Twenty dollars. 22 cents. About a dozen different dining options.As part of Santa Maria Valley’s Restaurant Month, which kicked off on Jan. 14 and runs through Feb. 13, several local restaurants are offering their own limited-time combos, made up of each venue’s respective menu selections. What each of these specials have in common is a shared price: $20.22.
Jennifer Harrison, director of the Santa Maria Valley Visitor Bureau, described the promo in press materials as “an incredible opportunity to take advantage of some of the most authentic culinary experiences in our destination.”
Here’s a quick rundown of some of the diverse eateries participating in Restaurant Month this year, all located within the Santa Maria Valley (including Santa Maria, Orcutt, and Los Alamos).
Bites and flights
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird; it’s a plate; it’s Chicken Marsala!
This entree is just one of three $20.22 options available at Vintner’s Bar and Grill, a classy Santa Maria staple well known for its proximity to the airport.
As a participant in Restaurant Month, Vintner’s is offering three separate meal choices: the aforementioned Chicken Marsala (chicken breast sautéed with mushrooms and bacon in a Marsala demi-glace, served with rice pilaf and vegetables); English cut prime rib (oven roasted with an herb crust and sliced thin, served with mashed potatoes, au jus, and creamed horseradish); or Parmesan snapper (a Pacific snapper with Parmesan crust, served with lemon beurre blanc sauce, rice pilaf, and vegetables).
Each entree includes a salad as well, and complimentary ice cream for dessert. Vintner’s Bar and Grill is located inside the Radisson Hotel, at 3455 Skyway Drive, Santa Maria.
Sweet and savory
A variety of drink and side options—from mimosas, Cuban sodas, and blended coffees to yuca fries, tostones, and maduros—accompany the Restaurant Month offerings at Cubanissimo Cuban Coffee House and Cafe in Orcutt. The popular eatery’s four entree choices include beef picadillo (Cuban-style ground beef) and pollo con papas (chunks of chicken and potato), both of which are simmered in a tomato-based sauce and served over yellow Cuban rice.
Puerco frito (fried chunks of pork shoulder with garlic sauce and grilled onions) is also served over yellow Cuban rice, while the selection’s sole vegan option, Cuban black beans, is served over white rice. Each combination includes a guava brownie for dessert. The cafe is located at 4869 S. Bradley Road, unit 118, Orcutt.
Patrons of the Salty Brigade Kitchen in Santa Maria looking to snag its $20.22 deal can customize their own three-course meal with three starter options (potato leek bisque, Caesar salad, or mixed green salad) and three entree options (grilled Tuscan veggie sandwich, the “All American” burger, or shrimp tacos) to choose from. For dessert, customers can choose between ordering Southern bread pudding or a craft milkshake. The restaurant is located at 3564 Skyway Drive, building 3, suite A, Santa Maria.
Pizzas and pastas
As many ghost stories you’re bound to hear about the Historic Santa Maria Inn, none of them, to my knowledge, involve vampires. But it’s good to know the hotel’s restaurant, The Century Room, has plenty of garlic bread on hand, just in case. This elegant eatery’s $20.22 special is shrimp scampi, served with white wine lemon butter sauce, capers, Parmesan cheese, and a side of garlic bread. The Century Room is located at 801 S. Broadway, Santa Maria.
Pasta fans can also head over to Blast 825 Brewery in Orcutt for their Restaurant Month option: Cajun chicken pasta, served with one half of a grilled artichoke. The combo also includes a cheesecake chimichanga, rolled in cinnamon and sugar, for dessert. The brewery is located at 241 S. Broadway, Orcutt.
Meanwhile, the promotion found at Me-n-Ed’s Pizzeria and Craft House (560 E. Betteravia Road, suite B, Santa Maria) includes mac and cheese bites, a small Santa Maria Teixeira Ranch Pizza (a white sauce pizza topped with tri-tip, cilantro, red onion, and jalapeños), and the venue’s CinnaTreats (topped with ice cream from Doc Burnstein’s). For the same price, you can get a large one-topping pizza and three garlic Parmesan twists from Straw Hat Pizza (1822 N. Broadway, Santa Maria).
The more, the merrier
The full list of Restaurant Month offerings from participating venues—which also include Cielito Lindo Mexican Grill, Fire Grill, The Maker’s Son, Maya Mexican Restaurant, Moxie Cafe, and Trattoria Uliveto—can be found at santamariavalley.com.
Many of the featured venues are also participating in Santa Maria Valley’s 2022 Craft Cocktail Contest. Patrons who try the competing cocktails are asked to share their favorites on social media with the hashtag, #SMVCraftCocktail.
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood prefers hash browns over hashtags. Chew him out at cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 20-27, 2022.