Eats

Orcutt Union School District served a little fewer than 100,000 meals from March to June and packed between 1,600 to 1,900 meals a day. But Director of Child Nutrition Bethany “Chef B” Markee thinks those numbers will be much lower during this school year, unless the state changes things. “Yesterday was our first day, and […]

In April, Food Inc. of Santa Barbara County morphed as all businesses adjusting to COVID-19 had to, shifting its business model from purely catering focused to meal delivery. But, according to executive chef/owner Anthony Minniti, it was a change that was sort of already in the works.  “I was going to do meal prep service […]

Finding good local meat right now makes one feel like a pirate searching for pieces of eight and buried treasure.  Demand is up, impacting the ability to process local supply, thanks in part to the coronavirus’ impacts across the state. J&R Natural Meat and Sausage’s butcher shop has been holding the line as one of […]

Jeremy Rose’s fascination with bees began as a fourth grader. As his classmates ran in fear and his teacher herded the children indoors to avoid bee stings, Rose took pause, felt the impressiveness of the insect energy, and wanted to learn more.  When he witnessed a beekeeper smoke a swarm of bees out of an […]

I’m a project person. It’s a little bit of a problem.  And with the world on semi-lockdown, I’m spending a lot of time at home by myself. So naturally, I’m looking for things to keep these hands and this brain busy when I’m not working. If I have a project in mind and don’t get […]

A Pacific rockfish by any other name is cod, snapper, and any one of the more than 70 species that swim about in the waters between Alaska and Baja California.  There are red ones, blue ones, black ones, and yellow ones.  Olive ones and striped ones. Those species with giant ugly, bulging eyes and those […]

Katerina Axelsson was tinkering in a wine lab when she unlocked the flavor matrix for wine.  She’s always been fascinated by human biology—particularly biotech—and relocated from Southern California to Cal Poly to pursue a chemistry degree, before getting a master’s degree in bioinformatics.  So naturally, data science professor Alexander Dekhtyar, who oversaw Axelsson’s master’s program, […]

The first time in three years that chef Michael Cherney saw someone eat the food he prepared was on the patio of his new restaurant in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. “They were eating a grilled cheese sandwich, and they were pulling it apart and the cheese was all gooey,” Cherney said. “I’ll never […]

If you haven’t been out to eat yet, and you can, I suggest you do so right now. Because the only variable that experts can’t predict is when customers will be patronizing food and drink businesses again, but it needs to happen for any of the Central Coast’s fantastic programs to work.  Judy Mahan—who has […]

Clacking together like stones, oysters clatter against the sink.  My friend asked for a shucking knife, and I produced a butter knife. She looked at me and laughed.  “I know what I’m getting you,” she says.  I shrug with a chuckle. What can I say? Sometimes, you just have to make do with what you […]

Winery visitors get the option of wines by the glass or wines by the bottle these days.  But that’s only if they also purchase food.  And as long as the alcohol and nibbles are on the same check, paid for by the same credit card.  This is the world we’re living in right now. But, […]

Little six-packs are waiting for you in Santa Ynez. No, it’s not beer—and it’s not wine. Pony Espresso started bottling fresh cold brew during the pandemic for those caffeine-dependent customers who prefer their coffee chilled. Nero Cold Brew is 100 percent radical, according to the bottle, and 100 percent delicious, according to Pony Espresso co-owner […]