Santa Barbara DELHI KUMAIL NANJIANI LAS VEGAS
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DELHI • KUMAIL NANJIANI • LAS VEGAS THIS MAGAZINE HAS BEEN TREATED WITH AN ANTIMICROBIAL PROCESS NOVEMBER 2021 Three Perfect Days Santa Barbara Where you can take in the city’s defining Spanish Colonial Revival architecture at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara 001_HEMI_1121_Cover_v6.indd 1 03/10/2021 14:34
Three Perfect Days Santa Barbara Santa Barbara is known as the American Riviera, and it’s easy to see why. At its feet, the brilliant blue Pacific laps up on sandy beaches; at its back, the sharp peaks of the Santa Ynez Mountains shoot skyward. Downtown is a Spanish Colonial architectural fantasy, while tony Montecito has drawn celebrity residents such as Oprah Winfrey and Jeff Bridges. But the city and its surroundings are more than just a Californian Cannes. Milpas Street is lined with humble yet acclaimed taquerias. To the north, the Santa Ynez Valley and Paso Robles boast some of the finest vineyards in the country. A few miles offshore, whales and dolphins frolic amid the Channel Islands. To top it off, over the last decade, downtown SB’s Funk Zone has exploded with restaurants and bars, seriously raising the city’s hip quotient. Who knew that paradise could be improved upon? B y J u s t i n G o l d m a n • P h o t o g r a p hy b y N a t a s h a L e e 66 67
1 DAY ► Hiking through fog and drinking with renegade winemakers I t ’s m o r n i n g o n t h e California Coast, and if you’ve ever lived here, you know what I’m look- ing at: fog. I’m standing on the boardwalk that r uns along the bluff above Moonstone Beach, just to the west of the a n d w h i le I ’m lo o k i n g be any sun glinting off the I finish my stroll and hop s h a c k a nd s p e c i a l i z e s i n mackerel. L et ’s toss t hose approach i ng Pa so Roble s . tiny town of Cambria. The for ward to strol ling dow n water, but as I walk up and back in the car to drive south smoked seafood. I mosey up bad boys in the smoker! The world has known about number one mistake visitors Memory Lane in Santa Bar- down the coast, I am able to on Route 1. Half an hour later, to t he cou nter to order a For t i f ied for t he a f ter- Napa’s wines for decades, and to Pacific beaches make is to bara, I’ve decided to ma ke spot a few t hings t hrough I reach the three-block-long couple of salmon tacos, which noon, I turn onto Old Creek about Santa Barbara’s since Opening spread, from left: house dress for summer, but as a UC a road trip out of this visit and the marine layer. The dark, main drag of Cay ucos. The c ome l aden w it h let t uc e , Road, which w ind s up Sideways, and Paso has transportation Santa Barbara alum (class of check off a few Central Coast pebbly beach is littered with clock has just struck 11 a.m., tomato, celery, carrot, apple, t h roug h a na r row c a nyon recently staked its own claim at the Rosewood Miramar Beach; artful 2003), I came prepared, with sights I missed back then— driftwood, while the water so Ruddell’s Smokehouse is and mu st ard aioli. I chow dotted with oaks. When I hit to fame. I’ve driven through presentation at Six Test a thick surf hoodie. starting with this stretch of is f u l l of wet suit–wear ing open. A local favorite for 20 down as I watch a fisherman Highway 46, the golden hills ma ny t i mes, but never Kitchen in Paso Robles; this spread: Moonstone It h a s b e en ne a r ly t wo beach about two hours north sur fers lin ing up to catch years, the restaurant is run at the end of the Cayucos Pier beg i n to be st itched w it h stopped to smell the rosés; Beach in Cambria decades since I graduated, of t he cit y. There may not the waves. out of a sma l l beach f ront reel in a couple of good-size g rapev ines, so I k now I’m today, I make amends. 68 69
