Eats

Antonio Ramos III was helping to build a shed in his brother’s backyard during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when he had a vision. “This could be my pasta room, my little pasta laboratorio,” Ramos said. “So we built it out. … And by August, I was like, ‘Let’s just start doing dinners.’”  So […]

“I’m going to be honest with you, even when they let us back inside, we might just stay outside,” said Alfonso Curti, chef and co-owner of Trattoria Uliveto, which recently unveiled its new patio space for outdoor dining. Following a steady lunch rush, and a successful dinner service the night prior, Curti sounded enthusiastic during […]

I’ve seen every episode at least 10 times,” said Lompoc baker and entrepreneur Jayde Stamm, professing his fandom for the subject of one of his themed cookie sets, based on Avatar: The Last Airbender. Many of Stamm’s desserts tackle pop culture, from film, television, and literature—Jaws, The Office, Friends, Harry Potter—to music—Beyonce, Drake, and other […]

Husband and wife Charles and Jody Williams, co-founders of Broken Clock Vinegar Works, were out enjoying drinks one night at The Landsby Hotel in Solvang when they got bit by the “shrub bug,” Jody Williams recalled, after trying a shrub cocktail for the first time. “It featured a peach shrub, and we were both hooked […]

A sweeping landscape of Bien Nacido Vineyards in Santa Maria graces the cover of Vines & Vision: The Winemakers of Santa Barbara County, a new book from writer Matt Kettmann and photojournalist Macduff Everton. The duo first collaborated in early 2017, when Kettmann contributed a chapter to a group cookbook, Around the Table: Recipes and […]

Somewhere between the realms of pizza and focaccia, wishful cravings became reality in the form of pinsa—one of Nella Kitchen and Bar’s signature Italian dishes. Described as a reinterpretation of an ancient recipe, the main characteristic that sets this Roman-style pizza apart from traditional pizza is its lightness. “Pinsa comes from the Latin ‘pinsera,’ meaning […]

Throughout his teaching career of 35 years, lifelong Orcutt resident Brad Bunkelman taught classes for two departments at Santa Maria High School, science and fine arts. “I enjoyed teaching in both subject areas,” said the local retiree, about his career before segueing into his longtime hobby as a home winemaker. “I think making wine is […]

“One of the most rewarding things in this change of occupation was going from smelling cow manure to smelling coffee,” said Dutch Bros Coffee co-founder Dane Boersma on the company’s website, referring to his former career in the dairy business.  In 1992, Dane and his brother, Travis Boersma, co-founded Dutch Bros Coffee in the Pacific […]

With a new year comes a new beginning for local winemaker Clarissa Nagy, who announced a big change for cnagy wines near the end of 2020. On Dec. 26, Nagy said goodbye to her winery’s original tasting room, which closed its doors for good after six years of operating on South Gray Street in Old […]

I think we can all agree, the world is hungry for a new year. As 2020 finally comes to a much needed close, let’s all take a deep breath and recognize the silver linings that either warmed our bellies or quenched our thirst during the past 12 months. No matter what 2021 has in store […]

Whether it whets your appetite or not, there’s something objectively pure and life-fulfilling about seeing a tiny taco on top of a cupcake. It’s like crossing something off a bucket list you never thought was there to begin with.  But this particular taco was made of fondant icing, like many of home baker Terri Wahlberg’s […]

The tried-and-true—and still apropos—idiom “the bee’s knees” is a bit of an understatement when describing the husband-and-wife duo behind Cuyama Homegrown.  “It’s the most pure honey you could ever dream about,” said Jean Gaillard, co-owner of the farm with his wife, Meg Brown, while discussing the two bee hives on their property. One of the […]