California Oil Museum - Santa Paula, CA

I have lived in Ojai for four solid years and I had never actually set foot in the California Oil Museum. I have always wanted to and had heard fabulous things about it from my father but never made the time to do it. With my sister in town, I decided today would be the day and we went to check it out. We are fourth generation in the Petroleum Industry so it was very special for us to check out the early beginnings of oil in California.

The memorabilia and expiation of the extraction of oil from the land and sea was fabulous! 

They even have an oil rig set up in an outdoor building to give you a sense of how amazingly brilliant early gassers were. It just is hard to believe how bright and innovative they were in comparison to how the rest of the world was living at that time. 

After all that learning I had to grab some lunch. I had my favorite green salsa, chile relleno and soda with the best crunchy ice Santa Paula has to offer. If you are a local, give the California Oil Museum a look. You will learn a lot and the donation of $4 to enter is well worth it!

Always Craving... Mexican!

"What are you craving?" "Where do you want to go to lunch?" 

"Mexican, Mexican or Mexican", is almost always my answer. Each place has their speciality and I can eat the cuisine day after day without feeling a burnout. This has been my diet lately...

 If you are in Santa Paula and craving fine Mexican food, Familia Diaz is a good option. Chili Colorado is a tasty plate of food when combined with bites of beans and rice. The real kicker here is their Sunset Margaritas flavored with cranberry juice. The chips and salsa bar is awesome, my favorite being a salsa verde.

If you turn left out of our driveway and make your way to Downtown Ojai you come up on Casa de Lagos first. If you order the Shredded Beef Enchilada and Chile Relleno Combination you will be able to eat several meals with its leftovers and still leave completely satisfied. 

Or you can keep driving into town and stop in at La Fuente and order a trio of tacos made with Carnitas, Carne Asada or Chorizo. They are just the right amount of food if you are wanting a little snack or fast meal. Their tamales to go make an excellent dinner suggestion when short on time. 

Lastly, I wolfed these Chicken Enchiladas down last week and felt like a complete glutton afterwards. The portion size at Los Caporales. I should have ordered the "Nectar of the Gods" a soup made with pinot beans, tomatoes, cilantro, onion and queso fresco. I probably would have left with a lighter step!

My Mexican food cravings are borderline obsession. I take it seriously and am on the constant hunt for the next best place! Where do I need to try next?!

Always Craving... Mexican!

"What are you craving?" "Where do you want to go to lunch?" 

"Mexican, Mexican or Mexican", is almost always my answer. Each place has their speciality and I can eat the cuisine day after day without feeling a burnout. This has been my diet lately...

 If you are in Santa Paula and craving fine Mexican food, Familia Diaz is a good option. Chili Colorado is a tasty plate of food when combined with bites of beans and rice. The real kicker here is their Sunset Margaritas flavored with cranberry juice. The chips and salsa bar is awesome, my favorite being a salsa verde.

If you turn left out of our driveway and make your way to Downtown Ojai you come up on Casa de Lagos first. If you order the Shredded Beef Enchilada and Chile Relleno Combination you will be able to eat several meals with its leftovers and still leave completely satisfied. 

Or you can keep driving into town and stop in at La Fuente and order a trio of tacos made with Carnitas, Carne Asada or Chorizo. They are just the right amount of food if you are wanting a little snack or fast meal. Their tamales to go make an excellent dinner suggestion when short on time. 

Lastly, I wolfed these Chicken Enchiladas down last week and felt like a complete glutton afterwards. The portion size at Los Caporales. I should have ordered the "Nectar of the Gods" a soup made with pinot beans, tomatoes, cilantro, onion and queso fresco. I probably would have left with a lighter step!

My Mexican food cravings are borderline obsession. I take it seriously and am on the constant hunt for the next best place! Where do I need to try next?!

Rabalais Bistro - Santa Paula, CA

My sweet friend Dana and I have started a tradition of our own. Most Mondays she and I meet for lunch to catch up with each other's lives and enjoy a great meal. This trip we decided to meet on the other side of my mountain, Santa Paula, and partake in a little bit of Southern fare.  

I am not sure if this Arugula Salad with apples, candied walnuts, blue cheese and creamy balsamic considers itself "Southern" but it was a lovely way to kick off our meal. I cannot resist an arugula salad. 

