••• Recipes Bakery and Jolly Brothers catering, which shared the building at 604 Santa Barbara Street (Cota/Ortega), have closed, and the cute little building is for sale.
••• It looks like the bar/restaurant/music venue planned for 330 State Street (at Gutierrez) ran out of gas; the building has been put on the market for $7.9 million.
••• Little Bird Kitchen at the Santa Barbara Public Market opens tomorrow. The menu is here.
••• The building at 4631 Carpinteria Avenue, home to Clementine’s Steak House, sold for $1.645 million back in April (but I only just caught wind of it). When the property was first listed, the operators of Clementine’s said they would be “looking to pursue a long-term lease with the new owners, if the property is sold.” The buyer is someone named Juan Hernandez.
••• Pearl Social has reopened as the Pearl Social Cocktail Club. Pictured below are some of the new items that The Lark’s Jason Paluska developed for the food menu: Eagle Rock oysters, Caribbean fried chicken, ras el hanout mixed nuts, tempura green beans, a cheese board, and “chips & dip,” which involves whipped crème fraîche, salmon roe, chives, and truffle potato chips.
••• The Independent ran mini-profiles of eight local bartenders.
••• I took my own advice and went for a croissant at Santa Barbara Hives in Carpinteria. It was really good! I didn’t expect it to be so sturdy, or to look like a tubby manatee, but it pulled apart in lovely layers, and the flavor was spot on. So I went back and tried the chocolate-and-cherry croissant, which was even better (in part, because I got there before 8 a.m. and the croissant was still warm, with melty chocolate). Now I need to try the pizza.
················
Sign up for the Siteline email newsletter for the freshest food news in town.
The pizza at Santa Barbara Hives is out of this world. It’s so good!
First rule of SB Hives is don’t talk about SB Hives. Come on people.
Pearl Social has so much potential but they blow it every time. I’m starting to think Paluska is the problem. That new menu is awful, not that any of his other menus are remarkable.
Ooofff that menu looks like it only needs a fryer, a fridge and a blender to prep. They have a full kitchen at their disposal….riiiiight?
I totally agree. I really miss when it was Les Marchands. It was fantastic. Amazing wine and such good food. The Royale was delicious.
Used to love their Ramen night. Loved sitting on the patio or inside. Haven’t been there in years now…
Maybe this is apples and oranges, but if wine was the reason you loved Les Marchands, you should investigate Goodland Wine Shop & Bar, on upper State, just up from the Dutch Garden. Absolutely terrific selection of primarily Santa Barbara County wines —
I liked Les Marchands too. It was the first place I sat down to have a drink on my first visit to SB before moving to town. Good memories….
Dude food: a rampant Alpha problem throughout town. It’s why I love The Daisy and Bossie. Honest food done with love not ego.
Jason and SkyG: You both come off as people with a chip on their shoulder rather than discerning food lovers who have actually eaten the new items mentioned in this article. I’ve been to Pearl twice since their relaunch and love the new menu. The fried chicken is easily one of the best bites in all of SB. The new cocktails are phenomenal and the vibe is so much more energetic than any of the previous iterations.
Okay but that menu doesn’t feel like a *meal* – it feels like snacks. I’m also doing the whole sympathetic sobriety these days since my lady is pregnant, so going out for snacks just seems like more trouble and money than it’s worth. I guess I just miss Le Marchands, which I loved. And to be clear – I’ll sing the praises of every single other Acme joint, they’re on the whole wonderful and worthy of praise and patronage. No chip here!