Welcome to the "805 Eats" dining blog where we'll keep you up-to-date on restaurant and food happenings in the 805. To send tips and comments, email edit@805Living.com.

Local ‘Taste’ for a national cause

MAY 20
The setting is gorgeous and the pairing of food and wine gourmet. But the cause could not be more simple, or more necessary: When Taste of the Nation Santa Barbara takes place from 3-6 p.m. May 20 at the Montecito Country Club, proceeds will aid Share Our Strength’s efforts to combat childhood hunger.

The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County also will benefit from the event, which will feature pours from more than 20 area wineries and breweries, food from more than 25 regional restaurants, and appearances by “Top Chef” star Fabio Viviani and mixologist Jacopo Falleni of Cafe Firenze in Moorpark.

Also participating as featured chefs will be Alessandro Cartumini of the Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore, Mossin Sugich of Blush Restaurant + Lounge, Jessica Foster of Jessica Foster Confections and host chef Michael Blackwell of the Montecito Country Club. What’s on the menu? A sneak peek at the list of dishes reveals that chef Dario Furlati of Ca’Dario in Santa Barbara plans to serve spinach and ricotta ravioli with brown butter-sage sauce. And Brian and Cynthia Champlin of the newly opened Succulent Cafe & Trading Co. in Solvang will feature braised short ribs with Red Dragon sauce and jalapeno slaw on buttermilk biscuits.

Wineries will range, alphabetically, from Alma Rose Winery & Vineyards of Buellton to Vino V Wines of Ventura. Island Brewing Co. of Carpinteria and Firestone Walker Brewing Co. of Paso Robles will be there, too, fresh from winning top honors at the World Beer Cup Competition in San Diego.

Auction items will include a signed script and cast photos from the hit ABC series “Castle.”

General admission tickets are $65 in advance or $75 at the door. VIP tickets, which grant access to a special lounge area with its own servers and tasting opportunities, are $95 in advance and $125 at the door. For tickets and information, call 1-877-26TASTE or visit the event website. (920 Summit Road, Santa Barbara)

It’s all about Mom

MAY 13

Chances are, Mom will love just about any place you take her on Mother’s Day. (She’ll be  spending time with YOU, after all!) But why not step up the celebration with something new? Here are three never-been-done-before options:

Open since 2006, Mastro’s Steakhouse in Thousand Oaks will present its first-ever brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mother’s Day. The meal starts with an assortment of bagels and pastries, ends with a choice of desserts that includes the aptly named Chocolate Sin Cake and, for the courses in between, offers a range of appetizers and entrees that will give Mom a chance to luxuriate in her choice of breakfast or lunch.

Appetizers include a fresh melon plate, a Caesar salad, and yogurt and granola served with fresh fruit and berries. Entrees include King crab or lobster omelets, Mastro’s Benedict with salmon cakes, Belgian waffles with bacon, a Queen cut prime rib, and a petite filet served with home fries. The cost is $55 per person, or $75 including the Bloody Mary bar, Mimosas and Champagne. Want to make the day extra-special? Add a quarter-ounce of caviar to Mom’s order for $45. (2087 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. 805-418-1811)

For foodie Moms who still have little ones at home, a trip to the newly opened Umami Burger in Thousand Oaks may be in order. The first Ventura County location in the Los Angeles-based chain also is the first to offer a children’s menu: Options include grilled cheese sandwiches, tempura-battered chicken tenders and a slider-sized burger on a “bun” fashioned from fried mac ‘n’ cheese, all served with a choice of apple slices, crispy green beans or fries ($8 each). Adding to the family mood is the miniature putting green just outside the restaurant’s front door and a nearby playground, the latter a permanent feature of The Lakes at Thousand Oaks shopping center.

And for Mom? Well, there’s that famous “fifth taste” that Umami Burger is named for, paired with the launch of the chain’s first hot dog. It’s made with an Akaushi Kobe dog ($10), nestled in a bun and topped with housemade relish, caramelized onions, mustard and cilantro. Unique to the Thousand Oaks location is the Trattoria Burger ($13), a “Food Network Ultimate Recipe Showdown”-winning concoction that pairs a house-ground beef patty with crispy speck, arugula and melted fontina. (2200 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, 805-413-8626).

