Twenty-Five Years of Liquid Gold in the Santa Ynez Valley

 (Theo Stephan, left, and Lisa Thompson, at a Global Gardens cooking class)

Twenty-five years since beginning Global Gardens, Theo Stephan is no less passionate about her mission to preach the glories of good olive oil. With all of her business — the crucial club membership work, retail, product development, tastings, cooking classes — unified under one roof in a bright Santa Ynez cottage, Stephan seems pleased. Ever an educator, she says she’s achieved her goal “when people taste real food and realize how simple and easy it is, especially where we are in California. It’s far reaching — the story of olive oil goes back; you can see olive leaves pressed in Paleolithic stones.”

Want to read the rest then do so at the Independent's site. 

A Review of "Noir Bar: Cocktails Inspired by the World of Film Noir" by Eddie Muller

 

Not every book can help you fill your Nick and Nora coupes and your evening’s film-watching playlist, but Noir Bar does both with elan. That’s not too surprising given the author is Eddie Muller, host of Turner Classic Movies’ Noir Alley, on which he curates and provides intros to generally 1940s noir from well-known classics like The Big Sleep to the B-est of B-pictures, like The Devil Thumbs a Ride. Although the book is full of gorgeous photography from the shadow-soaked films to the shots of the drinks, it’s not just some coffee table symbol of class. On the facing page to the Contents there’s a still of little known Virginia Field from even lesser known Dial 1119, and while there’s a quote from Arlen & Mercer’s “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road,” it alludes to Ida Lupino singing the ballad in Road House. Take that, Ol’ Blue Eyes.

Care to read the rest then do so at the California Review of Books.

The review was also posted at the Santa Barbara Independent on April 30, 2024.

A Review "The Wonder Paradox: Embracing the Weirdness of Existence and the Poetry of Our Lives"

 

It’s not every self-helpish book that asks you to create your own poetry anthology, but The Wonder Paradox is sui generis. As Jennifer Michael Hecht puts it, “It is in poetry that we learn that nouns are really verbs, caught in a moment as a dancer in a strobe light.” That sentence hints at so much of Hecht’s skillful method as an author, with its insightful sweeping grandeur still tethered to vivid image, one far from whimsically chosen, for this is a book about illumination. Seeing. Dealing with what it is seen.

Care to read the rest then do so at the California Review of Books.

Santa Barbara Has a New Saint in the Hood

Even a June-gloomy marine layer doesn’t dull the charm of the poolside location of Saint Remy, the newish (debuted on Boxing Day 2022) restaurant at the heart of State Street’s Courtyard by Marriott. (Old-timers will know the spot, beyond its expansion and extensive spiffing-up, as La Quinta or El Prado.) Looking a bit like a David Hockney painting sprung to life with its midcentury modern design, the location hopes to lure locals as well as hotel guests.

The spot is also a boon for “an enormous contingent of Marriott fans” who now get a hotel in downtown Santa Barbara. At least that’s how Tim Billing, vice president of operations for the AZUL Hospitality Group, explains it to me. AZUL operates this hotel for StonePark Capital, the hospitality development company led by Andrew “The Bachelor” Firestone and Jess Parker. StonePark and AZUL hope to become bigger players on the Central Coast, for along with this location there are two in-transition projects: Hotel Cerro, about to become an Autograph Collection with Marriott in S.L.O., and the Waterman, formerly the hostel Wayfarer, about to become a Moxy with Marriott. And yes, Billing made sure to clarify that it’s “M-O-X-Y, not M-O-X-I,” given its Funk Zone proximity to the museum of exploration and innovation.

Care to read the rest then do so at the Independent's site.

A Bright Bite from the Islands (via Harlem)

Given Santa Barbara is lallygagging through a grayest of Mays (yeah, I know, we suffer so here in mostly paradise), it's time to figure out ways to force feed ourselves some sunshine. No big surprise that one of my favorite ways to do so is with the help of a potent potable. Of course, even potent potables need helpers, too.

Enter Uncle Waithley's, a newish brand of ginger beer. Not to bore you with what you know, but ginger beer: 1) isn't alcohol, despite the "beer" part; 2) is much zippier than the more common ginger ale, as the ginger and sugar gets fermented together, while ginger ale tends to be a soda product with ginger flavoring added later in the process.

Uncle Waithley's take all of that very seriously, with a product that begs for marketing historical spinning. As they put it, "A family recipe developed by mixologist Karl Franz Williams and inspired by his grandfather, Uncle Waithley, who lived his entire life on the enchanting island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines." Ah, lineage and the allure of the Caribbean. 

The better news is it's not just a good story. This is punchy stuff, mostly because it has a couple of unusual kinks. First, it's got turmeric, and if you use that at home, you probably have something stained vivid yellow-orange you didn't want stained. Here, it gives the beverage a enticing hue, and some of the earthy spice you've grown to know and love in curries.

But there's more spice, too, as Uncle Waithley's also features Scotch bonnet peppers for a real kick. Not every carbonated beverage can get rated in Scoville units. To be fair, it's more heat than hot, but it also is a refreshing surprise than requires you to keep quenching your thirst.

Given that pepper-push, in the photo above you see two Mexican Mules, a variation of the more standard Moscow Mule that swaps in tequila for vodka. Chill those copper mugs (or a rocks glass if you aren't that fancy), crush a bunch of ice, pour 2 oz. of tequila per cup, add a good amount of ice in each, top with Uncle Waithley's (you hope for a 3-2 ratio of ginger beer to booze, but don't sweat it--the cup will do that for you). Add 1/2 oz. of lime juice to each, and also a wedge of lime for more squeezing. 

Truly delish. Can't imagine how good it will be if the temperature ever breaks 67° here. (And yes, they sent me free samples.)

Alex Prud’homme Captures Our Culinary Commanders-in-Chief

 

Despite looking somewhat like a fuzzy hard-boiled egg himself, Dwight Eisenhower oversaw one of the most interesting culinary programs in White House history and was probably the best president-cook. That’s the kind of tidbit you’ll learn by attending a May 18 soiree showcasing journalist Alex Prud’homme, author of the recently published Dinner with the President: Food, Politics, and a History of Breaking Bread at the White House. While you’re sipping on reverse martinis and noshing on Field + Fort nibbles inspired by his book, Prud’homme will regale the crowd with, as he puts it, “gastronomic political history.”

The event, hosted by Taste of Santa Barbara, sports local hooks too, even if the 478-page book only touches down at Ronald Reagan’s Rancho del Cielo — a k a the Western White House — for a mere two pages. That’s because Prud’homme’s great-aunt is Julia Child, and he co-wrote her memoir My Life in France.

Care to read the rest then do so at the Independent's site.

Where There’s Fuego, There’s Humo: Santa Barbara Couple Starts Mezcal Brand

 

Ask Elliott Reese what’s the one thing everyone should know about mezcal, and he answers, “That it’s not tequila; it’s honestly better than tequila. I know that’s subjective, but if you want an agave spirit — neat — you can’t beat mezcal.”

For some, those might be fighting words, but Reese knows of what he speaks. Earlier this year, he and his wife, Karen, launched the mezcal brand Fuego y Humo and are eager to share their love for this distilled spirit in Santa Barbara and beyond. After working with José Manuel Méndez, a third-generation mezcalero in Oaxaca, their artisanal brand is currently offering three varietals of mezcal and a terrific story.

Care to read the rest then do so at the Independent's site.