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Santa comes to town

By JOHN DICKSON

UNITY SHOPPE at 1219 State Street is a busy place this time of year. In addition to providing food, clothing & gifts to thousands of people in need, they are hosting my Santa Claus call center right now, helping fulfill the dreams of children nationwide. Cox Business is providing the phone system to help make it all happen. As I am writing this column, nearly the entire staff of 724 Solutions (3916 State Street, Suite 200), a company that develops software for mobile network operators, just arrived and will be answering phones for the next two hours. The phone number of the call center is 1-800-726-8222.?   As busy as I am with the call center, I have managed to find time to keep up with my restaurant news duties. Several people have asked me what restaurants are open on Christmas Day. I located a few places, including Treehouse Restaurant at 3860 State Street, