But tonight was the night to show that podunk little Santa Barbara can turn out a few nice dishes. There was three of us, settled at the bar and we shared everything.

First, the bar was set with little bowls of snacks. Apparently, they change the snack item, and tonight it was kettle chips. Really thin, crisp and obviously delicious since the three of us chowed two of the bowls before we finished ordering.

One of the chef’s specials that wasn’t on the menu was corn cakes. Alyssa and I watched her frying them in the kitchen, like two little kids who could barely see over the counter. These cakes were topped with fresh tomato and apple salsa. Everything went together so well.

The farmers market soup was chilled asparagus soup with tarragon foam. Not everyone’s favorite, but I appreciate anything in this town that strives towards the molecular gastronomy that’s all the rage in the big cities. Plus, fresh market produce. The flavors were dark and fruity. And I happen to really like tarragon, and other licorice flavors.

Two “side” dishes, although great stand-alones as appetizers were the avocado fries with pinquillo pepper ketchup, and goat cheese stuffed squash blossoms. Each was $6, and the avocado was an easy favorite of the night. It seemed like a whole avocado, cut into quarters, battered and fried. Loved the pepper sauce it came with, which seemed like fresh chile peppers in liquid form.

The squash blossoms were also good, but they present a dilemma.  I want to eat them quickly, before the batter goes soggy, but if eaten too quickly the hot cheese burns. What’s a girl to do?

We had two main dishes to share between the three of us. The first was a sweet potato gnocchi and it was top notch. The gnocchi was dense and chewy, not gummy at all like with so much store bought potato gnocchi I’ve had in the past. The gnocchi was served with a braised spring lamb ragu and fried cavalo nero lettuce. Rich tasting and slightly sweet. Gosh I love sweet potatoes!

And the big winner of the night, other than the avocado which we all know was awesome, was Square One’s version of a B.L.T. A pork belly BLT. Oh my god.

In place of the bacon was a fat slab of juicy pork belly. The tomatoes were heirloom green zebra tomatoes and the lettuce was wild arugula. The dish was $16 and worth every penny. It is very rich, keep in mind! I’m grateful there were people to share this with, there’s no way I could eat the whole thing on my own.

Overall, I feel we ordered really amazing items. However, everything we got was very rich, so the combination of it all could have been overwhelming. I definitely could have used more fresh produce to balance the decadence of the pork belly. But there was no other way around it. I don’t regret anything we ordered, and I’d do it again. The balance comes from eating almost nothing else for the next day.

Past entries.

Square One
14 E Cota St
Santa Barbara, CA 9319
www.squareonesb.com

Does anyone remember the “secret” restaurant in the Calle Real shopping center that was a French deli during the daytime, and at night became a wonderful little Korean restaurant, with a sweet grandmother patiently cooking and chopping all sorts of fragrant kimchi, soups, short ribs and plates of banchan? It was sometime in the late 80s or perhaps early 90s. My family loved it. It was before the internet went mainstream so I guess the secret truly remained a secret and the restaurant eventually closed.

These days, Santa Barbara’s version of Korean food comes from businesses that offer a general range of asian food or cater to poor, hungry students. Or both. What I’m getting at here is that the offerings are limited.
Meanwhile, our town does love its tacos and with so many to choose from it’s hard for a food business owner to find a niche.

Korean food…tacos. Hmmm.

Well, down in the LA area, a fellow named Mark Manguera hit upon an idea to offer a fast food option by fusing Korean with Mexican food. Korean food flavors, wrapped up in tacos and burritos, sold from roaming food trucks and called Kogi BBQ. It’s insanely popular and helped blaze the trail for an explosion in gourmet food trucks. I once spied the Kogi truck at a park in LA and the queue was several hundred feet long, even with other trucks parked nearby offering good cheap eats as well. I didn’t have a spare three hours to stand in that queue, but I have thought about what I missed.

Anyway, with few exceptions, food businesses in Isla Vista come and go. Located at 956 Embarcadero is…I can’t even keep track. Berrilicious, then Sushilicious? Well, it’s Kogilicious now. In the same building is another eatery called Korean BBQ. At the Korean BBQ window you can get the bowls of meat and vegetables over rice, or as combination plates including some greens and macaroni salad. But that’s a different story. The Kogilicious side is a separate section of the building with a very simple menu. Korean style chicken, pork, beef and tofu, offered in a burrito or a taco. Easy. Handy. Fast.

AJ tipped me off that Kogilicious was offering a grand opening special so I went to check it out with McMarko. I ordered one each of the chicken, beef and pork tacos, and a spicy pork burrito.

