Where the Carp elite greet in boofy hair for meaty treats.
There is something special about the Palms that residents of this area fiercely hold dear to their hearts. There was a time that the Palms was the best Carpinteria would muster up by way of a fancy dining experience. And by that, I mean Carpinteria firmly stood against all that was rootin’ tootin’ high falutin’. Those who didn’t like the combination of a casual yet exclusionary atmosphere quickly fled to bigger cities or to Montecito. Those who stayed, well, they liked Carpinteria just as it was. And so the Palms thrived.
With the Palms long established as THE dining spot in town, it’s easy to understand why Carpinteria has been dragged kicking and screaming into the “new era” of fancy restaurants they perceive as existing only for tourists and Montecito throwbacks.
Solid 3 stars for food, plus one more for being so darn kooky, and being a local business around since 1905.
Props for the building looking so old and elegant from the outside. The interior, however, is more like walking into a church parlor room-turned-cafeteria in the 1970s. That’s not bad, just set your expectations appropriately. The menu is printed on your paper placemat, okay.
As everyone has said before, the Palms’ unique selling point is having the option to grill the main course yourself. This is, like, Carp’s version of a fondue party, so jump in and join the fun.
I amuse myself with theorizing how this marketing came to be. Back in the day, maybe carp’s residents were such talented farmers on the range that they were constantly criticizing the Palms chef about how to cook the meat. And then, the chef finally went “FINE! You do it yourself!” and stomped out of the room in a huff. Thus the self-grilling was born? Ha ha, maybe.
The result is a fun family atmosphere that is by no means fine, but an acceptable and relatively fancy destination for residents. Plus, very affordable.
The salad bar option is $6.50. You can easily fill up on the salad bar, comprised of mostly iceberg, half a dozen crunchy additions like beets, chickpeas, cucumber, onion. All the standard dressings and the Palms special topping - deep fried croutons. Plus, baked potato, chili beans, salsa and bread. Did I mention this is not fine dining? No, it’s very standard and simple. This is why it’s $6.50!
Main course options already include the salad bar. So if you order a 10 oz ribeye dinner for $14, that’s downright, almost suspiciously, cheap.
If you have any grilling steaz, you’ll be fine. There’s an assortment of condiments by the grill to enhance your meat as it sizzles. I pre-seasoned my ribeye back at the table with salt and pepper, and once at the grill added seasoned salt, powdered onion, worcestershire sauce and my secret ingredient: butter pats from back at the dining table.
Extra tip, just cuz I’m nice: the grill is hotter at the top, cooler at the bottom. Leverage that knowledge!
Use some of the butter pats to lightly butter both sides of the bread for toasting on the grill. Sprinkle some of the garlic salt on one side. Toast it in the middle portion of the grill and if it soaks up some steak umami, even better.
The bread is white and doughy (like many of the Palms resident diners), that’s how it’s done. I’ll guess that some bright-eyed chef years ago tried to introduce something new or healthy as the bread and was run out of town on rails.
Cocktails: kitschy, but with no irony. I had the Lava Lamp and it was a bit too sweet and creamy for my dinner tastes. But I was the noob at the table, everyone else got vodka tonics or beer. Lessons learned.
Dining was a great experience. Now, finally, there’s time to look around the room. Screaming children throwing bread crumbs and cucumber slices under the table, elderly couples in their sunday best, a birthday party or two, and the crowning glories of gravity defying boofy hairdos that you know only a professional armed with a can of aquanet could have put together for this occasion.
Leftovers are expected.
The Palms
701 Linden Ave
Carpinteria, CA 93013
Thanks to facebook, I’ve reconnected with old school friends. One is Danielle, both my brother and I took an after-school Chinese class with her. She’s back in town, slowly developing a confectionery business.
With my brother also visiting this weekend, we all got together for a Sunday lunch. The weather, while a little blustery, was still sunny. Just fine for some outdoor grilling and indoor eating.
The tri-tip came from Whitefoot, initially unseasoned and the butcher seasoned it for me with a dry rub. The grilled winter squash came from the garden, a sort of hybrid between a butternut and a kabocha. I only seasoned it with olive oil, salt and pepper and let the flavor of the squash do the rest. My mother prepared some homemade salsa to spoon on the tri-tip, which we ate with warm toasted tortillas.
My secret to the tri-tip is initially searing the fatty side on medium high heat on the grill for about 5 minutes, then turning it over, and turning the grill down to medium-low for a combination of even heating and indirect heat. It doesn’t burn, and the fat on top now starts rendering into the meat.
