••• Secret Bao posted that this weekend will be its last at the Handlebar on De La Vina. When I asked if another pop-up location was possible, I was told to stay tuned. (It’ll be interesting to see whether Handlebar has plans for the kitchen….) In the meantime, go! The crispy shrimp bao is pictured above.
••• We had takeout from Teru, the new Japanese restaurant on State Street, the other night. When, after I ordered uni, the staffer went to ask if the restaurant had any left. “The chef does not recommend it tonight,” I was told, and I’m not sure you can ask for more from a sushi restaurant than that. The fish was fresh and the sushi was delicious, and I particularly enjoyed the roll with pickled daikon and shiso, because I love shiso and there isn’t enough of it in this town. (That’s not our order shown here, but I wanted to give an idea of the experience.)
••• Excited by the publication of Bibi Ji’s chicken tikka recipe, J. sent over a link to the recipe for Colonel Tso’s Cauliflower, as the dish is called at Bibi Ji’s New York City sibling, Babu Ji, and is similar (if not the same) as the crispy cauliflower at Bibi Ji.
••• The new Santa Barbara Restaurant Coalition has one objective: “To provide immediate assistance to those in need and connect our hospitality community with one another in this difficult times. Our grocery program is providing gift certificates for Santa Cruz Markets to as many industry employees possible!”
••• Elubia’s Kitchen is selling Mexican and Guatemalan tamales via santabarbaratamales.com. The final available pickup date is December 23, so don’t dawdle.
••• Hook & Press has been making strawberry sufganiyots for Hanukkah, with plans to keep them on the menu “through the at least the end of the holiday on Friday.” I wouldn’t mind if they stuck around longer….
················
Sign up for the Siteline email newsletter for the freshest food news in town.
Comment: