When even the bread tastes exquisite, you know you’re in a special restaurant.
Such is the case with Scratch Kitchen. Headed by Chef Augusto Caudillo, the venue serves up rustic takes on contemporary California dining, starting with that sumptuous bite of cornbread. Moist and accented with dashes of diced jalapeño, the bread alone is enough to make you think you’re in one of the most elite restaurant locales in California.
But this restaurant isn’t overlooking the sea in Santa Barbara or nestled on a busy street in San Francisco. Scratch Kitchen is located in Lompoc, which just celebrated its second annual Restaurant Week from Feb. 20 to 26.
Sponsored by the Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau; The Sta. Rita Hills Wine Alliance; and Shop Lompoc, Shop Small, the event featured 19 local restaurants, each offering a three-course menu at a fixed price of $20.17. Thanks to a strong showing from locals and visitors during the week, places like the cozy Scratch Kitchen on H Street experienced a boost in exposure.
Caudillo, who participated in 2016, said the venue has seen an increase in customers this year. Customers are more familiar with the event and what to expect, he said. The rise in event participation has also coincided with a general overall increase in business (Scratch opened in May of 2015) in the past year, he said.
“The city has received us well,” Caudillo said. “We’ve been steadily busy every single night.”
One of the first tastes on Scratch Kitchen’s Restaurant Week menu was a split pea and ham soup, one of the chef’s personal favorites, created by his brother-in-law. For those looking for a cold plate first course option, the venue served a baby gem salad with quail eggs, bacon, tomatoes, and a citrus vinaigrette, a tightly composed and refreshing start that was a slight variation of a salad normally featured on the menu.
“We wanted to offer a smaller portion [for Restaurant Week],” Caudillo said. “This is like a sample of what we do in bigger dishes.”
The main dish, a sous vide and seared petite top sirloin over creamy herb polenta and a syrah herb butter, showcased a special technique Caudillo was eager to share. The meat is cooked in a temperature-controlled vacuum pack to medium-rare, and then seared to give the look of a grill-cooked steak.
“Sous vide is the least invasive method of cooking there is,” he said. “When you put a piece of meat in direct flame, the cells break. When a cell breaks, it releases its moisture or its juice, because you’re damaging the cell.”
A sous vide steak is uniform in color on the inside, without the gradations, Caudillo explained.
Selling a quality product like sous vide top sirloin at a price point low enough to entice big groups of diners during Restaurant Week is difficult, but not impossible.
“I know the whole week I’m going to be selling this special,” he said. “So now I can negotiate with my vendors. Buying in bulk gives me in the ability to get the item at the lowest price possible to sell it at the price point I need.”
The biggest benefit to participating in the event is exposure, Caudillo said.
“It’s good for people who normally maybe don’t go out on a regular basis,” he said. “They leave with a memorable experience. They will think about me, to come and have dinner here in the future because of that.”
Over at Alfie’s Fish and Chips, a traditional fish and chips venue that’s operated in Lompoc since 1969, owner Mike Sewall was overjoyed with the success of the 2017 event. He said that while he hadn’t calculated an exact number yet, he was confident that Restaurant Week business had more than doubled from the previous year.
“I participated because I’m a Lompoc native,” he said. “We’ve had this restaurant for 16 years. It’s important to be part of something like this.”
Sewall said they took part in the inaugural event in 2016, offering two fish and chips dinners for participants.
“This year is twice as successful,” he said. “Last year’s was successful, but a lot more people came out this year.”
Sewall said the event helps remind loyal customers about the venue and encourages them to drop in and see what they’ve been missing. Also, the price point is a huge a draw.
“Our regulars benefit from slightly lower prices than normal,” he said. “Plus, because we do a two-for-one, it encourages couples to eat out.”
Sewall said regulars who are rigid about their favorite orders are also sometimes tempted to branch out.
“It offers them something different and a chance to try something new off the menu they might not have tried before,” he explained.
Sewall said Restaurant Week also brings customers into the venue, as opposed to ordering takeout.
“Eighty percent of our business is takeout,” he said. “But I’d say that during Restaurant Week, that’s different. Most of our tables are filled up during that week.”
Sewall said one of the most important things the event does is offer publicity and encourage growth for other area restaurants.
“We’re not in competition with each other, as I see it,” he said. “What’s good for them is good for us.”
Caudillo said that ultimately the event is a great way to convert skeptics unsure about the community’s budding dining scene.
“They’re missing out,” he said. “People travel here to Lompoc for many reasons. There are so many jewels and treasures here.”
Rebecca Rose can be found wandering around Lompoc in search of more jalapeño cornbread most nights of the week. Contact her at rrose@santamariasun.com.
Beat the rain with pizza and beer
Hello from the wetlands! OK, the weather isn’t quite that bad yet, but if you’re like me you’re looking for a break from these seemingly never-ending days of (much needed) rains. Why not warm up with a hot, wood-fired pizza? Or how about some good locally brewed beer? That always works for me. Below are my picks for the best of the week:
• Blaze Pizza opened in Santa Maria on Feb. 10 in a big way. For opening day only, diners got a free pizza (yes, you read that correctly) as part of their grand opening. The venue offers a variety of wood-fired pizzas made fresh to order at around $8 each. My recommendation is the Green Stripe, a pizza with pesto, grilled chicken, roasted red peppers, chopped garlic, mozzarella, and fresh arugula. Visit them at 1791 N. Broadway in Santa Maria.
• Solvang Brewing Company Hoptions Taproom and Eatery is now open in Lompoc. The new location features a brewery and a full menu, including the Smoked Pork Belly Western Burger, which combines smoked pork belly with an Angus beef patty, sharp cheddar cheese, chipotle barbecue sauce, pickles, and onion rings all on the same bun. I’m already ordering one in my dreams. Visit them now at 234 North H St. in Lompoc.
• Firestone Walker Brewing Company launched a new series of Leo v. Ursus beers starting with Fortem, an unfiltered imperial IPA. The new beer was pre-released on Feb. 25 at the Taproom Restaurant in Buellton and other Firestone locations. The company released the beer to the broad market at the end of February. For more information, visit leovursus.com or swing by their location at 620 McMurray Road in Buellton.
Do you have an Eats recommendation for Rebecca? Contact her at rrose@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 2-9, 2017.
