brought in thirty pounds of pulled pork […]
The Monarch is ready for its closeup! The 45-seat eatery, which replaces the iconic Montecito Cafe at the Montecito Inn, has been dogged with problems, including the Thomas Fire, the mudslides and, more recently, the heatwave that caused an electricity transformer to explode, knocking out power to the eatery and its neighboring nosheteria, Lucky’s. The […]
There is nothing prettier than an edible flower salad. It’s easy to make and looks great on the table, especially if you’re entertaining. This is a particularly delicate salad mix, so drizzle your dressing rather than tossing the greens. That way, your salad won’t look soggy, and people can appreciate the vividness of the flowers. […]
When the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH) began its Wine Festival, it was only about wine. Today it’s an even bigger event with the addition of restaurants’ food samples to go with wine. Ever-popular with another sellout crowd of 900 tickets this year three weeks before the event. Add in the vendors and […]
Major social gridlock took place when Montecito dynamic duo Mollie Ahlstrand and her son, Ali, opened their new Italian hotspot Mollie’s, the State Street eatery just a tiara’s toss from the venerable Granada. The tony twosome have long run their popular nosheteria Trattoria Mollie, on Coast Village Road, whose lease is up in the New […]
Okay, okay. Yes, most other media have already reported that Mollie Ahlstrand of Trattoria Mollie on Coast Village Road was planning to open a location on State Street next to the Granada, a space previously occupied by the once popular Tupelo Junction. Can I just tell you that I knew about this a couple months […]
While I’m all for vacations to far off places, summer in Santa Barbara is a special time – especially if you love food and wine. For all you oenophiles who need an excuse to stick around this summer, there’s a plethora of fun wine and food-related events in the coming months. From weekly wine tastings […]
Food writer and inveterate traveler Michael Cervin has just completed his eighth work and fifth travel book, The Santa Barbara Know-It-All: A Guide to Everything that Matters. “I really wanted to write a travel book that was fun, entertaining, and funny,” says Michael, who I used to work with at the News-Press when he was […]
Too many cooks spoil the broth goes the old adage, but culinary wizards were in abundance when UCSB Arts & Lectures threw a benefit gala at the Museum of History with Anthony Bourdain, host of CNN’s Parts Unknown. The 61-year-old, who flew in from Bali via Dubai for the 300-guest fete, gave an expletive-filled speech […]
The idea is unique, at least in Santa Barbara, and we’ve not heard of such an event having been done elsewhere: Put 12 designers together, have each choose a piece of art from the Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s permanent collection, and then create a dining design to enhance the artist’s choice. All in the […]
There was certainly food for thought when the 119-year-old Family Service Agency hosted its fourth annual Cooking Up Dreams gala at the Carriage and Western Art Museum, attracting 280 guests and raising around $100,000 for the nonprofit’s work, including counseling students at schools impacted by the recent disasters, providing basic-needs support to displaced workers and […]
After myriad delays Frankland’s Crab & Co, described as a modern American shell shack, opened its doors at the 90-year-old Montecito Inn, formerly owned by silent film star Charlie Chaplin. The bustling Coast Village Road nosheteria, part of the Los Angeles-based restaurant group Scratch Restaurants, is run by chef-owners Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee, […]
Nearly a year-and-a-half after the closure of Montecito Café at the Montecito Inn, Los Angeles-based restaurant group Scratch Restaurants has announced the opening of the first of four concepts at the historic Coast Village Road hotel: Frankland’s Crab & Co will open its doors on Friday, April 6. Chef-owners Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee […]
More than 1,000 people turned out to the upper village February 24, for a day of shopping, music, food, and reconnecting with business owners whose shops and eateries were closed for multiple weeks in December and January. Organized by a group of volunteers, the day included kid-friendly craft activities, musical acts at multiple stages, food […]
This weekend marks the 19th anniversary of Los Arroyos’s downtown location, just a week after owner Tony Arroyo was honored for his efforts in helping to feed first responders during the Thomas Fire. The Downtown Organization of Santa Barbara awarded Arroyo the Business Champion of the Year award at its annual breakfast event, held at […]
In an effort to boost shopping and dining in Montecito’s upper village, a group of volunteers and neighbors have planned a special shopping, music, and food event at various locations in the upper village on Saturday, February 24, from 2 to 6 pm. Dubbed “Celebrate Montecito’s Upper Village,” the event will be a family-friendly way […]
Music Academy of the West staged two concerts for Recovery and Hope at Hahn Hall in the wake of the recent mudslides and flash floods. The hastily organized free events featured soprano Julie Adams, alumnus cellist Joshua Roman, pianists Natsha Kislenko and Margaret McDonald, clarinetist Richie Hawley, alum and faculty member Nico Abondolo, trumpeter Paul […]
It was child’s play when Kids Helping Kids, the 10-year-old organization launched by students at San Marcos High School, raised a record $501,251 to help local children in need with two sold-out concerts at the Granada. The group, headed by economics teacher James DeVries, has raised more than $2.5 million since it started. Singer-songwriter Andy […]
Epicurean Santa Barbara, a group of culinary enthusiasts and oenophiles, has just debuted in our tony town. The group, which currently has 78 members, was founded by the foodie fab four of Leif Pietila, Renee Martin, and dynamic duo Keith and Amy Robinson, who met at the Newcomers club when they moved here from Portland, […]
