Funky Town

Located between West Cabrillo Boulevard and Highway 101 in Santa Barbara, the Funk Zone is a neighborhood of artisan shops, art galleries, hip eateries, award-winning microbreweries, and a craft distillery.  For many years it was an area of run-down and empty buildings, located in probably one of the best real estate areas in town, blocks away from the beach and the picturesque Santa Barbara Pier.  Local businessman Brian Kelly had the vision to renovate and started luring artists, winemakers, and up-and-coming chefs to take up shop in aged warehouses and forgotten scuba shops, transforming the zone into an eclectic array of hidden gems unique to California's Central Coast.
 
If you are visiting Santa Barbara and do not have the time to drive to the wine country, the Funk Zone is home to (as of the date of this post) 8 wine tasting rooms, making a day of sampling the local Santa Barbara County wine fun and easy.  Additionally, 5 of the wineries located in the Funk Zone are part of Santa Barbara's Urban Wine Trail.

On Yanonali St, Pali Wine Co. is a good place to start

Buy a cheese plate and a wine flight and enjoy the day

With wines on tap you can refill your bottles as often as needed

They have two labels marketed under Pali and Tower 15

This is a great label

AVA Santa Barbara is right next door and another good stop

And across the street is the Lafond Tasting Room

If wine is not your thing, you could spend your day channeling your inner artist, by visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara's satellite location at Hotel Indigo or taking a tour at The Santa Barbara Art Foundry.  In addition, there are many restaurants in the area, one of the most popular, and hard to obtain reservations, is at The Lark on Anacapa.  Or to grab a quick bite, you might find a food truck or two stationed at one of the intersections.  No matter your fancy, head on down to check it out.  

The Lark is housed in a very cool space that was the former fish market

The space was designed by San Francisco restauranteur Doug Washington

Crispy Smoked Pork Belly

Grilled Spanish Octopus with Israeli Couscous

The Lark shares a parking lot with the Lucky Penny Pizzeria

The entire facade is decorated with pennies

I hope y'all are having a wonderful week.  Bye, bye September, and hello October!
'xo M

Hooked On An 8 Second Ride

The Old Spanish Days Fiesta Stock Horse Show & Rodeo of Santa Barbara takes place early August and has quickly become one of my favorite summer traditions.  Built in 1958, the Earl Warren Showgrounds, where the rodeo is held, is an inviting open air arena where in a span of 2 hours you can take in steer wrestling, team roping, bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, team penning, barrel racing, and the not-to-be-missed, mutton bustin'. 

Giddy up

To participate in the mutton bustin', you must be 6 or under...

...and are judged by how long you can stay on...

...a fast and wily mutton (don't you love the red tights?)

This kid has it all figured out

Present-day rodeos offer a unique window into our past.  Tracing its roots to the large ranches and estancias of California, New Mexico and Texas, rodeos evolved after the Texas Revolution and the Mexican-American War, when Anglo cowboys learned the skills of their Spanish or Mexican counterparts, known as vaqueros.    

Many rodeo events were based on the real life tasks required by cattle ranching, duties that included roping, horse breaking, riding, herding, and branding (and I would argue this still holds true today).  Ranch-versus-ranch contests gradually sprang up, and shortly thereafter, bronc riding, bull riding, and roping contests appeared at race tracks, fairgrounds, and festivals of all kinds.  William Cody, aka Buffalo Bill, created the first major rodeo and the first Wild West show in North Platte, Nebraska in 1882.  Following this wildly successful endeavor, Cody organized his touring Wild West show, paving the way for other entrepreneurs to create what became known as the professional rodeo.

Bareback bronc riding

I could easily take this lovely little Palomino home with me to AZ

 

In my next life, I will come back as a barrel racer...

...and not a bull rider...those guys are nuts

Of course, I didn’t know any of these fun facts as a kid/teenager in San Antonio…I just looked forward to every February when I could stuff my face with cotton candy, Frito Pie, fried twinkies and funnel cake (but don’t do that before you get on the Gravitron).  Reminds me of the time Hubby took my nephew on all the rides, including the Gravitron and the Cranium Shaker, after feeding him everything he wanted, only to see it come back up during the singing of the National Anthem.  But I digress…never heard of Frito Pie?  Oh my friend, get a small bag of Fritos, cover with chili (no beans!!!), cheese and onions, and possibly drink a Dr. Pepper with that, and you will have a taste of Texicana (ok, so not a word, but I am going with it). 

