Petit Valentien

I’m still a big fan of Petit Valentien, although I don’t stop in as much as I’d like to. But we came in tonight, intending to have more of a snack, but it turned into a larger meal. We sat at the bar.

The melon and prosciutto is simple and good. It includes a wedge of cantaloupe, a slice of cured ham, some slices of salami, a drizzle of balsamic reduction and a wedge of lemon to squeeze over it all. The lemon brings it all together.
The crabcake is one of my favorites in town, I can’t really explain it. It’s not all crab, and it’s not all cake. But it’s light, firm, and crisp on the outside. So good.
Our third nibble was unexpected. We’d hemmed and hawed sufficiently over what to order as a main dish, because the two most tempting items was the kobe hanger steak with tomato chutney, or a pork and seafood mix. We went with the pork after agonizing over the menu, and the chef treated us to a small portion of the hanger steak we thought we’d miss out on! Delicious. Love hanger steak.
Finally, our main dish of thin sliced pork and mixed seafood. I’d never had anything like this before. It was an odd combination at first, but after we’d picked over the seafood and started digging into the pork, the broth laced with seafood flavors was great with our other white meat.

Also at Petit Valentien that night was a business partner and coincidentally we’d be having lunch together the next day. Small world.

Past musings.

Petit Valentien
1114 State St
Santa Barbara, CA 93190