••• The Michelin Guide discovered the Central Coast in a big way this year: not only were Bettina, Loquita, and Corazón Cocina awarded Bib Gourmand status, but Montecito’s Sushi Bar (above), Bell’s in Los Alamos, and Six Test Kitchen in Paso Robles were the first Central Coast restaurants to get a Michelin star. Congratulations all around! (Right: before-and-afters of Bell’s post-star makeover. And FYI, when Bell’s opens November reservations at 1 p.m. today, some lunch slots will be available for the first time.)
••• Oat Bakery will be closed October 4-8: “We’re giving our bakers a much needed break before the Holidays and getting some construction done so we can finally welcome you guys back inside again.”
••• Exciting Ojai news from 805 Foodie: Azu restaurant—on the main drag, on the far side of Libbey Park—has closed, and “the building was sold to Josh Loeb and Zoe Nathan Loeb. (He is the founder of the Rustic Canyon Family of restaurants, she is a pastry chef and author of Huckleberry: Stories, Secrets & Recipes from Our Kitchen, and together they operate 50/50 Farm in Ojai.)” They plan on opening a restaurant/bakery called the Dutchess, and Kate’s Bread will be involved in the bakery. Rustic Canyon is one of my favorite L.A. restaurants….
••• Commercial real estate agent Caitlin Hensel noticed that Valley to the Sea Winery is opening in the Santa Barbara Public Market.
••• John Palminteri reports that Foley Food & Wine Society is open at the Hotel Californian, with “regional and California wines by Foley and its partners, food pairing, impressive location, and wine educators. This interior lounge will soon blossom into fresh street-front location,” i.e. the Blackbird space.
••• According to a tipster (and confirmed by Tanya), the building at 428 Chapala Street (Haley/Gutierrez)—where another reader recently heard construction—”is not becoming a restaurant. Mia Pasqualucci, the owner of Healthy Warrior, is expanding and moving her private meal-prep business into this building. They will produce tailored meals specific to a client’s health needs or fitness goals.”
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Hope Valley to the Sea offers more than the feel of their website….Winemaker is who? Vineyards are where? Inspiration is what?