••• I went to Tina’s Pizza, the Bettina spinoff at Linden Square in Carpinteria, on a mission to try the by-the-slice square pie, but the chicken parm sandwich was the standout. While purists may wish it came on a hero, the homemade focaccia might actually be better, and even though the sandwich is $18, it’s very satisfying. Perhaps an eggplant parm sandwich is in the future…? P.S. This sweet-and-spicy relish is new to the restaurant’s pantry section. P.P.S. Linden Square varnished its outdoor tables, presumably so that they can get power-washed now and then.
••• Sama Sama Kitchen reports that Sanguis Wines is closing its tasting room at 8 Ashley Avenue (off Milpas) and will now offer tastings at the restaurant Tuesday through Sunday (noon to 3 p.m., reservations requested). “There are discussions regarding a pairing menu as well. All of Matthias Pippig’s wine brands will be offered for tastings, with bottles available for purchase.”
••• The Santa Barbara Greek Festival, organized by Saint Barbara Greek Orthodox Church, is this weekend at Chase Palm Park, with music, dancing, and most important, food—gyros, souvlaki, pastitsio, spanakopita, loukoumades, baklava, Greek beers and sodas, and more. This is not in lieu of the church’s GreekGrabGo event in the fall; more on that later.
••• I was surprised to discover that Ospi is allotting just 90 minutes per reservation, lunch or dinner, regardless of the size of the party. Bettina, a logical point of comparison, allows two hours for groups of four and up.
••• Ventura’s Limon y Sal has closed after 10 years: “Downtown Ventura is synonymous with our restaurant but the insecurity of the closing and opening of Main Street since the Covid pandemic has left the restaurant with few opportunities to grow. It was the goal of management to bring cultural events to Downtown Ventura but the city has made it clear that there is little interest in them.”
••• Tickets are on sale for the Museum of Natural History’s annual Mission Creek Beer Festival on October 18. “The Mission Creek Beer Festival is back with a bold new concept—The Flavor Field Guide. This intimate tasting experience will be an immersive journey of taste exploration among four distinct flavor zones: Bitter, Sweet, Sour & Salty, and Umami & Beyond. Attendees will sip and snack their way through artisan beer and local food pairings, following their taste buds and feeding their curiosity about the science behind this wild expedition of flavor.”
••• The Win-Dow is now open for breakfast on weekends, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Props for including fries on the menu! I’ve always thought McDonald’s should have fries at breakfast. I’m less excited, however, about something I hadn’t noticed last time I went to The Win-Dow: “We have added a 3% Happy and Healthy Surcharge to your bill. This charge is not a gratuity, but rather supports our ability to provide sustainable earnings and benefits for our team. This charge is optional so please let us know if you’d like it removed from your bill.” Yeah, and hope the staff doesn’t sabotage your order…. I get that higher-priced restaurants add a surcharge, rather than simply increase prices, in order to avoid sticker shock. But in The Win-Dow’s case, why not just raise all of the prices by a quarter? Is anyone going to walk away from a cheeseburger because it’s $4.60 instead of $4.35?
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Excited about Sanguis wines at Sama Sama: we love their wines but don’t get to that part of town often.
Window doesn’t have refills. In fact often when they are busy you sit and drink your drink before you get your food and then it’s gone. The line is so long and slow it’s pointless to wait to get another one, so they need to fix this issue, because as a customer it’s disappointing.
Re: “I get that higher-priced restaurants add a surcharge, rather than simply increase prices, in order to avoid sticker shock. But in The Win-Dow’s case, why not just raise all of the prices by a quarter? ” Could it instead be the opposite: Most customers at Win-Dow are not as affluent as you and may actually be comparing its prices to fast food alternatives. The RH Fireside Grill adds 4% to their $24 RH Burger, i.e. $0.96. I doubt that their clients would object to $25 vs. $24. It seems tacky/devious of a company that is trying to transition from mid-market Restoration Hardware to upscale RH to add in fine print at the very bottom of the menu that there is a 4% surcharge for what are normal restaurant expenses.
Malaka!