Robert Mondavi Merlot & Walnut Gouda

One of the best wine and cheese pairings I've discovered recently is Robert Mondavi's Merlot served with walnut gouda and crackers. This Merlot's got legs! It's tangy with just the right acidity- one of the few red wines that actually liven you up instead of putting you to sleep. Paired with smoked gouda with pieces of savory walnuts inside, it is an absolutely delicious treat!

Farmer's Market

The Santa Barbara Old Town Farmer's Market covers the 500 and 600 blocks of State Street on Tuesdays from 3pm to 6:30pm in the winter and 4pm to 7:30pm in the summer.
Pick up the new Buy Fresh Buy Local Food Guide for a list of farms and restaurants that use fresh produce in Southern California. The guide also includes a list of which fruits and vegetables are in season so you can select the freshest produce every time. Download a copy at www.caff.org




You'll be surprised to see the variety of fruits, vegetables, flowers, cheeses, nuts, sprouts, even sustainably harvested seafood and organically raised beef at the farmer's market! Last week, there was a stand with live lobster and crab caught right off the coast near the Santa Rosa and Anacapa islands. Prices at the farmer's market are fair and comparable to the grocery store, but you can really taste the difference in an organic, locally grown apple. No more waxy fruit shipped from five states away ever again!

Go to California Federation of Certified Farmers Markets for a complete list of markets near you.

Ellwood Butterfly Preserve

I thought it was curious that after living in Santa Barbara for four years that I never knew about the Ellwood Butterfly Preserve just a few miles from my home. When I moved to the Ellwood Beach area, with its great hiking trails and year-round surf, I finally discovered one of the largest butterfly preserves in the country! It is not highly advertised, which must be purposeful in order to keep the thousands of monarch butterflies continuing to visit each year! The gorgeous black and orange monarchs fly from Canada, stopping along the way down the coast of California, to Mexico, and back up! This annual migration takes several generations.

I was taken away the first time I saw the butterflies. On a warm, sunny day, they flutter all around before they land in bunches and blend in to look like tree leaves. Looking straight up in the sky, thousands of butterflies circle in every direction- like the image inside a kaleidoscope! I've never seen a more perfect image in nature. It is essential to go on a hot day, however, because I have returned on cooler days and it has never been quite the same.

Solvang

Solvang, California is one of the most unique little towns in America. With Danish villages and windmills, this town was showcased in the wino movie "Sideways". The touristy "downtown" part of Solvang has one main street that is best traveled by foot, as it is lined with antique shops, wine tasting rooms, chocolate shops, and restaurants serving Danish food that tastes as close as you can get to home-made.
One particular restaurant that caught my eye was the Green House Cafe because just as the name says, it looks exactly like a little green house. It made me think of sunny rooms and fresh produce, which is what attracted me to this eatery. I ordered the Danish Sausage & Red Cabbage with pan fried potatoes and gravy. It was heaven! The softest, most succulent, juicy, flavorful sausage paired with pickled sweet red cabbage and crispy fried potatoes, all smothered in rich brown gravy: yum! I think it is best to cut the sausage and mix everything on the plate all together in one hot, delicious meal on a chilly day. The service was wonderful too!

Another good eatery worth visiting is the Mustard Seed Restaurant. As the sign in front says, "Good home cookin" is what you'll get. Even the dining room looks like a visit to grandmother's place, down to the old-fashioned wallpaper! I highly recommend a cup of split pea soup and their Monte Cristo sandwich. That's a ham and cheese sandwich battered and deep fried like french toast. If that sounds incredibly buttery to you, it is! Definitely a rich treat to indulge in every once in a while.

Cold Spring Tavern

Driving up the 154, you go up the mountain through winding roads that are sometimes steep, with no chance to pass the car ahead of you for quite some miles. It's a chance to pull over and marvel at the view of all of Santa Barbara, from downtown all the way to Isla Vista, and as far out as the Channel Islands.

Right before the Cold Spring Bridge, make a left at Stagecoach Road and it will lead you to the most magnificent, unobstructed view of the county's largest bridge. Keep going down that road and it will take you the historic Cold Spring Tavern. Over 100 years ago, it was used as pit stop for stagecoaches to change horses and for travelers to grab a hot lunch. Today, it is still a fully operating restaurant serving food true to theme of the old wild West, like duck, rabbit, buffalo burgers, rack of lamb, and even a venison steak sandwich. The Wild Game Black Bean Chili sounds adventurous, with venison, rabbit, and buffalo simmered in a black bean chili sauce. On a cold day, the hot food warms the soul.

The Cold Spring Tavern bar area is in a separate wooden building called the Log Cabin Bar. There's a stone fireplace to warm up to and listen to bands that play every weekend. Called one of the most romantic spots in town, I can see why it was packed on Valentine's Day!

Santa Barbara Shellfish Company

The Santa Barbara Shellfish Company serves up some of the freshest and tastiest cioppino, clam chowder, lobster bisque, and crab in the area- and at a very reasonable price. The modest building is at the very end of Stern's Wharf, where a casual seat on one of the barstools lends a view of the Santa Barbara Harbor. A great place to eat and watch the sailboats go by!
Tanks of crab and lobster line the back wall. Check out the chalkboard of daily specials, which vary with season to include different types of crab and lobster, clams and mussels, or soups served in a sourdough bread bowl.

The whole dungeness crab special, steamed and cleaned, is served with butter and cocktail sauce, and comes with a cup of creamy clam chowder and a small caesar salad. Another delightful choice on the menu is the Cioppino, a tasty broth with half a dungeness crab, mussels, clams, shrimp, and scallops served in a bread bowl. You may also choose the pound of steamed clams in white wine and garlic broth served in a bread bowl, although the soup was spiced with a little too many pieces of thistle in it which was distracting to pick out.

Before you leave, make sure you take an oyster shooter! What's better than a raw oyster in a shotglass of horseradish, tomato sauce, and grated parmesan cheese? Get a round of shooters for the whole group, even the skeptical. SB Shellfish Company also serves beer by the pint or pitcher and wine by the glass or bottle. Sister restaurants FisHouse and Boathouse at Hendry's Beach make up the trio all located in Santa Barbara, California.

Black Cat Riesling

Moselland Zeller Schwarze Katz Riesling Black Cat from Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany is a unique find. The interesting bottle is much easier to remember than the name! And the bottles come in black, orange, and blue, for festive decoration even after the wine is gone.

It is a delicious Riesling, sweet and crisp with apple and peach flavors. Goes very nicely with seafood and spicy dishes because it is so refreshing!

Hello World!

Welcome to the place where I will share my adventures in food and travel with you. It is a passion of mine, from scouring farmer's markets for organic vegetables to wine tasting in my beautiful home town of Santa Barbara, California- I am assured that cooking and traveling is the key to happiness!