Actually, Santa Barbara has some good Vietnamese place, as good as any I had up in San Jose. My favorite is the Noodle Cafe in downtown Goleta on Holluster. Usually full of Vietnamese enjoying the great Pho. And cheap. For ten dollars you can get a great meal and a drink.
There's another Vietnamese place by K-Mart which is also very nice.
IMHO, Vietnamese cooking is where Tahi cooking was twenty years ago.

Melanie,

I passed by there the other day and noticed that they had retired some of their flavors. I had the coconut cream paleta and its was divine. This may be my new favorite. I'm just going to have to go through all the flavors to determine my top ten. At $1.50 per paleta, this is a relatively cheap endeavor.

Speaking of Puerto Vallarta supermarket, I did a quick cruise through on a Sunday and was amazed at how big it is. I'll have to try the food as it looked good.

As some of the local Central Coast foodies know,Chef Ricks in orcutt has closed with the chef taking over the Far Western Restaurant kitchen. Definitively the end of an area in Santa Maria.
I was a frequent customer from 1989 on and had many a fine meal there. I had romantic dinners, company dinners and the occasional lunch. All were good . I had my favorites but everything I had on the menu was excellent. Good times.

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Chef Rick's
4869 S Bradley Rd, Santa Maria, CA 93455

Finally, made it down to AG to try out Petit Cafe. They have an extensive sandwhich menu with a lot of choices,both hot and cold. Prices are reasonable. I had the grilled Crousticard sandwhich with proscuitto, raclette cheese and swiss cheese. Very nice hot sandwhich from a sandwhich press with the grill marks on the bread. About $7 or so.
The service is very friendly. I talked to a server and he said they are havin $20 Prix Fixe dinners on Friday. I definitively have to try it out. Will try some more items and post another report.

For breakfast in SB I can think of a few choices that are all pretty good

1) Renauds (two locations Upper State nr Las Positas and lower State) does a great French breakfast. Great Croissants, good coffee and great food

2) Cajun Kitchen-good omelets, fun atmosphere

3) Andersons- On State Street has a very good breakfast

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State Street Cafe
440 E Ortega St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Interesting! I looked up Raku and will move it onto my list. Do u recommend the $50 omakase meal ? Are there are any must try dishes, IYHOP?

Since Allegiant Air only flies to Las Vegas from our small town (Santa Maria, CA) and I obtained a deal on Airfare/Hotel stay, I've decided to hit beautiful Las Vegas for a 5 day vacation.
I will be staying at the Stratosphere at the end of the Strip from Sunday (Jan 30th) through Friday morning. and will not have a car (I might be inclined to rent one but would rather not). I usually take public transportation to get around and have ample time to eat around.

After looking through the restaurant posting on the lV board, I've decided to concentrate on one great meal and seeks to maximize my money/food intake. I'm not much of a gambler,so I'd rather spend my money on food.

I like ethnic food and love Thai so I've already picked the followimg restaurants;

Rincon de Buenos Aires: I've been to BA and am Latin, so this is a natural.
Lotus of Siam-Looove Thai

Any other must eat ethnic restaurants that one has to try? Are there any Brazilian restaurants in LV?

As far as breakfast/ I think I'll stick to Buffets. The Wynn is on my list, what about Bellagio's?

Any useful comments appreciated.

Thanks,

Carlos

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Bellagio
3600 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV

It's about give or take 45 minutes from Tocumen to Panama city., if memory serves me right.
You could also try Napoli Pizza, that well beloved Italian establishment that serves an awesome pizza with the greatest crust. It's been around for at least 50 years or so.

There are places like this all over Rio. great places to watch people eat tasty cheap food and pass the time like um Carioca da Gema. Sighhh I love Rio.

I would have to add "Academia da Cachaca" to your list of recommendations. It's agreat place to try a variety of cachaca based fruit drinks along with petiscos or appetizers such as carne do sol. great place to people watch, get drunk and enjoy the joie de vivre that makes Rio such a great place to visit. It's in Leblon,next to a pretty good vegetarian restaurant whose name escapes me at the moment.

For breakfast try Confeiteria Colombo at the fort at the end of Copacabana (posto 6).
Great breakfst and great view of Copacabana. Sighhhh, great memories of having a leisurely breakfast while enjoying the view on a beautiful morning. I think its only open from 10:00 AM on.

Try Manhattan Pizza in Santa MAria for the best Pizza around. Not cheap, but very good. The owner is an Egyptian who lived in NY for like 20 years.

You might have to try a Mexican restaurant,they will have the game on.

