Food & Drink

Solvang resident Tom Orem is in seven wine clubs and purchases maybe 300 bottles of wine a year from Santa Barbara County wineries.  “You gotta have something that’s your hobby, and mine’s drinking wine,” Orem said. “I know how many [bottles] I drink a year, because there are 365 days, so that’s easy to figure […]

If I could be grateful for one thing the COVID-19 pandemic and all of the associated safety guidelines for businesses have spawned, it’s definitely the move from inside to outside.  Outdoor dining is so hot right now, and it’s a beautiful thing. Sitting with the breeze in your hair, dining al fresco on a patio […]

 A tiki bar is never done, according to Michael Cobb, but phase 1 of his new High Roller Tiki Lounge bar is just about complete. The Solvang winemaker (Sort This Out Cellars) and wine cocktail shaker closed his Copenhagen Drive location in January with the intent of relocating. Then COVID-19 hit, Cobb said, and it […]

It’s hard to tell whether smoke or fog hangs over Nipomo on Sept. 10 as we walk over to Birchwood Beer Garden around 5 p.m.  Field to Table Catering & Events’ food truck, The Cruiser, is parked in the front parking lot serving up the Aloha Menu—your choice of Kalua pork sandwich, Huli Huli chicken, […]

One day, Gina’s Piece of Cake was open, baking, and cranking out the cakes. And the next day, it wasn’t.  “When the pandemic first started, obviously, the mall just closed our doors,” owner Gina Martin said.  The saving grace? Because the shop is just inside the Santa Maria Town Center’s entrance, Martin said they had […]

The second annual Santa Barbara County Farm Day certainly isn’t going to be like the first.  About 1,000 people attended tours at 13 different locations for last year’s inaugural event in the Santa Maria Valley—this year will be the eighth Ventura County Farm Day. But farm tours aren’t really an option due to the COVID-19 […]

The barstools in 15 Degrees C Wine Shop and Bar and the view of chef Nathan Clapp’s open kitchen are on hold for the time being, but the authentic Italian food and neighborhood wine stop in Templeton has an outdoor oasis just for you.  Clapp dances and sings around his turntable of from-scratch pizzas and […]

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 […]