Trip Review: Our trip was split between the Santa Barbara wine region, broadly defined, and the California coast. Starting our trip in the wine country we stayed in the quaint little town of Solvang, which as it turns out was originally settled by the Danes in 1911. The town has a number of international and Danish bakeries and although it is a bit touristy, it has a unique charm which we found most appealing. In fact, almost every building in and near town center looks like it was lifted right out of a Danish village. While we spent our first day wandering around town in and out of the wine shops and Christmas stores, on day two we did some horseback riding at the Circle Bar B Guest Ranch, a short drive away. We had a good 1.5 hour ride up into the Santa Ynez Mountains, which offered a view all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
That evening we ventured over from Solvang to the newly refurbished Chumash Casino. My wife enjoys playing craps, but the closest thing we could find was Blackjack. The casino had plenty of slots and they were busy. We had dinner in the Willows, which was attached to the casino. We found the food to be very good. What was memorable was the realization that besides the wine business, for several high-end wineries like Sea Smoke and Jonata, the Indian casino was a major employer and economic force in the area. In fact, after talking to several locals, it turned out that the Chumash has been buying almost every piece of commercial real estate that became available in downtown Solvang. Additionally, the Chumash had just completed purchasing a large 1000+ acres of land just outside of the town and have been trying to annex the land to the reservation for the future construction of a second casino and golf complex. While the town board has been split on this issue, the Chumash have taken the matter to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs for resolution. Considering how much money is made in their existing casino I have no doubt they will ultimately prevail. At the heart of the issue of their proposed development of a golf course is the water requirements for a golf course in a part of California that has living in a multi-year drought.
For the next two days we went on two 25+ mile bike trips. The first bike trip was up most of the Santa Rosa Road toward Lompoc, after stopping at the Jonata winery for a private tasting. It had rained the day before, which was unusual in this part of the country, but the weather had cleared in Solvang. As we gradually climbed in elevation along the Santa Rosa Road the temperature dropped and it began to mist. No doubt the cooler weather along this road is a major factor behind so many Pinot-centric wineries located here. We did make it as far as the Sanford winery, where we warmed ourselves in front of their fireplace and sampled their wines.
Day two of our biking took us 25+ miles along the Ballard Canyon Road into a different part of the wine country, which was more Cabernet-centric. We had a very challenging ride through the wine region and farm land. and We also biked past the race track where some of the movie Sea Biscuit was filmed, just beautiful. The bike trip ended with lunch outside at the Bridlewood Winery, which had beautiful grounds!
The following day took us to the coast, where we had a spa day at the Bacara Resort. I certainly needed a massage after biking 50+ miles and their services were top rate. Dinner on Wednesday 11/30/16 was in Santa Barbara at the Boucher restaurant, more on that great meal later.
For the rest of our trip we focused on relaxation at the lovely Bacara Resort, visited some family friends in Santa Barbara and made a stop at the Reagan Library on our way out of town.
For the next two days we went on two 25+ mile bike trips. The first bike trip was up most of the Santa Rosa Road toward Lompoc, after stopping at the Jonata winery for a private tasting. It had rained the day before, which was unusual in this part of the country, but the weather had cleared in Solvang. As we gradually climbed in elevation along the Santa Rosa Road the temperature dropped and it began to mist. No doubt the cooler weather along this road is a major factor behind so many Pinot-centric wineries located here. We did make it as far as the Sanford winery, where we warmed ourselves in front of their fireplace and sampled their wines.
Day two of our biking took us 25+ miles along the Ballard Canyon Road into a different part of the wine country, which was more Cabernet-centric. We had a very challenging ride through the wine region and farm land. and We also biked past the race track where some of the movie Sea Biscuit was filmed, just beautiful. The bike trip ended with lunch outside at the Bridlewood Winery, which had beautiful grounds!
The following day took us to the coast, where we had a spa day at the Bacara Resort. I certainly needed a massage after biking 50+ miles and their services were top rate. Dinner on Wednesday 11/30/16 was in Santa Barbara at the Boucher restaurant, more on that great meal later.
For the rest of our trip we focused on relaxation at the lovely Bacara Resort, visited some family friends in Santa Barbara and made a stop at the Reagan Library on our way out of town.
Where to Stay: For the first five nights of our trip we stayed at Hotel Corque (owned by the Chumach Indians), which we found to be a top notch boutique hotel. We had a suite, which had a small out door terrace, king bed and luxury bath. At $179/night we thought it was a real bargain. The hotel had a very nice pool and hot tub along with a well appointed fitness center. It also had a fine restaurant, Root 246, in the complex.
