Grilling season is officially here, and summer is unofficially kicking off. It’s time to explore one of my favorite flavors to incorporate into summertime cocktails: smoke. The exquisite character of smoke evokes something ancestral in us, the smell of a wood-burning fire or the aroma of delicious food grilling away over a bed of hot […]
If you’re planning to venture out in town this summer, start a list of some of the new eateries you’d like to visit during your al fresco culinary adventures. From Mexican-inspired bites and beverages to Nashville-style fried chicken, Santa Barbara has some exciting new eateries on its culinary scene. Santa Barbara Public Market has added […]
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Santa Barbara’s big culinary takeover next week is actually two years in the making. Taste of Santa Barbara, presented by the Santa Barbara Culinary Experience in partnership with the Julia Child Foundation, was originally scheduled for May of 2020, and then the world shut down. Rescheduled to this month – May 16 to 22 – […]
Hot tea or golden toast topped with a drizzle of locally crafted honey in the morning is therapeutic… and delicious. Crafted locally in Ventura, each drop of the delicate, sweet molten gold of Blue Ridge Honey is 100% pure, raw, and unfiltered. Beginning as a family hobby in the late 1970s, Blue Ridge Honey has […]
On a recent Santa Barbara spring morning, with early clouds with a chill in the air, Dr. Deborah Smilovitz Foster and I sat down together at Pierre Lafond in Montecito. The red umbrellas were up in anticipation of the sun’s appearance as we sipped our tea and chatted. It soon became apparent that I was […]
Research shows that it takes less than a minute to form an impression about character. Without saying a word, just walking in the room sets the stage. Although this happens at a subliminal level, there are ways to influence the results. All you have to do is ask your aware body to participate. The majority […]
Adaptogens are a trendy topic in the wellness space — but what are they, and why should we care? For thousands of years, ancient wisdom traditions, such as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), have considered adaptogenic mushrooms as being both foods to establish optimal health and as potent elixirs to treat sickness. Known to […]
The temperature is starting to rise, beautiful garden gatherings are ramping up, and humming bees collecting pollen can be heard any time you step outside. It is music to my ears for so many reasons, and it instantly brings to mind one of my favorite spring cocktails: The Bee’s Knees. Let’s take a look at […]
Chernor Diallo arrived at LAX after a long, exhausting flight in May 2021. His host for his two-year stay in Santa Barbara met him. He had come a very long way in both time and space. He had imagined that Santa Barbara would have skyscrapers and wide boulevards, like other American cities. But when he […]
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The pantheon of male American writers is a grab bag. Terkel, Mailer, Hamill, Hemingway — these tough guys and their generally hormonal prose are almost a literary brand. Plimpton — with his willowy erudition, patrician accent, and Paris Review creds — runs with another herd. Our Joe Donnelly is a third species, as evidenced by […]
“We don’t talk about Bruno tonight,” joked El Encanto General Manager Janis Clapoff on a recent warm and breezy evening. She was partially making reference to the Oscar award-winning animated film Encanto, but also referring to the hotel’s Executive Chef Bruno Lopez, who was taking the night off as head chef and serving as sous-chef […]
“People do tell me – ‘Wait, I thought you said you’d never do pinot!’” jokes winemaker Larry Schaffer. We’re chatting inside his sleek Tercero tasting room in downtown Los Olivos. And he’s pouring me his latest release: pinot noir. Schaffer’s Tercero label has always been a bastion for imaginative, thoughtful Rhône wines. And his approach […]
The war in Ukraine is leveling cities and devastating lives, including friends and family of the Westmont community. Igor Rozhko, Westmont’s network manager since 2005, has shared the desperate need from his sister-in-law, Vera, in Kyiv, where she and her husband are missionaries with Ukraine Christian Radio and Video and where they attend the large […]
John Cleese Presents “An Evening of Exceptional Silliness” on May 25 at the Granada Theatre. John Cleese has revealed his upcoming tour stop in Santa Barbara, May 25, at the Granada Theatre. In our exclusive interview, he gives an affectionate nod to Montecito, his former home for himself and his daughter Camilla, along with a […]