I opted for a cup of Seafood Chowder to finish my meal and it was nice. It was not the best ever and contained a lot of potato vs. seafood but it still made for a nice creamy treat. I may or may not have dunked my bread too. 

Dana ordered Shrimp and Grits for her closer and she seemed to like it just fine. There were plenty of grit to shrimp ration so ordering a cup will fill a little gal up! 

The meal was very affordable if you are looking for a meal other than Mexican food while in Santa Paula. There is one literally on every block so if you are feeling for something different Rabalais is your place.

Enzo's - Santa Paula, CA

Does everyone Groupon? I had not been taking advantage of the slammin' deals they were offering until a $40 Gropoun came up for $80 worth of food at Enzo's at the Glen Tavern Inn. I had eaten as a solo diner there before and wanted to share that experience with Scott Good Taste.

He started with a salad, like he always does. It was fine. Big shavings of parmesan is always an attractive sight in my book. Although I have been on a big salad kick lately, I went for my favorite pre-dinner order... 

Soup!

This time a creamy Red Pepper Soup to be exact. It was very much like tomato almost exactly so and that is not a bad thing in my book. It was a very hearty portion and I was getting full noshing on it. I had the waiter put the rest in a container to go. I had it for breakfast the next day. 

I love a great piece of fish, swimming in sauce, bedded by a creamy risotto and with briny capers frosted on top! This plate is usually what I want to eat all the time. I never get tired of it and always am on the search for who does it better. This was pretty darn good. The sauce is a lemony, white wine sauce and I enjoyed bites of the capers with the risotto. I am not going to lie, I didn't even touch the broccoli. 

Scott went out of the box and Eggplant Parmesan - He said it was great! It was not something I expected him to order but good for him for trying something completely new. He finished his plate until it was nice and clean.

We ended our meal with a panna cotta creme of sorts, vanilla flavoring and topping with a raspberry syrup. It was totally light and exactly what we wanted to end our meal eating. It was pleasant.

Do you Groupon? You should! We just had this amazing meal for $40!

Enzo's - Santa Paula, CA

Enzo's is a restaurant within the Glen Tavern Inn located in historic Santa Paula. The Inn is said to be haunted, that inrigued me as I read through stories about spiritual encounters. Besides that I wanted to try the restaurant as I had heard it was good.

The menu was pretty standard. There was one appetizer that I wanted to try but didn't have the appetite as I was by myself. The Crostino al Prosciutto sounded divine as it bathed in a butter sauce - knife and fork type action! Next time, for sure.

My meal was that of my two favorites, Salmon - fish always, always! The white wine, caper sauce was very delicious and there was plenty of it. I love extra sauce. The risotto was lovely, probably a little thick and heavy, but tasty all the same. I was very bad and told them to leave off the vegetables, they were included in the meal.

I was impressed with Enzo's and cannot wait to dine there again. It is nice to have another fine dining desination "on that side of the hill"...

Garman's Irish Pub - Santa Paula, CA

Last week Scott called me starving on his way home from an appointment in Westlake Village. We live n the top of a hill, one side drives down into Ojai, the other goes into Santa Paula. He was coming from the Santa Paula side, so I suggested we try the Irish pub I had meaning to try... We sat down to a Guiness Black and Tan, I have always wanted to try one. It was great! A little filling, but something worth ordering at least once in your life.

When we saw Irish Nachos on the menu we had to give it a try. The "chips" were replaced with thick cut deep fried potatoes. The cheese sauce was not very cheese like, in fact a bit floury for my taste. And the bacon was not real, it was Bacon Bits! Ah man, that was a bummer! 

Boo!

I ordered the Fried Goat Cheese Salad with Salmon and Strawberries! Now this was fantastic! It was topped with loads of pecans and was just heavenly. I would return to the restaurant solely for this salad. 

The fried goat cheese ball! Tasty! Melissa good Taste loves her fried food!

Scott ordered the Gillespie Burger and was not very impressed. He claims he was just too full from the nachos but all he did was pick at it. The onion rings that it came with were tasty. I did try on of them dipped in ranch dressing. 

Garman's was not a bad place to meet for a beer, maybe some fried food and that Salad... I would go back for the salad alone. It is a bit pricey so maybe try to pop in around Happy Hour! 

