The SB Post

Santa Barbara After Dark

Santa Barbara is best known for the elements that are enjoyed in the light of day -- the sea, beaches, mountains, gardens, parks, etc. Contrary to popular belief, Santa Barbara does offer more than sunshine and roses! Yes, our nightlife scene is relatively mellow (unless you're a college student). But if you know where to go, there's plenty of good, clean fun to be had at night. In honor of the Winter Solstice, here's a rundown of 21 places to go and things to do after dark.

1. Settle in for drinks at Joe's Café, a Santa Barbara institution (since 1928) on State Street.
2. Belly up to the bar at Brophy Brother's for the catch of the day and cocktails overlooking the Harbor.
3. Sip on local wines at Wine Cask Bar-Café (a.k.a. Intermezzo).
4. Catch a show at SOhO Restaurant & Music Club.
5. Monopolize the juke box at The Press Room.
6. Play pool at Dargan's Irish Pub & Restaurant.
7. Throw darts at James Joyce.
8. Soak up the scene at Blue Agave.
9. Dance the night away at Wildcat Lounge.
10. Lounge the night away at Elsie's Tavern (hit the ATM first, it's a cash-only joint).
11. See a burlesque performance at The Savoy.
12. Go Italian at Arnoldi's Café, where dinner comes with a side of bocce ball.
13. Channel "The Dude" at Zodo's Bowling & Beyond.
14. People watch from the bar at Lucky's Steakhouse in Montecito.
15. Star gaze at San Ysidro Ranch -- choose from The Stonehouse or the more casual Plow & Angel.
16. Head to the hills for a movie at the Riviera Theatre, where the indie and foreign films play.
17. Make it a double-feature at the West Wind Drive-In.
18. Eat, drink and be merry at The Brewhouse.
19. Tap into the arts scene at Red's Bar & Tapas in the Funk Zone.
20. Mix, mingle and munch [on the sweet potato fries] at HobNob.
21. Kick back and relax at Muddy Waters Café.

Film Feast: Coming Soon to a Theatre & Restaurant Near You

 

Some film forecasters look to the Golden Globe nominations to gauge the year's Oscar contenders, but Santa Barbara's own Roger Durling, Executive Director of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, has an impressive knack for predicting Academy Award nominees and winners through his choices for the Festival's award honorees. Screening more than 200 films from around the world, SBIFF is considered an essential stop on "the road to the Oscars." The 26^th edition of the Fest will take place January 27-February 6, and attract an eclectic mix of film lovers, entertainment industry pros and locals.

We've got our eye on Roger's picks to-date, which include several of the recently announced Globe nominees: 

• Annette Bening, American Riviera Award (1/28)
• James Franco, Outstanding Performance of the Year Award (1/29)
• Christopher Nolan, Modern Master Award (1/30)
• Geoffrey Rush, Montecito Award (1/31)
• Nicole Kidman, Cinema Vanguard Award (2/5)

Tickets and passes for SBIFF are on sale now at www.sbiff.org and it's best to buy early for the celebrity tributes, which tend to sell out. The tribute experience is a bit like "Inside the Actors Studio" - the honorees engage in a dialogue with a moderator, who walks the audience through their career, showing clips along the way. You get a great feel for the various personalities through the candid discussions.

Film Fest goers will get to fulfill more than just their cravings for cinema and star sightings. Fabulous food is written into the script, too, with the new Film Feast prix fixe dining program. Throughout the 11 days of the festival, 30 participating restaurants will be offering special "Short" (2-course), "Feature" (3-course) and "Epic" (4-course) seasonal menus. Check out the restaurant line-up on www.sbfilmfeast.com, where there's also a listing of cinema-centric Film Sleeps hotel packages and deals offered in conjunction with SBIFF. Come for the film and stay for the food, or come for the food and stay for the film!

BTW, Film Feast is part of California Restaurant Month in January - loads of great restaurant deals are being offered throughout the state all month long, so there will be plentiful opportunities to get your foodie fix on.

Olive Harvesting With Global Gardens

Global Gardens, our region's premier olive oil producer, is in the midst of their tenth annual harvest. I had the good fortune of witnessing the harvest in action yesterday and enjoying a four-course lunch prepared with their specialty olive oils and vinegars. Owner and olive goddess Theo Stephen invited us to join her for a tour of her organic olive groves on Rancho La Cuna in Los Alamos, the source of her estate extra virgin olive oils. All of the Global Gardens olives are hand-harvested and pressed the next day on a Certified Organic Italian stone olive mill, which gives the resulting oils a very pure, natural quality.

Olive trees line the meandering entry road leading up to the ranch, and several different varietals are planted on the sloping hillsides that grant vistas of the Purisima Mountains and neighboring agricultural lands dotted with vineyards. (Side note: Rancho La Cuna is currently owned by Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat winery fame, and vineyards that contribute to his Clendenen Family Wines are grown on the property as well.) It was a clear warm day, a welcome change after the recent cool spell. Theo reported that this year's weather patterns benefitted her olive harvest, which will far surpass the prior yield. We started the property walk just outside of the main house, where a small collection of Kalamata trees grow alongside Mission varietals. We were each given a large mason jar to fill with olives picked from the sunbathed silvery-green trees. The olives were ripe and ready, parting easily. Our very own hand-picked batches will be transformed into edible olives after following the instructions Theo gave us to brine them ourselves at home. After our mini harvest project was complete, we took to the hills to explore the main orchards planted with Farga, Manzanilla, Koroneiki and Ascolano varieties. The distinctive terroir of these Los Alamos groves lends Mediterranean herbal notes to the olives grown here, and a sensitive palate can detect the salty influence of the marine layer that makes an almost daily appearance in the area.

