The Black Sheep could easily be called The Dark Horse. Or maybe they imply the same thing. Anyway, it’s an unassuming place (or at least their patio set-up is), tucked away a block off State Street, with a menu that looks appealing but doesn’t stop you in your tracks — but the restaurant completely blew us away. It was one of the best food and wine pairings we’ve had in recent memory. (“Recent” here extends beyond quarantine.)
The Black Sheep offers a 4-course (+ a few starter bites) tasting menu for $55, with optional wine pairing for an additional $35. Each course got better than the last, and not just because the wine kept coming. I believe their menu switches regularly, based on what’s available, but here where a few highlights from ours (we got a meat-based one and a seafood based one):
Salmon vichyssoise
Tuna tartare
Shrimp / Grilled tomatoes over israeli couscous
Sauteed scallops / ramen noodles with sea urchin (!!!)
Duck leg confit / sea bass
Flourless chocolate cake / berry cheesecake
Obviously the accompaniments and interesting ingredients did the dishes justice, but I can’t remember many of the details. Not because they didn’t stand out, but because fancy places tend to list off 8 different ingredients to you while you’re just salivating over your plate, ready to dive in. This just means we’ll have to return, in order to write you all up a more detailed menu!
The wine pairings were incredibly generous, I think because the waitress was a bit confused by what the kitchen was bringing out. The original wine she grabbed didn’t exactly pair well, so she always grabbed a second. That led to double the tastings and double the fun. It was completely understandable as they were finding their groove under Covid circumstances, and we appreciated that she more than made up for it!
We’re already planning a trip back to The Black Sheep for a special occasion. I have a feeling this one might become our go-to for celebratory moments in Santa Barbara!
https://www.blacksheepsb.com/
26 E Ortega St, Santa Barbara
Incredible food, surprisingly decent prices; outdoor ambiance was a bit meh but the tables were spaced enough apart!
Sama Sama Kitchen was the first place we risked dining out after 3.5 months. It just called to us, with its well-spaced tables on State Street, and its tagline that spoke straight to our stuck-up San Francisco sensibilities: “Southeast Asian food inspired by the offerings of our local farms.”
I loved how limited the menu was, which I’m not sure is an always-thing or a Covid-thing, but either way: give me 10 outstanding options over 40 mediocre ones any day.
Eating out at a restaurant after so much time cooking and ordering takeout was beyond special. (Eating in at McDonald’s probably would’ve felt great too, but I swear Sama Sama Kitchen’s rating isn’t swayed by the circumstances.) What’s more, the al fresco dining was a welcome reminder of why we moved to Santa Barbara in the first place: this city was made for safe outdoor activities year round.
We ordered 4 things:
Crispy rice salad – MUST. I was skeptical since I tend towards real vegetables, not “salads” that are actually rice and pork. But it was everything.
Wings – Tasty but not a must-have (even according to Tom, who ate 95% of them).
Tofu and broccolini stir fry – So flavorful! Meat lovers agree.
Chicken Bao – The star of the show. Best chicken bao either of us have ever had. (Admittedly a very specific category but it was great and I still think about it.) Of course I didn’t grab a picture of it, which is a good sign that I was too busy enjoying it.
Here’s the thing about Arigato. It’s pretty standard sushi. It’s probably overpriced, since it’s right on State Street. But when you’ve been in Covid lockdown since March, and haven’t had fresh sushi or Japanese food since last September give or take, Arigato – and its sprawling, heated outdoor seating area – is a goddamn godsend.
In quarantine I’m cooking up a lot of lentils and rigatoni. I’m not throwing together too many spicy tuna rolls, which is why Arigato is even more of a treat. Sushi aside, they also offered some delicious non-roll items, like soba salad, gyoza, miso soup (obviously), and many others we were tempted to try.
The verdict? Lovely outdoor seating. Good food. Great for a date night. You’ll probably appreciate it more if you’ve spent 5 months inside, cooking for yourself. But even if you haven’t – even if this were 2019, what a concept!!!!! – I’m confident you’d enjoy a date night out at Arigato.
