••• This looks amazing and I immediately made a reservation: “Under new owners Jeff Vance and Ferial Sadeghian, of the Los Angeles-based design and architecture firm iDGroup, the [Cuyama Buckhorn hotel] is emerging from 18 months of renovations after decades of neglect. […] Part of the plan involves executive chef Victor Totoris, who previously served as sous chef at Suzanne Goin’s Los Angeles restaurant A.O.C. Totoris joined the team this spring. The Buck Stop Coffee Shop debuted in June with a grab-and-go menu [….] This month [at the Buckhorn Restaurant] Totoris unveiled a fall-harvest dinner menu that showcases ingredients from more than a dozen Cuyama Valley-area farms, ranches, orchards and other purveyors.” —Ventura County Star
••• You could see this coming a mile away: “Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee—the husband-and-wife chef duo who own Scratch Restaurants—have pulled the plug on The Monarch […] and the lavish dinner-as-spectacle Silver Bough.” Both restaurants are not just closed; their spaces have in fact been sold. […] The Montecito Inn is yet to confirm who will be taking over the spaces.” (Sushi|Bar will remain open.) From the start, there was a dubious market for the two concepts; still, it’s always a shame to see something close. —Independent
••• “The Bear and Star [at the Fess Parker inn in Los Olivos], one of the Central Coast’s most ardent attempts at true ranch-to-table cuisine, will be closing at the end of the year.” No word yet on what will replace it. —Independent
••• Lab Social, as the bar component of Cajé café on Haley is called, is now open from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays.
••• In January, Pascucci restaurant will be moving to 509 State Street, between Cota and Haley. —Restaurant Guy
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