Pe r h ap s t he pl a c e t h a t winemaker Vailia From pours “It’s ver y rela xed,” From Spruce, and Aziza before com- This page, from left: Vailia From at “From pours me Desparada Wines; best capt ures t he spir it of me a sample of her Wayf in- responds, laughing. “I love ing home. While his dining the historic Ah Louis t his reg ion is Tin City, an der ch a rdon n ay wh i le we Napa and Sonoma, but I really a chardonnay room feels like something you Store in what was i nd u s t r i a l c omp o u nd on w at c h u n s u s pec t i n g f l ie s ap pr e c i a t e w h a t we h ave might find South of Market, a once San Luis Obispo’s while we watch Chinatown; opposite the edge of downtown Paso land on the Venus flytrap on here. We have an incredibly lot of local love goes into it. page: decor at the Hotel San Luis Obispo that houses more than t wo t he table. When I t ur n my diverse area where we’re not unsuspecting “The g uy that we get our dozen wineries, breweries, recorder on, she warns me, tied to certain varietals, so I fish from, I literally grew up flies land on the and restaurants. I have a few “I drop a lot of F-bombs.” I see everything being made. I across the street from him,” minutes before dinner, so I note t hat t his seem s to be think we’re really lucky.” Venus flytrap Odbert says. “The person we poke my head into Desparada a common trait among the Spe a k i n g of luc k y, I’ve get our produce from, I went on the table.” Wines. On the back porch, vintners here. scored one of the 12 counter to high school with her broth- ers. I’ve known these people forever, which I wouldn’t get DAY T R I P : T H E C H A N N E L I S L A N D S seat s at Si x Test K itchen, anywhere else.” wh ich opened in Tin Cit y I’m ready for bed now, and Few places in America are astonishing mega-pod of Ben Spring, led my group including one of the largest in 2019. The space is small, there’s one waiting for me quite as wild as Channel Islands hundreds of dolphins swam through a kelp forest, where in North America. but t he t a st i ng menu i s just on the other side of the National Park. Comprising alongside the boat. we saw a frolicking harbor After paddling back to the mighty. I quickly lose track of Cuesta Grade. I glide down five of the eight Channel Upon reaching Santa Cruz, seal and an orange Garibaldi beach, you’re free to spend the number of courses, but the hill, and before I know it Islands, which some call meet with a guide from Santa (California’s state marine fish). the rest of the afternoon the highlights include hama- I’m pulling up to the Hotel San “North America’s Galápagos,” Barbara Adventure Company We also passed cormorants swimming, hiking, or looking chi sashimi with a salad of Luis Obispo. The two-year- the park is almost totally for a sea kayaking or snorkeling perched on the cliffs and for the bushy-tailed island tomato, cucumber, and basil; old hotel is on the street that undeveloped and is part of a excursion. My kayaking guide, went into several sea caves, fox. I recommend taking the ch icken liver topped w it h was once the center of SLO’s UNESCO biosphere reserve. In scenic bluff-top trail to the plum slices on an anise cake; C h i n atow n . I n t he 1870 s, fact, the Santa Barbara Channel Potato Harbor overlook, but grilled fish head chawanmushi during the constr uction of boasts one of the world’s be sure to mind the time: If with koji butter; and house- the railroads, the small city most impressive collections of you don’t get back to the dock d r y- a g e d p or k loi n w it h had the largest Chinese pop- marine life, including blue and before the scheduled departure, peach, bulgur wheat, mustard ulation in California, and the humpback whales, orcas, and the boat will leave without you. grain, and a grilled shishito. property pays homage to that tens of thousands of dolphins. Adult round-trip day fare It ’s no wond e r t he pl a c e history with a latticed terra- iStock/Getty Images (Channel Islands) Book a 60-to-90-minute ferry to Santa Cruz Island, $63, received a star in the 2021 cotta facade. I have a good ride from Ventura Harbor to islandpackers.com; sea California Michelin Guide. view of it from the balcony of Santa Cruz Island (the largest kayak tour from $118, After dinner, I buttonhole my third-floor room, where I landmass in the archipelago) sbadventureco.com; advance chef Ricky Odbert, who grew can also watch the fog creep- with Island Packers, and you’ve reservations are essential, up in nearby Arroyo Grande, ing around the volcanic hills got a good shot at spotting and there are no concessions t hen cooked i n Sa n Fra n- that surround town. Where some sea life; on my trip, an on the island. cisco kitchens such as Masa’s, did I put that hoodie? 72