Happy Monday!

La Terraza - Santa Paula, CA

In the cute little town of Santa Paula there are Mexican restaurants on every corner. This particular corner is in the middle of town and I have driven by it thousands of times. This time, Scott treated me to lunch. You order at the window...

Grab a seat in the dining room and wait for your meal to be served.

Scott got the carnitas tacos with the works. The spicy salsa, onions and cilantro brought home the authentic meal. The rice, beans and salad made the meal into quite a filling one.

I judge most Mexican restaurants by the quality of the enchiladas they put forth. This was a darn good enchilada. Filled with shredded beef and a spicy sauce made it one worth ordering. The crunchy taco, also with shredded beef, was savory and juicy! Eat it while it is hot. I thought the value of this plate was outstanding.

Santa Paula and I will have a lengthy relationship based on the population of Mexican restaurants. Four down and about a hundred to go! 

Mexican Food Monday - Santa Paula, CA

Being a cowgirl is hard work. My cowgirl lifestyle was put into full swing since getting married. I used to be a part time foodie blogger who worked at a computer, in an air conditioned office and just rode her horse pretty much on the weekends. This new life puts me on horses daily, washing, leading, wrapping, saddling... You know all the stuff that goes along with life on a horse ranch. I burn more calories and in turn get to eat more food. So, on that note - Let me introduce you to last night's meal: Mexican Food Monday!

When craving a Mexican food I almost always think of La Cabana because it is a local place (Santa Paula) that most reminds me of the food from back home - San Juan Bautista. They serve hot, just made chips and a terrific salsa. Better, than what they served at my old local dives.

The margaritas come jumbo and I felt like I should prime my stomach for the upcoming festivities; my BIRTHDAY, also known as CINCO DE MAYO!

I over ordered, and would later regret it. I ate both of the shredded beef enchiladas as well as the entire serving of the rice and beans. My stomach ached from overindulgence but it was worth it. I just love Mexican food so much. In fact I demanded we get Taco Bell for lunch today and it too made me so satisfied.

My buddy Kat ordered two chicken enchiladas, with green sauce. She was smart and decided to skip the rice and beans. I bet her stomach didn't hurt after dinner.

Scott did the one enchilada and one taco meal. Each bite was a pleasurable one. We have not been to La Cabana in quite some time. This is the place to go if you want to give into that craving of Mexican cuisine. I think we will have fish and grilled vegetables tonight to detox!

How was your Tuesday? Talk to me people!

Rabalais' - Santa Paula, CA

I am new to Ventura County, I have lived here just about a year. I have dined at almost every well known and found a few secret spots. Rabalais' is a new spot located on the main drag in Santa Paula. Think Disneyland - French Quarter, the menu is reminiscent of what you make find in New Orleans. how much fun is that?!

The best coffee I have ever. I drank three cups and wanted more! That would have be fine, but I would have to run back to Ojai with all the caffeine pumping through my system!

I went with Shrimp and Grits for my breakfast because they had just ran out of biscuits for the Crawfish Etouffee. The grits were fantastic! They were buttery, and comforting and everything I like in a savory breakfast. The gravy and shrimp were a very nice combination of flavors.

Fresh Beignets made to order anyone? They fry up three at a time and they are amazing! I could only polish one off but I took the other two to go. They are better than doughnuts and perfect with coffee.

I cannot wait to return to try the Fried Green Tomatoes, Hot Croque's and Gumbo! This my friends, was a cultural experience! It makes me want to at least go to Disneyland, stroll through the French Quarter and eat at the Blue Bayou - Road trip anyone?

Food Trucks & Bocce Ball - Santa Paula, CA

The Limoneira Ranch provides a wonderful location for food and fun - Trucks and Bocce Ball. Although we did not partake in the sporting event we did participate in the eating!

Pork Banh Mi Sandwich is from the O Street Truck is just so so. Pretty dry. Next!

The same truck also had a Watermelon Salad with cilantro and jalapeno. Now this was tasty! Full of flavor and beat the heat.

South American Food! Not sure the names of the food but it was cheesy and delicious - missing name of the Food truck too. Oops! Bad blogger.

Enjoyed the sun and drank our share.