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 […]

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 […]

Grocery chains such as Bristol Farms, Lazy Acres, Whole Foods, Gelson’s, and the newly opened Sprouts (on Milpas) are perfecting the art of gourmet pandemic meals to-go. In addition to offering easy online shopping, you’ll find grocers are evolving their catering departments beyond social events to offer ready-to-heat and ready-to-eat pandemic meal options. No one […]

Keeping Your Pandemic Pantry Up to Date Having a well-stocked pantry during the pandemic is crucial for those days when there’s nothing in your fridge and you’re reluctant to brave long lines at the grocery store. Whether you’re tossing together pasta and clams or a home cooked bean salad, somehow shopping your pantry makes life […]

Step inside Little Dom’s Seafood’s newly opened Carpinteria location and be transported back to a time in the mid-20th century when red faux leather booths were en vogue and portraits of famous Italian patrons were displayed on walls like badges of honor. Back then, neighborhood restaurants serving traditional Italian American fare were indies, not part […]

Lucky’s owner Gene Montesano announced this week that his iconic Montecito steakhouse will boast a second location at the Malibu Country Mart this fall. “From Santa Barbara to Malibu, we are thrilled to be expanding down California’s beautiful coast and opening up in such an iconic destination,” said Montesano in a statement. “The Malibu Country […]

Warner said he had kept the San Ysidro Ranch open throughout the pandemic because the 41-cottage property is well suited for social distancing. The only time the hotel has been closed since Warner purchased it in 2000, was in the aftermath of the January 8, 2018 mudslides, which destroyed half the property. Unlike his other […]