2 DAY remembrances of things past as Paul Giamatti’s Miles did that I’m about to experience. (less quietly) in Sideways. ► A Danish detour and a Back in the car, I follow There are plenty of wines 101 south for a few miles, but I will drink, though. First, I surprising Indian feast instead of making straight for pop into Story of Soil. Wine- Santa Barbara, I take a detour maker Jessica Gasca—who, into the Santa Ynez Valley. in cutoff jean shorts, a white My first stop on the side-trip button-down, and a straw hat, is Solvang, a village that was looks like Sandra Bullock if she founded in 1911 by a group were a Wine Enthusiast cover A of Danes who built a town model—pours me a taste of ny self-respecting center straight out of a Hans col lege tow n has Christian A ndersen stor y: a hip coffee shop windmills, steep gabled roofs, or t wo, a nd t he old-fashioned clocktowers. home of Ca l Poly San Luis Just 10 more minutes on a Obispo is no exception. I start quiet country road brings me my mor n ing w it h a st rol l to Los Olivos, a small town a r o u nd t he M i s s ion S a n that’s not only the nexus of L u i s O b i s p o d e To l o s a , Santa Barbara wine country, which was founded in 1772, but also the setting of one of and over to Kreuzberg Cal- my favorite films. After park- ifornia. Named for an artsy ing the car, I make a small district in Berlin, the spa- persona l pilgrimage, wan- This page, from top: cious café is decorated with dering past the tasting rooms Jessica Gasca at bold murals and portraits of on Gr a nd Ave n u e t o t he Story of Soil; portraits of artists at Kreuzberg writers and artists. I order alley next to the Los Olivos California; opposite a l at t e a nd a n a ç a í b owl Wine Merchant Café, where page: Scandinavian- style architecture and sit under an image of I quietly mutter, “I am not in Solvang Proust, preparing for all the drinking any f ****** merlot,” 74
her earthy Duvarita Vineyard yourself to somebody, you Clockwise from above: winemaker Greg Brewer; pinot noir, and we sit in front “The brilliant blue can sur render to t hat per- Refugio State Beach; shaved yellow beets of a chalk map of the Central Pacific is on my son, right? I surrender to this at S.Y. Kitchen Coast’s appellations and chat landscape. So the award wasn’t about the land and the people right, and I pull about me. It goes to everyone who work it. off to get some who came before, everyone in “At harvest, you wake up at the game now, those that will the crack of dawn, get to the sand between my come later—we all own that vineyard, and a ll of a sud- toes at Refugio award, because I’m this place.” den you’re in nat ure, with Lunch is in the Old West– an incredible group of peo- State Beach.” style town of Santa Ynez, at ple t h at a r e wor k i n g t he S.Y. Kitchen, an acclaimed land. It’s magical.” As both a Brewer, who la st year wa s restaurant run out of a ranch Mexican American and the named winemaker of the year hou se by t he It a l ia n chef president of the Santa Barbara by Wine Enthusiast. The honor brothers Luca and Francesco Vintners Foundation, Gasca doesn’t seem to have gone to Crestanelli. I sit on the brick makes a point to take care of his head: He’s dressed casually, patio, where I can smell the those people. “We were able to in a black V-neck that reveals wood burning in the outdoor bring mobile medical units arms tattooed with bamboo pizza oven. Duly inspired, I into the vineyards and vac- and an octopus, and as we sip a order the special, a black truf- cinate more than a thousand beautiful 2015 3D pinot noir in fle pizza that I would put up workers. I feel like we forget his Japanese-inspired tasting against any pie in New York, that we have wine to drink room, he describes the recog- along with a salad of yellow only because of the people nition as being for the region, beets shaved paper-thin and who work the land.” not himself. a spaghetti alle vongole burst- Nex t, I wa l k a couple of “I’ve only worked in Santa ing with fresh clams. It’s way block s to Brewer-Cli f ton, Barbara,” Brewer tells me. “It’s too much food—and I want where I’m greeted by Greg like when you really commit seconds of all of it. 76
