••• When the San Roque outpost of Jeannine’s closed at the start of the year, it was said to be temporary, so that the restaurant could be transformed “into a full bakery” with “a fresh new look.” Rose recently asked when it might reopen; the restaurant’s outgoing voicemail message says that the location at State and Ontare “has been converted to a central baking facility and is no longer open to the public.” When I reached someone, I was told that Jeannine’s has “recently started offering pick-ups of pre-ordered bakery goods during limited hours at the San Roque location.”
••• “Three Cliff Drive restaurants [Alcazar Tapas Bar, Ichiban Sushi and Rose Cafe] received preliminary approval from the Architectural Board of Review for plans to replace their temporary outdoor dining setups with permanent parklets. […] While there are some minor differences in design, such as furniture style and umbrella colors, all three parklets would include metal planters as traffic barriers.” They look more appropriate for the Haley Street Corridor than the Mesa, if you ask me. —Noozhawk
••• Namaste Indian Bistro at 1218 State Street has closed. —Restaurant Guy
••• Last week, a friend asked where she might buy homemade marshmallows, since the dessert recipe she was using called for making your own, and that wasn’t happening. I suggested the Cheese Shop and Bristol Farms, neither of which worked out. If only I had known about Super Mallows, based in Carpinteria. You can order via the website or Instagram—weekly and monthly subscriptions are also available, for the true marshmallow enthusiast—and pick them up at 4399 Carpinteria Avenue. UPDATE: The company is doing a pop-up shop at its space this Sunday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
••• “O Nigiri, offering sushi, has opened at 3001 State Street, the former home of Shintori Sushi [3001 State Street] that closed last month.” It’s basically the same as Shintori. —Restaurant Guy
••• My friend Amy in Westlake Village and I are always looking for new places to meet up for lunch, so we were excited to try Mothers Tacos, a Napa restaurant that has opened in Ventura. It’s in the new Gasworks complex off E. Thompson Boulevard, along with the future home of Room Service Coffee and a second location of Ruff House BBQ. The Mothers space is handsome, with high ceilings, big windows, and clean lines; you order at the counter and they bring the food to you, and you can add more via a QR code. On one hand, the menu plays it safe—no tripe, tongue, or such—but on the other hand, there’s no chicken. Amy chose the CDMX taco plate (three tacos plus rice and beans), and I got the fish taco plate (three fish tacos and rice and beans). The fish tacos weren’t the best I’ve ever had, but they were definitely good, and the value is off the charts. (All of the tacos are $4 and change, except the fish ones, which are $7.25.) The carne asada taco was Amy’s favorite, and when she said the mushroom one had too much flavor, I wasn’t sure what that meant—until I tried it. (It reminded me of the overkill of beef in demi-glace.) I thought we should order the churros, because they’re apparently an important part of the Mothers experience, but we found them gummy in the center, which may or may not have been intentional. (Neither of us eats a churro very often.) You’ll have to go and see for yourself.
••• Amy had recently been in Santa Barbara without telling me, which is fine, really. She and her family went to Chad’s Café, in part because her husband’s name is Chad, and they discovered what might be the raddest brand merch in town.
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I heard Jeannine’s might take over the old El Pollo Loco building. The for lease sign just came down so I assume something is moving in.
That would be sweet!
So over Jeannine’s! We need a solid breakfast place that actually offers quality coffee. Not sure who provides them with their coffee but it’s terrible! You can do better Jeannine’s!
Cajun Kitchen serves Dune coffee. Had a solid breakfast there this week. Would def choose it over Jeannine’s.
Juice Ranch also sells the yummy Super Mallows.
Not too surprised about Namaste, there were 5 Indian restaurants just on lower state (Bibi Ji across the street and Indian Tandori Kitchen less than 2 blocks away)
Juice ranch sells Super Mallows also Lucky Llama in Carp.
I had gone to this Indian restaurant near an entrance to Victoria Court right after it opened. I told them, I’m new to the Cuisine. I said, I would like a dish for lunch, and to go. I dam near fainted, when I was handed a check for over $50.00. Of course, they are out of business! Maybe the City should get involved, with making sure, aspiring wannabe entrepreneur’s, possess at the least, a viable business plan. It could eventually limit the many vacant store fronts downtown. And one other thing: Call off this 5-year experiment, and open State Street back-up to normal traffic.
Jeff…… are you seriously proposing that the city get involved deciding if someone can open a business?? You are so wrong and the thought of anyone believing that’s a good idea is ridiculous.
R.
That churro looks… unfortunate
Sambos
i was excited about mothers but when i went in, the taco (carne asada) had zero flavor. Really disappointed. Had high expectations