Foodie Awards 2019
Our 10th Annual Ode to Eating Out in Santa Barbara
by Matt Kettmann and George Yatchisin
Images by Paul Wellman
The year 2010 was a fortuitous time for the Santa Barbara Independent to launch the Foodie Awards, our annual celebration of the region’s restaurant scene. While still emerging from the depths of a recession, Santa Barbara’s culinary community built upon its historic farm-to-table ethos to blossom like never before, welcoming waves of restaurant openings that explored fresh concepts and focused on new neighborhoods, including the much-buzzed-about Funk Zone. Looking back, it’s been a rather delicious decade.
For our 10th annual awards, we’ve shifted back to one of our original goals for this issue: to showcase specific dishes that epitomize each restaurant’s unique offerings. That’s the bulk of this year’s honors, from classics, such as Tino’s Super Deluxe sandwich, to fancier fare, like The Monarch’s Abalone à la Flambadou.
We’re also kicking off a new tradition to honor a purveyor each year — in this case, Bernard Friedman of Santa Barbara Mariculture and his Hope Ranch mussels. And, as always, we’re bestowing “The Izzy,” our lifetime achievement award named for its first recipient, Isidoro Gonzalez of La Super-Rica. This year, that honor goes to Los Arroyos Mexican Restaurants, founded 20 years ago by Tony Arroyo.
Please enjoy this year’s menu of Foodie Awards. We hope they will inspire you to visit these establishments and experience their gourmet glories all for yourself.
Foodie Awards Ceremony & Restaurant Discussion
Join The Santa Barbara Independent as we present this year’s Foodie Awards to our honorees on Wednesday, September 4, 5:30 p.m., at the Modern Times Academy of Recreational Sciences at 418 State Street. The brief ceremony will be followed by a discussion of Santa Barbara’s restaurant scene with Mitchell Sjerven of bouchon, Alejandro Medina of Bibi Ji, and our own senior editor Matt Kettmann, who started writing about Santa Barbara restaurants 20 years ago.
Old-School Sub Award
Tino’s Italian Grocery’s Super Deluxe Sandwich
Old-School Sub Award
Tino’s Italian Grocery’s Super Deluxe Sandwich
Traditional Italian subs come stacked with cold cuts, and Tino’s Super Deluxe is no exception: Molinari salami, coppa, galantina, ham, and two way (a blend of mortadella and salame cotta) come with Swiss and American cheese, mayo, mustard, oil, lettuce, tomato, and pepperoncini on a white loaf.
It’s been more or less that way for more than 70 years, when Valentino “Tino” Ziliotto started working at the Italian Grocery and Bakery in 1946, becoming owner the following year. Before he died in January 2014 at 86 years of age, Tino gave his blessing to the extended family to open a new deli in his name on West Carrillo Street, and they’ve served this sandwich ever since.
Tino’s Italian Grocery Super Deluxe
Lesser known, but equally delicious, is the veggie option, stuffed with a mix that rivals what the famed Central Grocery in New Orleans spreads on its muffulettas. “The artichoke hearts and marinated mushrooms used in the mix are prepared in house and sold separately, as are the pitted green and pitted mixed olives,” explained Tino’s niece Deanna Morinini, who serves it with provolone.
The odds are good you’ll even see Tino’s sister Terry Morinini — his right hand since he became owner of the deli on July 1, 1947 — still working with her family. “As one customer put it, ‘Seeing her [Terry] in the back making the sandwiches gives them the extra flavor: love,’” said Morinini.
Even more to love: Tino’s has one of our town’s best Amaro selections.
210 W. Carrillo St.; (805) 966-6041; tinositaliangrocery.com
Natty Is Nice Award:
Satellite’s Smoked Mushrooms with Natural Wines
Natty Is Nice Award:
Satellite’s Smoked Mushrooms with Natural Wines
Drew Cuddy and Emma West
State Street was crying out for a hot spot like Satellite, somehow both retro hip and currently comfortable, rooted in the region but not afraid to pour some German orange wine called Wild Pony as well.
