By Misha Mariani       

         Too often, Americans believe that travel should be beyond their own borders, to go to Europe to see architecture and experience cultures that date back centuries, or to tropical paradises like French Polynesian or Thailand to absorb the exotic.   I’ve grown up my entire life  in New York and will be the first to admit how much I take one of the greatest cities of the world for granted, wearing blinders that block my visiting the vast number of shows, museums, and landmarks the city has to offer. And this applies to so many other cities and regions to visit right here in the USA.  How many people have seen the glorious mountains of Montana,  the magnificent coastline of California that spans 840 miles of blue Pacific waters, or the beauty of the Northwest?  At some point we all have to realize the bounty of what we have right in front of us, and one of those places Santa Barbara and its huge wine region, all within easy reach of the city.
    Santa Barbara’s roughly 42 square miles are filled with activities, beauty, warmth, hospitality, and plenty of sunshine to bask in, a city surrounded by low-lying Santa Ynez mountain ranges and warm white sand beaches. You’ll notice while walking down State Street that Santa Barbara’s architectural motifs, strongly influenced by Latin American and Spanish design, with its red terra cotta rooftops and Mission styles, and don’t miss the Santa Barbara Mission--“Queen of the Missions” (right)--with its twin bell towers.  Downtown is only a mere 30-45 minutes away from the Santa Ynez Valley, so even a day trip up to the valley is feasible, but I would definitely recommend an overnight stay to enjoy it all. Downtown SB is also home to the Santa Barbara Farmer’s Market , founded in 1983, where all along a five-block stretch 130 local producers and farmers gather together to showcase some of the most spectacular fruits and vegetables grown in the country . The  market is set up in downtown SB on State street on Tuesdays and Saturdays, else where in the near by areas the rest of the week.
    When seeking local lodging, look no farther than the Cheshire Cat Inn (below), located on W. Valerio St. just off of State Street,  the main road that runs through the heart of SB. The Cheshire Cat Inn is an adorable, quaint inn comprised of two Victorian houses that sit side by side to each other and are decorated in a fanciful “Alice in Wonderland” motif, with original vintage sketching, paintings and drawings of scenes from one of our most memorable childhood stories.
    The room we happened to stay in on our trip was called “Alice’s Balcony room” (below), dressed in lovely designed ivory wallpaper, a two-cushion love seat, and a split-level step up that housed a plush Queen-sized bed just steps away from a balcony overlooking a backyard of greenery, flowers, a gazebo in which to enjoy late afternoon hors oeuvres and wine put out every night at five o'clock. The inn’s gazebo- covered hot tub is open to guests all day/night long. And don’t rush off without enjoying the complementary continental breakfast in the morning, either at the communal dining room table with some of the other guests or in a private old wooden bench table nestled up against a bay window looking out over the well-manicured frontyard, or outside in the terrace with fresh California air and sun. And keep your fingers crossed that during your stay one of the breakfast made fresh every day are the dangerously addictive Danish pancakes called “Ebelskivers,” made in a special cast iron pan and formed into balls filled with cream cheese and dressed with warm raspberry jam.
    But this only one of so many places in town to get great food. Located down on 813 Anacapa St., you'll find Doug Margerum’s Wine Cask Restaurant and tasting room (below); that’s right, he makes wine too. Doug’s family opened Wine Cask in 1981, became one of the most respected dining destinations in Santa Barbara, and then in 2007 decided to sell it in order to focus his efforts on making wine,  then bought it back just a few years later. I’m happy about that because from what I understand, the short-term owners didn’t do it any justice, and Doug’s re-acquisition has brought it back to its strong roots, with a more renewed and revived feel. To help him do that is Co-Owner Mitchell Sjerven and Executive Chef Brandon Hughes.
    My girlfriend and I sat down to a starter of "confit" of artichoke heart, a dish with great potential but unfortunately poorly executed, the artichokes not being trimmed properly, with fibrous leaves that were inedible, and a tasty local beet and baby carrot  salad with fresh chèvre, market herbs and tarragon vinaigrette.  Our entrees were hands-down delicious and perfectly put together. A pan-seared Kurobuta pork chop, a Berkshire pig raised in Kagoshima Prefecture, with fava beans, wild mustard, and cornbread panzanella was one of the most tender and flavorful pieces of pork I’ve had in quite some time and gave me a feeling of relief because of the amount of U.S. pork that is so fatless and flavorless. The mustard with its bright acidity and the nutty cornbread with its touch of sweetness harmonized the whole dish. Also stellar was the grilled marinated rack of lamb with lentils, cherry tomatoes, wilted dandelion greens and spiced Muscat-reduction, another dish of complementary flavors, the sweetness and acidity of the market cherry tomatoes matched with the bitterness of the dandelion greens and the fattiness of the domestic lamb.
