Imagine a baseball-loving boy moving to Southern California just in time for the legendary 1965 season when the Los Angeles Dodgers earned the National League pennant and went on to win a world championship. It was there, sitting at Dodger Stadium during that magical season, watching the likes of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and Maury […]
WENDY THIES SELL
Posted inNews
Land of Plenty: The food-savvy co-founders of Edible magazine prepare to launch a restaurant in Los Alamos
The creative entrepreneurs behind Edible Communities Inc., America’s largest publishing company dedicated to the local-foods movement, are writing a new chapter of their lives, in a rather unlikely place: the once-sleepy Santa Barbara County town of Los Alamos. Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian co-founded the first Edible magazine 14 years ago while living in Ojai, […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Eats in review: 2015 brought new restaurants, artisans, and the earliest wine harvest in memory
As we ring in a new year, it’s also a time to reflect on the good things we enjoyed in 2015 here on the Central Coast, good things like outstanding locally crafted wine, cutting-edge beer, fresh produce grown year round, excellent cuisine, new restaurants, and the creative artisans working so hard to bring us the […]
Posted inFood & Drink
2015 wine wrap-up: Reflections on a year of tasting in Santa Barbara County
As I look back at my wine country wanderings over the past year and through the hundreds of photographs that I’ve taken along the way, I realized how many experiences and wines that I have yet to write about in this column. So, before the year is up, I want to share with you a […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Bon voyage Vanessa!: Big changes for ‘All-Star Academy’ contestant Vanessa Craig
She captured the hearts of television viewers nationwide earlier this year on the Food Network’s cooking competition show, All-Star Academy, a rigorous cooking contest that she survived through the finale, placing first runner-up. Solvang native Vanessa Craig, took the newfound fame after the TV show aired and started her catering business, Vanessa Loves Food. “I’ve […]
Posted inFood & Drink
America’s top chefs choose Santa Maria’s Babe Farms for fresh specialty vegetables any time of year
Many of the finest restaurants in the United States and Canada count on Santa Maria’s Babé Farms for year-round, high-end produce. This isn’t where you’ll find the ordinary. Babé Farms grows and hand-harvests 80 unique vegetable varieties—some almost too beautiful to eat. We’re talking nine different colored radishes, including slim white icicles, red-and-white finger-shaped French […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Santa Maria’s native son James Ontiveros celebrates 10 years of the winery he helped found, Alta Maria Vineyards
You would be hard pressed to find a better cheerleader for the Santa Maria Valley than James Ontiveros. The cowboy-turned-respected-viticulturist and vintner feels right at home here, and with good reason. On St. Mary’s Day, 1855, it was his great, great, great, great grandfather, Don Juan Pacifico Ontiveros, who set foot on Rancho Tepusquet, an […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Journey to Jaffa: Jaffa Cafe in Santa Maria dishes out shawarma, falafel, kabobs, and gyros with a smile
Ali Saleh had good reason to be confident when he opened his new restaurant in Santa Maria—he had a built-in following. For years, he noticed that many of his Mediterranean cuisine-seeking customers at Jaffa Café in the Village of Arroyo Grande, were making the trip from the Santa Maria Valley, particularly at lunchtime. “Santa Maria […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The 35th anniversary of ‘Caddyshack’ brings an unexpected honor for Santa Maria resident Ed Murray, who helped inspire the film
Santa Maria resident Ed Murray, the inspiration for the film Caddyshack’s main character, has a meaningful new trophy for his mantle. Murray, a retired financial consultant, and his five brothers—movie star Bill; Andrew, who’s a chef; and actors Brian, John, and Joel—were inducted into the Western Golf Association’s Caddie Hall of Fame on Sept. 16 […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Beer mashups: Local craft brews make a bold appearence in unexpected combinations
Something is brewing in Santa Barbara County; some of the area’s most creative and fearless culinary minds have hopped on the beer bandwagon, making beer condiments, beer desserts—you name it! “Really, the sky’s the limit,” said Kady Fleckenstein of Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company. “We feel like you can do anything with beer.” Fig Mountain’s first […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Santa Barbara County’s 2015 wine harvest began earlier than ever, and is already almost over
Seasoned Santa Barbara County vineyard manager Ruben Solorzano’s 25th wine harvest has also been his earliest. The respected viticulturist oversees 22 vineyards, “all the way from Lompoc to Happy Canyon,” for Coastal Vineyard Care Associates. The 2015 wine harvest began for Solorzano on July 23. Sauvignon blanc, growing in Happy Canyon in the eastern Santa […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Wine it up! The best local wine and food events this fall on the Central Coast
This time of year presents Central Coast wine lovers with an embarrassment of riches—so many wine events to choose from, and all just a short distance from home. In the span of a few weeks, we can attend Harvest in the Wine Ghetto; SAVOR the Central Coast; Bubblyfest; Santa Maria Grapes & Grains Beer and […]