Discover Beckmen Vineyards Family owned and operated, Beckmen Vineyards has been This page, clockwise Feeling great about t hat Bacara, a 78-acre resort just signature massage, basically good everything is; 20 years from above: Palihouse detour, I head back to 101 and north of Isla Vista, where many consists of a therapist spend- “This feels like ago, there was nothing like this crafting critically acclaimed wines Santa Barbara; the bar at Venus in Furs; curries slalom toward the coast. The of my friends worked during ing 80 minutes using two hot the kind of place in Santa Barbara. since 1994. Visit our 40-acre working at Bibi Ji; opposite page: brilliant blue Pacif ic is on college. I take in the clifftop stones to grind me down to I’m a l mo s t t ap p e d out , Spanish Colonial Revival buildings on State Street my right for this stretch, and view of the ocean and the off- Goldman dust—a very relaxed, Lou Reed might but there’s one other trendy estate vineyard, and enjoy a curated I pull off to get some sand shore oil rigs—Jim Morrison’s satisfied Goldman dust. have frequented newcomer that needs investi- tasting overlooking our vines. between my toes at Refugio inspiration for “The Crystal As beautiful as the Bacara gating. Venus in Furs, opened when he was in Open daily for wine tastings. State Beach. Ship”—and then make for the is, tonight I’m staying down- last year by the owners of the My next stop on Memory 42,000-square-foot spa. My town, at the Palihouse Santa the mood for best cocktail bar in the city, Reservations recommended. L a ne i s The R it z- C a rlton c hoic e of t r e a t me n t , t he Barbara. The decor is quint- The Good Lion, is a different essential Spanish Colonial something a kind of wine bar. The name is 2670 Ontiveros Road | Los Olivos, CA 93441 Revival: white stucco walls, little softer.” a Velvet Underground refer- (805)688-8664 ext 201 arched door ways, ex posed ence, the soundtrack is new wood beams, red clay roof wave rock, and the tasting www.beckmenvineyards.com tiles. This style defines Santa purple-haired server, Alvaro, notes are more tong ue-in- Barbara, in particular on the for some guidance. “The dal c he e k t h a n no s e -i n- g l a s s main drag, State Street, which is my favorite,” he replies. “I (“silky as ur nonna’s nighty”). owes its uniform appearance recommend dr in k ing t hat I sip a Stolpman syrah blend to having been rebuilt after an t h roug h a st r aw.” I order w h i le c ont e mpl a t i n g t he earthquake struck in 1925. that, along with mysore bonda Indian-st yle mura l of pea- While the buildings may (p ot a t o -p e a f r it t e r s w it h c o c k s i n t he j u n g le t h a t lo ok t he s a me a s whe n I okra raita) and halibut moilee ador n s t he back ba r. Th i s l ived here, m a ny of t hem (lightly fried loca l ha libut feels like the kind of place Lou now house hipper tenants, with curry sauce). I think I Reed might have frequented such as the three-year-old, can’t possibly eat anymore, when he wa s i n t he mood M ic he l i n-r e c om mende d until Alvaro delivers an order for something a little softer. Indian restaurant Bibi Ji. I sit of uni, served on the spiny half Maybe I could say that about on the back patio and ask my shell. I’m astonished by how all of downtown SB? 78
3 DAY I’m about to take a mode Being a mar iner is hard of transportation that’s more work, and I think I’ve earned dated t han t hat Bel A ir: a lunch. Upon docking, I drive charter cruise with the Santa over to Milpas Street, long the Barbara Sailing Center. I meet main drag for Santa Barbara’s my skipper, Larry, at the har- Mexican community. A lot bor, and he leads me out on the has changed in this town in dock to the 42-foot Calafia. As recent years, but some things the yacht pulls away from the have justif iably stayed the marina, he tells me to take the same, including La Super- wheel. “The person at the helm R ica Taquer ia . The sm a l l is always the skipper,” he says. restaurant became famous “Now aim for those kayakers for being Julia Child’s favorite over there—we’ll scare the crap place in town, and that notori- out of them.” ety resulted in an ever-present I don’t ram any kayakers, line. I queue up outside, grum- or the buoy occupied by bark- bling, but when I see an old ing sea lions, but as we cruise woman in the kitchen shap- to open water Larry dispenses ing fresh masa into tortillas, wisdom about life at sea (“If I know it’ll be worth the wait. I you have to fight the wheel, order the