Bonnie Carroll's Life Bites

CELEBRATING A HAPPY ST. PAT'S WITH THE THE AMERICAN IRISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY - CALIFORNIA BRANCH

Members and Friends of the American Irish Historical Society

enjoyed a festive St. Patrick's Day celebration at the Little Town Club, one of the oldest women's clubs in Santa Barbara, to listen to musical entertainment by Erin McKibben, Director of the Music Academy of the west's Sing! choral program, with musician and singer Joshua Jenkins, introduced by (AIHS) Presient Frank McGinty, who welcomed all the guests seated in the formal music room.

The delicious Irish dinner was served in a beautiful dining room, where guests enjoyed dinner complete with Irish Soda Bread, salad and dessert followed by a sing-a-long of Irish favorites and a drawing for a beautiful Waterford Crystal clock.

The American Irish Historical Society is located at 5th Avenue in New York and was founded in Boston 127 years go in 1897 and maintains the most complete collection of Irish-Amercian literature and history in the U.S. The society also holds cultural events at its headquarters in New York as well as Santa Barbara, California. They also produce a publication The Recorder. For information visit www.aihs.org.

Solvang has been one of my favorite escape places since I moved to California in the late 70s'. The delightful little gift shops, restaurants featuring authentic fare and the scrumptious pastries in the local bakeries have always made any visit to the Santa Ynez Valley worth remembering, especially in spring and summer.

On a recent visit I was again amazed to see the new changes in Solvang since my last visit, including the Landsby Hotel on Mission Drive, an historic building that was transformed into a state-of-the-art venue several years ago, and now features a lively fire pit gathering spot with music, and the bar is larger, creating an inviting comfort zone being touted as the most popular meeting place in the town on Friday and Saturday night.

Just steps across the street at 1555 Mission Drive is the Succulent Cafe Wine Charcuterie, an amazing restaurant offering the Artisan Charcuterie & Farmstead Cheeses to enjoy with a bottle of wine from their extensive menu of outstanding local wines. For a delicious patio breakfast to an evening sojourn for fine wine this is a terribly popular spot.

It would seem the success of this 'bacon is king' venue is the tight team effort of the restaurant group who cover all the bases to offer the best products that are creatively prepared and presented in a warm and inviting atmosphere, as well as the great people watching views on the outside patio. For information or reservations visit: www.succulentcafe.com.