We went to Lucky Penny last time but couldn’t get a seat until much later at The Lark. I don’t think it will be a problem this time around. They added a bunch of outdoor seating in that little street/alley in front of both restaurants. I like the idea of a bang bang.
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@attran99 the Lark was fantastic. Packed at 6pm on Wednesday night. The entire outside patio was full and most of the inside was also packed. Every worker was wearing a mask. Tables spaced out very well.
Forgot to take pictures of everything except the hangar steak with sun dried tomatoes, crispy onion and shisito peppers. Kids destroyed the meat and I think they got suckered with a bunch of the hot shisito peppers. Haha. Serves them right. The spicy cheromula had a decent kick but not overpowering.
The grilled flatbread with lebneh, hummus and muhmara dip was excellent. The flatbread came out piping hot with nice grill marks and sprinkled with huge flakes of sea salt. Every dip was great.
Heirloom tomatoes with Persian cucumbers and grano padano. Interesting use of celery and parsley. Fresh vibrant veggies and a nice green goddess type of dressing.
Pork chop with grilled pluots and black eyed peas succotash. Meat was perfectly cooked and tender. Loved the black eyed peas. Peas had the perfect texture soft but not mushy. My bean cooking skills are severely lacking.
Really great meal regardless of the city.
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So glad you had a great meal! Did you also bang with Lucky Penny?
No we had so much pizza for lunch at Pizza Wagon. My kids want to stop at Pizza Wagon on the way back home. Might get Lucky Penny for lunch one day.
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Every place in Santa Barbara County serving food or drink is requiring all employees and patrons to wear masks. There are large posted signs in the windows of every establishment.
Most places are taking the 6ft rule very seriously by spacing out tables or using outdoor areas to set up tables. The Lark added 15-20 tables in their parking lot to make up for reduced capacity in the dining room. Lama Dog closed off half the street in front of the entrance. They added 12 four tops in the middle of the street. It would make me much more comfortable to eat out with increased outdoor seating areas in LA/OC but restaurants down by us don’t have the same flexibility.
Best meal we’ve had in a long time at Poquita. The entire restaurant was packed by the time we left on Friday night around 6:30. Great utilization of the back patio and some tables into the parking lot. Every server wearing a mask and tables spaced out.
My kids loved the El Bulli olives. They were amazed with the whole idea. Kids these days. Had to order extra.
Chicken croquettes were crunchy, creamy, cheesy and delicious. The chicken flavor gets a little muted In the dish. A nice slice of jamon on top never hurt.
Tortilla Espanola was fluffy and a nice surprise. The potatoes and pepper added interesting elements to the dish.
Octopus dish was the highlight for us. Great octopus with charred bits and beautiful mashed potatoes. Like high end French restaurant with tons of cream and butter silky smooth.
Smaller platter of jamon and some Iberico. My kids thought the Iberico was too fatty. Haha more for dad.
The pan con tomate was a beauty. They import the bread from Spain. Thin while still maintaining good crunch but not too crunchy to upset the top of your mouth. Great tomato flavors. Yum.
Chicken and chorizo paella. The best we’ve had albeit probably only paella at restaurants 2-3 times. Savory, lovely texture to the rice and lemon aioli was a excellent addition. A little bit of soccorat but could have used more. The only quibble.
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There’s a new (new to me at least) place called the project in the funkzone,
and its a collab between captain fattys and corazon cocina. Excellent beer & tacos!
Passed by it. It was very crowded on the Corazon Cocina side. We love the food at CC. Never had Capt Fattys beers. Nice space.
CC is amazing. I use to go when they were a pop up on the other side of the freeway and only open 1x a week
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Barbareño remains our favourite up there. Will write when at keyboard
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SY Kitchen is in Santa Ynez is great
Octopus salad killed it!
Perfect saffron spaghetti with clams
And fantastic short rib sauce pasta too
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Another great visit to Los Agaves on milpas and then discovered a fun ice cream spot just down the street
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We discovered the Good Lion bar on State Street this weekend. It is a delightful old bar making artisan cocktails.
We spent about an hour sampling different drinks on and off menu. The cocktail game is strong here.
Loquita provided us a great meal this weekend.
We didn’t have reservations, but snagged some seats at the bar not long after opening. It was a joy to sit at a bar, again…and chat with the bartender and the folks seated around us.
Limited photos because we were too excited and just ate.
El Bulli - spherified gazpacho
Pan con tomate - jamon Iberico
So good we ordered 2
Not pictured: potatas bravas and their Waygu steak with mole, garlic aioli, and pickled mustard seeds. Both were solid dishes. Also got the basque cheesecake to go. Have yet to eat that.