What’s new at Valentino in Santa Monica, where owner Piero Selvaggio is gearing up for the restaurant’s 40th anniversary in December? How about this: The Mother’s Day menu will be the first offered since Selvaggio learned he was a finalist for the prestigious James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur of the Year. Another attraction is the fact that executive chef Nico Chessa has filled the three-course, prix fixe menu with dishes inspired by the cooking of Nadia Santini and Marcella Hazan — the Queens of Italian cuisine. The meal begins with an elegant combination of fava beans and chicken liver spread on flat bread, then continues with diners’ choice of such dishes as eggplant and tomato terrine with basil flowers, duck breast with balsamic vinegar and fruit chutney, and burrata cheese and herb tortelli with brown butter. Dessert will pair Sicilian cassata and a pear tart with Venetian sgroppino, a frothy after-dinner drink made with sorbet. The cost, $55 per person, includes a flute of prosecco for every mother in attendance. (3115 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, 310-829-4313)

On the ‘Sides’

 They’re back! Less than a month after closing Brothers Restaurant at Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos, the chef/restaurateur duo of Matt and Jeff Nichols  have resurfaced just a few blocks away at Sides Hardware and Shoes, a Brothers Restaurant. And this time, they’re serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The inspiration for the restaurant’s quirky name is made apparent by one of the many old-timey photos that decorate the walls: Found in the archives of the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Society, it shows the location when it was home to a hardware — and, yes, shoe — store operated by early Los Olivos resident Milburn Sides and his family.

And today? Previously known as the home of Patrick’s Side Street Cafe, the space has been reimagined as a modern but down-home wine bistro by architect Evans Jones and interior designer Michelle Neels. Augmenting the historical photos are a decorative tin ceiling, pulley-style lighting fixtures over the bar and white beams contrasted by creamy yellow wood paneling.

Served from 7-11 a.m. daily, breakfast features such hearty fare as The Work Boot, which pairs a buttermilk biscuit with house-made sausage, two fried eggs, caramelized onions and gravy, spinach, mushrooms and a cut of applewood-smoked maple bacon so thick it comes with a steak knife.

Available from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., the lunch menu includes The Hammered Pig, a dish that helped inspire the restaurant’s logo of a pig wearing shoes and carrying a cleaver and a hammer. To make it, the culinary team that includes chef de cuisine Seth Nelson quite literally pounds out a piece of pork tenderloin before it is breaded, fried and served with red cabbage, apple and mustard seed slaw.

At dinner, served from 5-9 nightly, the menu expands to include a starter dish of fried brussels sprouts tossed with sherry vinegar and capers, and such entrees as lamb sirloin with herbed gnocchi, fava beans and pea tendrils and quinoa served with market vegetables.

The wine list overseen by Matt Nichols offers eight local wines that are stored in kegs and served on tap by the glass or by the quarter, half or full litre. And for dessert? Pastry chef Stephanie Jackson offers an elegant take on the pineapple upside down cake (its comes with vanilla bean ice cream and white chocolate-lime sauce) and uses coffee cups as containers for her caramel vanilla bean panna cotta topped with dollops of hazelnut cream and a sprinkling of sea salt.

Beer and wine are available; a license is in the works for full bar service. Plans also call for adding patio dining in the back courtyard. Outside seating for now is limited to the small front patio that faces Alamo Pintado Avenue.

2375 Alamo Pintado Ave., Los Olivos. 805-688-4820

Tastes of things to come

Conejo Valley Restaurant Week participants include Sabor Cocina Mexicana. Will its shrimp ceviche be on the prix fixe menu?

 

APRIL 12 (plus APRIL 15-19)
Are you one of those people who starts every meal with an appetizer? Then you won’t want to miss the launch party for Conejo Valley Restaurant Week .

Presented as a veritable amuse-bouche, the event will offer food and wine tasting from 5:30-7:30 p.m. April 12 at The Lakes at Thousand Oaks. Delectable samples will come from restaurants located in the shopping center and from others at found at The Promenade at Westlake. Wine will be poured by Cantara Cellars of Camarillo and J. Hamilton Wines of Westlake Village. And we hear that Leticia Hansen of Sabor Cocina Mexicana will demonstrate her “secret” recipe for ceviche during an on-stage cooking presentation at 6:30 p.m.  Tickets, $10 per person, will be available at the door ; the event is open only to those age 21 and older. (2200 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks; for information, call 805-370-0035)

Conejo Valley Restaurant Week itself will run April 15-19. More than 35 eateries will participate, offering three-course meals for $20 or $30, depending on location. Included in the $20 group are Brendan’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in Agoura Hills and Vitello’s Italian Trattoria in Thousand Oaks. The $30 club includes Cafe Firenze in Moorpark and Bellini Osteria Bar & Lounge in Westlake Village.

