santa barbara, ca

FreeBird's is just a groovier Chipotle to me, Cuca's is the realness.

all burrito-focused endeavors feel like 'groovier Chipotle' to me now. but freebird's, being on the main IV road to campus, tends to attract the drunkest young people shouting 'welcome to the thunderdome', etc. so I go there for the memories.

I spent an afternoon/evening in SB about four years ago. I book shopped at Chaucer's then had a delicious meal at Los Agaves on North Milpas. I dream of surfing Rincon someday.

Dream bigger: hire a zodiac to take you to Cojo Point in The Ranch.

https://i.imgur.com/GJmwRSp.jpg

Oh god yes, that too.

OK dumb SB question but do people generally have A/C? Heat?

I have a lot to learn about How to Live in Comfortable Climates.

Oh and what is the biting bug situation i.e. mosquitoes, ticks etc.

Heat is common as the winter nights can be chilly. A/C is less common, but it is useful. We have a single room unit for our kids' room for the summer months. We go to bed later and get by with a screen door and fan at night. We have good shade in the back, though. Some areas, particularly in Goleta, get more sun and probably need the A/C more. Second floor will need it more. It is cooler if you have an ocean breeze. Even cooler if you go into the water.

Biting bug situation is good. We have a creek behind us and never worry about mosquitos.

fleas are probably worse if you have carpet and a pet

there are more spiders than in places with winter, but it's not australia.

collardio, we had los agaves enchilada family dinner takeout tonight. they've opened more locations over the last 4 years. they also own a more upscale spot on cabrillo where the el torito used to be called flor de maiz. it is worth checking out if you're in town for another afternoon.

can get REALLY hot at night in summer if you don't sleep with the windows open/were traumatized by the night stalker

Growing up we made fun of people with AC. Heat was pretty standard - there can be those SF-like bitterly cold / humid winter mornings and evenings. If you live in the city of Santa Barbara you will be fine without AC.

SB is also prone to all of the typical California natural disasters - flooding, fires (and the accompanying dry / hot / windy "Santa Ana" conditions) and earthquakes were all a memorable part of my childhood.

Here are some of my favorite coffee/food spots. They aren't stone cold SB classics like La Super Rica. Most of them would be good things to take to the Mission Rose Garden, shoreline park, a strip of grass between cabrillo and the ocean, Lotusland, etc.

coffee: Dune, Handlebar, and Caje are all good options. Dune is probably the best value. Handlebar is more expensive but has better beans. Caje has the more "innovative" coffee drinks if you guys are into cutting edge lattes with flower ensembles (the beans are also good, no judgement here).
breakfast pastry: Bree'osh has great croissants, brioche, bostocks, and quiches. It is kind of the new Renaud's, which also has great breakfast pastry and is more of an SB classic.
breakfast/brunch: Malibu Farm at Miramar is good, mostly for the trip and side activities. Rosewood Miramar is a recently renovated hotel a little bit south of Santa Barbara. On your drive, you can check out the polo club grounds near the 101. After brunch, you can walk across a nice lawn, cross the train tracks, and walk down to the beach. Skip this recommendation if proximity to wealthy resort guests makes you uncomfortable.
lunch: The Blue Owl has good deli fare downtown. Metropulos has the same in the "Funk Zone", which is the fashionable 'industrial' area boxed by 101-garden st-cabrillo-state st. Street tacos at Lily's. Fancy tacos at Corazon or Flor de Maiz. Cubaneo has a good Cuban sandwich with benton's country ham. Zaytoon for Lebanese with nice outdoor seating. If you like uni, Santa Barbara is world famous for it, and some people grab some fresh at the harbor market and make a meal out of it.

I'd consider taking a lunch trip up the 101 and/or 154 to Santa Ynez. On top of roadtrip views, Industrial Eats in Buellton is my favorite place to eat in the larger area not including LA (it's a 45 minute drive to get out there). Everything is delicious. There's a nearby city called Solvang filled with jelly rolls, fudge, year-round christmas stores, and tchotchke shops. All that Sideways stuff. They have a dessert called aebleskiver, and like most of Solvang, it's not particularly good but its very existence is intriguing. The area is famously good for riding bicycles. There are wineries.

Great info, thanks!

Industrial Eats in Buellton is my favorite place to eat in the larger area

my favorite place in Buellton is that "secret"(?) back window in the gas station, which is probably closed down for now.

...which has a 1-star on Yelp and no mention of the secret window which is an absolute plus in today's world:

https://www.yelp.com/biz/76-buellton

...but has a solitary 5-star review on Facebook:

76 - Buellton, California | Facebook

Rating: 5 - ‎1 vote - ‎Price range: $$
76 - 631 Avenue of the Flags, Buellton, CA 93427 - Rated 5 based on 1 Review "THE BEST TRI-TIP SANDWICH ON THE MARKET #BEEF #LUNCH"

hmmmm, this feels like a trick. and if the upside is a tri-tip sandwich, I will play it safe.

maybe it has another name? it's pretty great.

is it tri-tip only?

excuse me, is it #BEEF #LUNCH only?

haha, sounds like a gloryhole or something but a buddy from SLO told me about it a few years back and I stop by every time I'm passing through.