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Road Trippin’ to…
We Airbnb’d at a small, immaculate, hilltop hideaway with views from every window - removed enough for peace & quiet with an easy drive to downtown SB and Santa Ynez.
First day - caffeine & a quick bite at the bottom of our hill…
Goleta Coffee Co / Loca Vivant Kitchen
Cortado & Black Iced Tea w/Housemade Almond Milk
My tea was a little watery but hubs loved his Cortado.
Chicken Pozole
It’s not L.A. pozole but I felt like I was doing something healthy for my body. 
Breakfast Burrito
On to Santa Ynez for an afternoon of wine tasting… accompanied by another mini-meltdown by me on the San Marcos Pass. Does everywhere beautiful in Northern California require driving on winding roads with steep drops?! We took the 101 back. It’s becoming a pattern.
Thank goodness, beautiful flat earth & bucolic hills…
Finding Demetria is a mini-adventure itself, but I didn’t get nervous on these bumpy, narrow, one lane roads with considerable drops. Why? Because the speed limit is 5mph! I asked the workers how on earth UPS trucks drive on that road? They replied “Fast”. 
Demetria Estate Vineyards & Winery
@Nemroz’s advice put Demetria at the top of our list! 
Founded by John & Sarah Zahoudanis and worked by their son, Alexis, winemaker, Ryan Roark, and biodynamic farmer, Philippe Armenier - growing Rhone varietals and making Burgundy-style wines from organic Pinot Noir & Chardonnay grapes grown in cooler California appellations.
”Biodynamic farming is based on the philosophy that our entire property is a living organism”.
…Life goals.
Let the tasting begin…
2018 Cuvée Papou & 2020 Semillon
2016 “Wabi-sabi” Pinot Noir
The Wabi-sabi was an unscheduled interlude not on the menu and not in the same price range as the others, but it was on our bill… because I put it there! So good. It will be an exercise in patience to not uncork this for a while. 
2016 Cuvée Matia
I must’ve been enjoying the Cuvée Matia too much to take a photo. The tasting notes are spot on and the surprise of cherry cola on the nose was indeed a treat!
2018 Pantheon
2019 Syrah
Each wine is delicious. It’s a matter of choosing for your palate, and a couple might even convert your palate. We took the Wabi-sabi, Cuvée Papou and the Semillon for home plus a couple for a friend’s Tday dinner.
Our host and generous pourer, Logan, served at a leisurely pace and told stories about the Greek founder and his love of French wines. Logan also bonded with my husband over red wing boots and a shared love of General Quarters Clothing on La Brea, which happens to be owned by our friend & neighbor. ”Don’t make me go to my truck and pull out the t-shirt to prove it.” -Logan.
Thanks again @Nemroz! Turns out Demetria was the reason we went to Santa Barbara! 
Back on the 101… them grapes love this coastal fog…
For dinner we hoped to go to Bar Le Côte in Los Olivos, but they were temporarily closed due to a small fire. We went to a steakhouse on State St in SB rec’d by a friend.
Big Sweet Australian Lobster Tail & Fixins
Cowboy Cut Ribeye on Spicy Onion Strings, Twice Baked Potato & Rosemary Sauce
I’m not gonna nitpick over a steakhouse dinner. It’s classic steakhouse fare - good food, good cocktails, well-trained service. I enjoyed my lobster tail but the highlight for me was the jalapeño onion strings under hubs’ steak. 
Can’t leave without going to downtown Santa Barbara and The Funk Zone seems to be the place.
Goat Tree at The Hotel Californian
We wanted a quick something before getting on the road and Goat Tree is where we landed - a Housemade Pain au Chocolate, Cortada & a Mimosa followed by a walk on the pier… then back to L.A.
Bye Santa Barbara! 
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I’m so glad you had a great time and thanks for the discoveries I don’t know about… I wanted to throw phone into toilet when I saw chicken posole but glad I stayed with the post 
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I know, lol. It wasn’t the best first meal. Probably why I took more photos of the cute shop than the food. The area we were in had like two restaurants. But Demetria was fantastic. So thanks again! 
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Love Demetria. The first time we went there was as inadvertent party crashers and we’ve gone back (legitimately) every Los Olivos trip since.
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Love Demetria as well, a good friend is a member of their wine club they have some yummy wines!
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I’m probably going to join the club. I like that they won’t ship their wine in the summer to avoid overheating.
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Demitria really is good! His other wine club is Ridge vineyards ATP program love them, they do a lot of field blends and do a lot of great bottles
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