glbtrtr's Profile
Best place for dinner in Yuba City????
Yuba City confirms the wisdom of my "When in Doubt, Go for the Swedish Pancakes at IHOP" fall back approach when visiting chain land cities.
The various Schat's bakerys
I stopped several times at the Highway 395 location on my way to go skiing at Mammonth. Drawn naturally to its homey style buildings thinking surely something this unique in this odds of a location has to be good. I kept trying. Honestly I did. And even returned several decades later with the same results. Its popularity shows my one vote counts for nothing.
So it was a reasoned opinion and a fair one by my own experience and history. But it apparently remains a sole opinion. I would never waste my time or money there again. Granted, it does have cute buildings and one wishes it would be better, though little up that way is food wise. To me baking a wad of jack cheese in the middle of a loaf of inferior bread was not my idea of grrr-may when the sum does not equal more than its individual parts.
Best place for dinner in Yuba City????
Large Sikh population in Yuba City so Indian would be a good choice. You missed our own favorite which is the food booths at the Memorial Day weekend Sikh-American Friendship Organization - worth a trip.
City Cafe on Plumas Street used to be the nicest place in Yuba City according to someone who used to live in this area but not sure what it is like today. There is an old historic Silver Dollar Saloon in Marysville which has a lot of character, but mainly steakhouse menu and in an evocative part of town considering this used to be the third largest city in California during the Gold Rush Days after Sacramento and SF. Happy graduation..
For breakfast, coffee and casual the lovely Brick Cafe in downtown Marysville is also a nice place to drop by and enjoy their cool courtyard and people watch just about everyone in Marysville drop by - this is a sleeper of a little town with some lovely homes and small town feeling. Watching guys in bib overalls, dusty boots and rusty pick-up trucks come in to the Brick and order a latte shows how far we have come in appreciating the wide range of tastes that is now "California cuisine".
La Super Rica daily specials? Santa Barbara
The write the specials on a chalk board so not sure what schedule they have. You might want to call them and tell them when you are there and maybe they just might accommodate what you are looking for. Small and personal operation still. Or talk to the owner who is usually behind the order counter and let him know when to come back -- or just stick around and have the #15 Tocino Special - the one that has hooked me now for decades and I don't even try anything else.
Santa Barbara: Jane or Hungry Cat or ...???
Thanks for reporting back, Jane is solid - good word, same owner as Montecito Cafe. Giovanni's on Upper State is my go to pizza in town - old style pizza parlor pizza - succulent and filling for at least two ..... for $15 bucks. Good enough.
Agree, Panevino and via via are definitely in the mediocre category and I don't understand their popularity, but we make a spectacular light meal out of the antipasto misto, ciabatta and an affogato at Ca Dario. Yum. The best in town.
One more "Italian" for you to try when you come back this way is Via Maestra 42 up in the Loreto Plaza Upper State area (3000 or so block of State) - excellent Italian deli that does dinners at night in their small setting. Though their antipasto still does not come close to what Ca Dario puts out, it is still fresh, authentic and lovingly prepared.
Solvang, Santa Ynez, Los Olivos Wine Recommendations
Always good advice, listen to yo momma, Cafe Succulent it is: http://www.succulentcafe.com/
This menu sounds like it comes from in the same culinary family as Scarlett Begonia in downtown Santa Barbara Victoria Court. We are getting to be almost an embarrassment of riches for top level dining now even for lunch and breakfast after pretty standard fare for so long. I have to put Cafe Succulent on our must do list for sure.
Solvang, Santa Ynez, Los Olivos Wine Recommendations
Paula's Pancakes: One of the spots, along with Mirabelle I have not been to myself but remember many recommendations from others here. Have been to Norberts in SB before he took over Mirabelle and he has such strong culinary roots so I think sight unseen this remains a top recombination.
There is another lunch spot in Solvang with an funny, odd little name that looks pretty inventive too - someone will be sure to add that to
Solvang, Santa Ynez, Los Olivos Wine Recommendations
I am not the eonophile but others will come along who are and can head you in the right direction. For dining, here are my own favorites and ones you may want to try that others recommend consistently:
1. Ballard Inn - in Ballard ***
2. Grappolo in Santa Ynez
3. Mirabelle - Solvang
4. Paula's Pancakes - Beullton
5. Los Olivos Store - Los Olivos, for gourmet picnic supplies and snacks
6. abelskievers - somewhere out the shop window in downtown Solvang, even though they are not very authentic, they are unique to this area with its Danish heritage
My own favorite winery to visit more for the drive and the setting is Rancho Sisquoc - a lovely picnic spot.
