Whitefoot is probably the last remaining mom and pop butchery in Santa Barbara. So I am very conflicted to hear that a Fresh and Easy grocery store chain is moving into Whitefoot’s space, along with a row of other mom and pop businesses in that block.
Ironically, F&E is supposed to be a neighborhood market that supports community.
Whitefoot is still open for business at this time, but may close any day.
I went there yesterday on an errand to get a tri-tip, some tri-tip sandwiches for friends who couldn’t get there themselves and those sandwiches are their very very favorite, and to buy up a big bag of their smoked ham hocks.
The shopkeepers honestly did not know whether they had to close or stay open, but they are staying open as long as they can. They are also looking to relocate, should they have to vacate the property.
Either way, if you have butchery needs and want to show you appreciate a very local business, go there and show your support.
The tri-tip sandwich is indeed lovely, this photo is of just half the sandwich. In you’re eating in, get the salsa on it, if you’re taking it away, get the salsa on the side so the roll doesn’t get soggy. The salsa is critical to a good tri-tip sandwich. This big gut buster full size sandwich costs about $9 and can feed two.
The *best* ham hocks are available here. They are sold whole, and the butcher can cut them up into several chunks for you. Wonderful for bean soups and stews. Where else locally can you get this?
My tri-tip I bought plain, and they seasoned it for me. Chain store seasoned tri-tip I normally have to wash most of the sauce off before I’ll set it on the grill. Here it’s hand seasoned by people who know how to bring the best out of their cuts of meat.
Whitefoot
336 N Milpas St Ste E
Santa Barbara, CA 93103
La Chapala might just be my favorite taqueria. It’s near my work, the prices are low, the tacos are delicious, and you can get some grocery shopping done at the same time.
A simple lunch of two tacos - carnitas and lengua, $1.39 each. Topped with onion, cilantro and salsa.
I eat here way more often than I post.
Earlier posts.
La Chapala Market
5780 Hollister Ave
Goleta, CA 93117
Everything I wrote about in my last review still stands.
What I have to add is the latest “members only” experience. Not that I’m a member, just a friend of one.
Access to the members’ area looks super nice on the surface. A private entrance. A spot on the upper floor looking out onto the peasants below. A sunny deck. A more intimate tasting area with comfy stools and lounging sofas.
The good: bar guy, who fed me grapes and pastries.
The bad: acoustics. The couple murmuring to each other on one side, my companion talking on his cell phone on the other side, and it’s so noisy I cannot tell a word the pourer is saying. Put a tapestry up or something to kill the echo, please.
The ugly: me. I consider it a feat of infinite magnitude that my tresses survived the drive up in a convertible. I even checked out the mane in the ladies room and it was looking presentable. Not 5 minutes go by sitting on the deck of amazing vineyard views, and the wind has blown it into tangles. I’m not just being vain and superficial here - getting wind whipped by my hair is like a thousand pinpricks in the face and it is No Fun. I begged to go back inside, and this was when the bar guy plied me with food and I am very grateful for that, because if my displeasure hadn’t subsided, so help me god, I would have gone all medusa on everyone.
Roblar Winery
3010 Roblar Ave
Santa Ynez, CA 93460
www.roblarwinery.com
I figured it was time to update one of my oldest reviews.
Gone are the days when I worked nearby, so I do not come here very often, but each time I do I remember how good the place is.
The Metro Firehouse sandwich is so good. The smoked mozzarella and chipotle aioli is such a great combination in this warm turkey sandwich, I don’t know anywhere else in town that has something similar.
There’s never been a time I’ve been in where the owners weren’t there, and they are very hands on with assistance on the specialty items. When I complimented them on their Vosges chocolate selection, I learned they actually visited the headquarters in Chicago to learn about their production processes and set up a relationship that lets them sell items normally only available at specific Vosges stores. And ditto for going to Italy to get closer to the olive oils and vinegar they stock.
 Now, sure, you can get a bottle of balsamic at a grocery store for a few bucks, and you might be happy with it. But when you’re ready to really dive into the good stuff Metropulos is the place to go. Show your interest, and they will let you taste it and help you pick out the best item for your needs and budget.
They have good quality vinegar for a wide price range, even ones that are $20 or less. But today I was ready to splurge on a rich, thick, aged vinegar.
The owner explained some background on the balsamics and the history on preserving regional qualities of them, then we lined up the samples and tried them together. This is better than wine tasting. We also tried a few other vinegars that weren’t balsamic, but that she thought I would like, and she was right. Two items immediately fell into my shopping basket, including a D.O.P. certified aged balsamic, and I was glad payday was just the day before.
I’d done a little research before online, but nothing beats seeing, smelling, tasting the items yourself, and Metropulos deserved every penny I spent there on their enthusiastic, detailed knowledge of the products and outstanding service
Metro Fine Foods
216 East Yanonali Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
www.metrofinefoods.com
Why is this Trader Joe’s the best of the lot in the Santa Barbara? Because of the parking. Lots of parking, which lowers my parking stress so much that I prefer to shop at this location than the de la Vina one, which I live closer to.
But here’s my particular story. Sometimes TJ’s has something I love, I mean I just adore it. Like the chocolate covered coffee toffee bits. Never heard of them, you say? Exactly. They’ve not been available for about 10 years now. TJ’s is so mean to me that way.