For a list of sites and selected menus, visit the event website. And you might want to think about putting on a pair of stretch waistband pants, while you’re at it.

Hops to it

It's all about the hops at Ladyface Alehouse & Brasserie in Agoura Hills

 

APRIL 1-8

Get a jump on Easter courtesy of Hella’ Hop Week at Ladyface Alehouse & Brasserie in Agoura Hills. 

The thematic fun starts on April 1, when the brewery’s guest taps will be given over to such “hoppy” selections as Eel River Thirst and Firestone Double Jack.

April 2 marks the start of the Hella’ Hop Week adults-only hunt for 20 eggs hidden all over Agoura Hills, with clues posted that morning on the Ladyface website. (You’ll find clues, too, in the names of such housemade brews as the Chesebro IPA.) The eggs are filled with vouchers for prizes ranging from growlers to tickets to an upcoming brewmaster’s dinner.

During “Bottled Beer Tuesday” on April 3, all cellar beers will be 20 percent off. A firkin of Vitamin 1 will be tapped on April 4, and the egg hunt continues through Easter Sunday — aka April 8, when Ladyface will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Along the way, quench your egg-hunting thirst with Batch 200, named for the fact that it is the brewery’s 200th batch of beer. It’s a special version of the Chesebro IPA, made with extra barley and 10 pounds of — you guessed it — 10 different kinds of hops. (29281 Agoura Road; 818-477-4566 ).

1 door closes, another opens for Brothers duo

So long, and thanks for all the jalapeno cornbread, tuna tartar with yuzu vinaigrette and filet of prime beef topped with Stilton cheese and port wine sauce?

Not quite.

Yes, those are signature dishes at Brothers Restaurant at Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos. And, yes, the aptly named restaurant run by brothers Jeff and Matt Nichols will serve its final dinner on March 24. But that’s not the last that diners will see of the  duo, who are taking their culinary act on the road and moving … about two blocks away.

As was announced last summer, the brothers are opening a new restaurant at the former Patrick’s Side Street Cafe site on Alamo Pintado, near the town’s storied flag pole. The new restaurant’s hoped-for opening date is  ”the beginning of April.” Its name, Sides Hardware and Shoes, a Brothers Restaurant, is a shout-out to the Sides family and the history of the 1914 building that served as a hardware store through the mid 1970s.

 

But what of Mattei’s Tavern? A public hearing on plans to build a 64-unit “cottage” hotel on its grounds is scheduled for March 26 at the Grange Hall in Los Olivos.

In the meantime, those hoping to enjoy one last meal at Brothers at Mattei’s Tavern are strongly (and we do mean strongly) encouraged to call for reservations: 805-688-4820.

Tapping into local ingredients

 

True, the official opening of The Taproom restaurant at Firestone Walker Brewing Co. in Paso Robles comes just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. But hold the green food coloring, lest you offend brewmaster Matt Brynildson and, well, just about everyone else in the joint.

Open daily from 5-9 p.m., The Taproom offers a full-service dinner menu that puts such an emphasis on  local ingredients that some of those ingredients come from the brewery right next door. Spent grains are used in the pizza crusts, for example, and “beer honey,” which is made with sweet beer collected during the early stages of fermentation, appears in several dishes. Other featured provisions include olive oil from Olea Farm of Templeton, coffee roasted in Atascadero by Joebella Coffee Roasters, and produce from Windrose Farm and Thomas Hill Organics, both of Paso Robles.

It all adds up to what brewery co-founder David Walker calls “brewhouse bistro cooking.” Signature dishes include the 805 Salad, made with organic greens tossed in a shallot-thyme vinaigrette and served with goat cheese and crostini. Diners also will find grilled pork chops brined and prepared with a DBA beer mustard demi-glaze and served with sweet potato fries, plus Beto’s fish tacos made with crispy halibut, avocado and paprika-lime dressing and served with jicama fruit salad. The selection of wood-oven pizzas includes portobello and steak-and-cheddar variations on the theme.