If you eat to live (rather than live to eat) you might stuff the food in your mouth and not notice the difference between this and any other burrito or taco, because there’s still rice included in the flour tortilla wrap, and there’s still onions and cilantro and “salsa” on the corn tortilla. But the thick sauce seasoning is different and there’s a crunch to the cooked kimchi inside. They’re also very juicy. I liked it!
The tacos were served on a single tortilla and couldn’t stand up to the juicy sauce. If you don’t eat them first thing, the tortilla will go soggy and collapse. There was a suggestion box in the shop and I popped in a message that a second tortilla for each taco would be a good idea.

Their grand opening special was that all burritos are $4 and all the tacos were $1. The deal wrapped up this Sunday, 8 August, so if you go before then you’ll get the introductory prices AND you’ll avoid the Fiesta crowds while still getting to eat a burrito or taco. After Sunday the regular prices are $6.25 for the burritos and $1.45 per tacos. Still a good deal.
Note: parts of I.V. are under extensive road construction. It takes a little longer to drive in, but with the kids on summer break you’re likely to score a parking space close by. Carpool with a friend, too. I shared the burrito and 3 tacos with McMarko. It cost $7 plus tax and we were stuffed.

Kogilicious - riding on the coat tails of the Kogi BBQ craze, down to the flame in the logo, but a unique offering in this town.

Kogilicious
956 Embarcadero Del Norte
Isla Vista, CA 93117
Open 7 days a week, 11 am - 11 pm.

The menu identifies which items are vegetarian, vegan, egg free, gluten free, soy free, dairy free, or raw. I have enough ovo-lacto, celiac, raw-cleansing pescadarian friends that having a restaurant like this in town is a blessing. Also, the interior is clean and lovely.

I did not feel any air of uber-healthy pretension that exists in hippie enclaves in other cities, i.e. no menu items called “I Am Manifesting Abundance” when it’s really a caesar salad.

That said, I am here to talk about the seasonal lunch special they recently rolled out. It sure did manifest my abundance, and it *wasn’t* a caesar salad!

The lunches are bento boxes, each containing a healthy starch (like buckwheat soba, roasted yams, brown and wild rice, or quinoa), protein (tofu, tempeh, seitan, chicken or salmon), and sauce. Plus seasonal vegetables.
They are designed to be compact, and are prepared in a jiffy. You can start ordering ahead by phone at 11 am, for pickup.

The set boxes are $9 each. You can swap around the protein, with a $1 supplement for chicken and a $2 supplement for the wild salmon, but the supplement only applies where they weren’t originally offered in the bento. You get the salmon for the standard $9 in one of the set boxes.

I had the curry bento, which was tempeh, coconut curry sauce and roasted yams. The seasonal vegetables included crisp-tender zucchini, carrots, broccoli and “dragon beans” from the local farmers market, which I’d had before from the market and loved them.
Others at the table got assorted rice, tofu, yams, and salmon.
One person also ordered a side bowl of butternut squash chili ($3 for 8 oz) and everyone got to try it. Delicious!

I had a cup of raw vegetable juice, ($2 for 4 oz) containing juiced carrots, tomatoes, apples, leafy greens (kale, chard, or beet greens, depending on the season), beets, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, a touch of cayenne pepper, & olive oil. Wow, a little garlic and ginger goes a long way, and the olive oil was new to me for being in a juice. It’s certainly not a mainstream corporate chain smoothie, but it felt good to drink it. Also, that’s an outstanding price.

Regardless whether you eat in, or order takeaway, the bentos come in biodegradable boxes, and compostable birch eating utensils. It may seem a little awkward to be eating out of these lunch boxes while sitting at their dining tables, but I imagine the focus is more on providing a very healthy meal to someone on the go, and we all need this!

So, honestly, the birch utensils don’t provide all the sturdiness necessary to stab the vegetables or slice up the tempeh, but I didn’t have much issue with this, for two reasons.

1. I like eating with my fingers. :)

2. I keep my own reusable plates, forks and knives at work, so if I’d taken my lunch to go, I would have declined the disposable utensils altogether. Remember: reuse is better than recycle!

Final notes: the vibrant colors of the food! None of these pale yellow starches of mass produced buns and fries. And…AND!..no food coma.

Spiritland Bistro
230 E Victoria St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
www.spiritlandbistro.com

Buy 2 pizzas at regular price, and a third pizza of equal or lesser value is free.

We were hungry, and planned a quiet night in watching videos. What better meal to hunker down on the sofa with than some yummy pizza.

The pizzas ordered were ham and pineapple, bbq chicken, and pepperoni.

However, these are advertised as flatbreads, and my past experience with flatbreads is that they’re smaller. Like one is a generous portion for one person. But these were huge, and heavy. OMG!

The sauce was flavorful and tasted fresh. The pepperoni was spicy and also tasted fresh…fresh being relative for a cured meat. It didn’t taste like that shelf-stable pepperoni that mainstream grocery stores sell, chock full of preservatives.

