gutfud – the food, es ist gut

breakfast joy

Breakfast is probably the most dismissed meal of the day, so when there is time for a proper breakfast it feels like such a luxury. Sitting down, enjoying a cup of tea, a place setting actually set, with knife and fork. Perhaps to justify the extravagance of sitting idle the morning news from NPR might [...]

Oysters – Santa Barbara

Thanks to the recent Edible Institute that took place in Santa Barbara the weekend of March 16-17th, I got to try fresh oysters from Open Ocean Shellfish. They’re referred to as Hope Ranch oysters, as this is the area where they are cultivated, although they are specifically Pacific Oysters (Crassostrea gigas). I have certainly eaten [...]

an easter egg

I hope everyone had a pleasant Easter Sunday. A little rain didn’t do much harm, and our plants certainly needed it. There were brunches a’plenty at restaurants and with friends, but for breakfast I made myself a little easter egg. One fresh egg, from a friend’s chickens. Soft boiled for 3 minutes, top removed, one [...]

cheesy goodbyes

Dear Chris, Thank you for stopping by my place with your large sack that contained a lovely wheel of parmesan cheese. And for finally making good use of my 10″ chef’s knife to culinarily cut the cheese, so to speak, and leave me with a generous quantity of it. I’m sad you’re gone, but New [...]

Creamy leek quiche

Spring cleaning is in full swing. Outside there are birdboxes to be emptied of last year’s nests, weeds to be pulled, seedlings to be potted up. Inside, it’s fridge clear-out time. In this recent clearing I dealt with farmers market leeks, some cream, the last of some market eggs, and a frozen pie crust. The [...]

Cinco Estrellas

Cinco Estrellas is a Honduran restaurant on Milpas Street that is not easy to spot. In fact, it’s not visible from the street at all. Look for the laundromat and walk around to the back of the building. I was there for a weeknight dinner and there was 3-4 other tables in the small space [...]

Memories of the Mediterranean

This time of year, the unofficial springtime of Santa Barbara (which is really winter), reminds me of my time in the Mediterranean, particularly southern Spain. It’s the time of year when things are in furious bloom, it’s sunny and warm, but not unbearably hot. When I’m out pulling weeds in the garden, I’m reminded of [...]

Anchor Woodfire Kitchen

I’ve had breakfast and lunch only – no dinner yet. If you are staying at the Indigo Hotel, aren’t you the lucky one to have this food brought to you in bed. It would be such an incredible luxury. But I simply walked in the door, sat the bar on two occasions and a small [...]

Crave: Art, Food, and Social Experience

The sensory experience has always been important to me. I used to create “moments” in my travel journals, putting a snapshot of that moment into words by describing what my five senses were taking in. It could have been a warm evening sitting on a porch in South Africa, or a foggy morning in Santa [...]

Handlebar Coffee Roasters

There are several local coffee roasters in town. Handlebar is the most recent to join the scene and have become a top pick for locally roasted and lovingly prepared artisan coffee. You know, the new age of cafes with hyper-perfected beverages and latte art. The roaster and cafe also has a serious cycling vibe. With [...]