Thanks to Celesta Billeci for growing Arts and Lectures into the amazing program it is today!!
Wld love to learn: 1. the current salary/benefits for the retiring UCSB A&L director, and 2. what are the retirement remuneration/benefits... especially in light of Yang's astronomical salary revelation.
Yummy article can't wait to try them all especially the BEC as I'm also a former New Yorker. Tried to make a reservation at Caruso’s for a friend's special birthday celebration, we were all looking forward to. The on-line reservation would not accept 6 and so I phoned. No answer from the restaurant passed on to reception, I suppose. Was told I needed "approval" for 6 from the restaurant, standard is 4 per table. The restaurant was unavailable at the time. Was promised a call back and told if I didn't receive one, I should call again. Really? who has time to track down a restaurant and ask permission to book a table? Call never came, the second call I made was to the SYR which happily took my reservation for 6 in a New York Minute. Is this the norm or did I hit it on the wrong day? I would like to try it.
Would you like some steak with your fries? LOL
Bar Lou- $11 bread? $13 Cashews? really??? CVR isn’t the Yellow Brick Road.
Interesting menu but could use more basics like Little Dom's. Adding a Little Gem salad would help, as would a chicken breast inside of thighs and a pasta without sea urchin. Oliver's interior before was stunning with very comfy chairs inside and out. No backs on bar stools is no bueno and those dining chairs look like the uncomfortable ones at San Ysidro Ranch so happy there are booths. Can't help but compare it to the newly opened Lion's Tale with their plush chairs, sound-dampening surfaces and an excellent Steak Frites for $36 less. That said, both are a great addition to the neighborhood and we hope to be regulars.
We live just south of Carpenteria on Highway 150, 20 min south of Montecito and 20 min west of Ojai. Other than Little Doms and the Nugget in Summerland, what would be your top 5 eateries? especially for hearty eggs (other than Worker Bee Cafe)?
Here's my honest response to that - I grew up in the Bay Area, and the Rusty's equivalent up there is Round Table. As a kid, I loved Round Table, and every once in a while when I'm back up north, I'll get a Round Table pizza. Mushrooms with white onions on the classic crust, truly hits home. There is truly something to be said for nostalgia when it comes to food - sometimes the stuff we grew up eating just satisfies in a way that's not really going to resonate with the people who didn't grow up eating it. So while I love a Round Table pizza on occasion, I'll also freely admit it's basically garbage tier pizza, and I'm not scratching my head when other people don't get excited about it. And I'd never in a million years put in a vote on a poll declaring it to be the "best pizza." The adults I know who like Rusty's are all people who grew up eating it, and so while I fully understand why they like it, the same way that I like Round Table, that doesn't actually make it good pizza - especially in a town where there are soooooo many other better alternatives. And my point about the cost still stands - I'd throw way less shade at Rusty's if the price per pie was closer to Little Caesar's, cause that's about what it's worth. The fact that a Rusty's pizza regularly clocks in more expensive than Bettina, Revolver, St. Bibbiana, Lucky Penny and the like just baffles me. A medium Rusty's Special is $25. The Bettina Meatlovers pizza is the identical cost. The difference in quality, flavor and labor are vast, and yet the price is the same.
FWIW I've lived here for five years now, but I can tell you right now how I'll feel about Rusty's after I've lived here for 20.
Franny's!!! I can still taste every morsel. I ended my last meal there with an Amaro tasting. Thanks for the reminder.
Surely the photo helped explain which one.
Odd headline since there are 3 CVS stores on State Sreet. It seems like most headlines these days are designed to be clickbait.
I’m getting a hint of “recent transplantism” to Santa Barbara in these comments lately. There’s a time and place for all types of pizza, be it Rusty’s and yes even a Little Caesars! Oh and didn’t Fig Mtn win big nationally?
Agreed that food costs are high but unfortunately it’s a symptom of a broken model. That said, why hold food to a higher standard than $10+ beers?
I was anti Wexler's until I went to Wexler's. I had the BEC as well and it was the classic flavors but extremely elevated and fresh. They also dropped their prices, so props to them.
No. Everyone has his price, but mine is more than what I could get for a blog post.
Eric,
did you get paid for promoting these 7 items?
Very sad the the MPC blew it on this one. This is a huge project and will affect the community forever. The once beloved Miramar and its site now looks like Disneyland and Caruso is clearly not going to stop, adding a luxury mall to this quaint neighborhood. 😪
Tried Alma Fonda Fina last night and the ceviche cuizmala was phenomenal. Many of the other items were wonderful and though service was hit and miss (new restaurants always need a grace period) it’s definitely worth checking out!
Lama Sama: I’m thrilled this business has opened in San Roque as it’s definitely needed in this area. I have enjoyed Lama Dog in the funk zone for some time (food selection much better!). I went right after they opened with friends and was not terribly impressed for these reasons. Sooo loud and impossible to get a seat, kids running all around screaming and unattended while parents boozed, very small wine menu. The service was ok. The food, this was my biggest issue. The menu was small, limited and no healthier options, southeast Asian food is definitely not for everyone and the prices were outrageous for what it was. I certainly don’t mind paying for good food but this was over the top. I got the duck salad which was $30 with tip and was the tiniest portion I’ve ever been served and it had so much dressing I only ate two bites, it was gross. I ordered at my seat from the barcode menu and had to get up and retrieve my food from the kitchen window (no server & tipped). My friends ordered at the window and their food was delivered by a server (no tip). What???? I was so confused by this odd service. The food part of this establishment needs a serious reboot.
My young padawan, why must you walk when you can drive?
Why must you be able to drive by a business for it to exist?
Your written Caruso’s dessert by Vincent Donatelli is sensational!
Aperitivo is consistently the best meal in town
I whole heartedly agree with this review on Lama Sama! Place is gorgeous, staff are great and attentive, and we had such high hopes for the food. Our party ordered the $20 burger and thought there would be some sort of chips or fries that would come with it, but just a tiny burger arrived on the plate all alone. And I got seriously the smallest laughably tiny $24 duck salad with like the tiniest portions of dried shredded duck, and $8 for like 10 tater tots. I agree with other commenter's, go for the drinks but save your money on the food! (Unless you want to go home hungry and sad about being ripped off).
Swerving away from the pizza topic, it’s interesting reading about the black sheep liquor license fundraiser, I know they had a full bar at their old location on Ortega… what happened to their liquor license? I haven’t been to the new location, and didn’t know they were just Beer and Wine…Liquor licenses are hard to come by in SB!