After the informative walking tour, we sat down at a dining table overlooking the dramatic valley views. The Global Gardens gourmet team prepared a feast using recipes created by Theo for her forthcoming Olive Oil & Vinegar For Life cookbook (publishing October 2011). All of the ingredients were sourced locally, including tangerines grown on the ranch and Theo's own organic elephant garlic which is used in many of their food products. The recipes reflect Theo's passion for healthy cuisine centered around quality ingredients and showcase some unexpected uses of oils, for example the e.v.o.o. chocolate sauce that went with the Tangerine Dream desert. My favorite dish was the Olive Avocado Salad presented with Global Gardens Meyer Lemon Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Simply delicious, and something I can easily replicate at home.

Theo is a wealth of information about cooking with oils and vinegars, making salad dressings and DIY tips for home-made infusions. Global Gardens has a destination store and tasting room in downtown Los Olivos, where Theo is often found conducting tastings herself. In addition to their olive oils and vinegars, Global Gardens also makes a full range of gourmet food products like tapenades, mustards, spice blends and appetizer spreads. Fans of the line can sign up for the Global Gardens Oil & Gourmet Food Club to receive seasonal shipments of the latest releases. I'm addicted to their Los Alamos Signature Estate Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which is a blend of Farga, Koroneiki, Manzanilla and Mission varietals. At $30 a bottle and with such an impeccable and delicate fruity flavor, this isn't an oil for cooking. As Theo instructs, it's for finishing. Plenty of the olive oils in her collection are appropriate for cooking, such as the Estate Organic Mission Extra Virgin Olive Oil which retails for $22 and makes an excellent substitute for butter in any recipe. The shop is well worth a visit to taste ($3 fee) your way through their collection of award-winning culinary oils and fruit-infused vinegars.

The Funk Zone

When travel journalists ask for recommendations on something "different," off-the-beaten-path or "new" to cover in Santa Barbara, I steer them towards The Funk Zone. And I send media looking for the hip, cool and edgy side of Santa Barbara here, too. This mixed-use neighborhood by the waterfront, just off the very end of lower State Street (between State & Garden and Yanonali & Mason Streets, to be specific), used to be an industrial and manufacturing hub. Now it's filled with an eclectic mix of artists, surfboard shapers and skilled craft workers as well as locally-owned shops, art studios, galleries and wine tasting rooms.

The Funk Zone offers the perfect contrast to the pristine red tile roofs and white-washed buildings that are synonymous with Santa Barbara's architectural style and make our main downtown historic arts district so memorable and lovely. Minus the polish and plus some grit, The Funk Zone has its own distinctive brand of charm. Very close to the Amtrak station, Stearns Wharf and Cabrillo Boulevard -- which are filled with sightseers on the weekends -- The Funk Zone's little side streets are still considered uncharted territory even for some locals. Hence the "new" factor. It offers a sense of discovery and it continues to evolve and get better and better as more businesses crop up in the ‘hood.

The rising popularity of the Urban Wine Trail has helped to bring foot and bike traffic into The Funk Zone in recent years. Oreana Winery, Santa Barbara Winery, Kunin Wines, Municipal Winemakers, Whitcraft and Kalyra Winery are all in the Zone. Red's Wine Bar & Tapas, Union Ale and Metropulos Fine Food Merchants are foodie filling stations and social gathering spots here.

The flagship Channel Islands Surfboards retail store is another draw to the neighborhood. Nearby, the massive Beach House (a.k.a. Santa Barbara Surf Shop) surfboard and apparel shop has been open since 1962. They carry men's, women's and kids' clothing, bathing suits, footwear, towels and any sort of beach gear you'd need or want to bring back as a souvenir. Blueline Paddle Surf is a newer kid on the block, and outfits not only locals but people from around the world with stand up paddle surfing equipment. The Santa Barbara Surfing Museum is a gem of a museum that's open free-of-charge every Sunday from noon to 5pm (special tours can be arranged by appointment at other times). The museum showcases owner Jim O'Mahoney's collection of surfing and skateboarding memorabilia, pays tribute to surf music and has a section devoted to general Santa Barbara history and pop culture.

A few doors down, the Fishnet Retail Gallery & Theatre (46 Helena Avenue) collective is a driving force in Santa Barbara's creative community. There's always something going down here, be it a party, performance or art exhibit. In fact, they are hosting the Fishmas Bizarre block party December 11-12. More arts and culture can be found at The Arts Fund gallery.

The Funk Zone is a people-moving hub, too. The Santa Barbara Running shop will outfit you with running shoes and apparel. Segway of Santa Barbara runs guided tours and rents Segways and electric bicycles. Wheel Fun Rentals rents out all types of bikes, surreys, scoot coupes and other fun forms of transportation.

I see something new every time I venture into The Funk Zone, whether it's a shop or a mural I've never noticed. There seems to be a little something for everyone here, and so many nooks and crannies well-worth exploring!