So a couple of weeks ago, I made my first visit to Santa Barbara. My wife and I are big fans of a the British singer Florence + the Machine who was performing at the Santa Barbara Bowl on my birthday. We talked my mother-in-law Kathi into joining us so we could ride up together from Santa Monica (about a 65 minute drive in light traffic). Kathi, MIL, was so kind to find the concert tickets, as well as a reservation for us at the Santa Barbara Four Seasons!
My twenty-ninth birthday celebration was a culinary delight of four meals intersected by an old mission tour, wine tasting and the long anticipated concert. I had homemade German chocolate cake (by Eliz) for breakfast in Santa Monica before riding up to Santa Barbara with Eliz and my favorite MIL. We took a quick tour of the Mission to work up an appetite for lunch on State Street at Bucatini Trattoria. I recommend the Pennette Pollo & Pomodori Secchi (pasta chicken).
If you are wanting something cooler than tiramisu for desert, State Street has plenty of options. But forget about Cold Stone or Yogurtland and don't even think about Pinkberry. Go to Rockin' Yogurt at 620 State Street, a block away from the Italian restaurant. They have the best quality organic fro yo and possibly the freshest cone (it's a crepe!) you will ever find. It is not self-serve, so you needn't worry about kids putting their filthy little hands in the toppings like at Yogurtland or any of the other DIY places. It is run by a cute older Korean couple and is a truly unique spot in an area filling up with national brands.
Later we walked down to Stearn's Wharf where I enjoyed a wine tasting at Deep Sea Wine, then we headed back to the Four Seasons for naps. Before the concert we grabbed some supper at Bella Vista, the hotel restaurant. I had a broccolini and pepperoni pizza with chocolate icecream- YUM. Now we were ready for Florence + the Machine.
I have nearly exhausted this post just talking about food, so I will give a more thorough report on the concert in a later entry. Florence + the Machine were phenomenally entertaining. All of the aforementioned businesses have positive to perfect reviews on Yelp, Tripadvisor, and Urbanspoon. For more information on these Santa Barbara gems click the links below.
To round out my birthday, I ordered a glass of chocolate milk and chicken quesadilla with sweet potato fries after the concert back at the resort hotel. Gastronomically amazing! Thank you Kathi & Eliz for making this the best birthday ever ;o) !
Bucatini
Rockin' Yogurt
Deep Sea Wines
Four Seasons