The Boathouse is located at Hendry’s Beach, northwest of Downtown in the Mesa neighborhood. The parking lot is normally packed with cars, which is sort of confusing given the beach isn’t all that great — you’re guaranteed to leave with tar spots on your feet. The Boathouse is your typical beachfront place, serving your typical surf ‘n turf fare. But we’re here to say it’s not just for tourists — although, 6 weeks into our stay here, we probably still qualify as such.
From glancing at Yelp, it looks like breakfast is a great move, but we opted for Happy Hour since we live for those. We went on a Tuesday at 4:00pm (HH is from 3-6, Sunday-Thursday, and Friday from 8pm-close). We had to wait about 20 minutes for a table, which we easily passed with a barefoot stroll along the beach (which is how we can confirm: tar spots guaranteed). We were eventually seated in a tall-top near the parking lot, but every table still has ocean views. The happy hour menu has a lot to offer: standard beer (and hard kombucha!), several cocktails ranging from $6-8, and wine starting at $5. At a place like this, you might expect the house cocktails to be sickly sweet, but the blood orange margarita — complete with salted rim and jalapeño — was one of the best HH cocktails we’ve had anywhere. And we seek out HH cocktails, so that’s saying something.
As for the food, again, it was as you’d expect from such a place – seafood, burgers, lots of fried starters – but the portions were great, and the happy hour prices negated any tourist trap mark-up. We tried the steamed clams, double cheese burger, baja fish tacos, and lobster mac and cheese. Did we need four entrees for two people? No, but that’s what happy hour does to you. Standouts were the burger, which was massive and juicy, complete with delicious grilled onions. People in Santa Barbara might rave about Mesa Burger, but this burger was just as good, bigger, and half the price. I also loved the clams, which rang in at $8.95 for a huge bowl.
But why am I talking about price here, when I should be talking about location? The boathouse is right on the beach. You can see the waves crashing from your table. Even with a shitty cocktail, it’d be worth it. With a $6 blood orange margarita, it’s a must-do.
Oh, and there’s hand sanitizer on every table, which is almost as appreciated as cheap booze these days.
Clams in white wine sauceHendry’s BeachA double cheeseburger for $7.95, basically In-n-Out prices…
http://www.boathousesb.com/
2981 Cliff Dr, Santa Barbara
(Review is strictly for the Happy Hour) Great drink selection and prices; decent food and prices; unbeatable ambiance right on the beach, though only certain tables (the ones in the back;) are eligible for Happy Hour.
We were about to move to New York before this whole pandemic thing went down. And while living and working from a shoebox apartment would’ve grown old after about a day, the one thing you can’t argue with is New York pizza. We were a little sad to miss out on that.
So it’s great we found Bettina in Montecito, because the other thing you can’t argue with is how damn good Bettina is. Now that we discovered it, we have zero reason to lament not moving to New York. Sorry! We’re suburbanites.
So Bettina. It’s Napoletana style. It has thick and chewy (code for ‘perfect’) crust, unbelievably flavorful toppings, AND they do halvsies if you ask (half one kind of pizza, half the other — only requirement is that both kinds need to share the same base sauce). Which is perfect if you’re me and can’t narrow down the options.
The other great thing about Bettina is their non-pizza dishes. We tried the arancini (rice balls) and farro arugula salad, and both were to die for. We’ve gone to some pretty great pizza places in our day where the sides are just that –sideshows to the real deal – but these sides stood out all on their own.
Whole cherry tomato pizza (Mozzarella, goat cheese, zucchini, pesto, garlic confit, basil – Jenny’s other favorite. Don’t make me choose.)
Cacio e pepe arancini
Arugula farro salad
https://www.bettinapizzeria.com/
1014 Coast Village Rd, Santa Barbara
Some of the best pizza and sides we’ve had. Can’t wait to someday dine in and have it fresh from the oven; these 5 stars were awarded even after a 20 minute oven-to-plate takeout period!