    Wine Cask is also one of only two restaurants (The Four Seasons, below, being the other) that has its own in-house pastry chef, Rosie Gerard, who has had stints with Daniel Boulud and other great pastry chefs. Don’t leave without having her butterscotch pudding and the chocolate and chèvre doughnuts--decadent!
    As I mentioned, Doug is also the wine maker for Margerum, so make it a point to stop by their tasting room to try some of their wines, also a part of the Urban Wine Trail.  I recommend the 2010 V.D.P. Rosé made from 100% Grenache grapes that have been imported from Vaucluse, with an aromatic and fruitful nose but showing slightly dryer on the palate than you’d expect from what you get on the nose; the 2008 Piocho Happy Canyon Vineyard with its rich, heavier, higher alcohol palate, with red bell pepper on the nose and a great granite minerality; and lastly his 2010 Riesling, a varietal I adore, crisp, bright and well-balanced acidity, great minerality, apples on the nose and low-residual sugar, similar to a German Kabinett.
    Not far from downtown, is The Four Seasons The Biltmore, the hotel that the Kardashian/Humphries guests and entourage stayed at during their wedding weekend. The Biltmore is definitely the place you want to stay if planning on splurging or just simply want to enjoy your vacation in the lap of luxury, with on premise spa, outdoor pool, exceptional dining and warm hospitality. Unfortunately we didn’t stay here, but we did have the opportunity to dine at Bella Vista, one of their three restaurants, for lunch. The room is an airy dining room opening out onto a veranda (below) that overlooks the Pacific Ocean, walls a soft burnt orange clay, warm weather foliage, and hammocked drapes hanging above as the only barrier between you and the open sky. We even had a pleasant surprise guest while dining, a small sparrow navigating its way around the dining room before slipping back out of the ceiling.
    We started with creamy burrata mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes with chive blossoms, and a tomato gazpacho with crab that was well seasoned and balanced with acidity. A little extra fat or olive oil wouldn’t have hurt. Next was pan-seared bass with a summer vegetable hash and sautéed spinach, as well as pan-seared scallops with an English pea and lemon risotto, not a ground-breaking dish but well prepared and delicious.
    A huge component of Santa Barbara’s heartbeat is its booming and vital wine culture, paired with the unique geographical design of its transverse mountain ranges in the Santa Ynez Valley that creates a climate much different from the rest of California’s blistering hot regions. What makes this  range unique is that it spreads all the way west to the Pacific, where the coastal breezes are funneled inland and help keep the vineyards cool, creating pockets of micro-climates that can mimic the cool nights of Burgundy and extend the growing season, allowing for greater and more gradually matured grape clusters, and creating wines that have greater fruit development and still that pop of acidity that a lot of big Cali wines lack due to their rapid maturation.
    One way to experience what Santa Barbara wine country has to offer is through its Urban Wine Trail, developed by  a group of local wineries that have set up their tasting rooms all within close proximity of each other in order to offer wine lovers the chance to taste what’s happening in the wine world of the Santa Barbara region, most for the inexpensive price tag of about $10 per person. You might glimpse some of them in the hit film "Sideways."
    Part of this Urban Wine Trail is wine maker and owner Seth Kunin (right) of Kunin Wines, who has an affinity and admiration for Rhône-style wines and can be found most days in his tasting room pouring and running through his wines for visitors just stopping by for a casual wine tasting. And don’t be surprised if he pulls out maps and info to help you further understand where his philosophy and wines come from.  Kunin founded his winery in 1998 after a long career in the NYC restaurant business, eventually moving to California, working the vineyards and developing his passion and expertise for wine making. His philosophy is that of many Old World wine makers, where wine should be the expression of the grapes and terroir and not the medium for manipulation through the use of too much oak. Seth produces Syrahs, Zinfandels, Viogniers, and blends that show depth, complexity, restraint, and balance that simply excite the palate. Wines to try: Sauvignon Blanc ‘Grassini Vineyard’ 2010 and ‘Pape Star’ Rhone Blend 2009 (PHOTO 5), with ripe blue and dark fruits on the nose and palate, an earthiness of slate and clay minerality, and hints of smoke and spice, a truly enjoyable blend. Other don’t-misses along the trail are Margerum Wine Company, Municipal Winemakers, and Whitcraft Winery.
    After four fantastic days in downtown Santa Barbara, it was time to make our way through the curvy roads of the mountains up to wine country for the day, where we drove up to Ballard, a town of just a thousand residents--visit the 1882 schoolhouse here--and pulled into the Ballard Inn (below), a Victorian bed & breakfast that, when we mentioned we were staying there, made everyone respond eyes wide open, “Oh!, You’re going to love it,” and they were right. The Ballard Inn is a charming B&B, opened in 1985 and now owned by the Kazali family, who purchased it in 2004 and made it into one of the most desirable and lovely places to stay on a trip up the Santa Ynez Valley. The Inn is designed in a very classic manner, with antique furnishing, hardwood floors and area rugs, wine paraphernalia, and assorted design motifs, yet all staying within harmonious boundaries.  We happened to stay in The Equestrian Room (below) on this trip, with dark green rugs, beige walls, adorable candle sconces, plush leather chairs with copper rivets set around a dark stained breakfast table, and vintage photos/paintings of horses,  appropriate since Ballard was named after the proprietor who owned one of the original Wells Fargo stagecoach station in town.