Super-Rica Especial, you have too much sail out”) cheese-stuffed pasilla peppers and on land (“I got on a plane served with marinated pork to Santa Barbara in 1971, and and those tortillas. The food I never looked back”). There’s is creamier t han standard not much wind, so when we t aquer ia fa re—perh aps cut the engine we mostly bob ex plaining why A mer ica’s in place, looking back toward most fa mou s French chef East Beach and the Santa Ynez loved it so. And who am I to Mountains. In the back of my argue with Julia Child? mind I hear Jimmy Buffett: Next, I’m off to an even more Mother, mother ocean, I have venerable local landmark: the heard you call… Old Mission Santa Bárbara. ► Setting sail from the harbor and dining at a pair of old favorites I want to keep last night’s trendiness going, so I st a r t my mor n i n g at A le s s i a P at i s s e r ie + Cafe. The bright space, which opened in Ju ly, feels bot h modern and classic, with its display case of architectural pastries and playlist of chan- teusey jazz. As I sit by the window, drinking a latte and eating a fantastic chocolate croissant, I watch a two-tone This page: enjoying a cruise with the ’50s Chevy Bel Air park across Santa Barbara Sailing the street in front of the 1782 Center; opposite page: the Old Mission El Presidio de Santa Bárbara. Santa Bárbara What century am I in, again? 80 81
The church has been through archways at an Anish Kapoor Clockwise from above: La Super-Rica Taqueria; a few, a hem, resurrections “When I see an s c u lp t u r e on t he s e c ond the new contemporary art gallery at the Santa since it was established in old woman in the f loor; t he wa l ls around us Barbara Museum of Art; 1786 (two of them following are lined w it h ever y t hing breakfast at Alessia Patisserie + Cafe e a r t hq u a ke s i n 181 2 a nd kitchen shaping f r om e a r l y-20 t h- c e n t u r y 1925). On t he sel f- g u ided masa into American paintings to pre- tour, I soak up the histor y: Columbian pottery. the 1808 Moorish fountain, tortillas, I know “I k ind of li ke t he non- t he l a v an d e r í a whe r e t he it’ll be worth h ierarch ica l a spect of t he Chumash people did laundry, salon-style hang,” Kahng says, the 130-year-old Moreton Bay the wait.” “because you have a dialogue fig tree in the cemetery, the between different cultures.” A s for t he show-stoppi ng pictures of the von Trapp fam- center piece? “When I f irst ily visiting in the early 1950s. arrived 10 years ago, Hermes Not quite as old is the Santa was almost at human level, but Barbara Museum of Art. The the original would have been 80-year-old museum, which is elevated. It completely changes mostly housed in a 1912 post your relationship to him. He’s office building, fully reopened a god,” she adds, laughing, “so i n Aug u st , fol low i ng a of course he should be looking $50 million renovation. The down at you.” mu seu m’s d i rec tor, L a r r y I feel like a god myself when Feinberg, and deputy director I check into my hotel, t he and chief curator, Eik Kahng, Rosewood Miramar Beach, a meet me in the reimagined seaside estate in posh Mon- ent r y way. St a nd ing below tecito, just east of downtown. a 2nd-cent u r y C E Rom a n Then I hop a cab back to the stat ue of Her mes, we look Funk Zone for happy hour. up through a trio of restored Split by railroad tracks, this 82
This page: the Rosewood Miramar Beach; opposite page: the patio at La Paloma Café S A N TA B A R B A R A , I N YO U R P O C K E T Why not save all the must-go places in this Santa Barbara Three Perfect Days to Urbaniser? Urbaniser is a new app for collecting, organizing, and sharing all the places you need and love in any city in the world; bars, restaurants, shops, galleries, gyms, nail salons—in fact, any place you like. This way, rather than keeping endless notes, screenshots, and links, you have all your favorites in one place, and always in your pocket! The Santa Barbara venues featured here have been neatly collected for you to download and keep forever on the free Urbaniser app. formerly industrial district winemaker Lenny Germano, day has been spent visiting the end of the meal, Josh, who Just scan our QR code. at the bottom of State Street is a New Jerseyite gone native, SB classics, and La Paloma “Much of my loved the previous incarnation