A few weeks ago I visited my very good {some might even say
bestest ;)} friend in good ol' sunny CA. We packed SO much into my quick two
day Memorial Day Weekend. We spent some time in Los Olivos, CA {Santa Barbara area} and Santa
Monica, CA. So I thought I would sneak back on c/oMKE and do two bits of
listies because #CareofMKEtoCali
and because I can. ;)
1 + 2 | Enjoy Cupcakes + Saarloos & Sons
I mean cupcakes and wine. It's the PERFECT place to have a after |or before!!| meal dessert. You go on into to Saarloos, which is a gorgeous house with different wallpaper in every room, buy yourself a little carton of some seriously delicious cupcakes {we're talking blackberry serah, lemon drop, cheese cake, pb&j. PB&J. I didn't stutter. Tastes like childhood.} and they they pair them with a free wine tasting. I mean. Come. On.
3 | Panino
Panino is the cutest little sandwich shop. When you get there, if you go on a Saturday like we did, it will be packed. But listen to me, it's. worth. it. And you'll get your sandwich pretty quickly. I unfortunately don't have any great photos of the shop or of our lunch {you see, I was fading from hunger.} They have like 30 sandwiches at every location. THIRTY! We got the Roasted Chicken with Pesto, Pine Nuts, Feta Cheese, & Sun-Dried Tomatoes on this menu. It was delicious and big enough to share. We also pared it with Pepperoncini Kettle Chips because they also had any Kettle Chip flavor you could possibly want. Seriously go there now.
4 | J. Woeste
J. Woeste is an eclectic little garden shop where you can get anything from itty bitty lawn gnome-type goodies to already potted succulents. There is TONS to look at. And if you're not so much into interesting decorations or garden goods at least go and sit in that chair.
5 | Mattei's Tavern
Ok, guys, this place is fantastic. Not only did we sit at the Chef's table {ummm we could see {gawk at} everything that was going on in the kitchen. those chefs = cute and fun to watch interact} but our server was great and kept bringing us wine on the house {sometimes being female is pretty great.} AND we got a little history lesson by one of the managers while we were exploring the grounds.
The tavern itself is gorgeous. It was one of the first stops for the Wells Fargo and the whole reason Los Olivos became a town. They also will have wedding receptions and parties in the gorgeous backyard.
We weren't too hungry since we had late lunch at Panino so we just ordered and the black rice waffle to share and it was extremely unexpectedly delicious. Think savory and a bit filthy. Black rice waffle, pork sausage, shrimp, pineapple, cilantro, onion, and egg. I just can't even explain how good it was. And unfortunately it is no longer on the menu. wah wah. Even so, the rest of the food looks amazing soooo also go here. Thanks.
Los Olivos for the win!
Lisa
c/oMKE
