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.

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AUG. 27, 3-6 p.m.

Cheers to 15 years

New awning in action at Intermezzo

 

NOW THROUGH AUG. 31
One reason to visit Intermezzo at the Wine Cask in Santa Barbara this summer? The newly installed awning that stretches over the courtyard. By day, it provides much needed shade for dining alfresco next to the water fountain. By night, it helps hold in the heat should the coastal fog roll in.

 Another reason to stop by? Intermezzo is marking its 15th anniversary this month. And to celebrate that fact, a 15 percent discount is in effect through the end of August for all wines on tap. With selections ranging from a Verdad albarino to a Melville Vineyards and Winery syrah, you’re sure to find something to pair with chef Brandon Hughes’ informal menu of burgers, flatbreads and farmers market-sourced salads. Dine on the patio or slip inside for a seat at the bar or on one of the comfy couches. (Intermezzo at the Wine Cask, 4 p.m. to closing daily, 813 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara. 805-966-9463.)

Time flies when you’re drinking wine

Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards tasting room manager (and "Sideways" star) Chris Burroughs

 

 

AUG. 12-14
Located on 100 square miles between the Santa Barbara County towns of Buellton and Lompoc, the winemaking region known as the Sta. Rita Hills is small but mighty. Remember how its vineyards, winding roads and local restaurants served as backdrops for the Oscar-winning movie “Sideways”? ‘nuf said.
But the American Viticultural Area that helped launch a thousand merlot jokes has new reason to celebrate: This is the year that the Sta. Rita Hills AVA hits the Big 1-0. And to mark the occasion, members of the Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers Alliance are presenting Wine and Fire, a weekend-long event packed with open houses, barrel tastings and winemaker dinners. Participants range from Ampelos Cellars to Zotovich Cellars.

The party starts at 6 p.m. Aug. 12, when Avant Tapas & Wine in Buellton is the setting for a tasting of library and large-format wines. A grand tasting is planned  from 5 to 8 p.m. Aug. 13 on the grounds of La Purisima Mission near Lompoc. On Aug. 14, highlights include an Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyard  library tasting led by Chris Burroughs — yep, the same hat-wearin’ dude who played himself in a tasting-room scene in “Sideways.”

Individual-event tickets ($10 and up) and weekend passports ($60-$175) are available.

Down on the … farm?

The lawn outside Ventura's historic city hall was the setting for the first event in the "Dinner at the ..." series

AUG. 11 (and OCT. 6)

For a farm-dinner experience without the usual views of crops, farmhouses and — dare we say it? — compost piles, check out the next event in the “Dinner at the … “ series presented by Totally Local VC, a marketing campaign designed to highlight businesses in Ventura and surrounding areas.

The first event in the series took place on the lawn outside Ventura’s historic city hall. The setting for the Aug. 11 dinner pairing locally grown produce with regional wines will take place next to the hilltop Serra Cross in Grant Park, affording views of the ocean early in the meal and of the evening fireworks at the nearby Ventura County Fair at the end. In between, chef Jason Collis of the Ventura restaurant  Jonathan’s at Peirano’s will serve multiple courses showcasing ingredients from Rio Gozo Farm, Petty Ranch and Limoneira, paired to beverages by Surf Brewery, Vino V Wines and more.

Prefer your farm dinners to be on a farm? That can be arranged. The final event in the “Dinner at the … ” series will take place at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 6 at the McGrath Brothers Great Pacific Pumpkins patch, with French Laundry alum Rachel Main — now of the catering firm Main Course California in Ventura — at the culinary helm. Hay rides and some spooky, Halloween-themed entertainment will be included in the $90-per-person price. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Serra Cross Conservancy and FOOD Share.

Reunited, and it feels so good

Two area restaurants (one no longer with us, sad to say) are the focus of upcoming dinners that will reunite owners with chefs and diners with some beloved dishes from back in the day.

Aug. 13, 5:30 p.m.
A decade has passed since former Ventura mayor Sandy Smith sold his (now closed) downtown restaurant, Rosarito Beach Cafe. But its menu devoted to regional Mexican cuisine (think margaritas with fresh lime juice, crab-and-cheese stuffed chile rellenos and plump, made-on-the-premises tortillas) lives on once a year, thanks to the Rosarito Beach Cafe Annual Reunion Dinner for the Arts.

Slated to start with cocktails at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 7, the Aug. 13 event will feature Smith and former server turned cook Kelly Briglio (now co-owner of the wine and cheese shop Paradise Pantry) re-joining forces in the Martin V. and Martha K. Smith Pavilion at the Museum of Ventura County. Proceeds from tickets, $100, will benefit the California International Theatre Festival.

Aug. 28 (RSVP by Aug. 22)

Tommaso Barletta and Alberto Vazquez, together again. That’s the idea behind a four-course dinner that will reunite Barletta, owner of Tuscany il Ristorante in Westlake Village, with one of the more colorful chefs to pass through the restaurant’s kitchen. (Known for dressing in studs and black leather, Vazquez recently launched a rocker-themed mobile kitchen, Rock Chef Rolls.)

Their reunion menu will feature crostini with fire-blistered baby tomatoes, pan-roasted wild-caught sea trout with pickled three-bean ragout, medallions of Wagyu beef with braised wild mushrooms and, for dessert, doughnut-holesque bombolini over vanilla bean custard with mixed berries. Reservations, $85, include wine pairing and the chance to sit back and watch a couple of pros at work.

Get your goat

August 3-7, from 5 to 10 p.m.

In the spirit of Old Spanish Days Fiesta, the Santa Barbara restaurant Julienne is planning its second annual Fiesta Goat.  At the center of the limited-time-only menu is Goat Bandito, a dish pairing braised goat with a housemade potato quesadilla, guacamole, pico de gallo, queso fresco and creme fraiche. Reservations are recommended, or you can take a chance and angle for one of the spots at the five-person bar.

Goat not your thing? The field-to-fork restaurant owned by the husband-and-wife team of chef Justin West and Emma West also is serving baby abalone from The Cultured Abalone in nearby Goleta. “They are a little smaller than a silver dollar and so tender that they don’t even need to be pounded,” Emma says of the 1-year-old abalone, which Justin is serving grilled with housemade bacon jam, olive oil-poached tomatoes and a sprinkling of bread crumbs.

Restaurant Julienne is at 138 E. Canon Perdido in Santa Barbara