From a very early age, I loved to eat and lingered over every meal. My mom has marveled that she’s never seen a child savor her food as much as “little Wendy Lou!”
Living in rural Wisconsin, surrounded by cornfields and dairy farms, I grew up on casseroles, cheese curds, and the freezer full of walleye caught by my dad in Canada each summer.
It wasn’t until I went to college in a city that offered every ethnic restaurant under the sun that I began to explore multicultural cuisine: Greek gyros, Thai tom kha gai, Jamaican jerk, Afghani couscous, Mexican chicken mole, and Japanese yellowtail sushi.
Trying new restaurants is one of my favorite activities. So when I had the opportunity to write the “Eats” column for the Sun, I jumped at the chance to have one more reason to dine out!
I enlisted the help of “foodie” friends and well-known locals to point me to the best restaurants in the area and some lesser-known treasures. I asked them the same question: “Where do you like to eat?”
I started with my former peers from my days as a TV news anchor.
KSBY-6 meteorologist Dave Hovde’s favorite is Full of Life Flatbread in Los Alamos: “Just the best pizza ever, served with just enough flair to make it special but homespun enough you really feel like you’ve found a special out-of-the-way place.”
Dave’s weatherman competitor, meteorologist Jim Byrne at KCOY-12, appreciates the “cool, rustic, Old West setting and great food” at the Hitching Post in Casmalia.
KCOY’s anchor Arturo Santiago applauds Yanagi and Orcutt Burger.
KSBY reporter Monica Quintero doesn’t just like burgers: “I love, love, love Santa Maria Burger! It started when I did a story and … I had a good old-fashioned burger with fries, and it was the best I’ve ever tasted.”
KSBY anchor Carina Corral relishes Stinky’s Grill, and she recently tried Olivia’s Mexican Food Restaurant in Orcutt: “I’ll definitely be going back for their menudo! Very authentic, and I should know, ’cause it’s second only to my mom’s menudo!”
Former KCOY anchor team Drew and Nerissa Sugars both crave Yanagi in Santa Maria. Drew, now the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department PIO, said, “So fast and so good! How do they make it that fast?” Nerissa, currently with Chumash Enterprises, always orders the Yami Yami roll. She said, “I’m a city girl at heart, so when we dine out, we go to the kind of places you could expect in L.A. or San Francisco. … If I’m ‘jonesing’ for Italian, the best in the biz is Trattoria Uliveto in Orcutt.”
I uncovered more Uliveto fans, including Terri Ostini of the Hitching Post: “I always tell people my second favorite restaurant is Trattoria Uliveto. Excellent food, wine, and ambiance! Being Italian, I am pretty particular about my Italian food. Alphonso [Curti] is the real deal and an amazing chef.”
Santa Maria Mayor Larry Lavagnino hankers for the veal at Uliveto. Lavagnino practically grew up in restaurants: “Ever since I was a kid, my family never ate lunch or dinner at home. We always ate out.” He enthusiastically rattled off the rest of his favorites: “For pizza, Addamo Bistro’s individual pizzas are to die for.” For steak, the Far Western [in Guadalupe], Swiss chalet [in Santa Maria] … but especially Shaw’s Steak House and the Hitching Post in Casmalia.”
Another Far Western and Hitching Post aficionado, radio host and COLAB’s Andy Caldwell, said “great steaks, atmosphere, history, and family owned.”
Santa Barbara County Supervisor Joni Gray thinks La Michoacana in Lompoc is super, as is the grilled artichoke and quail at the Hitching Post.
School Superintendent Phil Alvarado orders the oak-barbecued rib eyes in Casmalia, but no one raved more than Jane Russell’s daughter-in-law, Etta Waterfield: “I have never come across any steak as good, great, and grand as the Hitching Post in Casmalia … and the seafood is the best in the world, too!”
So many people told me it’s worth the trip to Casmalia, I had to find out more. Natalie Stricklin, the bookkeeper at the Hitching Post and the owners’ niece, told me lots of famous people do more than drop in—they’re repeat diners.
“Horace Grant [formerly of the LA Lakers] is a good customer,” Stricklin said. She added that internationally known drag racer and Santa Maria resident Alan Johnson is “one of our best customers. He comes in once a week.”
Not as fast as a dragster—but almost—University of Oregon track and field phenom Jordan Hasay grew up in Arroyo Grande. Her family’s favorite restaurant in Nipomo is Jocko’s.
“I always order the filet mignon. The portions are huge,” Hasay said. “Being an athlete, it’s important to get my iron and red meat, so we normally order from there at least once a week.”
Another local family devoted to dining out is Dr. Joe and Chris Slaughter of Nipomo.
“Our family ate at Chef Rick’s so often they put ‘Kate and Anna’s Steak’ on the children’s menu,” said Chris, who heads the Santa Maria Valley Wine Country Association. “We love visiting Rick [Manson] at the Far Western, which is now a delicious convergence of world-class barbecue and Cajun-inspired gourmet all rolled into a historic dining experience.”
Chef Rick Manson has strong words for the dining public: “Santa Maria, contrary to popular belief, we have many great places to choose from.” His favorites include Atari-Ya, North China Restaurant, and El Pollo Norteño for “the best Mexican-style barbecued chicken ever.”
Another longtime Far Western fan is Congresswoman Lois Capps: “I always enjoy a good steak and some pinquito beans.” She also endorses the tostadas at Vallarta Market in Santa Maria: “It’s a great place to have a quick and delicious lunch.”
Winemakers always know where to find exceptional cuisine.
Foxen Vineyards’ Bill Wathen said, “One of my favorite dining venues is A-RU Japanese Restaurant in Buellton. The best and freshest sushi in all the North County.”
Another A-RU devotee is Buellton’s Hitching Post chef and vintner Frank Ostini. He also raves about the talented chef at the Ballard Inn: “Budi [Kazali] makes the best food in the Santa Ynez Valley.”
Winemaker Steve Rasmussen chows down at El Pollo Norteño and “La Unica makes a killer California burrito: carne asada, guacamole and French fries inside the burrito!”
Santa Maria High School principal Joseph Domingues singled out Cool Hand Luke’s, and Jovi’s Delights for “great service and exotic foods.”
And my boss at the Sun, Ryan Miller, frequents some other culinary gems: Cielito Lindo in Orcutt, and Ichiban, Papa Napoli’s, and Las Comadres in Santa Maria: “Las Comadres’ pupusas [Salvadoran tortillas] with loroco are amazing. Sarah and I actually ordered a batch of pupusas for our wedding.”
Appetites sufficiently whetted? The nice thing about these restaurants is you don’t have to be on TV, or wear a championship ring, or run really fast to get a table. All of us ordinary folks are more than welcome, too.
Wendy Thies Sell is in search of her new favorite restaurant. Contact her via the arts editor at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 20-27, 2011.