The prices range from $13-$16, so they average to about $15 each. That’s $30 for two flatbread pizzas, where we each ate a slice and thought, “huh, I’m full.” So there was plenty to eat throughout the weekend and into lunches for the week after. So, maybe these are better for a party. They reheated well in a cast iron pan.

Past words.

Whole Foods
3761 State St
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com

Sabrina had planted the seed when she thought Coast had $2 tacos on Tuesdays. At the time I thought she was confusing it with Sharkeez’s tacos on Tuesdays (no thanks). But then I spied on the Canary Hotel’s twitter that there was a taco deal, all day on Thursdays. So she was close.

It was getting late, and this is a great option for a cheap and cheerful meal, while in an elegant surrounding. Of course this doesn’t beat the whole-in-the-wall taquerias on price and street food authenticity, but for a higher end hotel, I thought it was great.

There are very few hotels I dine in, mainly because I don’t ever need to stay in a hotel in Santa Barbara, but this is one I’ve been to a few times now. The chef participates in many food and wine fundraisers, so I get the skinny on his passion and creativity from there. I still can’t say I feel entirely comfortable there, I think that may be part of the hotel atmosphere where most people are passing through. The bartenders do double-duty as psychologists or buddies, with a patient ear for travellers’ woes. When the bill comes, the staff seem surprised to learn I’m actually just here for the food or a drink, I’m not staying at the hotel.

Still, I like it. It’s nice to detach myself from being a Santa Barbara local and drop into an interzone of sorts. And at $2 a taco, the price is right.

First, a beverage. The happy hour menu on drinks ran until 9 pm. We walked in with about 5 minutes to spare and got a pineapple margarita, $6. This was on the menu, but the bartender could have made one other flavors. Top shelf cocktails were $8, by the way, not including the fancy scotches.

The choices for tacos were chicken tacos, pork tacos (top row), and steak tacos and snapper tacos (bottom photo).

They are amply portioned, served on two large-ish corn tortillas with salsa and guacamole on the side. I thought the fish, beef and pork ones were delicious, while the chicken was okay. Really, that’s the chicken’s fault for being chicken. My top pick was the pork, which resulted in us ordered a second one, but the fish and beef were by no means worse. I really liked that the steak was clearly cooked as a larger piece beforehand to medium - with lots of pink in the middle - and then chopped for the taco filling. They were good mouthfuls and remained juicy and tender.

Each taco had a slight variation in filling, other than the meat obviously. The pork had grilled onions and corn, the snapper was creamy and topped with shredded cabbage. The chicken had grilled peppers and tomato, while the steak was garnished simply with fresh pico de gallo.

The taco deal is all day Thursday, from 11 am - 11 pm. It was a great way to end the evening. If only I lived downtown, I could spontaneously saunter over here for a late night snack more often. Maybe even dress up!

Coast Restaurant
Canary Hotel
31 West Carrillo St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Canary dining website

Kevin made a dealer’s choice request and was served a sweet cocktail called the Marquita. It involved cinnamon, pineapple and lime, although I recall few other ingredients. I suspect the spirit might be rum?

This is my Manhattan, or about half of it. There are few bars in town that make a good Manhattan and the Marquee is one of them. That’s a real maraschino cherry in there, which the bartender stores in brandy. It’s very nice.

Marquee
1212 State St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
www.marqueesb.com

Happy Hour from 4 pm - 7 pm weekdays, all day Sunday.

Sly’s pedigree includes Lucky’s for upper-end steak and seafood, but that should not turn off an average diner with an average sized pocketbook from exploring what’s there…as long as you are fine with trekking over to Carpinteria.

The back room does have a feel of a finer dining experience, with its linen cloths, quiet atmosphere and patient yet attentive wait staff. But the front bar and bistro area is casual and comfortable. I really enjoyed sitting at the bar, even for eating.

And I mentioned that my first reason for coming here was for the cocktails. Sly’s cocktails are among my favorite in this area, especially for the classics, like a Manhattan, Gimlet, Negroni, gin and tonic?or Moscow Mule. The Manhattans are made with real Marasca cherries; they make their own tonic water for the G&Ts, and the Moscow Mule comes in its traditional copper mug. And the prices are good for this level of quality. The Moscow Mule I had on this night was $7. Ted got a shot of the exquisite Maker’s 46.

The real special I want to focus on, though, are their prix fixe dinners. The menu changes about every three weeks to a region of France, and I recently got a chance to sample it.

For my meal, the prix fixe was based on the regional cuisine of the Brittany coast, known for savory buckwheat crepes, cream, and salted butter.

The price for each is $35, for a starter, a main, and a dessert. For wine pairings, the price is $55. I had the meal only. I was in a group that enjoys trying as much as possible, so we managed to order almost everything off the menu.

