Dutch Garden Restaurant

We wanted soup tonight. It was going to start pissing down with rain shortly and go nonstop throughout the weekend.  So why not some good soup and good beer.  To the Dutch Garden!

I love their bar area. Between there and the back dining room, I’ll take the bar.  And just our luck, we ran into some of Ted’s friends who were thinking the same thing and we invited them to join our side of the bar.

The beer was Augustijn, a tripel ale from the Van Steenberge brewery in Belgium. It is described as “extremely pleasant to drink during lenghty conversations.” Agreed.
The soup du jour was celery root and apples, and as good and comforting as we expected it to me. Excellent for bread dipping. The bread’s extra, btw, but not must, just a couple bucks for many slices of hearty dark and light rye.
The unexpected treat of the night, however, was the marinated herring. We weren’t planning to get it, but it caught our eye on the menu and also, at $10, was one of the less expensive dishes on the dinner menu. This was a combination of herring, apples and onions, mixed in a creamy sauce that contained no cream, but yoghurt, sour cream and spices.

Other musings.

Dutch Garden
4203 State St
Santa Barbara, CA 93110