••• Barb’s Pies, which has been operating out of the kitchen at the Venus in Furs, will now only be making pizzas for dine-in patrons of the wine bar (Wednesday through Sunday). Photo by James & Jess Photography.
••• As you may have noticed, our local In-N-Out has been closed since Tuesday for tenting. KEYT’s John Palminteri says termites are the reason, which is possible, and that the restaurant reopens today.
••• Buena Onda finally got its license to sell beer and wine.
••• Saint Barbara Greek Orthodox Church is selling Greek food for pick-up this May 29-31. Order before 11:59 p.m. on May 16.
••• Ventura’s Frontside Cafe is having another pop-up dinner on May 23. The set menu ($75) looks good: Khushi oysters and Champagne; Shima aji crudo, young coconut, cashew cream, buttermilk ponzu, and fig leaf oil; ricotta salata gnocchi, spring legumes, morel mushrooms, pickled ramps, and pea nage; slow-cooked lamb loin, BBQ Japanese eggplant, couscous, and cumin-spiced yogurt; chocolate streusel, Nutella, rhubarb and strawberry jam, and sourdough bread.
••• The other night, my husband and I took his aunt dinner at the San Ysidro Ranch. The grounds (below) are especially lovely with so much in bloom, and the food was better than I remembered, but the service was what stood out. Our table was upstairs, against the wall near the creek. Below us was a service area, where the staff tossed dirty dishes and cutlery with abandon. The cacophony started driving me nuts—the Stonehouse is far from a cheap restaurant—and eventually I got up to take a photo, as a reminder to email a suggestion to the general manager. As I sat back down, I noticed that our server was watching me, which made me feel bad, because I’m sure he thought I’d post it on Yelp or TripAdvisor. The noise, however, immediately diminished to normal restaurant level. And when we finished our entrées, he approached and said that he understood why I had taken the photo, that the noise was something the restaurant would definitely be working on, and that another table was available if we wanted to have dessert there. It was more proof that the handling of a problem is also an opportunity to shine. P.S. The Grand Marnier soufflé is back, and highly recommended.
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