Troya and I took a road trip to Santa Barbara to hear her favorite band Snow Patrol. I had promised her that I would take her to see them the next time they came to the US and this was my chance to make good on that promise. Lucky for us Epicure Santa Barbara happens this month which is a “celebration of cuisine, libations and culture”. Several musical and cultural events happen throughout the month, and local hotels and restaurants have specials as well. After reviewing the special menu’s for this month offered by the participating restaurants I thought the 5 course menu matched with local wines offered by Olio e Limone looked like our best option.
The restaurant is located in downtown Santa Barbara which has multiple shops, galleries and eating establishments within a short walk of each other. We got there early and spent some time walking around and even tasted some wine, nothing to mention though. We had an early reservation so we could make the concert later in the evening and were the first ones in the restaurant. It’s a very clean, classic Italian restaurant and has a more casual pizza/ wine bar attached to the same building. As the restaurant started to fill up it became clear that this was one of those old style Italian restaurants with many regulars who all knew each other.
After quickly reviewing the regular menu and finding many things that sounded great, we decided to stick with our original plan and go with the pre-set menu with the wine pairing. Our first course was Zuppa di Zucca con Gamber- butternut squash soup with local prawns. This was paired with a 2010 Pinot Gris/Pinot Blanc blend from Au Bon Cimat . The soup was good, mild flavor, not great. The prawns in the soup went very well and made the dish come to life. The Pinot blend was a clean, crisp wine with very little acid in the front end, and a nice, light balance of fruit on the back end.
Next we had a choice of Carciofini e Burrata conScaligni Fritti- baby artichoke heart and mozzarella salad, Gamberetti Locale con Olio di Oregano Piccante- local ridgeback shrimp with spicy oregano oil or Lingua di Manzo in Salsa Verde- Veal tongue with spicy salsa. These were paired with a 2011 Costa Mlina from Argiolas which was a substitute because they ran out of the Viongnier they had originally chosen. Whenever we are given a choice on a menu like this we always like to pick something different and then taste each others. In that way we get to taste almost everything on the menu. We choose the salad and shrimp. Of all the courses, this was our least favorite. The artichoke heart and mozzarella salad was good, but nothing unique. The shrimp had very nice flavor, but was soft and possibly a little over cooked. The Costa Molino however was very good. Very similar to a Viognier, but lighter, not such a fruit forward wine, and very clean finish more citrus tastes then typical apricot and pear that you get with a Viongnier. This was an excellent wine with food, not taking over the meal but blending well with either one of these dishes, a difficult task since they were so different.
The third course offered Busiate ai Gamberi e Pistacchio- pasta twists with local shrimp and garlic pistachio sauce or Tagliolini ai Ricci di Mare- thin ribbon pasta with Santa Barbara sea urchins, garlic, parsley, pepperoncino and olive oil. This was paired with either the Costa Molino or a 2010 Pinot Noir from Ampelos out of Santa Rita Hills. I was excited about the pasta with sea urchins, but was disappointed. The pasta was fresh and had great texture and flavor but the sauce was just a basic red sauce and the sea urchins and pepperoncino did not add much flavor and were lost. The pasta twists with shrimp and garlic pistachio sauce was the best dish of the meal. The pasta was perfect and the sauce was well balanced, creamy but not heavy or greasy and the shrimp and pistachio flavors blended perfectly and were not lost in the cream. I choose to pair this course with the Costa Molino again since I was so please with it in the prior course. It went well again, complimenting each dish but fortunately Troya choose the Pinot Nior. This was the best wine of the night. A well balanced Pinot, with great dark fruit flavors, and enhanced each dish. It also took on very different characteristics with each of these dishes, for me one of the most fun aspects of pairing wine with different foods. She was nice enough to share her glass with me.
Our next options were Filetto di Pesce Cernia- Grilled local grouper with leeks and squid ink vinaigrette, Aragosta ai Funghetti- Spiny lobster with Santa Barbara chanterelles and pancetta in a Riesling tarragon cream sauce, Abalone Con Puntarelle e Limone- crusted Santa Barbara abalone in lemon-butter sauce or Petto dAnatra con Fichi e Salsa di Balsamico- pan roasted Muscovy duck breast, roasted fennel and Mission figs with balsamic reduction sauce. This was paired with either the Costa Molino, the Pinot Nior or a 2008 Cab Saivignon/Cab Franc/Merlot blend from Happy Canyon Vineyard. We choose the Lobster and the abalone. I have never had abalone before and thought this was a perfect opportunity. If you have never had it before, it was quite chewy, and did not have a lot of flavor. Not much else to say about it. The lobster was good, not as rich as the typical Maine lobster, but light on flavor as well. The chanterelles and pancetta in the Riesling tarragon was great. I choose the Pinot again and could have eaten a whole bowl of the chanterelles with this wine. Julia chose the Cab blend with the lobster, not the pairing I would have made. The Cab blend was on the light side, well balanced and would have gone well with something like the duck.
Desert consisted of either Tora di Pistacchio con Mascapone- house made mascarpone-pistachio terrine or Bauletto di Ciaccolato e Banane- Chocolate-banana bread pudding with warm ganache center topped with caramelized bananas. This was paired with a 2008 Late Harvest Riesling from Santa Barbara Winery. The mascarpone was nice, a light nutty flavor, not too rich or sweet and paired well with the late harvest Riesling. The chocolate banana bread pudding was my favorite, but did not pair well with the wine. This dish was everything that the first one was not. Very rich, warm chocolate with sweet bananas well balanced and not overbearing. I would have loved to try a nice port to go with this.
All in all a great meal paired great with local wine. No regrets, but if I had to do it again I would try some of the other dishes, just to try them. The substitute wine was a great last minute addition. Nice that both of us left feeling satisfied but not over full even after 5 courses.
Satisfied, we were off to the concert. I had never heard Snow Patrol live but was left very impressed. They have been on tour for a while now and this was towards the end of their live tour. I was worried they were going to be over it and their voices tired. Instead they were very engaged for the entire show, interacting with the audience and familiar with the venue. The band and their voices were anything but tired and the songs sounded like you remember them. I also wanted to say something about the Santa Barbara Bowl. If you enjoy live music, you have to see a show here. It is smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood but parking was not a big problem. The acoustics here are incredible and therefore the sound does not have to be blasted so that everyone can hear. We had general admission tickets which amounts to a standing area right in front of the stage. I have been to concerts where this is a problem and I am left with ringing in my ears for the next several days. Not here. With the acoustics and the interaction with the band, it felt like a private showing at a small venue. You had to turn around to remind yourself that others were there to see the show. By far one of the best shows I have been to, and worth the long “road trip”.