On the coast we stayed at the Bacara Resort and Spa, which was truly a full service resort, offering everything from fine dining, spa facilities, beach access and multiple outdoor pools. Our room was very nice and the views were excellent. An amazing place to watch the sunset. There is not much I can say about this facility that would do it justice, just a perfect place to relax and unwind. Since our visit to this lovely property, in late 2017, the hotel was sold and is now being run as a Ritz Carlton property.
The last night we stayed at the airport Hyatt in LA which is in the final stages of an extensive renovation. The hotel was excellent as it had soundproof rooms, a nice view of the airport runway, in room Wifi and free transport to the terminal.
The last night we stayed at the airport Hyatt in LA which is in the final stages of an extensive renovation. The hotel was excellent as it had soundproof rooms, a nice view of the airport runway, in room Wifi and free transport to the terminal.
Where to Eat: On the whole we found the food quality to be high quality, aided no doubt by the proximity to the California Central Valley farmland. Overall, truly memorable meals were limited to Root 246 (part of hotel Corque) located in Solvang and Bouchon, located in downtown Santa Barbara. We visited several other restaurants which were good, as summarized below, but only rose to a level I would describe as acceptable.
Root 246 (also owned by the Chumach Indians) is part of hotel Corque and can be best described as a farm-to-table restaurant with American cuisine, favoring local craft-based dishes. The service was very good, the atmosphere was excellent and the tables were well disbursed. Noise levels were moderate, so it was easy to carry on a conversation. We had the duck breast and the porterhouse steak, which were excellent. Desert was excellent as well, especially the caramel infused cheesecake, which was so good we came back for dinner on our third night just to have more!
Day two we had dinner at SY Kitchen, which specializes in Italian food. The food was good but not memorable. Day three dinner was at the Casino at the Willows, which although had good service and atmosphere, the menu seemed to lack creativity. The food was good, but clearly not inspiring. The place was almost deserted as we were one of thee couples eating there. Day four we had dinner at the Brothers Restaurant at the Red Barn which specializes in steaks. But it was just steak in a restaurant that really wanted you think you were in a barn, likely millennial's must like to eat in barns, just not everybody else.
Day two we had dinner at SY Kitchen, which specializes in Italian food. The food was good but not memorable. Day three dinner was at the Casino at the Willows, which although had good service and atmosphere, the menu seemed to lack creativity. The food was good, but clearly not inspiring. The place was almost deserted as we were one of thee couples eating there. Day four we had dinner at the Brothers Restaurant at the Red Barn which specializes in steaks. But it was just steak in a restaurant that really wanted you think you were in a barn, likely millennial's must like to eat in barns, just not everybody else.
On the coast we had our first meal at the Bacara's fine restaurant Angel Oak. I am sorry to say the service left allot to be desired and the although the food was good, it did not meet my expectations. Since our visit to this property, the hotel was sold and is now a Ritz Carlton property, so perhaps the service has improved. Our second night on the coast provided something of a culinary oasis when we had dinner at Bouchon in Santa Barbara. The restaurant is located downtown and clearly was one of the best meals we had on our trip. The Colorado rack of lamb was not only gigantic , but equally delicious. My wife had the venison which was so good she still talks about it. In addition, both the service and atmosphere were excellent, worthy to be compared to some of the best bistro's we have eaten in. We even went back the next day for a second meal. On our last night in LA went to Gladstone’s which is right on the water. Unfortunately we missed the sun set but enjoyed the casual atmosphere, comfort food and beer. This was a nice quiet end to a great trip.
Other Resources: Where possible my wife and i tried to stay as active as possible, to that end we again chose to use bikes to visit the Santa Rosa and Ballard Canyon regions. We used Dr. J's Bicycle Shop, which was able to provide both bike rentals and guided bike tours of the region. We chose the guided tour and we were not disappointed. We also did a free lance bike trip up the Santa Rose road, which was a nice uphill climb and ended up at a private tasting at the Jonata winery.
Separately, we scheduled a half day horseback ride at the Circle Bar B Ranch, which was a short drive from Solvang toward the Ocean. It was a nice guided ride uphill, which revealed a great view of the Pacific Ocean.
Separately, we scheduled a half day horseback ride at the Circle Bar B Ranch, which was a short drive from Solvang toward the Ocean. It was a nice guided ride uphill, which revealed a great view of the Pacific Ocean.