“Our food is crunchy, nutrient-dense, pesticide-free, and without much manipulation, as are our wines,” said owner and founder Drew Cuddy. “We don’t make it easy on ourselves — only using seasonal, local ingredients, and with a constantly changing wine list — but we really believe these fleeting, temporary experiences at the height of freshness and quality are essential to what makes Satellite Satellite.”
At the top of the essential are the smoked mushrooms — exotics like king oyster, maitake, bunapi, and beech — that Chef Emma West cooks up and serves on Oat Bakery bread. It all comes from a tiny kitchen that forced West to focus on a mostly vegan menu.
Satellite’s Smoked Mushrooms pared with a glass from their natural wine list.
The staff happily helps you navigate why the tacos are sexy, the toast is rad, and the salad wears yoga pants — and explains why you’ll want to pair that with an Italian pét-nat from The Marche. “We love what we’re doing,” Cuddy enthused. “Emma and I would be nowhere without the Herculean efforts of our entire team: They’re young, dynamic, empathetic, and the best damn crew in town.”
1117 State St.; (805) 364-3043; satellitesb.com
Smoky Shellfish Award:
The Monarch’s Abalone à la Flambadou
Smoky Shellfish Award:
The Monarch’s Abalone à la Flambadou
Margarita Kallas-Lee and Phillip Frankland Lee
Why just cook with live fire — as they do at The Monarch, the first of many restaurants that Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee have opened in the Montecito Inn — when you can play with a flambadou? That’s a steel cone you hang above the fire so melted fat or butter can slowly drip down onto, say, a super-fresh abalone.
“We happened upon a restaurant in Stockholm where the chef showed us a primitive cooking tool called a flambadou,” recalls Lee. “We immediately were in awe and began thinking about how we could incorporate this technique into our cooking.”
That sums up The Monarch’s magic. Working with all sorts of global techniques, there’s elegance, balance, and yet also always something centering, like the hearth of a home. (And Kallas-Lee’s desserts always seal the deal, nodding toward sweet from a decidedly savory flavor profile.)
Lee blazed a career with his Scratch|Restaurants in Los Angeles and a Top Chef season before turning his eyes northward. “To be accepted into this wonderful community has meant so much to us,” he insisted. “We are unwavering in our commitment to sourcing locally and celebrating the bounty of Santa Barbara and the Central Coast.”
1295 Coast Village Rd., Montecito; (805) 869-0789; themonarchmontecito.com
Survive on Bread Alone Award:
Oat Bakery’s Holy Shiitake/Shallot Bread
Survive on Bread Alone Award:
Oat Bakery’s Holy Shiitake/Shallot Bread
When you bake something as elemental as bread, context is crucial. Just like wild yeast, what’s in the air at Oat Bakery is a sense of community and teamwork — for instance, this is a bakery that refuses to make its workers show up at 3 a.m. like most do.
“Collaboration — in our kitchen, there’s no right or wrong,” said Louise Fontana, who owns Oat with her husband, Lou Fontana. “When it comes to creating new recipes, we kinda just go for it and see what happens. That’s how the shiitake shallot bread came to life. Our love for mushrooms, and the shallots? Why not?”
The initial bread recipes came from Louise’s health-conscious mom in Copenhagen, so have a Scandinavian twist. “She used a lot of grains and vegetables like kale, spinach, and carrots and added different seeds and nuts,” Louise recalled. “It was always a different bread, and I think that really inspired me to be creative and not hold back when it came to finding new recipes.”
That includes recipes beyond the usual. To be a bakery for everyone, Oat even offers gluten-free breads and dark-chocolate cookies, healthy cinnamon buns, focaccia, and an arrray of different spreads.
5 W. Haley St.; (805) 335-1628; oatbakery.com
Dinner with a Drink Award:
Finch & Fork’s Rainbow Trout with Eucalyptus Lane Cocktail
Dinner with a Drink Award:
Finch & Fork’s Rainbow Trout with Eucalyptus Lane Cocktail
Finch & Fork’s Executive Chef Peter Cham and Lead Bartender George Piperis
Those who remember Seven Seas Green Goddess dressing as something heavenly from the ’70s will be in awe when chowing down on Finch & Fork’s rainbow trout over warm grains, with broccoli, hazelnuts, and a reinvented green goddess.