replete with graffiti murals, p o u r s me a t e mpr a n i l lo. Café is the one closest to my day has been of this place even more than hip restaurants, and, natu- “When I nabbed this spot, it hea r t . It f ir st opened a s a I did, matter-of-factly says, “I rally, an urban wine trail. I was a dark little hole,” he says. Mexican restaurant in 1940— spent visiting do not miss the Paradise.” start with a glass of pinot noir “I’ve really watched this area w it ness t he A z tec-t hemed SB classics, and As we all hop in a car and at the grandest of the tast- change in the last five years. mura l above t he ba r—a nd head back to the Rosewood ing rooms, Margerum Wine The city gets it—they like the later beca me t he Pa rad ise La Paloma Café for a nightcap, I feel myself Company, which is attached funkiness of it.” Café. I loved the Paradise and is the one closest getting a little misty. I spent to the swank Hotel Califor- I’ve been enjoying the wine was devastated when it closed some of the best years of my nian, and then pop a block so much t hat I rea lize I’m last year, but I was heartened to my heart.” life here, with these people, ove r t o t he mor e u nd e r- about to be late for my din- when Acme Hospitality, the and while neither the city nor t he-rad a r Sk yenna , where ner reservation. Much of my owners of my other favorite restaurant in town, The Lark, my friends have remained the broug ht it back u nder it s same, we’ve grown up and— original name. dare I say—become cooler. As W H E R E T O S TAY I’ve been looking forward we sit on the hotel veranda, to this meal all weekend, and look i ng at t he l ig ht f rom Hotel San Luis Obispo Palihouse Rosewood The Landsby making it even more special inside glinting off the pool, Santa Barbara Miramar Beach is that my three college room- I hear a train whistle. A sin- Opened in 2019, this 78-room- Want to spend the night in mates, Matt, Josh, and Rob, gle track r uns through the and-suite hotel offers the This 24-room residential-style Set along one of the Central the Santa Ynez Valley to are joining for an impromptu property, and as the boxcars sleekest lodgings in SLO, but hotel from Los Angeles–based Coast’s loveliest stretches of maximize your tasting time? reunion. We sit on the ter- pass by, due south, I wonder it hasn’t forgotten its roots: Palisociety opened in sand, the Rosewood evokes Stay at this 51-room hotel raced patio and get to work on where we’re all headed. One Designers incorporated a March in a building that was the mansions of its tony in the heart of Solvang. a pitcher of the eponymous thing I don’t wonder, though, number of elements to honor once the Santa Barbara School neighborhood, Montecito, with While the design has a hint cock t a i l (tequ i l a , Aperol, is where I feel most at home. the site, in what was once of the Arts. Sip a house white its central Manor House. The of Scandinavian flavor, lime, agave, grapefruit) before Chinatown, including a sangria in the central courtyard, 136 rooms and suites are spread the architectural lines are goi n g nut s on t he menu : vintage “Chop Suey” sign. which is lined with bougainvillea across 16 manicured acres, and cleaner and more contemporary raw Kumai oysters, grilled Fly to the American Riviera in Take in views of the city and climbing vines, lounge the property also boasts über- than at some of the town’s artichoke, vegetable pozole, One Stop or Less: Santa Barbara from the rooftop High Bar, by your room’s gas fireplace, high-end retail (including a shop traditional inns. Enjoy the c e v ic he m ade f r om lo c a l is only a nonstop flight away and don’t miss a meal at the or get out on the town: The curated by James Perse) and wine-country cuisine at f ish, slow-cooked pinquito from Chicago O’Hare, Denver, Michelin-approved modern property is just three blocks dining (try the ceviche at The Mad & Vin, then relax by the beans, smoky Santa Maria– Los Angeles, and San Francisco. steakhouse Ox + Anchor. from bustling State Street. Revere Room). From $1,995, firepits in the courtyard. st yle wag y u tr i-tip, tender Book your trip on united.com or From $350, hotel-slo.com From $395, palisociety.com rosewoodhotels.com From $229, thelandsby.com pork-shoulder carnitas. At the United app. 84
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