{"id":16790,"date":"2015-05-12T06:35:00","date_gmt":"2015-05-12T06:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/?p=16790"},"modified":"2021-10-28T16:35:24","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T16:35:24","slug":"santa-barbara-beyond-the-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/santa-barbara-beyond-the-break\/","title":{"rendered":"Santa Barbara beyond the break"},"content":{"rendered":"

Long known for its gated estates, high-life hotels, “The Endless Summer” surf scene, and vine-covered hills, Santa Barbara<\/a> quietly and confidently is adding another notch to its belt: Cultural curators, style-savvy experts who are taking the best of the seaside town and personifying it, California-style.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that the American Riviera (as some call it) is losing its dolce vita<\/em>. It\u2019s just that a swell of creativity and cool has washed ashore, leaving a new wave of restaurants marrying local fare with international trends, hotels<\/a>\u00a0cultivating a new take on hospitality, and wineries eager to cross from terroir to tasting room to share their grapes.<\/span><\/p>\n

I first noticed this trend at Santa Barbara Public Market, a circa-2012, blinding-white building budding with local-hero shops and an urban sensibility.\u00a0Stacked between long-established restaurants and historic buildings,\u00a0the space is as if a farmers\u2019 market coupled up with a modern loft.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brimming with handcrafted goods and pantry essentials, the Market is as much a grab-and-go locale as it is a sit-down-and-eat space sporting an edited collection of kitchens and bar-style stools. While my palate started doing a triple salchow in excitement over local purveyors such as Rori\u2019s Artisanal Creamery and Empty Bowl Gourmet Noodle Bar, I started with brew from Green Star Coffee, and a chocolate-dipped sandwich cookie from Enjoy Cupcakes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(Note to self: Move to Santa Barbara, eat at the Market daily, and surf a lot<\/em> to keep my calorie count in check.)<\/span><\/p>\n

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AVA Santa Barbara<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Another assault on my caloric intake was the crush of wineries dotting Santa Barbara\u2019s Urban Wine Trail. Hanging between surf shops and the shoreline\u2014how Californian\u2014the tasting rooms collectively are as much an ode to the surrounding hills\u2019 famed chardonnay and pinot noir as they are a gorgeous collection of gathering spaces.<\/span><\/p>\n

For a well-rounded sip of Santa Barbara\u2019s 22,000 acres of vineyards, hit
\nAVA Santa Barbara (as of June 1, it was renamed The Valley Project), which showcases the region\u2019s viticultural areas through a literal tasting tutorial mapped on the wall (see photo above), as well as wines served on-tap and from the bottle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After sampling a wee section of all that is fine and good in the region’s South Country, I headed back to\u00a0The Goodland<\/a>, my SoCal stay, and a new concept property by Kimpton Hotels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Goodland, A Kimpton Hotel<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Featuring a classic Woodie surf wagon and an Airstream named “Rita” out front, the space screams \u201860s surf cabin-chic. And even though it’s in the hills, the hotel has a thriving beach vibe thanks to exposed wood, marine rope adorning just about everything, and original art capturing scenes from the nearby shoreline.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here, I desperately wanted to join the nightly social hour hawking spiked agua fresca<\/em>(!), but I had a reservation at Outpost, the hotel\u2019s destination restaurant helmed by a well-traveled chef who skateboards in his free time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m drawn to Santa Barbara because of all the in-season food\u201d, Derek Simcik told me as we discussed my pan-seared local halibut with Israeli couscous. Having lived all over the world from Japan to Tunisia to Austria to Greece to Chicago, Simcik said he feels at home in the coastal community known for its 365-day summer because he gets to live his version of la dolce vita<\/em>: Experiment with the local bounty, skate, and motorbike.<\/span><\/p>\n

Culture vultures such as Simcik are the people taking Santa Barbara\u2019s finest assets\u2014from seashore to mountaintop\u2014and infusing them with fresh flavors and far-flung ideas. Let me tell you; the result is swell.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s your ideal day in Southern California?
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Checking out new trends flooding the American Riviera<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1813,1808,1809,1782,1777,1816,1788,1931,1776],"tags":[33,20],"authors":[2232],"class_list":["post-16790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beach","category-california","category-culture","category-destinations","category-family","category-food-and-drink","category-interests","category-santa-barbara","category-type-of-vacation","tag-couples","tag-wine","authors-trip-styler","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSanta Barbara beyond the break | Expedia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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