Finch & Fork’s Rainbow Trout
“These tried-and-true favorites can be equally, if not even more, delicious than what’s new or trendy,” said Chef Peter Cham. “We find ways to tweak or reinterpret classic recipes in both our food and drinks, which provide our diners with flavors they have already come to know and love, but can appreciate through a different set of lenses.”
Nowhere at the Canary Hotel is that lens sharper than at the bar watched over by George Piperis. Take the Eucalyptus Lane, a ginger, Ojai pixie, and gin delight topped with eucalyptus-tangerine bubbles, the people’s choice winner from the 2019 Official Drink of Santa Barbara contest. A bit edgy with its foam, but completely satisfying, it’s emblematic of the way, as Cham put it, “We make food that is approachable and simple with fun nuances that we hope will surprise our guests.”
31 W. Carrillo St.; finchandforkrestaurant.com; (805) 879-9100
‘The Izzy’ Lifetime Achievement Award:
Los Arroyos Mexican Restaurants
‘The Izzy’ Lifetime Achievement Award:
Los Arroyos Mexican Restaurants
Tony Arroyo (center) and staff
When Tony Arroyo founded Los Arroyos in a small space on West Figueroa Street with his then-wife, Maria Arroyo, on March 4, 1999, they only sold two meals during lunchtime. That worried Arroyo, who’d spent all but $10 of his savings to open the Mexican restaurant, but then came dinner: everything was sold out by 7:30 p.m.
The popularity of this traditional yet more upscale cuisine never ceased — while we love our traditional taquerias and family-run rice-and-beans diners, Santa Barbarans craved a place for fresher Mexican fare, where salmon-jicama salads and crab enchiladas with mango salsa were served alongside taco combos, sopes, and pozole.
Founder of Los Arroyos restaurants Tony Arroyo
Arroyo has since expanded to a larger space on Figueroa and opened sister restaurants in Montecito, Camarillo, Reno (since closed), Goleta, Solvang, and suburban Indianapolis. He now employs 200-plus people, and more than 60 of them have worked for the small chain for more than a decade. “We are family here,” said Arroyo.
It started that way too, as many of the recipes came from Arroyo’s mother in Mexico, whom he frequently consulted while developing the concept. The business acumen was all Arroyo, though — he started washing windows at Moby Dick’s on Stearns Wharf in 1984 and was general manager by age 21.
He is inundated with requests to open Los Arroyos in other cities, which is likely in the future, though he’s enjoying two decades of success right now. “I feel very honored,” said Arroyo. “It’s just hard work and loving what I do. I love opening restaurants. I love my customers. I feel proud.”
Multiple locations; losarroyos.net
Worth the Drive Award:
Bell’s in Los Alamos
Worth the Drive Award:
Bell’s in Los Alamos
Daisy and Greg Ryan
Photo: Carter Hiyama
After working at some of the top restaurants in the country — including Thomas Keller’s New York City outpost Per Se — Daisy and Greg Ryan decided to return to Daisy’s childhood home in the Santa Ynez Valley to raise their young son and open their own restaurant. “This area reminds us of Beaujolais or Lyon,” said Greg. “We are in wine country, but it does not feel like corporate wine country. This is where people are working and living and producing. We felt there was a lack of bistro-style restaurants here. It was a cuisine we felt comfortable with that we thought could thrive here.”
In March 2018, they opened Bell’s on Bell Street in Los Alamos, adding yet another gastronomic goodie to this one-street wonderland of food and drink. It was an immediate hit, from the buttery escargot and tinned sardines with saltines to Parisian gnocchi, moules-frites, and steak tartare. Ryan calls it the “classic pantheon of bistro dishes,” but reminds that the menu morphs all the time. “Something that you had yesterday you may never have again,” he explained.