Pismo Beach - Foodie Advice Needed!
If you are feeling very casual for dinner, I can recommend ordering the potato skillet and steak pieces at the friendly, large horseshoe bar at McLintock's - -this obviously won't be a sit down dinner but it is a great way to get some tasty items without the wait and prices and overkill portions at the restaurant itself, if ever "meat and potatoes" gives you a call at the end of the day.
There will be others who have recommended one of the resort restaurants that sounds a lot more like what you are looking for - a search of recent posts will give you the name.
We ourselves always fill up for the day at Mo's and like their Philthy Phil ribs better than anything else they offer, and find HotLix down the street just the place for "dessert" - pecan rolls or their coffee flavored salt water taffy. So it is down home time when we hit Pismo, but we love it and return often.
The various Schat's bakerys
IMHO Schat's Bakeries (anywhere) are the most over-rated waste of money ever devised in the culinary world. Perfectly awful products; and so many of them. Who was it that said you can never lose money over-estimating poor taste in America? My guess is it was someone whose last name was Schat.
Lunch in Riverside - elegant and good food?
Mission Inn is so special, I would just enjoy it and look no further.
Santa Barbara: Jane or Hungry Cat or ...???
A perfectly wonderful spot as you describe and good to put Stella Mares back in contention. I almost want to keep it a secret choice as it needs to stay as our own local little, intimate hideaway pick. Secrets out - while I would not put it in the top tier with the likes of Julienne etc, it is a perfectly lovely local spot it is among the tops among its many local fans -- me too. Shhhhhh ......
Opinions on Julienne in Santa Barbara
The funny thing in this part of town is the presence of the venerable and still open "hippie" Soujourner restaurant which fed many a generation's lost souls on humble portions of cornbread and beans for decades, and also the site of one of the worst ,but now closed Chinese restaurants, Jimmy's Oriental Gardens, who had one of the best looking store fronts along with the stiffest drinks in town so by the time you go to their miserable Column A or Column B dinners you did not much care. Out of these modest roots, this really remarkable collection of independent owner dining destinations is emerging.
Santa Barbara: Jane or Hungry Cat or ...???
Cielto in La Arcada Court - regional Mexican cuisine has a kids quesadilla. So with with a flan for dessert could this work, along with maybe some butternut squash soup or other shared sides somewhere in-between? - and get to watch the turtles playing in the fountain at the same time: http://www.santabarbara.com/dining/menus/cielito.pdf
Santa Barbara: Jane or Hungry Cat or ...???
We just had a thread about "child-friendly" and could not come up with any specific restaurants that had both great food and dedicated children's menus too. If they were specifically child-friendly, like you have also found the food is often only so-so. However I did find Olio e Limone did offer a children's gourmet menu for St Valentin's Day ($34) so it appears they want to be child-welcoming and they do support many children's benefit activities in town. I suspect they would be happy to work with you to find items that would work best.
If you want to add a few more specifics about a type of place you want overall that could meet what you think of as "child-friendly, maybe we can think of a better match.
Hungry Cat has small, close tables and a high noise level and menu items that I think of more as adult food and beverages, but not sure what you mean by "picky eater" because most of their offerings are novel combos of tastes and ingredients. Jane is more mainstream in its menu with solidly good food, but I hear it also has a high noise level too. I think they would welcome children.
Wine Cask, Sea Grass and Downey's have a more subdued atmosphere and a more leisurely dining pace with some degree of formality - I suspect this might not work with an 8 year old.
An outlier might be the new Cielito in the very lovely La Arcada courtyard which has a lot of small plates of classic regional Mexican cuisine (not Mexican "food"!) and this is recommended because they have outdoor tables and a lovely fountain with turtles that could be amusing entertainment for a small one. Petit Valentin also has nice outdoor tables and a very nice and light French menu that I think would appeal to a "picky eater" being interesting and well-prepared, but not overkill portions or preparations.
You might try the Harbor Restaurant because of the views and the novelty of being out over the water - it is getting better reviews than in the past and would certainly have enough menu variety to suit all tastes and portion sizes. I suspect they are very well set up for the younger patron.
