Please The Palate |

S.Y. Kitchen in Santa Ynez

With all of the amazing wines coming out of the Santa Ynez Valley, it is only fitting that good restaurants follow. And probably the hottest destination right now, after a day of wine tasting, is S.Y. Kitchen in the town of Santa Ynez.

For Los Angelenos, there may be some recognizable faces. Mike and Kathie Gordon who own Toscana restaurant and Bar Toscana in Brentwood are the proprietors. Chef Luca Crestanelli, formerly at Bar Toscana, created the California-Italian menu. And you will also find his brother Francesco, who is the Sous/Pastry Chef in the open kitchen.

19 September, 2014

Meet The Makers – From Farm to Table

As a foodie living in California, we are fortunate that most restaurants feature locally sourced products. But, sometimes we take for granted our access to these foods. In many other cities around the country, the access to local farms is not possible and farm-to-table is more of an exception than a rule. To cap off the weekend in Santa Barbara wine country for the Wine Bloggers Conference, we traveled to Bridlewood Estate Winery in the heart of Santa Ynez Valley. After a fresh picnic lunch sipping Bridlewood Chardonnay, Rose and Pinot Noir and overlooking the lake, we headed up to the barrel room to "Meet the Makers", the farmers responsible for products were were eating. These passionate farmers spend their days producing organic and sustainable products. They are small businesses who are concerned with quality over quantity. And, they want to make the products available to the community. Meet the farmers:

04 August, 2014

Eating Out in Wine Country: Dos Carlitos Restaurant & Tequila Bar in Santa Ynez, CA

After a long day of wine tasting, nothing beats a casual, tasty meal with a cold drink. So, after the recent Santa Barbara Vintners Festival in Solvang, CA, we were looking for that spot and found Dos Carlitos Restaurant & Tequila Bar in the quiet little town of Santa Ynez.

A family-owned business with two long standing restaurants in Santa Barbara - Carlitos Café y Cantina (Est. 1979) and Cava Restaurant & Bar (Est. 1997) - Dos Carlitos is a casual, relaxed restaurant with an outdoor patio and features fresh homemade tortillas and an open fire grill (La Parilla).

28 May, 2014