I think it's sandwiches only but I'm trying to find a picture online or any reference of the counter/window/menu and have been unsuccessful so far. So much for "the information age/all digital everything"....

you are purposefully luring me to a location near north and south 101 exits with this hipster bait.

i'm digging deep:

OldJalamaMama May 15, 201710:16 PM

A good bbq tri tip sandwich for me, stuck here in the SYV, its the always dependable R Country Store in downtown Los Olivos- I think they bbq on both Saturday and Sunday. Crisp buttered roll with lots of sliced tri tip and a side of salsa- YUM. Not cheap and comes with a coke and chips.

The BEST comes from the oddest source in Buellton- on the top of the Avenue of Flags is a 76 Station and on Fridays they bbq tri tips out the back door and slice the tip on a slicer inside- stuff it inside a bun and serve it with a side of salsa- SOOOO GOOD.

ok, looks like I found something more official/detailed:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eagle-Energy-76-Buellton/107357666034922

tri-tip tacos/sandwiches
meatball subs
bbq pork sandwiches
chili dog
french dip
teriyaki beef
yogurt parfaits
etc.

if you click through to that FB link, you'll need to click again toward the top of the page to find the duplicate page that has all the pics/posts. I can't seem to brute force it.

the royal people bought a house here. cannot wait to see them in line at the tri-tip hole.

What royal people?

harry and meghan. they are out in the montecito wilderness, looking down on us, watching over us like oprah before them.

saying things like "the santa barbaran knows the tri tip is a cheaper cut of beef, undesirable to most, but the santa barbaran wants it anyway. what a curious people." Btw it is hot out here this weekend.

Which means a high of 85, but we are all freaking out about it.

oh I should have known it would be M&H. I wonder if they want to half-lease a pony for their (not?) royal spawn. I will share him for hmmm let's say $10,000 a month.

I will in all seriousness happily perform hard outdoor manual labor in 85 and not even complain.

It is 79 rn and feels cold when clouds cover the sun. I was checking out some ocean weather bc of this sweltering heatwave, and I now want to make a sequel to Twister called Waterspout.

It’s 106 in Pasadena right now and a mere 103 in Altadena so I retract my Altadena suggestion

we had Jerry Jones' yacht hanging out yesterday. starting to worry about this place.

Our latest plan is to live in H&M's servant quarters in exchange for pony rides.

Can do same for Jerry Jones but not sure how to get pony on a boat.

Where should I seek out meats to cook at home/airbnb? Also, how insane is the SB farmer's market on the weekends, and are there alternative places to for good produce?

- the weekend farmer's markets are good. It can be crowded, but I wouldn't skip them. The farmer's markets seem to be important to you, and you should see them for yourself. I love them, but I'd imagine there are better. The farmer's markets usually also have a small selection of meat/fish.
- There's a decent produce market on Milpas called Tri-County Produce.
- Shalhoob is the standard local butcher, but we don't buy much from there.
- You can get local black cod, halibut, rockfish, and uni at the SB Fish Market. There's also a small fish market with local stuff on the harbor on Saturdays from 7:30-11am.
- If you want to buy good produce and meats on any day and at one place (and don't mind paying more compared to Vons/Ralph's/etc.), I'd check out Lazy Acres on the Mesa. They have the best meat counter in a grocery store. A bigger store owned by the same company, Bristol Farms, is also opening on upper State next week. I believe these are common in LA, but I am excited to check it out and hope it's as good as Lazy Acres.
- I am not a Gelson's fan, but that's another probably fine grocery option, and it's next to Chaucer's.

Can do same for Jerry Jones but not sure how to get pony on a boat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpM8FjO4Vko

quincie, unfortunately you could be catching a minor heat wave along with some summer fire air quality issues.

I'm old enough to remember when fire season was when the Santa Anas picked up during Indian Summer... rather than just plain old summer.

That’s OK, I am pretty used to crap weather and air quality. I will comfort myself with tacos.

Oh and thanks to whoever made the Cold Spring Tavern (Grill?) rec; made a reservation for lunch next Fri since we’ll be heading out that way to visit a couple of barns.

That will be fun! Glad you're seeing the other side of the mountain. Haven't been in a long while. Would usually go in grad school for tri tip sandwiches and music on the weekends.

Oh hi it is not even 9am and we have hot coffee at handlebar, pastry at Renaud’s, now headed to farmers market, all the while wondering why we have wasted half our lives in the wrong coast.