Full Belly Files | Outstanding Outstandings in Ojai and Jalama

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Whether slathering Bettina’s whipped tahini and mushroom conserva over house-made sourdough; or scooping into their crispy quinoa-topped salanova and snap pea salad; or pulling grilled strips of lamb, white lime beans, and burnt allium crème fraîche onto our plates, the peak-to-island views from the Ojai Mountain Estate across the bulk of Ventura County dominated everyone’s attention.

A similar distraction occurred the next day, with the rippling, untouched hills of Jalama Canyon Ranch competing for attention with Chef Cameron Ingle’s whipped brown butter, chicken liver mousse, smoked goat cheese, rye salad, and beef two ways — braised, grilled, and prefaced by pepita praline on Koginut squash, Calabrian chili-oil potatoes, and salsa verde’d carrots.

Chef Cameron Ingle of Marisi | Credit: Aleah Schepps

A third challenger in each of these settings — which were the back-to-back Outstanding in the Field dinners I attended last Saturday and Sunday — was the shared company of friends and friends-to-be who valued great food, good drinks, and the farmers and craftspeople who bring such necessities into delicious existence.

Over the course of those two long, educational afternoons, there were drinks from the first night’s host Ojai Mountain as well as Thacher Winery, Ventura Spirits, Apiary, Sandhi, Brij, and Stolo. The regionally raised ingredients were provided by such farms and ranches as, among others, Roots Organic, Milliken Family, Tutti Frutti, Earthtrine, Burkdoll, Casitas Valley Pastures, Tehachapi Grain Project, and the White Buffalo Land Trust, which was the Jalama Canyon host.

White Buffalo Land Trust’s Ana and Jesse Smith | Credit: Aleah Schepps

As far as I recall, I’d only been to one Outstanding in the Field before at Fairview Gardens many years ago. (There’s an inkling of attending one at Tom Shepherd’s farm in Carpinteria, but I can’t quite pin that down in my brain.) The organization started from humble beginnings in Santa Cruz 25 years ago — this documentary about founder Jim Denevan tells the origin story well — but has grown into a massive, globe-trotting beast, throwing al fresco, long-table dinners in every American state and 25 countries. The only thing growing faster than the series’ popularity and reputation may be the ticket prices: The Ojai Mountain dinner was $425, while the Jalama Canyon one was $395.

Against that backdrop, I’ve heard grumblings from participants in recent years that sometimes the dinners aren’t as mind-blowing as people expect, given the cost being higher than many Michelin-starred, pre-fixe, super-pampered experiences. These observers have noticed that the guest chefs — many of whom work in restaurants but aren’t caterers by career — have trouble covering 200 family-shared meals, and that there’s a lot more promise than punch to the experience.

So when I was invited to both of these dinners by the separate hosts within a couple days of each other — the mostly unspoken exchange was that I’d get free tickets in exchange for publicizing the events in advance, which each still had a few tickets to sell — I realized that it would be a great chance to look under the hood a bit into the current status of the Outstanding in the Field.

Chef John Parker of Bettina | Credit: Aleah Schepps

What did I find? Well, certainly not everything works perfectly as planned — what big party does? — though my only minor quibbles were during the appetizer sessions. Despite quite a few hunting missions, I was only able to snag one coveted piece of Bettina’s pepperoni pizza during the appetizer hour, which supposedly featured at least three flavors, none of which I really saw people eating. That left only the mortadella-on-cracker treat, which was tasty, but I wanted that pizza so bad! (It was Bettina after all.)

At Jalama Canyon, the appetizers were prevalent but extremely simple: green and orange melon slices drizzled with Figure Ate pomegranate vinegar, figs in fermented honey, tiny orange tomatoes unadorned, and slices of habanada pepper, which taste like habaneros without the spice. (I found that last item fascinating.) A touch of protein (cheese, nut, meat?), carb (cracker, chip, bread?), or anything slightly savory would have worked wonders.

But beyond that, the menus at Ojai Mountain by Bettina’s Chef John Parker and Jalama Canyon’s by Ingle, who is the chef at Marisi in La Jolla, were both fantastic. The flavors ranged from salty to sweet, the texture from smooth to crunchy, the ingredients from comfortingly familiar to inquisitively fresh. The service was steady and informative, the cups were kept full, and there was never a shortage of food to enjoy.

Was it worth the price of admission? That’s really a personal question. It comes down to what value one puts on food, a consideration I entertained in writing about this $550 dinner back in 2019. But in this case, one must also weigh how much they value eating outdoors in family-style conditions versus a sit-down, white-tablecloth affair with more courses and more wines.

But I would say that, after attending two of these in a row — one of which was more Los Angeles scenester-dominated, the other of which seemed more, well, down-to-earth — I don’t think the value of Outstanding in the Field really comes from the food and drink. What your ticket opens is entry to stunning properties like Ojai Mountain and Jalama Canyon, ample time to enjoy them, and the opportunity to learn about what amazing things are happening there from their stewards, like Ojai’s owner Olga Chernov talking about head-trained grenache and White Buffalo’s Jesse and Ana Smith explaining the importance of dung beetles.

