Aside from attending Mac’s wedding, I used this trip to England to catch up with a few friends from my Kew days.
Raphael’s one of them, although he now works under the umbrella of the British Museum. Both of us have left our former professions based on this whole “allergy to poverty” situation.
We headed down to South Ken to meet up with him and let him pick the lunch spot. He brought us to Raison d’Etre, down a street lined with French restaurants and cafes. Turns out the French Embassy is just at the end of the road and the businesses there were bursting with French folk. That suits Raphael just fine, as he is French himself!
The sandwich offerings were mouthwatering, with so many flavorful concoctions, and I have to say that while American sandwiches certainly are filling, there is often so much of the same stuff in them - mustard, mayo, pickle, lettuce, tomato, plain cheese - that they all start to taste the same. But the sandwiches here are like tasteful dishes, bundled into a crusty baguette.
  
Raphael had the bacon, chicken and avocado baguette. The filling was finely chopped, which was different to what I would expect, but apparently still good to eat. There were only a few places in England that I could order an avocado dish from with confidence that I would get decent avocado, so I was likewise suspicious of the avocado here. Raphael pointed out the healthy, green, fat avocado halves in the deli case and I felt better.
Ted ordered the winner baguette: melting raclette cheese, ham, tender new potatoes, and pickled onions. Ooooh!
I ordered a crusty baguette with grilled aubergine, goat cheese, basil, tomato and caramelized onions. It was delicious, and for a meat eater I was completely satisfied with a vegetarian sandwich. Grilled aubergine in sandwiches is amazing.
My only regret was not getting a panino. My first introduction to panini was in Morocco and France, where it is always done with a parbaked baguette, which then flattens into a crisp but chewy hot sandwich. I had full intentions of eating one if not several of those on this trip and I’d just passed up my first opportunity.
Over lunch we got caught up on our lives, then walked back to the Science Museum where we had a grand old time exploring the Launchpad interactive exhibit, then pottered around the Victoria and Albert Museum until closing time. Of course, in this heat, we dunked our feet into the shallow pool in the V&A courtyard along with half the other visitors.
Raison d’Etre (South Kensington)
18 Bute Street
London SW7 3EX
Nearest Tube: South Kensington
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
 
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Post new year’s brunch, and I need delicious to start 2010 off right. Renaud’s does not disappoint.
 
Croissant. Flaky, buttery, crisp, and shredding in tender pieces.
Fried egg sandwich for my friend, with lovely dripping yolk, tomato, mushrooms and ham, between perfectly toasted bread.
Croque Madame for me, like Croque Monsieur but with a fried egg on top. Ooooh, with ham, melty cheese and lots of bechamel to pull it all together. We ate them with side salads, coffee and iced water.
You can look at my photos, but it’s not the same as eating them yourself. Suckas.
Past entries:
5 October 2009
Renaud’s
1324 State Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
renaudsbakery.com
 
I stopped in here recently to proudly introduce a friend to a favorite sandwich, the Metro Firehouse - a warm sandwich of smoked turkey and mozz, chipotle aioli, roasted peppers and greens - and ended up with the Ultimate Firehouse, with bacon. Oooh, so good.
 
We also had a housemade toasted coconut marshmallow. Only $1. I believe all their desserts are made on site, and now there’s flourless chocolate cake and red velvet cupcakes available.
And that’s when I also learned that Friday lunch time serves up housemade gyros. They make their own gryo meat from scratch, which one of the owners decided was necessary when she saw that commercially produced gryo meat contained msg. We tried some of the gyro and it was juicy and delicious with just the right amount of spice. The sandwich costs just under $9 and is only served Fridays at lunch.
We returned there, quickly, on a Friday to try the whole sandwich and it is now my favorite in town. Being made from scratch goes a long ways in my book.
Also on order was a turkey, bacon, cheese and bbq sauce panino. It’s hard to go wrong with a grilled sandwich, and this one was, of course, good. Not as good as the gyro, though!
 
Metropulos also has the widest variety of Vosges chocolates in town, including Mo’s Bacon Bar, and Naga (milk chocolate with sweet curry).
Or if you’ve spent time in Italy or Spain, you can indulge in some of their delicacies with Metro’s imported foods, ranging from deli meats and cheeses, to sea salts, pastas, rice and sweets.
  
 
The drink and frozen case has wine, fabulous imported beers, meat pot pies and ice cream It’s Its.
And if you’re in the market for a good balsamic, this shop has a great range to choose from, for all types of budget.
Past words.
Metro Fine Foods
216 East Yanonali Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
www.metrofinefoods.com
I have been wanting to find excuses to visit LA more often. The area has been too overwhelming for me to handle, especially dealing with traffic and parking.
Luckily, Ted’s had some experience with the area, and insisted that Langer’s was the place to go for the best pastrami sandwich. Yes, better than New York! This, I had to see and taste for myself and we made a culinary weekend of it.
 