Speaking of themes, a different special is available each night of the week. Pasta dishes are featured on Mondays, followed by burgers on Tuesdays, ribs on Wednesdays, fried chicken on Thursdays, fish on Fridays and steak on Saturdays. Sundays are all about shrimp.  

There’s wine, too. Many of the wine-list selections come from Paso Robles vintners whom Brynildson has tapped to be on the blending team that helps him craft the brewery’s anniversary ales.

But as you might expect, the focus is on  beer. Firestone Walker’s DBA, Pale 31 and Union Jack are featured along with such Proprietor’s Reserve selections as Walker’s Reserve and Wookey Jack, an unfiltered black rye IPA. And beer heads take note: Taproom-only offerings include Hefeweizen and UDBA, an unfiltered DBA. You wouldn’t dare put green food coloring in that, would you?

 The Taproom at Firestone Walker Brewing Co. in Paso Robles is open from 5-9 p.m. daily at 1400 Ramada Drive. Call 805-225-5911, ext. 800

The Taproom at Firestone Walker Brewing Co. in Buellton is open for lunch from  11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays and for dinner from 5 p.m. daily at 620 McMurray Road. Call 805-686-1557

Supper club without the club (or the food truck)

Mesquite-planked salmon, red quinoa salad and garlic bread with sun-dried tomato spread are among the dishes offered through chef Alberto Vazquez's Rock Chef Rolls Supper Club

 

MARCH 14, 21, 28

You can’t miss chef Alberto Vazquez or his “high voltage gourmet grub”  food truck, Rock Chef Rolls: Both are loud, brash and utterly charming.

Of course, it helps that both can be traced via Facebook and the Twitter feed @RockChefRolls, which let fans know precisely where Vazquez and his truck equipped with a full kitchen and state-of-the-art sound system will next be parked and serving everything from crab cakes with warm three-bean salad to rib eye “steak bites” over garlic fries and chimichurri.

But let’s just suppose for a second that food trucks aren’t your thing. Vazquez, a veteran of  Tuscany il Ristorante and Mediterraneo at the Westlake Village Inn, has you covered. Witness his new Supper Club option, which every Wednesday in March features a new menu of dishes that serve four to six people – and that he’ll deliver straight to your door for you to enjoy in the seated comforts of home.

Dubbed “Omega 3 Delight,” the menu for March 14 offers mesquite-planked salmon with coriander salsa verde, red quinoa salad, grilled asparagus, farmers market greens with red wine vinaigrette and garlic bread with sun-dried tomato spread. The cost is $100.

Vazquez takes a page from his Mediterraneo recipe book for the March 21 menu, also known as “A Heaping Plate of Italy.” It features orechiette pasta and spinach in a slow-cooked sausage ragu, plus toasted garlic brocollini, Caesar salad and garlic bread with olive tapenade. The cost is $85.

Last but not least is the “Shroom Service” menu planned for March 28. It offers herb-garlic crusted mushrooms with a tri-tip roast, tomato and cucumber panzanella salad, roasted rosemary fingerling potatoes, toasted garlic brocollini and garlic bread with sun-dried tomato spread. The cost is $125.

Add-ons for any of the above menus include artisanal cheese plates, Meyer lemon olive oil cake and chef Vazquez’s chocolate chip cookie dough to bake yourself. The fresh-baked-cookie smell comes gratis.

For information and reservations, call 1-855-727-2011

Shake it!

The Thin Mint Shake at The Lazy Dog Cafe.

MARCH 1-31 (give or take a few days)

The next best thing to eating Thin Mints cookies from a box you’ve kept stashed in the freezer? Sipping a Thin Mint Shake at The Lazy Dog Cafe. (Just not too fast, or you’ll get one of those ice cream headaches).

Inspired by the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts of America, the whipped cream-topped treat will be available March 1-31, helpfully extending the height of  Girl Scouts cookie season. (If you haven’t already been hit up by an office mate or by troops manning tables outside the nearest grocery store, visit this website for information on how to find Girl Scouts cookies by zip code; cookie sales vary by council, but most take place between January and April.)

Another plus: for every shake ordered at Lazy Dog Cafe locations throughout California, $1 of the $4.95 purchase price will go to a local Girl Scouts council.

