Walking in here is like a combination of entering your pack-rat old Uncle Albert’s home and Ali Baba’s cave of glittering treasures, except it’s all alcohol.
The space is a former gasoline station, and the inside is packed wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling with liquor of every type imaginable.
If you’re looking to browse, good luck, I’ll see you in about a week.
If you’re looking for something specific, best to ask the man at the counter, because it’s there, even uncommon items, but only he knows how to traverse the labyrinth of bottles and boxes to find the item you desire.
And kudos for carrying a line of Ritter Sport chocolates. See, there’s something for everyone.
The Bottle Shop saved our hineys when we needed some Everclear (side note, worst fratboy pickup line ever: “Everclear. It’s mostly water.”) for homemade triple sec. It’s just not commonly available these days, and there wasn’t time to mail order.
This shop’s massive variety is quite admirable, but it’s also the cause of the lost point - everything packed on the shelves, stacked up on the floors and spilling out along the pathways. There may be some vague organization, but not enough to be intuitive. You’d really never guess from the non-descript outside that the inside was so stuffed to the brims with a cornucopia of liquor.
Most notable landmark nearby to help guide you here: Peabody’s next door.
The Bottle Shop
1200 Coast Village Rd
Santa Barbara, CA 93108
 
My visits here have petered out some, once I started working in the sticks of Goleta and PV stopped serving lunch on weekends, but there have been some occasions in the evenings that I’ve found myself in the area and hankering for a nibble. PV does not disappoint.
Like one night, my friend and I were cold and rather than walk to the car for a jacket, we ran into PV, sat at the bar, and shared a drink and a small plate of smoked salmon, red onions and capers. Better than a jacket! Until we got back outside, but, well, happy tummies.
Or recently we stopped in for the Sunday supper. The weekend had been full of gluttonous dining, but there was KOBE HANGER STEAK on the prix fixe menu. My father was raised on hanger steak and still pines away for it. It’s not commonly available and boy is it good when cooked just right. The price I’ve paid for the raw material isn’t much different to the full price of the whole four course dinner here, so are we going to turn down this opportunity? HELL NO.
1st Course: Two prawns cooked in shellfish broth, served with lobster oil and black tea. I’ve had this before, it has a decadent smokey flavor with a little spice in the oil.
2nd Course: Salad of shaved fennel, mushrooms and parmesan. I’m really enjoying fennel this season, so this was yet another good dish with a delicate licorice crunch.
 
3rd Course: three options were available, and we selected the Kobe hanger steak, medium rare. And the duck confit, with a dark cherry sauce. Was it good? YES. Was it more than we could eat? YES. Am I still thinking about it? YES.
 
4th Course: Dessert of vanilla ice cream, espresso and whipped cream, each in its own container. The ice cream had a plump blackberry on it, too. It was a playground of dessert and I could dabble in each, or dump it all together.
Price: $23.50 plus tax and tip.
Really fabulous recession special.
I also love that the staff do not rush the courses. I am dining, not gobbling. I like to talk to my dining companions and I like to ask questions about the food. My service is never slow.
One problem: Y’ALL aren’t eating there. Lately, I’ve noticed an older crowd. With age comes experience - they know a good deal when they see one.
Past musings:
1 July 2009
4 June 2009
21 January 2009
4 November, 2007
Petit Valentien
1114 State St
Santa Barbara, CA 93190
  
My first visit here was an experience in perfection. Nothing over the top, or wildly “foodie” innovative, just good classic food and cocktails, done right.
There are two distinct dining areas, to suit your mood. The front area is the bar and bistro area, for when you’re feeling casual or moody.
The back area is for more formal dining, although there’s no stuffy feeling in the atmosphere. It’s quieter, with brighter lighting, linens, a view of their extensive cellar, and larger tables.
I went with four friends for a quiet weekend evening and the first thing we noticed on the menu was the cocktails, with dates next to them. The dates are the accepted years that each of those cocktails was devised. It was our first hint that this place had purist ideals.
We sat at the bar to sample some of these cocktails where we learned:
* they make their own orgeat for mai tais,
* they make their own tonic water,
* they use real Marasca cherries in their Manhattans,
* and the Zombie really packs a punch (limit 2 per customer).
We sampled more than this, but I do not want to appear like a total lush, so I’ll leave it at that. The bottom line on the cocktails is that Sly’s is serious about them, making sure they’re done proper. I have no doubt the other cocktails on the menu are just as good.
  
  
Top: purist gin and tonic, the Zombie, and the Pink Squirrel.
Bottom: beer, a house infusion of liquor and orange peel, pear wine.
We stuck around for dinner, and remained at the bar. The bartender knew the menu forwards and back, including the specials, and could name the sources of all the dishes we inquired about, especially when they came from local businesses. I think it’s important to note here that the more questions we asked about the food, the more pleased they were to answer them, because I feel their knowledge of ingredient sources and preparation is what makes Sly’s different to other steak and seafood places. And it’s really something to be proud of.
  
