Oh, yum. :-)
Any idea what is going on with Riviera Bar? Did they ever get to open?
I have had lovely meals at Madeline's, Robin's, the Sow's Ear, the Sea Chest and for the ultimate Cambria experience, the olallieberry pie at Linn's Restaurant.
Lots of good news here!
Re: Cambria. I had a lot of fun dining at the kitchen bar at the Sea Chest. Got to enjoy the sunset yet be warm inside. The owner was there schmoozing and poured us some wine I’m pretty sure we didn’t pay for. It was very old school in a way that’s getting harder and harder to find these days.
OMG. That BATHROOM!
And that $75m Carp offering, generally people who can afford that don't grow their own food. Good luck finding water, too. I'd say ditch the plans for the mega-house and keep the AirStream.
Joyce’s brilliant talent, her care and preservation of artwork is inspiring. Village Frame and Gallery was a rare jewel in Montecito’s crown. All the best to Joyce.
No clue. Last time I peeked in (a while ago), there were no signs of life.
Who's doing the food for Low Pigeon's new spot?
Interesting....especially all the "cagey" business. I'm glad that something will be going on there, though. It has been a very long time.
Can we get the Bucket Brigade to clean this corner up? It’s over grown, and would be a beautiful entry to Montecito. Just asking.
terrific newsletter!
I hear you on the use of parks by businesses but Plaza De Vera Cruz has been a defacto homeless encampment for the last several decades. A few years ago a child using the playground was pricked by a needle. It seems like it’s been very hard for community members to use the space when it’s been dominated by one group. I think bringing the trapeze school in could benefit the park greatly.
I couldn’t agree more! Fantastic rant. Thank you!
Hi to the chef, I’m the one who loved your special sweet bread pudding. I also sent a note that it was the best I’ve tasted around the world. Since you are not putting it back on your menu is their any chance you would share the recipe. My best Sally Arata
I’m less impressed by the spec renovations seen here. They’re ultra 2010s, and they already look dated if viewed with a keen eye. Even Chelham, which is personally appealing to me, is a flop unless you want to completely revamp your house every 5 years to keep it current with the latest Instagram fads. Buena Vista is hilarious, yet it could work out for them. De La Guerra is Home Depot Special and it’s disturbing that we find ourselves in a place where that level of quality fetches near 3 million. I’m sick of seeing ugly tile, grey everything, cheap chunky windows, Scandinavian woods, black faucets, etc. repeated in every single renovation around town and sellers wanting to double or triple their investment for the tweaks. These are faddish designs, they don’t represent or capture anything of the spirit of this place we live, and they are not value investments. Everything already begs to be redone, and imagine what it will look like 9 years from now. We also see way too many soulless interior renovations that feel completely divorced from the exterior architectural style of the home which is annoying. Frankly, I’m depressed looking at listings these days. I used to love real estate here, but it seems with each year fewer and fewer character properties are hitting the market and buyers are left fighting like rats for crumbs. Sometimes I have a Redfin gander through 90068 or other LA zips just to see some sweet little historic homes that actually exude style, timelessness, and personality even when fully updated. Palate cleansers. Things are just too depressing here these days. End rant.
I have stayed at the Spanish Garden Inn many times over the years. It was a beautiful small quaint hotel beautifully decorated to fit the areas spanish heritage. Iam saddened to see what has happened in the take over of the hotel and its "renovation". When viewing it on line it looked like any other inexpensive hotel. I am sorry to say i will not be staying there again. Wishing the new owners and staff the best of luck.
The corner monument where Cabrillo splits off by the cemetery across from the bird sanctuary?
I agree with the idea of a more park-like oasis atmosphere ...for people to just relax for a while- just beautify the area... maybe add drought resistant fragrant plants, shade trees, and a fountain that recycles its own water.
And I don't like the idea of a public restroom—which will invite unwanted use by transients, homeless drug users/sellers, etc- unless you then have to consider having private security monitoring the area for the patron's safety.... and the massive trash areas- yuk!
What a way to wreck our town. It won’t even help traffic. The little planting they do looks like the spit up a few leaves in mulch beds I’m sure whilst charging the county for big container planting. And the noise. Get ready folks. I live 1 mile up from freeway in carp and barely heard the freeway before construction and now it’s like I’m living on it. The walls pop the sound up and into your backyard. Tearing down all the foliage that previously absorbed sound is extremely noticeable. This sickens me to see what’s happening here.
Work under the hood is an understatement for the Cima Linda property. Beautiful old home, but a lot needs updating and renovating, especially the "vintage" bathrooms that probably haven't ever seen an update. A 6.7 million dollar fixer-upper.
I finally managed to track down some info on More Mesa this week and found this News Press article: https://newspress.com/more-mesa-property-not-in-escrow/. Wasn’t actually in escrow but could be soon? I would truly hate to see this land developed, even with limitations.
These small roundabouts are dangerous and poorly thought out, especially with freeway offramp traffic. Its going to change the charm of Coast Village for sure — and we'll all miss the tall trees. I wonder how CalTrans plans to support the illustrations of plants that require far more water — oh that's right — it'll just become mulch and dusty plans that never really grow. Yuck. Not much we can do about, other than fight the bad roundabout design (study them in Europe, please) and take photos of when Montecito had trees.
Roundabouts prevent fatal and serious injury crashes. Pedestrian crosswalks do not.
Could not agree more.
Hazard pay for certain workers? Postal, restaurant, road crews....? Who hasn’t worked their ass off? Enough- open up let people work and pay their bills- stop rubbing it in my face that I am NOT ESSENTIAL