In the 805, check out The Lazy Dog Cafe at The Oaks shopping center (172 W. Hillcrest Drive, 449-5206).

Pack your forks and go

FEB. 22
Arguably, he’s best known as a judge for the culinary competition that is “Top Chef” on Bravo. But Tom Colicchio also is a James Beard Award-winning chef in his own right, rising up the ranks from self-taught cook to chef-and-owner of restaurants ranging from the Gramercy Tavern in New York to the chain of ‘wichcraft sandwich shops. And at 8 p.m. on Feb. 22, Colicchio will talk about all that and more while making his Santa Barbara debut courtesy of the UCSB Arts & Lecture series. For tickets, $20-$50, call 805-893-3535 or click here.

Worried that all that talk about food will make your stomach grumble while Colicchio is on stage? Then be sure to take advantage of the pre-show, food truck mini festival that will run from 6:30-7:45 p.m. just outside Campbell Hall on the UCSB campus. On board to serve by-separate-purchase food are such trucks as The Burger Bus, the O Street Truck and Sweet Arleen’s, which specializes in cupcakes and bread puddings. Sounds like a case for “Top Chef: Just Desserts.”

Ooops. Is it Valentine’s Day already?

FEB. 14
Did you forget to book reservations  for the biggest dining-out night of the year? Desperate times call for creative measures … like these:

1). Take your (potential) sweetie out for coffee. According to a Facebook poll conducted by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, 34 percent of respondents said they’d select a coffee shop as the prime place for a first date. To sweeten the deal, the chain is offering a buy-one-beverage, get-the-second-free deal on Feb. 14 at participating locations. 

2). Partake of a little afternoon delight. Grab some lunchtime romance from 11 a.m. onward at La Dolce Vita, the Italian restaurant located in one of the restored historic homes in Oxnard’s Heritage Square. Or fly with the early birds and book a table from 4 p.m., when the Festa di Amore four-course dinner menu kicks in. Think slow-roasted leg of lamb with garlic mashed potatoes and, for dessert, Sicilian crepes with orange liqueur sauce ($39-$49 per person, depending on entree selection). 740 South B St., 805-486-6878

3). Stick to the Two Ds: Drinks and dessert. At The Wine Rack in downtown Ventura, separate tastings of “Bubbles & Dessert” and “Choclate & Port” will be available from 3-9 p.m. on Valentine’s Day ($10-$20 per person; 14 S. California St., 805-653-9463.) At 5 p.m., look for the Sweet Arleen’s food truck to pull into the parking lot at The WineYard in Thousand Oaks for an evening spent pairing wines to cupcakes and bread puddings. 1948 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.; 805-230-2773

4). Visit an old friend. Newly re-opened at the historic Pierpont Inn & Spa in Ventura, Austen’s restaurant is bringing gourmet back with an assist from executive chef Mark Coker. Up Coker’s chef’s coat sleeve for Valentine’s Day dinner service from 5-9 p.m. is a prix fixe, three-course meal. Selections include escargot, country ham and wild mushroom ragout in phyllo with Sonoma County chardonnay, lobster bisque and grilled lamb chops with braised white beans and chili Roquefort ($60 per person). 550 Sanjon Road, 805-643-6144

5). Do it yourself. That’s the theme at The Jolly Oyster, which sells fresh manila clams and kumamoto and Pacific oysters from a concession stand inside San Buenaventura State Beach park in Ventura. Bring your own bottle of Champagne and a shucking knife and you’re set for a romantic, hands-on sundowner at one of The Jolly Oyster’s picnic tables. (They also sell knives for $5.) Prefer your oysters grilled? Call ahead and they’ll gladly start a mesquite fire for you in one of the on-site barbecues. 911 San Pedro St., 805-798-4944

6). Go for the Sweetheart Deal. Want to take your Valentine to the 20th annual Zinfandel Festival set for March 16-18 in Paso Robles? Buy the tickets on Feb. 14, and you’ll get two tickets for $100 — a savings of $20. To receive the discount, go to the event’s website, click on “Zinfandel Festival,” click on “Purchase Tickets” and enter the access code zinlover for $10 off each ticket when you buy them in pairs.

How do I love thee?

