Full Belly Files | Saying Goodbye to Stella Mare’s

Sunset over the Sta. Rita Hills at Diamond Sky Ranch

Sign up to get Matt Kettmann’s Full Belly Files, which serves up multiple courses of food & drink coverage every Friday, going off-menu from our regularly published content to deliver tasty nuggets of restaurant, recipe, and refreshment wisdom to your inbox

In the notoriously cutthroat restaurant business, there’s often more closings than openings in any given year. But rarely do successful restaurants shut down when things are going well, which is what’s happening with Stella Mare’s down by the Andree Clark Bird Refuge. The 28-year-old Montecito restaurant’s final service will be on New Year’s Eve.

[Click to enlarge]: From left: A sunny last brunch at Stella Mare’s; Jambon crepe at Stella Mare’s

The classically styled French stalwart, which opened in 1996, was not offered to renew their lease when the property was purchased by the Los Angeles–based Runyon Group, which is developing The Post in the Los Aves complex next door. (Some of that just opened last weekend.) In the place of Stella Mare’s, according to a recent report in the Montecito Journal, will be a restaurant run by Grupo Palmares. The Mexico City–based company operates the seafood- and veggie-forward restaurant Loreto in the Frogtown area of East Los Angeles.

I’ll admit that does sound cool, and a seafood-focused concept would fit the scene down by the lagoon, with crashing waves occasionally audible over the freeway buzz. (Corazon’s seafood-y Alma Fonda Fina is just a half-mile away, so hopefully there’s enough of a ceviche appetite for all.) But whoever can wrangle the old Captain W.H. Johnson home — which was built on De la Vina Street in 1872 and moved to this site in 1962 — into an up-to-code, refurbished eatery will be taking the place of Santa Barbara’s most consistently and thoroughly French restaurant.

Diamond Fizz gin-Champagne cocktail at Stella Mare’s

When I came to town in the mid-1990s, Stella Mare’s was one of Santa Barbara’s fanciest restaurants, the place to take first dates and parents, and one of the few spots preferred by winemakers to host their paired dinners. (Jaffurs, I’m looking at you!) That persisted into the later 2000s, when a proliferation of new restaurants and a shift toward more casual, cuisine-spanning concepts took a bit of the attention away.

But as many of us ventured to shinier objects, Stella Mare’s never stopped doing what they do best: crafting elegant, French dishes, from crepes at brunch to coq au vin at dinner, in a cozy, welcoming space. That’s thanks to Chef Roth Ironside and the ownership of Eva Ein and Philippe & Kym Rousseau, who recently penned a heartfelt goodbye letter on their website.

I don’t know any of them personally, but since hearing that the restaurant would be closing at the end of the year, my family and I have gone to brunch there a couple times. We did so again last Sunday, diving into lobster deviled eggs, parsleyed escargot, mustard seeded carrot slaw, and pungent endive-bleu cheese-apple salad with bubbly drinks as refreshment.

Duck confit on mascarpone-stuffed French toast at Stella Mare’s

Then came the entrees: nicoise salad, moules-frites, crêpe au jambon, and duck confit served atop mascarpone-stuffed brioche French toast. Yeah, that last one is the superstar, which is why my son ordered it on both visits, and I allowed myself a couple small bites of its ridiculous richness.

That was probably our last time there, unless we sneak back for one more bite. There are a number of places that serve classic French dishes, such as Petit Valentien in La Arcada Court, bouchon on West Victoria Street, and the Black Sheep S.B. Brasserie on East Cota Street. But Stella Mare’s entire menu is dedicated to the classics, which means we are losing this steady source of French comfort food when the doors close on December 31.

Book a table while you still can, and consider joining their New Year’s Eve Farewell Dinner as well, where the set menu is $175, or $195 if you want unlimited sparkling. Click here for more info and reservations.

To Do. To Watch. To Read

Laura & Paul Hughes near their new tasting room in El Paseo.

Here are a few tasks for the wine lovers:

Laura and Paul Hughes just opened their Loubud Wines tasting room in El Paseo, where they’re pouring the wide range of bubbles that Laura started making in 2015. Flights are served alongside Paul’s handcut puzzles, and reservations are encouraged since seating is limited. They’re hosting a grand opening party on Sat., Dec. 29, noon-5 p.m. Click here for that info, here to make a reservation, and here for more on Loubud.
Noble Rot magazine founder Dan Keeling recently released his newest book, Who’s Afraid of Romanée-Conti?: A Shortcut to Drinking Great Wines. I haven’t yet had much time to dive into this shortcut, but it appears to be a colorfully written cruise through Old World wines, vineyards, and vignerons. It’s a great gift for any wine enthusiast in your life. I wrote much more about Keeling’s first book, Wine from Another Galaxy, which I really enjoyed.
Last spring, I got in touch with Santa Cruz–based documentary filmmaker Chris McGilvray, hoping to see his feature-length study of Mount Eden Vineyards. He sent me the link, and I was thoroughly impressed with the film. “It is really well done, and a great way to cement the Pattersons’ legacy,” I wrote back. “The tension about what to do with the future, the family dynamic, explaining how the fine wine world work, etc, is all compelling.” So I’m very happy to report that Eden is now available for streaming. Here’s how: edenfilm.info; iTunes: Link Here; Amazon: Link Here; Google Play: Link Here; Microsoft Xbox: Link Here; Vimeo: Link Here; FANDANGO At Home (VUDU): Link Here; YouTube: Link Here.

My Recent Eats & Drinks

[Click to enlarge]: From left: Uni on tomahawk ribeye is a game changer; Branzino almondine and French fries for Joanna at Bar Lou

The work of a food and drink journalist never stops. Recent highlights include:

I’m working on a feature about Bar Lou, so my wife and I sat with Chef Brandon Boudet to check out the menu and hear the story behind this new spot on Coast Village Road from the folks at Lil Dom’s Seafood. The vibe for this former home of Peabody’s just feels right now, and the South of France–inspired food suits the seaside community well.
I finally got that San Miguel Island vermillion dish at Convivo, thanks to meeting up there with Anita and Varinder Sahi from Copia Vineyards in Paso Robles. We tried their 2022s over many of Chef Pete McNee’s always enlivening dishes, but that whole fish preparation was addictively good. I thought about it for days afterward.
Ernst Storm invited me to lunch at his tasting room in Los Olivos last Friday, where I arrived to find the grill packed with tomahawk ribeyes and a massive lobster sourced by Stephanie Mutz. Stephanie was there herself, as were Peter Hunken from Holus Bolus, Mike Roth of Lo-Fi, and Ryan Hannaford from Racines, among others. When Steph put cool, fresh uni on the warm slices of juicy beef, our minds were blown. A series of blind tastings from near and far completed the scene.
I saw Future Perfect’s Sunny Doench Stricker in passing at Ernst’s lunch, and she invited me to her ranch for a small gathering on Saturday night. My wife has been wanting to see Diamond Sky Ranch for awhile now, as have I, so it was a treat to finally make it up there. We sipped on bubbles, ate nibbles from Clean Slate, and breathed in the chilly views.