Might Be Going on a Trip This Weekend

You can get some too--absinthe made right here in the good Old U.S. of A. See Caddell & Williams. Of course the Mezcal is from Mexico, minus the worm. (That's in the wood in the other bottle.)

I hope I'll be able to make a report about one of these potent potables. Or I might just end up tore down a la Rimbaud.

Wednesday Dinner of the Blogs Blogging

We aren't just brilliant with bytes, we're brilliant with bites here in Santa Barbara so last night Esau, Big Table, What Is a Blog Anyway?, and yours truly sat down and chowed down at the brand new, really just barely a kitten Hungry Cat. Yep, we broke that time-honored rule about not attending a restaurant's opening night because we just couldn't wait. The good news is the time-honored rule didn't apply. David Lentz and crew have themselves a total winner straight out of the gate, and I'm not just talking about the Pimlico cocktail (bourbon, orange juice, lime juice, mint) one of us enjoyed.

We were surprised to find the joint jumping when we arrived for our 8:30 reservation. (Indeed, when we left and chatted a bit with Lentz he said he was over-joyed at the turnout, given the original Hollywood location took a few weeks to catch on.) We had to wait, but the hostess was quite polite and apologetic about it, and you have to admit dealing with a 45-seat restaurant and figuring out how long people might linger won't be easy, especially since there's so many fine drinking options to keep people in their seats post-dinner (have Tim recommend the Armagnac--you'll see). As for the space, it's got a fine copper-topped bar and another bar along the back window, but mostly when it's full, it's deocrated with people. Of course, this is Santa Barbara, so the people are more decorative than in many other locales, so that's far from bad. The Cat's buzz will just build its buzz, in a way, if it stays packed with attractive folks.

As long as those attractive folks have any taste, that won't be a problem. We started with cocktails, and a hint they take things seriously is that only 1 of the 8 specialty cocktails feature vodka (no point in being a painter who only paints in white, right?). I particularly recommend the Howling Wolf--rye, blood orange, and lemon juice, so it's kind of a variation on the New York Cocktail, but it gets its wolf on with a dash of chili-infused tequila. That sneaky heat at a sip's end is a pleasant surprise, and really works with the raw bar oysters, sort of like liquid cocktail sauce with an alcohol kick. The oysters were good but the peel and eat shrimp were better, as you'd expect from a chef who grew up on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Lentz knows what goes in a boil, and the kitchen cooks the shrimp just to the right doneness.

The wine list features some of INOTBB's home cellar faves, including Cold Heaven Viognier (it's got that exotic fruit thing you want, but none of the cheap-o viognier froot loops taste you don't want) and Kunin Pape Star (as in, like Chateauneuf du, but at a fraction of the cost and from right in the Santa Ynez Valley), but we went with the Spanish tempranillo I didn't know because it's good to try things you don't know you know. Do watch on the menu that everything listed on the menu under "dinner" isn't created equally--some are more small plates, so when in doubt, ask about how much you'll be getting. That doesn't mean the quick-cured hamachi isn't delicious, but it does mean it will also be quick-eaten. Everyone seemed content with his or her dish, for in addition to the hamachi we had the crabcake, frisee, pancetta with two over easy quail eggs atop; the grilled scallops, braised oxtail, cauliflower, and curry (which looked like a clever surf and turf--mollusk and tail?--variation, but none of us shared nothing cause we're ornery and liked our stuff too much); and my housemade chorizo, braised clams, sofrito and grilled bread that was so good people longed for the bread, even.

Service was fine given it was opening night and waiting on our 4-top meant taking two different routes to our table around other tables. At times things seemed to come a bit jumbled--the wine arrived after the main course was placed down, say--but our waiter was genial and the occasional visits from beverage director Tim were highlights because he just knows his stuff so well and is so enthusiastic about it. (Indeed, I'm thinking I missed the career boat: what could be better than to have your job be deciding what beer, wine, and cocktails go with good food?)

Don't believe the website (as of now), for the SB Cat, like the Hollywood Cat before it, only has one dessert, a chocolate bread and butter pudding that gets bruleed on top and I have to stop thinking about as I want one RIGHT NOW. Sorry.

Also, the Hungry Cat is one of those places were nothing seems too expensive but you like things so much all the cocktails and food adds very quickly to over $50 per person (with tip, and do so, generously). Still, it's worth that to have a place that's both comfortable and hip at the same time, and incredibly welcoming. Even Lentz's wife Suzanne Goin of AOC and Lucques fame was around for much of the night, with the double stroller and their newborn twins.

Wednesday Saturday Night Date Blogging

Now don't get all Representative Squeezy McFeelpants on me, and don't go expecting any incriminating You Tube clip, neither. This entry is about eating.