We start with the happy chap himself, sitting at the table waiting for the #19 pastrami sandwich to come out. We were also sitting near the official chair for Al Langer to use when he dined here. Up at the counter, with his name embroidered on the seat.
 
The sandwiches were indeed divine. The ever popular #19, with slices of pastrami, creamy coleslaw and cheese seemed to melt in our mouths. The bread, a rye that’s brought in par-baked and finished on site, was warm yet finely crisp on the crust. Delightful to bite into.
We also ordered the #88, corned beef with sauerkraut and swiss, served hot. Everything was nice and melty. The sauerkraut added more zing to the sandwich, compared to #19. Both were good, but #19 may have been better, with the sweeter coleslaw that didn’t taste as heavy as the sauerkraut.
The waitress also noted our cameras and asked if we were writers. I mentioned my piddly little food blog, but it was enough for her to offer for us to meet the manager, Norman Langer. He was extremely nice, and talked of some of Langer’s history in Los Angeles, how it indeed was considered better than the New York delis (and I have had the pastrami at Katz’s. I think it’s close, but perhaps Langer’s is better!), and then imparted some of the details on their fabulous sandwich preparation, which is how we learned about the par-baked rye bread.
Finally we asked the question I’m sure he heard all the time, “what’s the difference between corned beef and pastrami?” He first pointed to the answer written in the menu. Then he told us.
And if you’re curious: their corned beef/brisket comes from two layers of meat around the breast plate of the cow. Their pastrami comes from the steer, from a different cut of meat, closer to the belly. And it uses different spices.
Other places might use the brisket of beef interchangeably, but Langer’s is different. fyi.
I was feeling plenty vindicated on my complaint that LA’s driving and parking sucks, due to the asstrocious driving and parking we experienced getting there, but there WAS free parking to be had, just for Langer’s customers. For lo, there is a paid lot half a block away that waives the first hour’s fee with validation from Langer’s. Bless them.
And it is very possible to be in and out in under an hour. The staff makes very quick work of getting you seated, getting food to your table, and settling the bill - with a friendly reminder to get your parking stub validated.
Langer’s (Westlake area)
704 S Alvarado St
Los Angeles, CA 90057
www.langersdeli.com
My recollection of the Faculty Club comes from childhood summertimes, playing in the pool. A membership seemed to be required, so I only swam with my friend Madeline.
But now that I’m all grown up, and hungry, I learned from Liz that a membership is not required to use their dining room. Members do have lower prices, but not by much. And for the Goleta/IV area, any place offering slightly finer fare is a rare treat indeed. I had lunch there with Liz and Vo.
 
Park in Lot #22 or #23, pay $3 for an hour’s parking, and trundle over to the Club, where the adults bask around comfortably and the students look uncomfortable and awkward.
The staff appear to mostly be students as well, learning how to get out of their awkwardness by talking about soups of the day, salad dressings and dessert carts.
  
Props to the management for setting the prices at the non-member level, and then showing the member discount, rather than the other way around. Makes this little sneetch with no star on thar feel a little better. But like I said, the price difference didn’t cause any winces.
Tables have the white linen service, with individual printed sheets for the daily specials. Also, the ever popular bread basket, which we dove into promptly to sate our hunger.
And most menu items came with a soup or salad. I ordered the lunch trio, so I got half a sandwich, a salad and a bowl of soup, for $8.95. Everyone else got salads as well, although I was the only one who ordered the “balsamic” and that’s all I got. Not a dressing, just a pot of balsamic vinegar. It was, aaaah, tangy.
  
Liz ordered the veggie wrap, and was only able to eat half. It was stuffed with good veggies and smothered in a delicious lemon hummus. Vo had one of the specials of the day, a risotto. He didn’t say anything negative about the food, but he also didn’t finish it and did not opt for a doggie bag.
And my final courses in the lunch trio was a bowl of albondigas soup and a half club sandwich.
I thought the sandwich was very good! A solid piece of chicken breast, rather than deli slices, a good slice of cheese and crisp veg. The smallest thing about the sandwich was the bread slices - all the food piled out the sides.
My soup on the other hand was nothing to write home about. There didn’t seem to be any skimping on the goodies, but the flavor didn’t wow me. Can’t win them all. But do admire the fresh Alstromeria flowers as the table centerpiece. Pretty!
 
And then, the moment we’d all been waiting for…dessert. Very clever of them to place the dessert display cart near the entrance, so you see it and immediately start making plans on which dessert to order.
 
The three of us shared the cheesecake and strawberries. A fine lunch for Goleta.
Faculty Club
UCSB - west side of campus
www.faculty-club.ucsb.edu/menu.html
Last February, Jon gave me the heads up that D’vine Deli had the best burgers in town. I had my doubts, but I was not able to sample the goods myself until just recently. Yes, nearly 6 months later. I did alert another friend in the meantime, and he went, and reported them to be somewhere along the lines of kick-ass.
Still, with a weekday holiday thanks to Independence Day, I made the trek over with Jon. He gave the disclaimer that new burgers options in town just might have usurped the title of best burger, but that they were still good.
We hit up the deli just before the lunch crowd hit, and our orders for cheeseburgers received knowing nods of approval from the staff. We sat down, smug.
 
