For 95 years, the Historic Santa Maria Inn has been an oasis along Broadway, with a storied history of playing host to the likes of Rudolph Valentino and Clark Gable.
One of Santa Maria’s most beloved and important landmarks is about to unveil something sure to tempt the taste buds of locals and travelers alike—and even visiting Hollywood luminaries.
Beginning June 10, the long-standing, award-winning, and popular Sunday Grand Buffet will be replaced by a modernized brunch format, with many newly designed entrées and personalized table service.
The inn’s general manager, John J. Reinacher, brought on board popular chef Ryan Gromfin, formerly with Central City Market in Santa Maria. Now a food and beverage consultant, the talented Gromfin is collaborating with longtime executive chef at the Historic Santa Maria Inn, Alex Araizaga.
Chefs Gromfin and Araizaga have worked together the last couple of months in the inn’s new $1.9 million state-of-the-art kitchen, developing new recipes and mixing and matching creative culinary ideas.
“After careful consideration, we believe the new à la carte format, featuring some more eclectic and whimsical dishes blended with the classic home-style ones, will excite the palate and entice a whole new segment of guests. Our newly created menu is truly cuisine at its finest,” Reinacher said.
The new à la carte menu includes Cuban French Toast with Plantains and Crema; Southern Crispy Buttermilk Chicken and Waffles; a Mexican favorite, Chilaquiles; Prime Rib Hash (two poached eggs, tender pieces of prime rib, caramelized with potatoes, onions, and peppers, topped with Hollandaise sauce); and the Santa Maria Barbecue Panini of grilled tri-tip and linguica sausage on a garlic bread French roll with smoked Gouda cheese, caramelized onions, and pico de gallo—a creation Gromfin predicts “will become a signature dish at the inn.”
“The patron has the opportunity to select menu items depending on their appetite and how adventurous they are feeling,” Reinacher said. “This format will allow people to order smaller portions without spending as much as they would on the buffet. Or to go crazy and try three or four dishes off the new menu.”
The inn’s beverage and food team also designed a whole new brunch cocktail menu, including several signature Bloody Marys and specialty Champagne cocktails. The inn will continue to offer the “bottomless mimosas” and Champagne customers have come to love.
“No longer can we operate the hotel simply because ‘we have always done it that way,’” Reinacher said. “I must always make sure we stay current with the best and most consistent methods available in the marketplace.”
Holiday buffet-goers will be happy to know that the Sunday buffet in the Garden Room will be back better than ever on Easter, Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas—when as many as 800 people dine at the inn.
The new brunch menu debuts June 10. Diners can anticipate many new recipes at lunch and dinner, too, in the coming months.
The Historic Santa Maria Inn is at 801 S. Broadway in Santa Maria. The Garden Room Restaurant’s direct line is 346-7908.
Highlights
• Fess Parker Winery, based in Los Olivos, has reached an exclusive deal with Shipyard Brewing Co. to distribute the Portland, Maine brewer’s beers in California.
As per the agreement, five of Fess Parker’s sales representatives will be marketing Shipyard to retail stores and restaurants throughout the state. Shipyard, which sells about 40,000 cases of beer a year in California, hopes the partnership will boost its sales in California by 25 percent, the Portland Press Herald reported.
For more information about Fess Parker Winery, visit fessparkerwines.com.
Contributing writer Wendy Thies Sell wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Highlights were written and compiled by Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, e-mail, or mail.
This article appears in Jun 7-14, 2012.
