Rincon Brewery - Carpinteria, CA

 

 How cool does this place look? I received a special invite from my sweet friends, Lindsay to check out a new brewery located in cool Carpinteria. Carpinteria tends to be a little busy on the weekends due to the safe beaches and downtown shopping so if you see a open parking spot, you better grab it!

All the beers sounded good for different reasons. The Bates Blonde is of course light and drinkable and there is also a nutty Mac Brown that would be fabulous on a cool evening. But the one that made it into my glass was a Mexican inspired Vienna Lager names "La Reina".

The menu read like a perfect combination of comfort food and fresh vegetables. I love the idea of the Fried Chicken Salad filled with with crisp green but then made naughty with the fried chicken and cornbread! We opted for a large bowl of Onion Strings to share and I ended up eating most of them. They were greasy, salty and just perfect.

Thank Lindsay for the invite!

Cliff House Inn & Shoals Restaurant

We are lucky to live in such a beautiful place that we only had to drive 25 minutes to go to our anniversary destination. The Cliff House Inn is located off the 101 in between Santa Barbara and Ventura. Scott surfs there and I love to read in their beach chairs. So, we decided why not make a night of it in celebration of our marriage!

It was a beautiful day - I love winter storms.

 How beautiful is this photograph? Dark and stormy. The waves were crashing, the weather was just perfect for bundling up. This is my idea of heaven. 

The islands were visible, I was impressed with my camera. That is a long way to zoom!

 

Our room was so cute. Not the most fancy but for a 24 room hotel on the beach I was very happy. You could not beat our view. 

Scott Good Taste brought some bubbly... 

 And flowers for Melissa Good Taste!

Dinner was downstairs in Shoals Restaurant. We both started off with bowls of Clam Chowder. It warmed us up and soothed our tummies with creamy goodness. Nothing beats a hot soup in my mind.

Scott went with the special of grilled Mahi Mahi with a lemon wine sauce complete with grilled vegetables over mashed potatoes. I love when they grill the lemons that are used for squeezing it creates a smokey taste. Good order.

I had the Scallops with Lobster Risotto topped with fried onion strings. Yum, yum, yum. This has been the best thing I have eaten in a long time. The scallops were cooked perfectly, risotto was creamy and the salty crunch of the onions were lovely. The price of this dish was $14.95 - What a steal!

Of course I had to try the Creme Brulee. The custard inside was delicious but the top was not hard, kind of soft. Not a deal breaker but if I had to be critical that was one thing it could have improved on.

Later, we got into a Scrabble Challenge and I took home top honors. More champagne and a blissful night sleeping to the sound of the ocean just steps away... If you wish to re-create this peaceful evening I highly recommend the Cliff House Inn and a reservation at the Shoals Restaurant. Ask for one of their two suites and you will not be disappointed!

The Nugget - Summerland, CA

Just off the 101 heading South after you go through Santa Barbara you will come to a quaint little beach town called, Summerland. There is an old school, eclectic place with quite the following, welcome The Nugget. The booths are always reserved for dinner so expect to sit at a table, I guess they have quite the following.

I have been on a French Dip kick so I ordered another one just to see how it would measure up to the the one I had at the Odyssey in Paso Robles. This one did not compare. Meat a little more chewy, cooked to well rather than my favorite medium. The jus tasted like celery salt which is not bad, but not my favorite. The fries were very tasty though, tasted as if they may have been double fried. 

The access is good if you have a horse trailer, just park down the road and hike back up to the restaurant. I will return for the charm and for the Calamari Piccata I saw on the menu, it sounded delicious.

The Shoals - La Conchita, CA

So how beautiful is that view? Omg. Pull off the 101 after Carpenteria and you will arrive at the Cliff House Inn. The rustic Inn has a slammin' location, right on the water! Within the hotel there is an ocean front restaurant - The Shoal's. This beautiful sunset was at seven o'clock, Mother Nature doing her thing!

Scott got the fish special - Seared Ahi with peppercorns. The cream sauce and lobster risotto was so good it should have been ordered as a side, to go! The asparagus was cooked al dente, just to his liking. 

Ok. Now here is mine and I loved it so much that describing it will not even do it justice. You know when you have a really good food day, and just everything you eat tastes good? This was one of those days. Mine was actually off the small bites menu and cost $14. Deal of the century? I think, yes! Anyhow, I ordered the Scallops in wine and butter sauce also, served with the lobster risotto and topped with fried onions. I am salivating just thinking about it again.

With two glasses or wine and a creme brulee (which I would pass on next time) this was a a very reasonably priced meal. The view alone is worth its weight in gold. I will be back for the prime surf location, beautiful view and fantastic food!

The Shoals - La Conchita, CA

So how beautiful is that view? Omg. Pull off the 101 after Carpenteria and you will arrive at the Cliff House Inn. The rustic Inn has a slammin' location, right on the water! Within the hotel there is an ocean front restaurant - The Shoal's. This beautiful sunset was at seven o'clock, Mother Nature doing her thing!

Scott got the fish special - Seared Ahi with peppercorns. The cream sauce and lobster risotto was so good it should have been ordered as a side, to go! The asparagus was cooked al dente, just to his liking. 

Ok. Now here is mine and I loved it so much that describing it will not even do it justice. You know when you have a really good food day, and just everything you eat tastes good? This was one of those days. Mine was actually off the small bites menu and cost $14. Deal of the century? I think, yes! Anyhow, I ordered the Scallops in wine and butter sauce also, served with the lobster risotto and topped with fried onions. I am salivating just thinking about it again.

With two glasses or wine and a creme brulee (which I would pass on next time) this was a a very reasonably priced meal. The view alone is worth its weight in gold. I will be back for the prime surf location, beautiful view and fantastic food!

Siam Elephant - Carpenteria, CA

I got my hair done in Montecito Sunday and I have to tell you, nothing makes me feel more beautiful than that! So as I made my way back to Ojai, I thought I would pull off into to sleepy old Carpenteria and grab a bite to eat.

The Siam Elephant caught my attention through Yelp a couple months back because of the Pumpkin Curry they had on their menu. Two of my favorite things combined!

I saw a Lunch Special for Curry, Appetizer and Soup. I went for that instead. The Curry was more of a gravy if that makes sense to anyone. It was thick, not like the curries I am used to with its broth like texture.

I guess I should have gone with my guy and tried the pumpkin.

Delgado's - Carpenteria, CA

After my performance at the Santa Barbara Fiesta I felt that a little cerveza and Mexican food was just what I needed.

The chips and salsa were so so. Our waitress later brought out some super hot salsa that lit my lips on fire. Natural botox anyone?

Cool beer shot right? Totally refreshing and absolutely needed.

The half order of Chile Verde was plenty for me. The pork was fork tender and the rice was serviceable. I made the mistake of pouring the fire salsa over the beans and it was just too spicy for me to stomach.

Shrimp Enchiladas with green sauce. Tasty enough to do the job but nothing outstanding.

Delgado's is just fine.