We started our tour at the The Public Market, which is essentially a bougie food court located in downtown Santa Barbara. And I do mean bougie—you can spend $9.50 on a single, regular-sized taco.
But if you can afford it, Corazón is actually pretty delicious. Jenny got an incredibly tasty cauliflower taco, while I tried the conventional al pastor. Both were well-seasoned, with high quality meat and thick corn tortillas. It would take a lot of cash to eat a full meal there, but as a first stop on a day-long taco tour it was perfect.
(Jenny’s edit: OK enough about the ‘outrageous’ price here! The tacos were twice as big as anywhere else, and came with a huge – FREE – basket of chips and delicious salsa. I was full after this first stop!)
La Super-Rica
Next we walked all the way down Anapumu and then right on Milpas, taking us to the heart of Santa Barbara’s taco scene. There are lots of taco places along Milpas, and it took a lot of determination not to stop at all of them. (Look out for a Milpas-specific taco post, I’m sure it’s coming soon.)
In 1985, Julia Child proclaimed to the world that La Super-Rica was her favorite taco place. I am not sure why a white woman famous for French cooking is considered an authority on tacos, but judging by the line outside LSR I’d say plenty of people still take stock in this endorsement.
Because truthfully, the tacos aren’t that good. Far and away the best part of LSR is their made-when-you-order fresh corn tortillas, but then it goes downhill: the only other topping on these stripped-down tacos is a meager serving of bone-dry meat.
However I highly recommend getting any of the cheesy delights from the right side of their menu (see below). The combination of melty cheese and fresh tortillas is mouthwatering.
La Super-Rica’s menu
Third Window Brewing
To slake our sudden thirst we walked a few blocks out of our way to Third Window Brewing, which has a ton of outdoor space. We’re in the weird phase of the pandemic where bars and breweries can serve you outside, but you have to have some food on your bill (you know, to ward off the virus) so we ordered four pints and a small fries with curried ketchup.
I mean the beer was fine. It was cold and bubbly and inoffensive, and the setting was beautiful. This was a taco tour, not a beer tour, so I’m going to leave it at that.
East Beach Tacos
East Beach Tacos was a lot. For starters, it was packed. It’s the middle of the pandemic, and yet there are probably thirty people in line for this place, which is nothing more than a little shed next to some batting cages.
The line does not move fast. All-in, it probably took us about 30 minutes to get our tacos, which had non-standard configurations like bahn mi, ahi poke, and korean BBQ (“Gangam Style”).
There was no room for us on the nearby picnic tables, and we didn’t feel like squatting in the batting cage parking lot, so we took our tacos to east beach, a couple blocks away.
Honestly the tacos were better than I was expecting. Definitely not traditional, but pretty good. And Jenny wants me to mention the extras: the tacos came with delicious salsa, chips, and fresh limes.
The Lark
After East Beach Tacos we made our way to Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone—a new-ish neighborhood filled with tasting rooms and beer gardens.
We liked the wedding-venue vibe of The Lark—it had a private patio with a fountain and fairy lights—so we sat down and ordered some fancy cocktails.
I had an old fashioned, which was incredibly tasty but clashed a bit with the 80-degrees-and-sunny vibe of mid-day Santa Barbara.
Captain Fatty’s (The Project)
Although we were dying to get to the last taco stop, we couldn’t stopping for a beer at Captain Fatty’s. The Goleta-based brewery has an outpost in the Funk Zone, and in these pandemic times they’ve taken over their entire parking lot and made it a budget beer garden / day club, complete with a serious-looking DJ playing tropical house music.
I had a cucumber sour, which I’d say fit the mood pretty perfectly.
Lily’s Taqueria
This is it. This is the taco place everyone in SB mentions when you ask about tacos. Lily’s is a hole-in-the-wall, a block south of the main downtown shopping area.
There’s no outdoor seating here, so we took our tacos to the courthouse (with a quick stop at Modern Times to pick up some beer) and ate the day’s final tacos as the sun set over Santa Barbara.
Lily’s was fantastic. The meat was flavorful, the tortillas fresh, and (I’m told) the vegetarian options were excellent.