And here are the results, profile view and front view.
The hamburger is served on a roll, rather than a bun. The roll is firm, but not so much - there’s no gnashing of teeth. The ground beef is simple, honest, and juicy. It is indeed a good burger. I’d recommend it. And note: no fries. You can have chips and there are a lot of good brands to choose from.
BUT…it’s still not my favorite burger in town. ;)
Do check out the communal wall of conversation fridge magnets out in the dining area. Fun times!
D’vine Deli/Cafe
205 W Canon Perdido St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
www.dvinecafe.com
 
Pizza: unbaked, and baked. Hope you can tell the difference!
As a youngster, my family shied away from bake-at-home pizza. It just wasn’t the same. And I retained that bias for many many years.
My miserly ways got the better of me a few months ago, when I offered the Valentino half-off Axxess deal to some friends who wanted pizza for their dinner party, and I collected the pizzas for them. Totally decent tasting.
I tried them for a second time recently, ordering Val’s Bambino in the 14″ large about 45 minutes ahead of time by phone. It was waiting for me to pick up at the exact time I requested, and I got the ongoing 10% off Axxess deal, which ended up as part of a tip, why not.
It comes on cardboard, with a sheet of baking parchment, directions for baking, and a coupon for $1.50 off the next large pizza or calzone. Just slip the unbaked pizza and parchment onto the top shelf in a 450 degree oven for 12 minutes and hot baked pizza comes out, which easily slips back onto the cardboard for slicing. I drizzled it with some local olive oil, and fresh parmagiano-reggiano, and it was good to go.
Warehouse shopping pizza might have Valentino’s beat on price, but I’ll pay a little extra for a local business.
Served with beer, I was set for a cozy evening with my friend, and the latest episode of Lost.
Valentino’s
4421 Hollister Ave
Santa Barbara, CA 93110
valspizza.com
I was disappointed that Savoy Truffles had closed, but enthused when I heard Cantwell’s - a well-established deli further up State Street - would take over that space.
They reopened a couple weeks ago and I had lunch here just this past weekend.
Fans of Savoy can enjoy Cantwell’s Deli because very little appears to have changed beyond the name on the door. There is still that wonderful fresh salad bar, at $9.99 a pound, and the hot and cold deli case.
 
 
Top: grilled cheese, on right. Mixed salad from bar, on left.
Bottom: vegetarian torta from deli case, on left. Tasting spoons in vintage cup, on right.
My friend and I took advantage of the short orders to get a grilled cheese sandwich, choice of bread and cheese. We got sourdough and cheddar. We also shared an ample salad of fresh greens, beets, boiled egg, chickpeas, broccoli and peppery radish sprouts.
The original Cantwell’s has generous breakfast burritos, and there were several sitting in the hot food case, priced at $5.75 but half price after 2 pm. It was 2:15, so…of course I got one.
Cost was about $12.75, fed two people and a 10 month old, and we only ate half the burrito.
The guys behind the deli counter were super nice and patient.
The interior, again, is just like Savoy Truffles, beautiful wood tables, good light, very clean.
Thanks, Cantwell’s, for bringing back this space.
Cantwell’s
24 W Figueroa St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
cantwellsmarket.com
I rarely go to Lazy Acres these days, and although the quality of their stuff is good, there are closer options for good produce than making the trip over to the Mesa.
There are, however, a couple key items that Lazy Acres stocks that I can find nowhere else, or haven’t yet located elsewhere. In particular, Electro-Mix, a sugar free sports drink mix put out by the same folks that make Emergen-C, and a terribly yummy Dutch cheese called Beemster.
A friend bought me a fat wedge of classic Beemster after she tried some at a Christmas party. It’s aged a minimum of 18 months, tastes dense, tangy and nutty, pairing well with wine, or port. Delicious to just eat as little slices, melting on your tongue.
So, I received that cheese last December, and I cut away at it all year. Eight months later, I still have a good knob and it’s remained in decent condition, just less moisture content now. I grated it into a fine soft pile with a microplane and it can now be mixed in dressings, sprinkled on grilled vegetables, and used in place of parmigiano reggiano with the similar sharp tang, but different flavor. If this kind of cheese intrigues you, scamper on down to Lazy Acres.
Also - only place I know of in town to get cuts of grassfed beef, like ribeye and NY.
Note: I have shied away from the ready-meal deli section. It looks good, but two friends of mine who’ve bought stuff from that section twice, each got dysentery twice afterwards and had never suffered from that before, and have never gotten it since. My stomach is made of pretty stern stuff, but I’m no fool to play with those odds.
Lazy Acres
302 Meigs Rd
Santa Barbara, CA 93109
www.lazyacres.com
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