WENDY THIES SELL

Fess Parker told me a dozen years ago during a fireside chat in his homey Los Olivos hotel lobby—one of several extensive interviews I was granted by the late actor-turned-Santa Barbara County winery/hotel owner—that for a wine region to flourish, it must have five-star lodging and food. He explained that for Santa Barbara County to […]

If you spend any amount of time drinking wine or visiting California wineries, you probably know at least the basics of winemaking, grape growing, and/or my personal favorite: wine appreciation. But how many people give any thought to the final step of the winemaking process> After all, wine doesn’t just magically appear in a bottle. […]

If you subscribe to the notion that variety is the spice of life, you will be enamored, like I am—and like so many others are—with Full of Life Foods. The increasingly popular restaurant in Los Alamos embraces the farm-to-table philosophy, basing its ever-changing specials menu almost entirely on what local produce is in season. This […]

It’s pretty safe to say that almost everyone in Santa Maria has sunk his or her teeth into Santa Maria-style barbecue. Tens of thousands—if not millions—of out-of-towners know about it, too. National magazines have touted it as “the best barbecue in the world,” and “a great American regional food you should taste in 2012.” No […]

Americans buy more Chardonnay than any other wine. Whether they like it oaky and buttery, crisp and fruity, or somewhere in between, Chardonnay lovers buy a lot of it. According to the Wine Institute, “The variety is California’s most widely planted wine grape, with 95,271 acres reported in 2010. Chardonnay far and away remains the […]

Less than a year after Orcutt’s culinary icon, Chef Rick Manson, closed his revered restaurant after two decades in business, there is a new chef in town: Chef Steve. Steve Jeon has 20 years experience in the restaurant industry, and was trained 6,000 miles to the west of California, in Korea. Working in five-star hotel […]

To say that Sissy’s Uptown Café in Lompoc has a loyal following would be an understatement. “We have people who come for lunch and dinner on the same day,” said Steve Byork, who manages and co-owns the restaurant with his wife and chef, Janan; and her family, Dave and Dorothy Springer and their son Jon. […]

A Santa Maria restaurant owner has good reason to be jubilant, and it’s not just this weekend’s Cinco de Mayo celebration. Feb. 27 marked El Pueblito Restaurante’s 15th anniversary. The Mexican restaurant opened for business in 1997, at the corner of South Blosser Road and Boone Street. “Fifteen years is a long time! We keep […]

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the granddaddy of local wine events is bigger and better than ever. The Santa Barbara County Vintners’ Festival moves to a new location on Saturday, April 21: The Carranza, a scenic spot along Zaca Station Road, on the outskirts of Los Olivos. “The Carranza—just the name alone makes it worth the […]