I grill it for an additional 30 minutes, then leave it to sit and rest for another 10 minutes. This results in a medium tri-tip. Well-done on the outside and edges, and pink in the middle.
Finally, I slice it very thin against the grain, pile it into a wide shallow bowl or a deep platter and pour over any remaining juices that may have escaped during slicing.
The beans are Santa Maria style pinquitos, with the pink beans coming from Shepherd Farms at the Saturday morning farmers market. Although I made them beforehand in my pressure cooker, I poured the beans into a heat-proof casserole and set them on a high rack in the grill so any smoke from the grilling would seep into the beans. Plus, it kept them warm. I added a couple tablespoons of water to the casserole to keep the top of the beans from drying out.
Finally, dessert was my homemade strawberry and orange marmalade frozen yoghurt, topped with Danielle’s homemade chocolate caramel sauce and a little whipped cream.
We spent the lunch catching up on our lives and reminiscing a few high school memories. Good times!
Hotel food, not as bad as you’d think. Especially in Santa Barbara, where tri-tip might grace the menu.
Santa Maria-style grilled tri-tip, nice and pink. Sadly, no salsa or beans or tortillas in sight. Instead we have a number of salads, biscuits and fruit.
John and Clarissa were in town over the weekend and we had a meal with them, with good grillings out on the front patio.
We had Korean style grilled beef, and mixed green salad. Also a rice pilaf made with assorted true rice and wild rice. The spotlight item of the meal was a commemorative bottle of wine from a family friend’s retirement dinner. It was a cabernet sauvignon, with a photo of the proud retiree on the label.
Santa Barbara sure does have great weather for grilling and eating outdoors.
Heyo, it’s Michael’s graduation party! Good times, good friends, good food.
Heather made this hummus combination dip that had the folks going gah-gah for it. Half standard hummus, and half hummus with peas and mint. Delicious! The hosts also made a batch of sangria that could sate the thirst of many many people. I heard a comment that it wasn’t that strong, but that’s probably why I liked it. Me no high alcohol tolerance.
Kia made a huge tray of bacon wrapped shrimp that was mighty fine to eat, but a lot of work to prepare. Poor thing hardly got a break from the grill.
She also grilled some lovely figs, stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in prosciutto. This was my favorite of the evening. I can’t stop thinking about them now.
There was way more food than I could possibly photograph and still eat and be social. I didn’t take the last photograph here, either Kia or Ted did.
Later, a pinata was smashed open by the children. I was told that the following sugar high was a fascinating sight. But I’d left by then, for one more food event to wrap up the lovely day and night.
The afternoon’s nocino making session merged into an evening dinner with friends in Heather and Sarita’s garden.
There was plenty of beer, wine and spirits, but the low-alcohol tolerance chick in me gravitated towards the Trader Joe’s Blueberry Juice. And who could say no to it, with the enthusiastic sommelier we had offering the sweet beverage around.
There were plenty of hot dogs and sausages, and of many varieties. Tom, the resident vegetarian, brought out some mighty fine yams for the gang. Getcher hot yams! It was hard to pick the winner of all the wonderful things to eat available. Then again, some pickin’s weren’t entirely socially approved. I didn’t mind.
But if I did have to select a few items of key tastiness, it would have to be Kia’s homemade pinquito beans, made with Rancho Gordo beans, a fantastic company in Napa Valley that specializes in heirloom beans. Her pinquito beans bring a tri-tip dinner together, alongside thick handmade flour tortillas and fresh salsa.
Kia also brought homemade ice cream: strawberry and burnt sugar. Heavenly.
It was no camping, like my traditional memorial weekend, but it was darn fine.
The Fredericks did not open up Ye Olde Butcher Shop, but they did take possession of the existing shop within the last few years.
Ye Olde Butcher Shop has been around for a long time, even being rebuilt from wildfires of years past. Their sandwiches have consistently been the biggest I’ve ever seen in Santa Barbara. Their standard sub is so stuffed with meat and cheese that it feeds me and three friends. I’m glad that the new owners have carried on this generous tradition. But I am saddened that they have culled out much of the “butcher” side to the shop as it seems their main focus is now these enormous sandwiches. I have advocated their tri-tip and steaks for years, but lately I’ve been looking elsewhere for new sources.
Ye Olde Butcher Shop
4317 State St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93110
