••• I didn’t think it polite to point out at the time, but when a restaurant closes for a month—the way Bedda Mia did for January—it’s not a good sign. Sure enough, the Sicilian restaurant’s website is gone and the building (1218 State Street, between Victoria and Anapamu) is for lease. Bedda Mia opened in February 2022.
••• A Restaurant Guy reader says that an Italian restaurant is coming to the former Tamira space at 1027 State Street (Carrillo/Figueroa).
••• The Longoria Wines tasting room at 732 State Street (De La Guerra/Ortega), where Santa Barbara Wine Therapy used to be, has opened.
••• Corazón Comedor now offers happy hour from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., with “canned and on tap beer for $3.50, margaritas for $8, chicken tacos for $4.50, and beef tacos for $5.50.”
••• I’m consistently impressed by the produce at Gelson’s, which outclasses its fancier competition by far. The latest evidence: the store carries watercress, something that is virtually impossible to find around here. (I mean real watercress—the best salad green, in my opinion—and not that flavorless “upland cress” stuff.) UPDATE: CG says Tri-County Produce also reliably has watercress.
••• Rare Society is making good on its plan to open steakhouses all along the West Coast: the fourth outpost of the chain opens next week in Mill Creek, Washington. The fifth will be in San Clemente.
••• And the eighth location of Finney’s Crafthouse has opened “near Cracker Barrel in the Promenade section of the Camarillo Premium Outlets.” You know what they say: better to be near a Cracker Barrel than in one. —805Foodie
••• Here’s what readers suggested for restaurants between here and LAX, from north to south:
—Café Ficelle in Camarillo.
—Prospect Coffee Roasters in Ventura.
—Brent’s Deli in Westlake Village / “Real classic New York City deli vibes and the Reuben is to die for!”
—Nonna in Westlake Village / “Nonna is excellent; just past Townsgate Road where Brent’s is located. Easy-on/easy-off the 101—a perfect dinner place for meeting friends from L.A.”
—The Stonehaus in Westlake Village / “In the summer they have live music and the patio is lovely. They also have a nicer restaurant that we haven’t tried.”
—Basta in Agoura Hills / “Great Italian right off the 101.”
—Pedalers Fork and 10 Speed Coffee in Calabasas / “Great stop for quick coffee or sit down.”
—French in Calabasas / A shop, not a restaurant, but it looks worth a stop.
—Tramonto Bistro in Malibu / “They never fail to take the edge off traveling back.”
—Hummus Bar and Grill in Tarzana (below) / “A friend in SB recommended this place, and we just went last week on our way home from La Jolla/San Diego. It was so good! Our friend has been going for years, based on a review from 10 years ago by Jonathan Gold.”
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Tri County Produce also consistently has watercress!
Who can go to a Happy Hour that is 3-5pm ?????
I’ve always thought the same, it’s not meant for people who live here I guess, which is unfortunate since we’re the ones that would actually keep businesses alive through slow tourist times. I remember when happy hours were actually after business hours, sigh.
Great restaurant list! I always want to stop at my favorite Moody Rooster on the way home from LA but sometimes timing doesn’t work, so nice to have some wonderful options.
One consistency to Santa Barbara and especially State St is the steady flow of people who ply their trade and spend their savings on what is essentially, the same food concept that failed before. Every few months a new restauranteur arrives and tries. We are lucky there are so many poor business people who love cooking. It gives us locals a steady flow of new places to try and dishes to explore. Although it’s rather sad to see so many people sink their life savings into a business that is almost certainly guaranteed to fail. Do any of these people do diligence and research before they jump? I suppose not…
Reminds me of the old joke:
Want to make a small fortune in the restaurant business? Start with a large fortune.
If you look on Google maps, it looks like Bedda Mia might be moving to Montecito in the old Mollie’s location.
That space on Coast Village Road is now home to a new private training studio called Montecito Fitness.
Not surprising that Beddia Mia closed. I ate there several months ago and got very sick. Tried to reach out to the restaurant to let them know about it and never received any response. Should have known better to eat a rstaurant that was empty on a Saturday night. My husband and I should have gone with are intial gut feeling and left right away.
As the previous owners of 900 Park Lane, we feel credit should be given to Ronald Frink of Ronald Frink Architects for taking the “box house” bought in 1994 to the architectural jewel it is today. By adding curves, terraces a pool, a pool house, three garages and a master bedroom, closets, bath and terrace, he created this lovely, liveable home. The color palate is the choice of the current owner.