Julienne is very gracious in their approach to both food and customer. The owners might be young parents themselves and I would almost suspect they would consider it a privilege to introduce a brand new generation to their love of food. This is a very casual place, but does have close, small tables and a busy buzz.
When I did find children's menus listed on line I was disappointed to see they looked pretty grim: chicken fingers, spaghetti and meatballs, hamburger sorts of things which is why I think Petit Valentin in La Arcarda Court with their small tasteful items might really be a good overall choice even though it might not formally be "child friendly".
By all means try Scarlett Begonia for breakfast or lunch if this fits in - mothers are giving it rave reviews for their own children here.
Date shake around Palm Springs
It was a long while back but also went seeking the legendary date shakes of Indio area. Huge disappointment as they used processed date crystal chunks and there was no discernible date flavor in some ersatz frosty concoction that was not even a good milkshake.
Having recently been to Oman and eaten varieties of dates there one can only dream about in quality and flavor, it is too bad this unique California date growing area does not deliver something even close in flavor and quality. Hope someone can come along and tell me the date industry and their products have gotten better in the past few years. Oman made me fall in love with dates and dates for snacks all over again.
Opinions on Julienne in Santa Barbara
Thanks. Also discovered they carry Cotswold Chedder at C'est Cheese also around the corner from Julienne next to my own favorite ciabatta heaven Our Daily Bread. I think we are developing a new foodie ground zero in this historic little part of town.
Opinions on Julienne in Santa Barbara
Thanks for your report. So glad you liked Julienne - a class by itself ,yet very approachable fine dining at the same time. Handlebar is a new one on me. Please tell us more. Since my prior posts I did get to Scarlett Begonia and include this one now too for high praise as a class by itself for breakfast, lunch and brunch.
Santa Barbara with kids?
Thanks WSLisa for the feedback. I will keep my eyes open now for specific children's menus downtown. Pascucci's has had "too much flavor" for me in the past too -- more impact than finesse. Glad you enjoyed your time and thanks for putting "child-friendly" into measurable terms.
Santa Barbara with kids?
I'd still take a look at Olio e Limone too if you want more of a special "Italian" dining evening, because they were advertising a special children's gourmet menu for Valentines Day last year, and the owners are great supporters of children's activities in town. So sounds like they would want to meet you half way on a children's menu, but I also saw a review where there was a split plate charge too.
Santa Barbara with kids?
More luck: Pascucci's has a "bambini" menu so you get it all: close by, Italian and kids: http://www.pascuccirestaurant.com/dinner.html
Santa Barbara with kids?
Here we go at least with a menu for a small little spot close by in downtown, just one street away from Paseo Nuevo Mall on Chapala Street. I have never been myself, but has its fans: Silvergreens - they try very hard to be as fresh and organic as possible and do have a kid's menu:
http://www.silvergreens.com/kids-menu.html
Some local reviews for Silvergreens along with their food philosophy: http://santabarbara.com/dining/review_read.asp?pk_restaurant=1551
Santa Barbara with kids?
Add me to this list that avoids Fish Enterprise too. Which is about the only restaurant I have found with no redeeming features in our town, other than it does have a loyal fan base, mainly for its drinks and happy hour. They have a niche and let it not be me to write them off totally for whatever that niche is. Many restaurants come, fail and go an Enterprise has been one of the stalwart survivors for some reason.
Yes, I have not have noticed children's menus. Nor does our local restaurant guide have a separate heading for such. However, this has been a question asked before on Chowhound so a good search here can turn up other suggestions that do not come to mind for me because it has not what I have needed to look for in this area. But good grief, there are lots of families in this area so there must be some good reliable choices -- I just don't think they are right downtown.
One other spot could be El Paseo also off State Street if your kids like Mexican - great setting, new owners and finally getting better reviews than in the past. I think the owners would really go the extra mile for kids. Cielito in La Aarcada could work too because they have outdoor tables, an ala carte menu with small items and turtles that swim in the center court fountain. It is more classic regional Mexican than El Paseo which is traditional American take on Mexican, but still fun if this is what might work for you.
Try the search here on chow hound for children friendly Santa Barbara and will be looking forward for your report once you get back - I would love to be able to share some good finds because this question comes up from time to time. Along with "dog-friendly" too, but that is another whole story.
Santa Barbara with kids?