Raj Parr and Matt Kettmann at Jalama Canyon | Credit: Aleah Schepps

When you add on the chance to connect with strangers who happen to share the same sustainability-minded values or culinary passions as you — almost always, it’s both — the price really becomes an afterthought. You’re donating to a greater vision and being rewarded with a full stomach, engaged brain, and healthier soul in return.

From my view, Outstanding in the Field remains an outstanding experience, worthy of attending at least once in your life. When all these factors are combined, it’s something you’ll find very hard to forget.

See outstandinginthefield.com for future events.

Wine Flick for Halloween

Other than drinking it while passing out candy to kids — or, truth be told, sipping from semi-clandestine vessels while wandering around the neighborhood with our own kids — wine doesn’t have a very prime seat at the Halloween table. But thanks to the latest documentary in the Somm TV oeuvre, oenophiles can properly engage their paranormal sides this season.

Ghosts of Napa Valley follows sommelier Claire Coppi into century-old wineries atop Spring Mountain, where she brings an antique Ouija board and a few wine industry friends in hopes of tapping into the still-present souls of the past. Playing out much like one of those ghost investigation shows that can be found on television at almost any hour these days, Ghosts simultaneously tells the fascinating histories of these estates, and the tragedies that occurred there.

I won’t ruin the ending, but unlike most ghost shows, there is a bit of payoff here. It doesn’t veer completely into horror film territory, but it gets your goosebumps going just enough to require another glass and one more bite of that candy bar.

Kally with Sushi Teri’s hamachi jalapeño

Non-Alc Wine Alternative

I took a couple of weeks off of drinking alcohol earlier this month in preparation for a blood test — all was tip-top, thanks for asking — so I was happy to break up the boringly simple monotony of sparkling water for every meal with three bottles of Kally. With the notable exception of the Santa Barbara–based Tilden, which I wrote about here, I’ve been mostly disappointed by booze alternatives in the past, from bad dealcoholized wines to herbed-up juices.

The three flavors of Kally that I received were a welcome surprise, mostly because they were downright refreshing and not trying too hard to be fake liquor. Relying on actual wine grapes sourced around Sonoma and Mendocino, the bottles technically hold verjus, which is highly acidic grape juice, and that gets treated to various herbs and spices.

The results are intriguing, bringing enough complexity to trigger the sort of sensory thoughts I have when enjoying fine wine. They also paired extremely well with the spicier Asian and Mexican foods that I tend to eat and make at home.

Don’t worry, I’m not ditching the wine life. But if it’s time to take a break again, I’d buy a few more of these without a second thought. See drinkkally.com.

A Chowdown Week

With that two-week dry escapade in the rearview, I went back to the eating and drinking routine with particular ferocity. There was:

My first proper trip to Priedite BBQ, where the brisket and ribs revealed what so many — including barbecue bible Texas Monthly, which named Priedite on its first-ever national best BBQ outside of Texas list — have been raving about since 2020.
The For the Land release party at Dutch Garden, where we toasted Daniel Berman and Chris Potter. My friends and I followed that with a lobster pasta and unislamming session.
My early morning return to Cajun Kitchen in Goleta after a long hiatus, where I opted for the French Quarter omelet and my “extra crispy” hash browns (one of the only menu alterations I make anywhere ever).
Tasting a weird grape in my buddy Diamond Dave’s backyard. That’s currently the subject of a nationwide ampelography investigation, which I will write about later.

[Click to enlarge]: From left: The Lama Sama spread; The French Quarter at Cajun Kitchen

Visiting the new Lama Dog x Sama Sama situation on State Street, which will forever be known as Lama Sama. I was expecting the usual hour to 90-minute interview. I was there for four-plus hours. Story coming soon.

A tableside showdown at San Ysidro Ranch’s Stonehouse of Steak Diane (ordered by my gracious host, Crown Point Vineyards owner Roger Bower) versus duck à l’orange (ordered by me). The winner? The 2016 Hundred Acre cab from Napa, although I’d say that the Crown Point they have by the glass goes toe-to-toe with that super pricy bottle.
My introduction to Na Na Thai’s Spice Club, which was utterly fantastic, although not actually crazy hot.
Another of many visits to the Santa Barbara Fish Market Café in Goleta. Our table’s choices ranged from tuna confit and petrale sole sandos to tacos and salads, though it was my friend’s chili crisp-topped crudo that won my day this time. I’ll be back yet again just for that.
I got way into making tomato-onion salads over the weekend, dressed in tomato juice-spiked mayo. I called it “tomato y cebolla en su jugo.” Then I added avocado the next time. So easy, so good.
After the two aforementioned nights of Outstandings, I spent the night at Petit Soleil in San Luis Obispo. This is the hotel now owned by Santa Barbara’s Good Lion Hospitality, which explains why the front desk is also a bar and the receptionist doubles as a bartender. I played along, talking her ear off while taking down four cocktails before bed.
The next morning, I met Bell’s Los Alamos alumni Rusty Quirk at Linnaea’s in S.L.O., where she moved to take over this historic café. My dirty chai was easily one of the better ones I’ve ever had, and seeing fellow writer Jaime Lewis on the way out sweetened the visit.
I finally made it into Castro’s Surf ’n’ Turf in King City, a worthy roadside stop. Go for the shrimp tacos with the creamy habanero sauce.