Bonnie Carroll's Life Bites

The opening and closing of restaurants in my home town has caused restaurateurs to become very creative to survive, and one of the many changes they have implemented is moving their services outside on the streets where additional tables could be an answer to generating enough business to survive while complying with State requirements. The Al Fresco dining is a huge hit with local residents and will hopefully provide enough dining space to cover their business costs.

In downtown Santa Barbara on State Street numerous old-time restaurants placed tables, chairs and umbrellas on the sidewalk and in the streets with City Council approval. These areas include places like historic Joe’s Café and newer places like The Red Piano, as well as Opal Restaurant & Lounge and many favorite haunts near the Arlington Theatre. On upper State Via Maestra 42 and Farmer Boy’s, located in Loreto strip mall, have extended their street seating to keep going. Local musicians are now performing in these areas and State Street has taken on a feeling of summer in Italy during weekends. The locals love it.

Down the road in Montecito the Montecito Inn has created a lovely adjacent street café and their new Sushi Bar is serving sushi and cocktails on their front lawn. Lucky’s renowned steak house created a separate street dining area, as has Cava, Renaud’s Patisserie, Jeaninne's, Ca Daria and so many others. Molly Halveck and Chef Mark Dela Cruz, Oak Tree Cafe, 2220 Bath Street opened The Perch take out window and are doing complyable dining. The Honor Bar Montecito has also added off street seating.

This week I received a request for information on Santa Barbara’s corona virus pandemic survival techniques being implemented by local restaurants, in particular creating street extensions for existing restaurants, and I forwarded some photos to the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce for their review and possible implementation of successful techniques being tested here in Santa Barbara for the benefit of local restaurants in Beverly Hills.

Chef Cat Cora Mesa Burger owner is featuring outdoor patio service in the Camino Real Sopping Plaza in Goleta, and opened on June 22 on the Coast Road in Montecito with compliant service and outdoor seating. Tony Arroyos created a larger street parking area for Mexican food devotees.

Many of these restaurant owners in Santa Barbara and Beverly Hills are dear friends and I’m hoping they survive these terrible and frustrating openings and closings. Brava for their ingenuity and hard work to overcome adversity and survive this Corona Virus Pandemic.

Sad to report some favorite dining spots in Santa Barbara closed including the Dutch Garden on upper State, and Chuck's of Hawaii at Maritime Museum in the harbor. I’m praying we can find a vaccine and successfully recover so we may attempt to get back to some semblance of normal again. Please support your local business owners who are complying, wear a mask and be safe. For detailed information visit www.visitsantabarbara.org

Crack the eggs open into a bowl, add a small splash of your choice of milk and a light swirl of olive oil. Whip slightly. Add the flowers and grated squash, then the chives. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir well. Meanwhile, oil an omelet pan with a generous swirl of extra virgin olive oil and swirl it around so it covers the bottom of the pan. Place the pan on a very low heat. Move the pan so that the oil covers its entire bottom.

Add the whipped egg mixture and let cook on a very very low heat for up to 45 minutes without stirring. Keep an eye on the edges of the omelette. When brown, flip the omlett on a plate and put the top side down into the pan. Let cook for another minute. Flip the pan back onto a clean plate, and serve with artisan homemade bread.