Photos: Homemade bread, butter, and a serving of Maine lobster (Christopher Lloyd as hand model!)
I had the mussels, Spanish style, which came with firm chorizo, caramelized onions and a tomato-based sauce that was so delicious we used our hot bread to soak up all those good juices. I even resorted to scooping it up with a spoon since there was so much. The dish was also generously portioned, about 20 mussels, and it cost $14. There are several other sauce options, and they all range in price between $12-$14. So reasonable.
I also had the streak frites. It was also a sensible price of $14, with a sensible 4 oz portion of steak, which was cooked perfectly to my request. There are sauce options as well, and I had mine with a green peppercorn sauce, my absolute favorite sauce for steak. The french fries are also perfect, and the meal reminded me so much of simple dining in France and Belgium, I had to ask for a little mayonnaise for my fries and was rewarded with a dish of delicious housemade mayo. Everyone in the group dug into those fries with mayonnaise, we never even removed the cap of the nearby ketchup bottle.
  
Nothing could top a meal that brought back those European memories like a round of profiteroles for dessert could. I swear I had no idea what was on the menu and when I was offered the dessert menu I flat out said I could not be tempted, unless there was profiteroles. And guess what was there, prominently displayed on the menu. YES! A handful of choux pastries filled with vanilla ice cream, topped with chocolate sauce and a warm pot of housemade dark caramel sauce on the side. The price on this varies, depending on the number of profiteroles requested. I selected 5, and that was $13.
There are many other items on the menu, different cuts of steak, bigger cuts, lots of fish and shellfish. The prices are generally on the upper end, as these are sourced from reputable specialty companies, not mysterious agri-beef businesses or large scale produce corporations. But still, the items we happened to order were very affordable, especially given the attention to detail and the quality of the ingredients.
Sly’s
686 Linden Ave
Carpinteria, CA 93013
www.slysonline.com
Local olive oils and vinegars, sold by the ounce from large silver urns called fustinos, that’s the short version.
Long version: I’d walked by this shop several times in the past, never when they were open. It looked sparse inside, with lots of silver urns. I didn’t know how a specialty shop like this would make it.
But then I got to sample their wares at a local wine and food event called Taste of the Town, and I started to understand that they have a good product. Like a 25 year old balsamic vinegar that’s thick and tangy and sweet and an amazing price tag of $26 for 375 ml. Expect to pay upwards of $100 normally, and more if you want a DOP variety.
Still, with that location and such specialization, it’s going to be tough.
And even tougher if they weren’t going to be open on Sundays, which was the day I was most likely to have time to make the trip to that area. Well, this Sunday past, we drove by and the door was open!! We zipped right in and discovered they’re now open on Sundays. Yay!
All the fustinos have spigots, so you can sample whatever you want. These containers are air tight, and keep the oils away from light, so they stay fresh. The oils are mostly olive, and mostly produced locally or within California. Only a few highly specialized items, like the truffle infused oil or the 25 year balsamic, come from elsewhere.
All the oils and vinegars are well labeled with good information about the source and flavor. Of course, you should try it for yourself and see what your personal tastes prefer.
The vinegar section had a lovely range as well. Pomegranate vinegar, pear vinegar, champagne vinegar, all delicious.
  
We bought a bottle of the 25 year balsamic, and a very small bottle of toasted sesame oil. Wow, the sesame oil was so light tasting, and still with a clear sesame flavor. The man behind the counter said it was that way because it’s so fresh.
If you bring in your own container, which they highly recommend, you’ll get a small discount. Or if you bring in your old il fustino bottle, you’ll get a dollar off your refill.
The shop also had a small art gallery for viewing, and they hold tastings and cooking classes.
You can tell the owners are very passionate about their oils and vinegars, so if you’re a similar enthusiast, I’m not sure if you can find better freshness and local flavor elsewhere.
Il Fustino
3401 State Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
ilfustino.com
Milk and Honey was one of those places I walked by often, heard mentioned a number of times, but could not get motivated to visit. People said it was a tapas bar, but my experience with tapas comes straight from Spain, in small fishing villages where the tapa was gratis with a round of drinks and the nibbles literally came on a plate that sat over the glasses. They were simple and actually Spanish. Places that call themselves tapas bars in Santa Barbara are not Spanish. And the tapas come in two forms: small portions priced like regular portions, or larger portions that would topple a beverage if the bowl was placed upon it. It’s that stubborness that keeps me from patronizing places that advertise themselves as tapas bars.
Milk and Honey, especially, seemed like the kind of place one had to be trendily dressed to fit in. Like the kind of place that CDB’s would frequent. I don’t have big enough sunglasses to eat here, you know?
But we came here, after the Royal Shakespeare Company performance at the Granada, because It Was Time.
 