Via Maestra in the same shopping center as Chaucers is a great casual Italian place

Good to know

Both Chef Ricks and Trattoria Uliveto are 20 minutes from Lompoc.

I can verify bohemiaSB .I just went there last weekend and got a large Pho to Go.
It was awesome ! Perfect broth, all the acoutrements, spices. That and a #41 lunch combo set me back $16. A bargain!
The place was full of what I presume were Vietnamese happily chowing away.
Its located on Hollister Ave in Goleta across from what used to be Alex's Cantina,if you're familiar with Goleta.

I totally agree. The bottom line is the food is good but definitively overpriced and the staff has always been snooty. They like to have private conversations while deigning to take your money. I like to go to the beach at the Cliffs on a nice day and they are the closest deli next to this beach, but I only go there if I forgot to go somewhere else.
Do yourself a favor, go somewhere else.

Better Pho at Saigon on State Street. If you only want to drive to Santa Maria, Saeng's Kitchen in what used to be the Mervyn's shopping center. Its not great but very acceptable.

Gosh, does that bring back memories. Sunday afternoons they had a live band and all the windows open, with a very cool crowd. They had caricatures on the ceiling. I walked by it not too long ago and the sign says its going to be a parking lot. Sigh...

If you just want a quick Fish hit, there's Alfies in Lompoc and Santa Maria. In Santa Maria, you can just get off the Freeway (101) at Main Street,. They have Fish and Chips,scallops,oysters,clams, etc. British themed, they also carry British type food products.

As far as baked goods, I'd go to the French bakery/restaurant called Renaud's in the Albertson's center off Las Positas.It has the best French baked goods in SB. Awesome croissants. Its pretty small, so I'd get them to go. Not cheap but good.

BEST PIZZA

Try Manhattan Pizza in Santa Maria, beats all the others hand down. It is the most authentic NY style Pizza I have found aound here.The owner is Egyptian and spent many years in New York or vicinity. Its located in the old LIdo place on South Broadway.

For seafood try the Beachside CA in Goleta. Great seafood, slightly high prices.

For a good hanburger, I would try the Paradise Cafe, which has always had an excellent burger

It has re-opened under new owners. I haven't checked out since but will try it next week and report on it.

I don't think the Cajun Palace is overated, I would try and see what you think
I took a guest there a couple of months ago and she liked it.
Alos try the new Vietnamese place on 1230 State St for lunch. Inexpensive and good.
You might try the the Cajun Kitchen for Breakfast, there;'s one a block away from State St. Finally, you could try the original Sambos on Cabrillo (the beach) for breakfast. I've eaten there and liked it but some have complained about poor service.

You might try the Santa Maria Inn as this has a great Thanks giving Buffet for around $20-25 per person. I took my mom there for Thanksgiving a couple of years ago and we both agreed it was spectacular.

Try Brophy's and order the beer boiled shrimp.Its a platter full of boiled shrimp you peel and eat, served with lemon and horseradish, Its divine. The food is pretty good but this is always my favorite.
Across from the Hungry Cat is Milk and Honey,among other things a tapas bar. Some of their tapas are pretty good. For live music , go to Sohos. They also have a restaurant but I can't claim any knowledege of the food, since I've never eaten there.

Toodie Jane,

CHeck out the 99Cent store for bargains as well. A couple of weeks ago they received a collection of Toblerone chocoloate for a $1 each. This is not a Toblerone bar but a cardboard container filled with 20 individually wrapped chocolates. Its a good idea to check it frequently as anyhting worthwhile is quickly sold out.

Hi Fellow Chowhounds,

Robin's restaurant in Cambrai (Central Coast) is having a Prix Fixe Brazilian Dinner on Friday March 14th for $39per person. I am thinking of attending but would like to have some company (especially since I'm now single, again). I used to live in Rio de Janeiro so some of this stuff brings back very pleasant memories.Their number is 805-927-5007

here is the menu:

First Course:
Creamy heart of palm soup with yogurt and local manzano chile oil

Second course:
Pork empanadas with guava chili dipping sauce

Choice of Entrees
(1) Brazilian Seafood Stew (Moquequa) delicate spicy coconut sauce on a bed of Rice.
(2) Churrasco -Three meat churrasco grilled skewers of chicken ,beef, linguica with mixed vegetables,Brazilian rice, black beans, plantains, chimichuri & spicy mango
sauce.

Dessert:

Grilled pineapple with churro beignets,vanilla bean ice cream & Cream of caramel sauce.

It all sounds yummy and hopefully some Central Coast chowhounds would like to attend. I live in Santa Maria, so I'll probably get a motel room and come back on Saturday.