Stop!

OK, now that that any snickeryness is out of the way, let's talk about the dinner and drinks Amy and I had last Saturday, and what it portends for Santa Barbara area dining. We opted to eat at the Montecito Cafe for the first time in months, and as we were hungry and went early, we even got in at 6 without a wait (for you out of towners, this is like getting to secondbase with a nun in fifteen minutes, but more rewarding). Generally we like to wait for a table in the cocktail lounge--it's really much nicer than a bar, after all, it's in a location that used to be a high-end jewelry store--so even without having to wait, decided to have pre-dinner drinks anyway. I'm a sucker for their blue martini, made with Bombay Sapphire and truly delicious blue cheese-stuffed olives, wisely made with real cheese, daily (so many blue cheese olives seem to be made with pasty cheesesque stuff unworthy of good gin or the drinkers that appreciate it). Amy had a Mandarin-tini based on Hangar 1's mandarin vodka, so you know that was also delicious.

Alas, things would sort of good downhill from there, if buoyed at the end by the as usual terrific coconut cake, a moist delight. Our appetizers were solid enough, both carrying on the blue cheese theme, as I got broiled oysters with a blue cheese sauce (that Amy insisted overpowered the bivalve, and as always there's the argument doing anything to a good oyster is a crime, let alone laving dairy on one) and Amy got the iceberg wedge with, yes, you guessed it, blue cheese dressing. Both plates featured tomatoes that were mistakes--a pale tomato makes the whole day a bit wan. Several slices on two plates is wan too many. So the first course gets a passing grade, but not really high marks.

The main courses didn't quite even get to that level. To be honest, my roast duck had good flavor, but the waitress didn't ask how I wanted it cooked and that's exactly how it came--not how I wanted it cooked. Duck really needs to be medium rare, and this duck was well done, which is not done well. Amy ordered Linguini, Lamb Sausage, Roasted Garlic & Onions, Tomatoes, Oregano & Olive Oil, and wasn't pleased, complaining the dish never really came together, the lamb was just like little pucks on the pasta, and the sauce merely runny. We did have a nice half bottle of Qupe Syrah, ever an old standby, but as usual the Cafe wine list perturbed me, as they refuse to include years, as if they assume no one knows anything about vintages. What's more, on the actually solid half bottle list they offered a "Rosenblum Zinfandel," and all I could think was which one? Currently Rosenblum offers 22 zins on its website. Now, perhaps not all of them come in a 375ml bottle, but still, this is sloppy wine-selling at best, disregard for the customer at worst.

You add it up and it brought us down, for the Montecito Cafe is generally one of our favorite places to dine in the area. You get a bit of the chic buzz of Montecito without the attitude, you get an interesting if small selection of wines, you get very good if rarely knock-you-out food, and you get out the door at about $100 total for two people. But if the food slips, not paying a ridiculous amount of money won't be enough to keep us coming. Here's hoping it was just a bad night in the kitchen and not a trend.

After dinner we decided to check out the recently re-opened Quantum, which now bears the moniker Quantum Kitchen & Cocktails. The previous incarnation of the spot just seemed to try too hard--it wanted to be AOC or some other sophisticated yet fun big city small plate hot spot, but mostly came off like Santa Barbara straining, which defeats the whole purpose of Santa Barbara. Plus, the food back then was hit and miss. And they didn't have a full liquor license, and saketinis just seem silly to me, leaving me an image of someone on Laugh-In making "sock it to me" jokes.

So, we didn't eat, of course, but we did cocktail up. Amy tried a special pear cosmo (check that spelling, she only had one), that was a clever variation on the tasty drink Sex & the City ruined (really, ladies, drinking them won't make you a size 0 like Sarah Jessica Parker). All the joy of pear without any of the fruit's graininess. I had to stick with gin, because gin insists (you gin drinkers know exactly what I mean). Quantum serves a bracing Hendrick's martini, a gin I've grown to appreciate as it's cool as a cucumber, or at least tastes a bit like one.

While we drank we also drank-in the menu, which seems simpler and wanting to comfort and is especially heavy on the burgers they serve in a box (no, not like Mickey D's, but a little wood tray-like contraption). That certainly helps knock the pretension out of a joint. The Happy Hour (and a Halfs) from 5-6:30 also looked like good deals, especially the food and a draught pairings. We plan to try the fish and chips one of these days, at least. And order Dr. Loosen's Riesling by the glass.

So, it's a tenuous ecosystem, and maybe there are only so many good restaurant vibes that can go around. We shall see, or I guess I should say we shall taste. Although any good date night dinner involves all the senses.

What's Not to Lick

For Dog Blog Friday: These two don't even wait for Happy Hour.