Not sure I see too many children's menus, but most restaurants are good about sharing and don't even necessarily add split-plate charges when it is for kids. I'll keep my eyes open more for children's menus now. Most have appetizers on the menu which can be sufficient for children or first courses as well which can be a soup salad or pasta option in a smaller portion. I hear you about the chains and the obvious kid-friendly places that are really anything but. Most (all?) of the restaurants on State Street are individually owned places and are eager to please. Most likely they will work with you to get something that can work for your family needs.
We seem to inherently reject the chains here too, though the IHOP on State Street downtown is pretty special because the the restaurant was originally built around a huge fig tree that is still standing surrounded by glass walls in the middle of the restaurant and IHOP is kid-friendly as we all know. There are always families there and they have indoor and outdoor seating and I will go out of my own way for their Swedish Pancakes so when in doubt, you know what you get at IHOP except in Santa Batbara we do even IHOP with a special flourish.
Santa Barbara with kids?
We don't go to Aldo's for the food, but it is always busy and often has some nice street music next to the patio. Seems like a good family friendly place and has their take on "Italian" and American standards. However, my memories go back to when this was the Copper Coffee Pot and had an actual cafeteria line and was the literary and writers hangout spot, before the later chain coffee houses took over in this town.
Help me out with what "kid-friendly" means to those coming to this town - I think of a place that has a lively buzz so any noise kids might make is easily absorbed, enough variety on the menu for big and little appetites, kind of casual and close to the parade of street life which allows for passing entertainment. The inherent quality of the food is not the primary ingredient in these recommendations; but certainly is not a drawback either.
One other possibility is the Art Museum Cafe because it is right next to the Children's Art and Craft Center inside the Museum where they can play and create their own objects of art. They have a nicely adventuresome menu but not necessarily "Italian" but more tapas and that can be fun for kids to explore the small plates of different foods.
I also overlooked Palazzio, also on State Street - they even serve some of their dishes family style so each can take what they want of their brand of "Italian" American offerings. Again, a nice lively and casual buzz for State Street, also a place where families would be welcomed. Chase is another worthy option in this same category and even more magical at night with all their twinkle-lights.
I hope others who have more immediate experience with kid-friendly add their insights because I am really out of my ken here for downtown State Street. I think families out in the Goleta area have their favorites but I don't see a lot of family dining on State Street itself.
Olio et Limone often has tables of family diners for dinner and would certainly meet the Italian part of the request very nicely, and they do also have their more casual pizzeria now too.
"Family- friendly" itself conjures up images of ChuckeeCheese and I don't think one can find this on State Street, so then what else would make the grade? This is a very good question and I think it is great parents want to seek out special dining spots so kids can share the new places and foods along with the parents when they are on vacation.
Santa Barbara with kids?
Passcucis at 729 State Street might be a good place. It is young and lively and has its own brand of Italian and American specials. Aldos is also in the neighborhood for italian and American and has a nice out door patio where you can people watch too.
Carrillo and State is the 900-1000 block so this is close by, heading down towards the ocean from where you will be staying. If you want casual, Mac's Fish and Chips is great a few blocks more down the street and your kids will probably like the deep-fat friend candy bars (?!?). There is also Somethings Fishy (Japanese Benihana type restaurants) down that way too which is good table side showtime fun for kids.
We like Sakura in the food court places in Paseo Nuevo Mall, for well-priced sushi-teriyaki combo dinners that do get served to you after you order them at the counter so they are kind of sit-down places if the weather is nice enough to be outdoors.
Driving from SF to Montecito: great spot for lunch half way?
Point me to the La Simpatia wanna be in King City, and I am ready to retract my prior dismissals.
Driving from SF to Montecito: great spot for lunch half way?
Missed your latest King City reports while I was out traveling - Please withdraw my prior post telling folks to just drive on past KC. A chow worthy diversion after all. Melanie knows her stuff.
Driving from SF to Montecito: great spot for lunch half way?
Happy to retract my admonition - comes from many decades of making this drive and calling this the vast chain wasteland road stop. Please share your favorite places in town -- and perhaps it is the lack of novelty for us in So Cal that never put these small restaurants on the map for us in King City. But always happy to give great small town establishments the nod. I also failed to find anything chow worthy in Soledad as well, though it too had some interesting local spots and they get a lot of points for their recent downtown urban renewal efforts.
Santa Barbara State Street classy wine bar
The State Street wining and dining area is about two miles long. Try "Blush" on State Street in Olde Towne. http://santabarbara.com/dining/review_read.asp?pk_restaurant=1577
