Tarla Cuisine

Santa Barbara – February, 2017

I had planned to drive up to Big Sur for a few days, stopping in Santa Barbara on my way up but the roads were closed.  Sooo, I decided to go ahead and spend the day in Santa Barbara.

On my way up 101N I stopped at the Camarillo outlets (Carmen exit) to stretch my legs and check out the Oakley store where in the past I had found some things I liked.  Not this time…So, I drove on up to San Ysidro Ranch where I had a delicious lunch at the Stonehouse Restaurant, i.e. beet, pear and quinoa salad with macona almonds and a moist chocolate cake.  Weather was lovely.

Once in Santa Barbara, I parked near State street and visited the Museum of Art nearby where I enjoyed several wonderful exhibitions.  Christian Marclay’s “telephones” (1955) is a sequence of film clips featuring people dialing, answering, talking, listening on and finally hanging up an assortment of old fashioned telephones – really amusing!!!  Also a very nice exhibit of the art of David Wiesner, a highly acclaimed picture book artist and early master of wordless picture books.  Even the permanent collection had some wonderful paintings of great masters.

Afterwards, I wandered up State street and enjoyed the evening organic fruit and vegetable market as well as the unique shops still open.  Checked into my airbnb to see where it was located and then drove down to the beach and walked to the Stearns Wharf and pier filled with restaurant and shops.  Wandered over to the “funky section” on Anacapa and had dinner at the ecletic Lark Restaurant which has received so much acclaim.  I sat outside by the firepit and had some cornbread, Brussels sprouts and dates and a deconstructed crème brulee – all excellent!!!

In the morning I took a walk to the Santa Barbara Mission and Botanical Gardens which I will visit another time and then drove back down to the funky area for a pecan sticky bun and rich coffee at Helena Bakery.  As the day was gorgeous I walked along the ocean to the harbor and shipyards to watch the gigantic waves before heading home before the traffic.  It was a lovely day.