I fear they’ve done the same thing to the grass fed beef I used to get there. Why you folks no want to buy the grass fed beef? That’s why they don’t sell it anymore. It’s not my fault - *I* bought it.
Then I thought they’d not only plunged the knife, but was twisting it over and over in my gut - I could not find cornichons anymore. I would practically have to give up pate and baguette altogether if I couldn’t have my cornichons and TJ’s had the best, from France! I’d looked for it the last few times I was in this shop, and they were gone, not even a label in an empty row to give me faith that they were just temporarily out of stock.
But lo, today, I looked, and I saw my beloved cornichons. Slightly different labelling, but it was them. I looked at the ingredients, it was them. I bought several jars, just in case they pull them off the shelves again.
Oh, one thing that makes this TJ’s slightly not as interesting as the others in town - not quite so many craigslist missed connections happen at this location. Goleta is for boring old couples. But I’m okay with that.
Trader Joe’s
5767 Calle Real
Goleta, CA 93117
www.traderjoes.com
Roblar seems to embody that romantic aesthetic vision of a Mediterranean country vineyard. The building, which is very new looking, makes you go dewey eyed, wondering if you should quit your office job to spend the rest of your life crushing grapes and eating farmhouse cheese on rustic bread.
And that’s *great* for a little getaway! I’m not here to take away your dreams.
Roblar seems to have a smart marketing plan in place. They provide customers with all the luxuries of idyllic Tuscan estate and none of the responsabilities. Wander the vineyards with glass and gal in hand, join a cooking class, spend a lazy afternoon there with a picnic and live music, it’s all there.
  I attended a members pick-up bbq lunch. Provided was chicken, beef ribs, rice and shrimp, glazed carrots, salad, fish tacos, chips and guacamole, and also a pass for 8 tastes. The tastes could be used on 8 wines, or doubles and triples of a favorite. Really nice tables and chairs, and lots of places to sit including picnic tables, round tables, stone benches and comfy chairs by an outdoor fireplace.
The whites I tried seemed decent. The rose was sweet, which I liked. The reds I thought were better than the whites, with a good flavor that will probably be even better after sitting for a year or two.
The crowd there seemed to range from casual locals, to young DINKs, to upper-middle class execs, and some happy tourists. One woman thought I was from New York, and she seemed excited that folks from that far would be there. Alas, it was just my Zabar’s bag that fooled her.
I’ll give them a try again, and I’ll definitely return if I am entertaining guests who want a romantic wine-tasting afternoon.
Roblar Winery
3010 Roblar Ave
Santa Ynez, CA 93460
www.roblarwinery.com
A decent corner market with all the standard corner market fare - candy bars, nuts, chips, cold beer.
They sell vanilla It’s Its, yay! But they are often smashed, boo!
They are also a sandwich deli with limited serving hours. I don’t think I’ve ever popped in when the deli section was open. Then again, I don’t pop in much.
Presidio Market
1236 Santa Barbara St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Metropulos carries a decent line of Vosges chocolates. The best in Santa Barbara (and slightly less expensive in base cost than online, that’s not even including shipping costs!) in fact.
The prepared foods are good. They have really nice sandwiches, which are not particularly cheap, but are worth the money. The salads are very fresh. They have an in-house baker for all the desserts. And don’t pass up the deli section of prepared salads and main dishes, which you can have packed up to take away, or heated up to dine in.
Personally, I am fond of the cured meat and cheese platter. For about $18, they will prepare an assortment of meat and cheeses, and serve it on a wood platter with bread, oil, and olives. It will feed 2 and it needs to be ordered ahead of time, so the staff will have time to freshly cut the meat and cheese.
The selection of meat and cheese is also decent, and since I work nearby, is an excellent place for a quick gourmet lunch. One criticism I have is that they will not sell portions of sliced meat or cheese smaller than a quarter pound. They will custom make you picnic lunches, but sometimes I like doing that myself and the quarter pound minimum reduces my options. On the plus side, they accommodated my request to buy a single apple to go with some havarti. At the time, apples were not an item for sale (but I think they sell a few near the dessert counter now).
Finally, Metropulos stands out for its selection of fine European imports. I take note of *any* place that sells Halloumi cheese and this is one of them. But best of all, they sell French creme de marrons (sweetened chestnut puree) that I use on ice cream and to fill crepes. Delicious! They have the chestnuts in both the can and a squeeze tube - the latter is a great option when you’re trying to ration it because it’s so expensive and rare in this town. If you want to try it yourself before investing in your own jar, you can order some toasted baguette spread with creme de marrons off their breakfast menu for about $2.
ps! how can I forget, speaking of breakfast menus, their breakfast burrito. Metropulos serves my favorite, with crispy bacon, potatoes, eggs, cheese and a light dollop of sour cream to pull it all together, all for about $5.25. It feeds me and a friend.
I just noticed that there is a theme of needing two people to properly enjoy Metropulos. I’m glad I’ve got at least one friend in this town or I’d be outta luck, or contantly full.
Metro Fine Foods
216 East Yanonali Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
www.metrofinefoods.com
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
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