 

Have a gut busting week!

'xo M 

All photos by Marci Symington for texaztaste.blogspot.com, with the exception of the last one, which came from www.steamykitchen.com. 

 

Presque Parfait at Presqu'ile

A visit to Santa Barbara wouldn't be complete without a day of wine tasting in the nearby Santa Ynez and Santa Maria Valleys.  Ever eager to try something new, I heard about Presqu'ile Winery last summer from a San Antonio friend who raved about the architecture, ambiance and wine, bien sûr.  Owned by an Arkansas family, Matt and Amanda Murphy, Presqu'ile (pronounced press-keel) began producing wines in 2009.  Varietals include Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah and Rosé de Pinot Noir.  The winery is named for the Mississippi family estate of the same name that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  Presqu'ile is a Cajun/French word meaning "almost an island".  Tom Taylor of San Francisco's Taylor Lombardo Architects was the architect, and Carol Puck Erickson of Santa Barbara's Arcadia Studio was the landscape architect.  Neil Korpinen of Montecito's Korpinen-Erickson was one of the designers for the winery and the hospitality center.  Wine maker is a South African by the name of Dieter Cronje.  

The main tasting room

We enjoyed a $15 tasting flight and also managed to bring home a couple of those cool glasses

This hospitality area tells the story of the family plantation and the devastation brought on by Hurricane Katrina

The patio overlooks the beautiful Santa Maria Valley

A view up to the winery

Enjoy your wine on one of the many patios, or perhaps over a game of bocce or horseshoes

The bottles we purchased were quickly consumed...we need more come to think of it

Presqu'ile Winery and Tasting Room
Tasting Room Hours:  Saturday through Thursday 11 am to 5 pm, Friday 11 am to 6 pm
Tours by Reservation at 11 am and 2 pm

5391 Presqu'ile Drive
Santa Maria, CA  93455
805-937-8110

http://www.presquilewine.com/ 

I would also like to pass on the name of these wine glasses we found while eating dinner at Mattei's Tavern in Los Olivos last November.  Zalto is made in Austria, and they are perfection, virtually weightless with clean, contemporary lines:

 
 
You can find them on one of my favorite websites, http://www.ahalife.com.

PS  I have no affiliation with any winery/restaurant/hotel about which I write...I just like what I like.

Happy Monday!  It rained so much in the Valley of the Sun last night that streets are flooded and school is canceled.  It's like having a free day!  Off I go to play with the kids.

'xo M

Summer Teaser

Escaping the summer heat is many a "Zonie's"** excuse for heading to California for an extended period of time.  As we were without digs (so to speak) over the summer, we were among the many who fled to the beautiful central coast of California, if anything to enjoy sleeping with the windows open in the middle of July.  And while they are in the midst of a severe drought, we tried not to anger the powers-that-be of the Montecito Water District while enjoying a few of our favorite activities:

Dining al fresco

 

Sunset dinners at the incomparable Coral Casino Club

Taking in the beauty of the mountains with a morning hike

Appreciating the many shades of blue

This is truly my happy

The kids can amuse themselves for hours on the beach

I can even check out a local rodeo

Have you ever wondered what kind of wine, if any is served at a rodeo?

It just kind of sums it all up

There are a couple of new hot spots we found around Santa Barbara, so stay tuned...in the meantime, I have to share with you this fabulous tequila buffet from AHAlife.com http://www.ahalife.com/product/1030578/tequila-buffet.  Looks as if my friend Fernanda is on to something with this tequila sipping business...salut!

**  According to Urban Dictionary, "Short for Arizonian, these people invade local beach towns in California during the summer causing traffic jams, and straight up annoying the population of the local town."  Well, can you blame us?  
Hope your Labor Day was spent with loved ones.

'xo M