••• Yetz’s Bagels has signed a lease in Goleta (thanks to G. for the tip). Owner Dan Dunietz says he’ll take around 1,000 square feet of what is now laundromat (next to Rusty’s and Chipotle in the southeast corner of Storke and Hollister) and convert it into a bagel shop. (The end unit will remain a laundromat.) Production will happen in the new location, with bagels delivered daily to the original Isla Vista shop. But wait, there’s more: “I’m planning on installing a large, traditional ‘ferris wheel’ rotating deck oven along with a large mixer, kettle, and other specialized bagel baking equipment,” says Dunietz. “I want to bring a slice of New York here to Santa Barbara in the form of a classic, N.Y. bagel shop—selling lox and other smoked fish by the pound, deli salads, etc. I’m very much in the planning stages, currently working with my kitchen designer to lay out the space. The hope is to get open within eight months.”
••• With Bar Lou, Lion’s Tale, Clark’s, and RH Firehouse Grill opening in a six-week period, all anyone in Montecito can talk about these days is restaurants. It’s natural that people rush to try them out, but I get dismayed when I hear someone write off a restaurant in the first week or two—restaurants need time to find their groove. To wit, the best meal I’ve had in recent memory was at the four-month-old Alma Fonda Fina. We sat inside, which I found preferable (especially this time of year), and everything was excellent: the endive salad, the guacamole, the tuna tartare, the branzino, the tortillas, and the service…. Best of all were suadero tacos with beef that had been cooked to crispy, savory perfection.
••• Mission City Sandwich Shop, in the former Sweetie’s ice cream shop on the Mesa, has begun revealing itself. (Thanks to G. for the photo.) An Instagram post says to expect “fun, creative, and quality sandwiches,” and the shop hopes to open in late January or early February.
••• After Bell’s included a recipe for tomato risotto in a recent email, I encouraged the restaurant to post it (and hopefully more) online. Et voilà!
••• The Loubud Wines tasting room has opened in El Paseo’s main courtyard.
••• “The campaign to create a 1 percent tax on Santa Barbara County winery sales to support regional marketing efforts crossed a critical hurdle on Tuesday afternoon, when the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to advance the proposed business improvement district onto its next stage. The Santa Barbara County Association of Vintners must now seek backing for the idea from every city in the county and then return to the Board of Supervisors for a public hearing on January 14. If all goes according to plan, the Wine BID, as it’s known, would then be created during the February 11 meeting.” —Independent
••• An outpost of Mercado El Rey is coming to 101 N. Milpas Street (at E. Mason), formerly a Wells Fargo branch. —John Palminteri
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