With the recent addition of Chef Adam Shoebridge, formerly of Helena Avenue Bakery, they will continue to focus on making food that, according to Ryan, “is very natural but also elevated and sophisticated without having people feel like we’re trying to teach them something.”
More restaurants may be in the future. “We are here for the rest of our lives, so we aren’t really in a rush,” said Ryan. “We want to build restaurants that we want to spend time in.”
406 Bell St., Los Alamos; bellsrestaurant.com
Interpreting India Award:
Bibi Ji’s Uni Biryani
Interpreting India Award:
Bibi Ji’s Uni Biryani
Bibi Ji’s Alejandro Medina with a S.B. Uni Biryani plate
Santa Barbara’s concept of Indian food was reborn in February 2018 with the opening of Bibi Ji, initially a partnership between celebrated Aussie-Indian chef Jessi Singh, his brother Chef Gary Singh, sommelier Rajat Parr, and managing partner Alejandro Medina. Now owned by the latter three, the concept is as strong as ever: creative Indian dishes combining familiar subcontinent flavors and techniques with the Central Coast’s freshest produce and meats, served with natural-leaning wines.
Uni Biryani
“It’s a modern take on traditional Indian dishes using hyper-local produce and seafood,” said Medina. “We always take a fresh and lighter approach.”
No dish symbolizes this approach better than the Uni Biryani, in which über-fresh urchin from Stephanie Mutz and Harry Liquornik of Sea Stephanie Fish are layered atop heavily spiced rice and served in the dramatic and pokey purple urchin shell.
“It encompasses what Bibi Ji is as a whole — nontraditional ingredients with traditional flavors of cumin and ginger and garlic and chiles,” explained Medina. “It’s a great chance to incorporate our local seafood with that Southern Indian flavor in the biryani. That’s been a staple menu item since opening, and it’s definitely a house favorite among our guests.”
734 State St.; (805) 560-6845; bibijisb.com
Delicate Delicacies Award:
bouchon’s Trio of Seared Sea Scallops with Diatom Chardonnays
Delicate Delicacies Award:
bouchon’s Trio of Seared Sea Scallops with Diatom Chardonnays
Greg Brewer and Greg Murphy
Mitchell Sjerven started working in Santa Barbara restaurants while a UCSB student in the 1980s, from Piatti’s and Andria’s Harborside to the Wine Cask and Acacia on Coast Village Road, eventually opening his own place, Meritage, on De la Vina Street in 1996. But it was on Bastille Day of 1998 when Sjerven made his indelible mark on the city’s restaurant scene by opening bouchon in a cozy indoor/outdoor space on West Victoria Street.
It’s become the gold standard of a fine Santa Barbara meal, pairing Chef Greg Murphy’s exquisite food with one of the deepest Central Coast wine lists anywhere. Explained Sjerven, “We call it wine country cuisine and have for 20 years, before people were really associated with that style of food.”
Uni Biryani
The sea scallop trio was developed by Murphy in 2008 at Seagrass (a former Sjerven restaurant) to coincide with the inaugural release of Greg Brewer’s Diatom chardonnays, which are unoaked in order to showcase the ancient seabed soils of the Sta. Rita Hills. (Brewer, it’s worth noting, helped come up with the name “bouchon.”) “What represents the ocean best in that context was easily scallop,” said Sjerven. The three preparations change frequently based on the season, but always reflect the flavors of each wine and flow from lighter to rich.
“It’s easily our most popular appetizer,” said Sjerven, who says that, about 40 percent of the time, it’s actually ordered as an entrée. “We joke that some nights there is one on every table.”
9 W. Victoria St.; (805) 730-1160; bouchonsantabarbara.com
Purveyor of the Year Award:
Bernard Friedman’s Hope Ranch Mussels
Purveyor of the Year Award:
Bernard Friedman’s Hope Ranch Mussels
Bernard Friedman, founder of the Santa Barbara Mariculture Company, unloads the day’s catch of mussels at the harbor.
It’s been more than two decades since Bernard Friedman started his commercial aquaculture career in the Santa Barbara Channel, and 17 years since he started farming a patch of ocean off of Hope Ranch, where he grows coveted mussels that can be found in countless California restaurants across the Central Coast and Southern California. But harvesting shellfish is just a fraction of what it’s taken to establish this pioneering business — Friedman’s many years of jumping through regulatory hoops finally achieved official approval in 2019, opening the doors to a more stable future as well as grant money, partnerships with UCSB, and the ability to focus on the future rather than paperwork.
“We know where we stand now,” said Friedman. “We’re in the business of producing more and thinking about how to do it better. We’re on a really good upswing right now. Life is good. I can’t complain.” Friedman is considering canning his mussels — “We go through seasonal shutdowns, so we want to capitalize when mussels are really good, and we have a lot of them” — and determining how to be the first to successfully farm native Californian mussels, which have thicker shells. (The market is dominated by Mediterranean mussels, which are considered naturalized.). He’s also seeding oysters again, primarily for sale at his Saturday farmers’ market booth, and growing kelp as well on his farm, which is now 72 acres in size.
The whole point remains spending as much time as possible on his boat. “Anything to keep me on the water,” said Friedman, “that’s all that matters.”
(805) 886-1283; sbmariculture.com
Foodie Award Honor Roll
Here’s a list of all past winners of the Foodie Awards, which we started back in 2010.
Foodie Award Honor Roll
2010
Fish Out of Water Award: Buellton’s A-RU Sushi
Culinary Heights in the Valley Award: Budi Kazali @ The Ballard Inn
Heaven Scent Bakery Award: Bella Dolce’s Scones
Service Masters Award: bouchon/Wine Cask
Farm-to-Fork Award: Buttonwood Winery’s All Farm Dinner
Rock of Sages Award: Ca’Dario’s Ravioli al Burron e Salvia
Post-Farmers Market Double Dip Award: C’est Cheese and Our Daily Bread
Chef Does Shell Award: The Culture Abalone by Michael Hutchings
Breakfast of Champions Award: D’Angelo Bread’s Poached Eggs and Toast
Super Sommelier Award: Eric Maldanado @ Lucky’s Steakhouse
Resurrected Room with a View Award: The Harbor Restaurant
Ale to the Chef Award: Hollister Brewing Company’s Beer Dinners
Classy Candy Award: Jessica Foster Confections
Kill Your Hangover Award: Judge for Yourself’s Bleu Cheese and Bacon Omelette
Livin’ la Vida Loca Award: Restaurant Julienne
Perfect Pair Award: Opal’s Perfect 10 Martini with Chile-Crusted Filet Mignon
Vegetarian Goes Gourmet Award: Plow & Angel’s Marinated Tofu
Luscious Spain Without Wallet Pain Award: Santa Barbara Museum Café’s Tapas Menu
Naturally from Scratch Award: Sly’s in Carpinteria
Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award: La Super-Rica Taqueria’s Isidoro Gonzalez
First Farm on the Menu Award: Tom Shepherd’s Greens
2011
Late, Great Dining Award: The Blue Owl
Tops in Tapas Award: Cádiz Restaurant & Lounge
Embracing the Past Award: Cold Spring Tavern
Lifetime “Izzy” Award: Downey’s Restaurant
Sassy, Classy Service Award: Esther Lau @ Hollister Brewing Company
Reason to Pull Off Highway Award: Full of Life Flatbread
Half-Off Doubles Happiness Award: The Hungry Cat’s Happy Hour
Pizza Night for Adults Award: Olio Pizzeria
Family-Friendly Feast Award: Petrini’s Restaurant
Onion Pancake and a Hug Award: Red Pepper Restaurant