    After we settled in, it was time to visit a few wineries and the Lampoc Wine Ghetto in the valley. Our first stop was Buttonwood Winery, a winery focusing on sauvignon blanc, semillon, marsanne, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and syrah, not unlike many other wineries of this region, but Buttonwood has really distinguished themselves from the rest in my opinion. Set on  a 39-acre vineyard amidst 109 total acres, the winery is owned by Betty Williams and her son-in-law Bret Davenport, who have chosen to emulate the styles and techniques of Bordeaux and the Rhône. Their wines, unlike so many in California, see minimal oak, are truly balanced, and aren’t the gigantic fruit bombs that I can never get used to. Buttonwood's wines are elegant, refined,  structured, and reflective of their varietals. They produce many single varietal wines as well as a few blends, and to top it off, they are all very modestly priced. Wines to try; 2010 Buttonwood Sauvignon Blanc “Zingy” $18 and the 2008 Buttonwood Cabernet Franc $22. Buttonwood, along with their wines, also has acres of peach trees, which they are know for so make sure to pick up a dozen or so, one of the best peaches I have ever had.
    Now it was onward to the Lompoc Wine Ghetto, an industrial area in the Lompoc Valley, where about a dozen winemakers of the region have grounded themselves with their production facilities or tasting rooms, and offers a broad view of what some of the more regarded winemakers are produces from the fruits of this great area. The Lompoc Ghetto was created to offer an affordable route for small entrepreneurs starting up their own wine labels and providing shared wine making facilities that neighboring cellars could facilitate, helping to cut costs.
    If you can’t find the time to work your way through all the tasting rooms in the ghetto, be sure to make your way through the doors of Fiddlehead Cellars and Flying Goat Cellars, whose focus is predominantly pinot noir, and Palmina, owned and founded by Steve Clifton, who has taken inspiration from Italy’s wine making heritage and has created a line up of some Italy’s great varietals, specifically those found in Piemonte such as barbera, dolcetto, nebbiolo, and arneis, along with other regional greats like friulano, pinot grigio and malvasia. Steve isn’t trying to recreate Italy’s great wines but rather take inspiration and apply that to Santa Barbara’s similarly cool wine growing region.
    So, after a long day of tasting, it was back to the Ballard Inn, where we took a quick nap and got ready for dinner, just a flight of stairs away. Chef Budi Kazali, proprietor and chef, has spent years honing his skills under some big name chefs like Ming Tsai of Blue Ginger in Wellesley, MA, and San Francisco's Gary Danko and now runs his own restaurant within the Ballard Inn. Located on the first floor, the  12-table dining room is a Victorian-design room with white tablecloths, a fireplace with a wooden mantel and 16-pane windows looking out onto a front porch where we dined. We sat outside watching the sun set while sipping a glass of Champagne and were greeted by our welcoming server, who is just one among a staff here that truly exudes a feeling of warmth, hospitality, generosity, and knowledge.
    Our first course was a sashimi of hamachi with avocado, yuzu, daikon sprouts and fried ginger. A simple dish you can find in many Asian fusion restaurants, but Chef Kazali (right) really shows that it takes an experienced hand to make the simplest dish sing, and sing it did. Perfectly balanced flavors with the richness of the hamachi and avocado being cut by the tart citrusy yuzu and pepped up by the ginger. This was followed by a sweet white corn soup with crab toast and basil oil--I could have put away a couple more bowls,  it was so good. Next was an uninspiring  Kurobuta pork belly with Asian pear and sautéed cabbage, which was fairly bland and under seasoned. But this seemed to have been just a hiccup, because the New Zealand grouper with edemame rice, house-made chorizo and cockle clams was a hit. The grouper perfectly cooked and moist, the chorizo spicing up the dish just enough, and the salinity and sweetness of the cockles made for quite an exciting dish. Along with our meal, we decided to do the wine pairing--which I highly recommend, with most of the selections coming from the local area and served by staff that you can tell have been raised in a lifetime of wine. We finished our last sips of dessert wine and then slowly retreated back to our room where we slipped away into our dreams with smiles of satisfaction.
         So whether you’re a foodie and wine lover or just someone looking to lay back, get some sun and lose yourself in relaxation, be sure to consider Santa Barbara as a front runner for you vacation destination.

Some Other Great little spots to dine in downtown Santa Barbara: D’Angelo’s Bakery, The Hungry Cat & Taqueria Rincon Alteña.