Starter choices:

* Bisque of cepes (mushrooms)
* Oysters on the half shell (not pictured)
* Cassoulette of scallops and bay shrimp

Main dishes:

* Moules frites - mussels and french fries
* Sea Bass in green cabbage, with pilaf rice
* Rack of lamb, “Cocos.” Three lamb chops with white beans

Dessert choices:

* Special gateau Breton
* Crepes au caramel sale (crepes with salted caramel)
* Bittersweet chocolate mousse
* Ripe Camembert (not pictured)

I had the cassoulette, which came in a cream and white wine sauce, and drizzled with lobster sauce. A good-sized portion, and the sauce was great for dipping with their fresh baked crusty bread.

My rack of lamb was prepared medium rare, and the diner specifies its doneness. It comes with a little wood toothpick labeled with the correct doneness. They’ll prepare it, or steak, well done if you desire, and not give you grief on that choice. But if you ask for their recommendation, the suggestion is medium, to medium rare. The dish came with the white beans, as listed. They were tender cooked flageolets. Also, fresh crisp-tender green beans with a light cream sauce.

I selected the special Breton cake for dessert, as I’d never heard of it before and didn’t expect to see anything like it elsewhere around town. The dough is rolled and folded, in a style similar to puff pastry, and layered in between with sugar and butter. If you can imagine a cake made mostly of butter and sugar, held successfully together by a little flour and egg, this is it. Baked as a pancake, the bottom was quite dense and needed a knife at times to cut it into bite size pieces and tastes sweet, slightly salty with a buttery chewy texture.

The salt in the caramel had one friend enjoying her crepes, saying it was very flavorful and not cloyingly sweet. And the bittersweet chocolate mousse was so rich and dense that it went a long way, even shared between several people.

The Brittany menu is wrapping up soon, and may have already completed. That is okay, because the next prix fixe is going to specialize in the cuisine of Provence!

Past visits.

Sly’s
686 Linden Ave
Carpinteria, CA 93013
www.slysonline.com

This is a place I tried to eat at last year, but we couldn’t get our acts together Sunday morning, and by the time we did the queue for dining was too long. This year we were better prepared.

The queue this time was only 20 minutes, but also, we arrived with adequate time for dining and errands before hitting the road at a good time.

The Original Pancake House is a true international house of pancakes, unlike the nationwide chain by that same name. IHOP is more like “how many ways can we top regular pancakes?” That’s not international. International is serving dutch pancakes, American pancakes, crepes and the like.

I got the crepes with cherries and cherry sauce. It’s a lot of damn cherries, and quite sweet. I ate the crepes, but took home most of cherries for making a cobbler or pie.
Verna got the apple “pancake.” She really had no idea. But in this place a $10 pancake is a ridiculously big pancake. Like, This Is Why You Are Fat pancake. Verna’s probably 95 pounds? Yeah, she took most of it home.
Ted went all American and went with bacon and eggs, with a side of pancakes, which were hardly touched. Valerie and Rob…I honestly cannot remember what they ordered, I did not take photos of it!

I’m glad I went, now I can check an actual international house of pancakes off my list. But I don’t need to return, not when there’s endless asian food offerings up and down the same street.

Original Pancake House (Kearny Mesa)
3906 Convoy St (between Kearny Mesa Road & Ostrow Street)
San Diego, CA 92111
www.originalpancakehouse.com

Since first checking this place out in 2007, I’ve figured out that getting dumplings successfully off the menu and into my mouth comes in one of two options.

1. Eat in, during off hours, but not too late when many dumplings might already be sold out.

2. Phone in for takeaway.

The queue to dine in is effectively mitigated in both cases, and there’s a good chance most everything on the menu will be available.

I’m not saying the ambiance is bad. I love the casual hole-in-the-wall feel, and that the folks running it have strong hurried personalities. It’s what makes the business special, and not perfectly homogenized corporate sludge.

But I do like to eat dumplings, and the above two methods have not yet failed me. Lessons learned!

Dumpling Inn (Kearny Mesa)
4619 Convoy Street, Suite F
San Diego, CA 92111
dumplinginnmenu.info

My exceptional situation was seeking Korean food after 10 pm. Most other places around Convoy had closed. Props to Do Re Mi for the longer hours.

Props for endless banchan, about a dozen different dishes, with people asking several times if we needed more.

Props for the spring onion steaming salty egg banchan, which was so yummy and when we said so the kitchen sent out another one.

Props for yummy beef ribs, bubbling tofu soup, cold noodles.

Props for the cinnamon pinenut sip of cold sweet tea as our post dinner digestif.

Props for the price. $36 before tip for three large dishes, 2 drinks and yummy banchan. Feeding three to the gills.

And the folks there, who kept bringing the food, explaining what every nibble was, asking how we were doing, adding to the dinner conversation, thank you!

Do Re Mi House (Kearny Mesa)
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, Suite M
San Diego, CA 92111