How do I love thee? Let me count the dinner reservations. Read on for a compilation of Valentine’s Day dinner offerings available just outside the 805. (Check back soon for sweetheart deals within our own area code.) Unless otherwise noted, all of the following take place on ….

FEB. 14

At A.O.C. in Los Angeles, chef  Suzanne Goin’s small-plates menu is always perfect for sharing. But chef de cuisine Lauren Herman turns up the volume with a Valentine’s Day offering that includes five savory dishes per couple (think foie gras terrine and wood-roasted fish with chanterelles) and one dessert each (Meyer lemon panna cotta! bittersweet chocolate torta!), at $85 per person. Wines selected by A.O.C. co-owner Caroline Style cost a bit more ($35 per person), but you two are worth it. (323-653-6359)

At the Border Grills in Santa Monica and downtown Los Angeles, the Two Hot Tamales (aka Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger) are offering an appropriately “spicy” four-course Valentine’s Day menu ($55 per person) that starts with a smoky mussel ceviche shooter and goes from there.  (Santa Monica, 310-451-1655; Los Angeles, 213-486-5171)

Increase your romantic options at il Covo in Los Angeles, where Valentine’s Day-themed dinners will be available from Feb. 13-15. Featured on the four-course tasting menu, $65 per person plus $40 for paired wines, are lobster with sea urchin and porcini mushrooms, Champagne risotto with oysters and black “pearls” and strawberry aspic with chocolate mousse. (But they had us at oysters …) If you’re lucky enough to nab a table in the garden, be sure to look for the copper bull’s head decorating the outdoor fireplace: It was salvaged from The Tavern on the Green in New York. (310-858-0020)

Seared rare Wagyu sirloin, English pea puree and butterscoth pudding with salted caramel and whipped cream are on the prix fixe tasting menu ($85 per person) that will be served from 5:30 p.m. Feb. 14 at chef/owner Suzanne Tracht’s Jar in Los Angeles. Amp up the romance factor by adding a platter of a half-dozen fresh oysters on the half shell ($16). (323-655-6566)

“Lovers in Paris” is the theme of  a four-course Valentine’s dinner created by “Top Chef Texas” cheftestant Dakota Weiss  at NINETHIRTY Restaurant at W Los Angeles. The meal ($70 per person) gets started after an amuse bouche of pissaladiere,  includes diners’ choice of osso bucco of l’agneau or rouget en papillote and wraps things up with tarte tatin for dessert. (310-443-8211)

Game is on the Valentine’s Day menu at Saddle Peak Lodge, in keeping with the Calabasas restaurant’s regular array of dishes. After starting guests off with an amuse of Champagne gelee with sturgeon caviar and lemon foam, executive chef Christopher Kufek and sous chef Sean Soszynski give them the option of ordering such specialties as rabbit roulade with sauteed Fuji apple, sage, bacon and huckleberry and/or grilled New Zealand elk tenderloin with butternut squash, brandied cherries and stuffed crimini mushrooms. The four-course meal ($125 per person) concludes with diners’ choice of not one but three desserts — one of them chocolate molten cake with strawberry ice cream and white chocolate mousse. (818-222-3888)

Now celebrating its 40th anniversary, Valentino Santa Monica also is celebrating romance with “La Festa di San Valentino,” a four-course menu available for dinner from Feb. 9-15. A bottle of prosecco is included with dinner for two (at $90 per person). The meal starts with such dishes as Maine lobster salad with blood orange dressing (a $5 supplement) and moves on to choices ranging from spinach gnocchi with butter and sage and Pappa al Pomodoro to Australian Kobe beef filet in Tuscan Mosto Cotto (a $10 supplement). Pastry chef Davide Giova will present a dessert selection accompanied by housemade chocolate baci, traditional “kisses” made with hazelnuts. (310-829-4313)

Lights! Camera! Eat!

NOW THROUGH FEB. 5

Celebrities and everyday diners are getting the red carpet treatment in Santa Barbara  this week, thanks to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.  

Now in its 27th year, the 10-day celebration of all things cinematic already has feted current Oscar nominees Viola Davis of “The Help,” Christopher Plummer of “Beginners” and director Martin Scorsese (”Hugo”), with more glitz and glamour to come. But the event  also is the inspiration for the second annual Film Feast, during which more than 25 area restaurants, bars and tasting rooms will offer prix fixe menus, thematic cocktails and special wine flights, many of them at a discount.