The French Gimlet was good! The photo of it was not so good! That is the situation with low light and my point and shoot, unfortunately.
The tapa shown above, if you can call it that, was named Paella and it was unlike any paella I’d had before, both in Spain and outside the country. It was simply a hot spicy stew ladled on rice. It tasted fine, but it was not paella. $15. The portion was also quite big, taking two people to eat.
We also shared a beet salad with walnuts, tomatoes, feta and greens. This was good, on par with other beet salads in town. I believe it was $8. Between two people it was a satisfactory meal.
When I get a really big pair of sunglasses, I might feel more comfortable here. And note: the sunglasses are merely to fit in, not for actual wearing. It’s so dark inside it’s hard to read the menu.
Milk and Honey
30 W Anapamu St
Santa Barbara, CA 93190
milknhoneytapas.com
Our final stop in the one day San Francisco food tour with James, and it’s the Alembic Bar on Haight, owned by the same fine folks of Magnolia just a few blocks down the road.
This time it was all beverage, no food. We were stuffed to the gills and still had a dinner appointment in the south bay. In fact, I only partook of some refreshing water. It was the boys who had a proper beverage.
 
That’s right, Bourbon Old Fashioned, done right. There isn’t much more to say, other than the photos are by Ted Mills.
Alembic (Haight-Ashbury)
1725 Haight Street (between Cole Street and Shrader Street)
San Francisco, CA 94117
www.alembicbar.com
 
Getting into late afternoon, we were migrating away from food and towards beverages. Magnolia was our last food stop, although it was primary to sample the beverages. One thing was certain, though, this place won the award for the best designed menu. The prize…was getting its picture taken. Um, not that you can see it in the small version. Since these are not my photos, I do not have the easy flickr links to the larger images. You’ll just have to trust me, or simply ignore this rambling sentance.
  
The boys had some lovely beers that were fragrant and flavorful, I had a root beer, which they also brew in-house, and we shared a small platter of oysters that we nearly cried over, because we were so full from all our feastings earlier, yet could not stop eating because they were so delicious.
Please, admire the carnage.
(photos by Ted Mills, of course)
Magnolia (Haight-Ashbury)
1398 Haight St. (between Central Avenue and Masonic Avenue)
San Francisco, CA 94117
www.magnoliapub.com
Five stars for the carnitas, which was the only food we ordered. It was tender, juicy and slightly sweet. Served in butcher paper to keep those juices and fats close at hand.
 
The tomatillo sauce added the perfect amount of zing to balance the carnitas. Housemade masa tortillas, and finely sliced veggies came with, and we wrapped it all up and stuffed it in our gobs.
It cost $15 for a hefty portion that sated the three of us, and we weren’t looking for a big gut-buster meal.
A little snackule of baked/fried chickpeas came to the table at the beginning, and three little Mexican wedding cookies came at the end.
 
I also had the huckleberry lemonade. Very refreshing. Meanwhile, the carnitas were so awesome that I hardly even thought, “what the hell is a huckleberry?”
(photos by Ted Mills)
Nopalito (Lower Haight)
306 Broderick St (between Oak Street and Fell Street)
San Francisco, CA 94117
nopalitosf.com
 
Little. Green. Different.
Props for the cardamom ice cream.
Props for using local, organic dairy.
BIG props for the Earl Grey ice cream.
BIG props for the counter guy who let me have a sneak preview taste of the Earl Grey ice cream.
Cute little cupcake painting FTW.
 
(photos by Ted Mills)
Three Twins Ice Cream (Lower Haight)
254 Fillmore St (between Laussat Street and Haight Street)
San Francisco, CA 94117
www.threetwinsicecream.com
 
It’s a bit murky, a bit smelly, a lot loudy, and gosh darn it, I liked it.
How nice to have as impressive a selection that Toronado has, and feel like a neighborhood bar, just hanging with some friends.
Not a hint of CBDs in sight. (CBD = cougers and douche bags)
Our service was swift, and the majority of our gang was clearly not local, but we do smile and act nice.
We also had our sausages from Rosamunde next door. When both businesses encourage the use of the other, that’s synergy, baby. Aw yeah.
Beer is served at a good temperature to bring out the best aroma and flavor - not freezing cold to numb the taste buds of dire piss water that passes as beer at sports bars.
But…the bathroom. I have to complain about that. Someone scrawled graffiti of “OXNARD RULES” just above the toilet. They need to get rid of that. Misleading.
(photos by Ted Mills)
Toronado (Lower Haight)
547 Haight St (between Fillmore Street and Steiner Street)
San Francisco, CA 94117
www.toronado.com
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