Perhaps This Is Paris Award: Renaud’s Patisserie & Bistro
The Lazarus Award: Three Pickles in Jimmy’s Oriental Gardens
Eco-Cool Award: Wine Cask’s Wine-on-Tap Program
2012
Upping the Antojitos Award: Cielito Restaurant & Taqueria
A Walk in the Woods Award: Santa Barbara Wine Festival
Mad Men Award: Tee-Off Restaurant & Lounge
Friendly Faces on State Street Award: Pace food+drink
Grateful Brunch Award: Scarlett Begonia
Steady Service Award: Zacc Young @ the Brewhouse
Frozen to Perfection Award: Here’s the Scoop
All the Meat Fit to Eat Award: Lilly’s Taqueria
Worth the Drive Award: Bell Street Farm
Lifetime “Izzy” Award: The Hitching Post II
2013
Worth the Drive Award: Sides Hardware and Shoes Los Olivos
Fist of Fin and Feather Award: Arigato Sushi “Gold Shot” Sea-
Urchin-with-Quail-Egg Shooter
Pop-Up Kings Award: Spare Parts Bistro
Lifetime “Izzy” Award: The Isla Vista Food Co-op
Farm-to-Bar Award: Patrick Reynolds
Cook Comes Home Award: Ron True @ Arlington Tavern
A Chef for All Seasons Award: Alessandro Cartumini @ Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara’s Bella Vista
Sensational Salsa Award: Taquería la Colmena
Toes in the Sand Award: Shoreline Beach Café
2014
Behind-the-Scenes Baker Award: Ethnic Breads
“The Izzy” Lifetime Achievement Award: Rose Café
Gutsy Game Changer Award: Santa Barbara Public Market
Line Around the Corner Award: Cajun Kitchen
The Upbeat Beans Service Award: Beth Flett @ Good Cup on the Mesa
We All Scream for Ice Cream Award: McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream
Funk Zone Epicenter Award: The Lark
Haute Hipster Award: Sama Sama
Old Town’s New Classic Award: Goodland Kitchen & Market
Milpas Moves Up Award: The Shop Café
Coastline Creativity Award: Toma Restaurant & Bar
2015
Cook’s Cook Award: Justin West at Julienne and Wildwood
“Izzy” Lifetime Achievement Award: Paradise Café
Goleta Goes Hipster: Goodland Hotel
Raising Regional Award: Barbareño
Wine Country Mecca Award: Industrial Eats
Patio Salvation Award: Benchmark
Veteran Service Award: Harry’s Plaza Café; Ruben Rosas and Renee Donati
Putting the “To” in Farm-to-Table Award: Harvest Santa Barbara
Vanguard Veggies Award: Mesa Verde
2016
“Izzy” Lifetime Achievement Award: Habit Burger
Worth the Drive Award: Bob’s Well Bread
Dedicated Service Award: Joe’s Café
Oodles of Noodles Award: Empty Bowl Gourmet Noodle Bar
Funk Zone Favorite Award: Mony’s Tacos
Good Eats, Great Causes Award: Kyle’s Kitchen
Quietly Killing It Award: Petit Valentin
No Need for Lunch Award: El Zarape’s Breakfast Burrito
Secretly Vegan Award: Five & ¼
Reinvented Seafood Shack Award: Kanaloa Seafood
2017
‘Izzy’ Lifetime Achievement Award: Restaurant Roy
Worth the Drive Award: Pico at the Los Alamos General Store
Ceviche y Mas Award: Corazón Cocina
Hidden Veg-Friendly Gem Award: Honey B
Kids Who Care Award: Woodstock’s Isla Vista
Italy in Your Neighborhood Award: Via Maestra 42
Spain in Santa Barbara Award: Loquita
Casually Gourmet Award: Black Sheep
Taqueria Gone Loco Award: East Beach Tacos
Schnitzel & Suds Award: Dutch Garden
2018
“The Izzy” Lifetime Achievement Award: Jeannine’s
Real Ranch-to-Table Award: The Bear & Star in Los Olivos
Dynamic Duo of Dining Award: Elaine and Alberto Morello @ Olio e Limone
Burger with Your Beer Award: The Nook
Neighborhood Joint Award: Yellow Belly
Korean Classics Award: Choi’s Oriental Market
Mediterranean Masters Award: Convivo
Uni for All Award: Stephanie Mutz, Sea Stephanie Fish
Kaiseki Connoisseur Award: Yoichi’s
Tucked-Away Taqueria Award: Cuernavaca
