Santa Barbara DELHI KUMAIL NANJIANI LAS VEGAS

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Santa Barbara DELHI KUMAIL NANJIANI LAS VEGAS
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
Santa Barbara DELHI KUMAIL NANJIANI LAS VEGAS
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

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Santa Barbara DELHI KUMAIL NANJIANI LAS VEGAS
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.

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Santa Barbara DELHI KUMAIL NANJIANI LAS VEGAS
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?

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Santa Barbara DELHI KUMAIL NANJIANI LAS VEGAS
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
Santa Barbara DELHI KUMAIL NANJIANI LAS VEGAS
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.

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Santa Barbara DELHI KUMAIL NANJIANI LAS VEGAS
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?

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Santa Barbara DELHI KUMAIL NANJIANI LAS VEGAS
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?

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Santa Barbara DELHI KUMAIL NANJIANI LAS VEGAS
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

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Santa Barbara DELHI KUMAIL NANJIANI LAS VEGAS
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

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    must-go places in this
Santa Barbara Three Perfect
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 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.

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