 Movies past and present helped guide the creation of several Film Feast menus. At Adama Vegan Comfort Cuisine on Chapala Street, diners have the option of ordering the three-course “Like Chocolate for Elephants” meal, which at $24 per person includes a choice of adobo, mole poblano or pipian verde. And at The Wurst, the pop-up/backdoor eatery at Blue Agave on Cota Street, the “Run, Lola, Run” menu includes soup or salad followed by a distinctly Germanic kielbasa smothered with sauerkraut and grilled onions and served on toasted bread for $14.50.

In addition to offering a glamorous, multicourse meal at $78 per person at its onsite restaurant, Miro, Bacara Resort & Spa on Hollister Avenue is featuring a $24 “Sip with the Stars” cocktail trio that includes the Martini Scorsese and the Gordon Gekko. And at Kunin Wines on Anacapa Street, Film Feasters will find a three-tastes-for-$5 deal that concludes with a “dazzling dessert wine.”

For an alphabetical listing of Film Feast menu details by location, click here.

Rosti Tuscan Kitchen comes to aid of cancer research

JAN. 16-18
Three days and three restaurant locations could add up to nearly endless possibilities for cancer research.

From Jan. 16-18, diners at any of the Rosti Tuscan Kitchen locations in Encino, Calabasas and Santa Monica have only to say the words “Concern Foundation” to see 15 percent discounted from their bills and donated to the Concern Foundation for Cancer Research. The Los Angeles-based non-profit organization has raised more than $45 million for cancer research and currently funds more than 60 projects around the world.

Open for lunch and dinner, Rosti features a menu that could keep Concern Foundation supporters coming back for seconds and thirds without repeating themselves. In addition to pizzas, calzones and panini, it offers kitchen-sink salads (think roasted beets with apples and candied pecans), seafood (including linguini Vongole with fresh clams in your choice of white wine or tomato sauce) and dishes like Pollo al Mattone, named for the Italian brick used to press the herb-marinated chicken as it cooks. If ever you needed an excuse to go out for dinner, this is it.

Rosti Encino, 16350 Ventura Blvd., (818-995-7179); Rosti Calabasas, 23663 Calabasas Road, (818-591-2211); Rosti Santa Monica, 931 Montana Ave., (310-393-3236)

And in this corner …

JAN. 19

The inaugural Local Food & Wine Challenge organized by the Ventura County Wine Trail is shaping up to be the culinary slugfest of the New Year.

Set for Jan. 19 in the ballroom atop the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach Hotel, the competition will feature 13 teams, each consisting of an area restaurant or food purveyor matched with a regional winery. The teams’ mission? To create the “ultimate” pairing of food and wine. And according to behind-the-scenes sources, the competition already is so fierce that some teams are engaging in a little good-natured trash talking as they plan their entries.

The results of those plans will be judged by a panel of “professional” eaters and imbibers that includes Lynne Andujar and Angela Pettera of 805 Living magazine. But there will be plenty of food and drink to go around, provided you get your tickets in time. Advance tickets, $45, may be ordered now via the wine-trail website. They will be $55 at the door, if still available. Tickets include tastes of each of the “challenge” dishes and wines, plus admission to a pre-competition reception that will feature brut rose sparkling wine from Malibu Wines and appetizers from Panera Bread from 6-7 p.m. in the hotel’s Aqua Beachfront Bar . A portion of the proceeds will benefit FOOD Share, a Ventura County food bank.

The teams:

Aloha Steakhouse with Rancho Ventavo Cellars

Bella Victorian Bistro with Bella Victorian Vineyard

Boccali’s Restaurant with Boccali’s Vineyards & Winery

C-Street Restaurant with Cantara Cellars

Cafe Zack with Four Brix Winery

Carbon Beach Club with Rosenthal - The Malibu Estate

5th Street Steak & Seafood with Squashed Grapes

The Jolly Oyster with Vino V Wines/Old Creek Ranch Winery

The Kitchen with Sunland Vintage Cellars

La Dolce Vita Ristorante & Lounge with Magnavino Cellars

R & R Chocolate Palace with San Vicente Cellars

The Ranch House with The Ojai Vineyard

Tierra Sur Restaurant with Herzog Wine Cellars

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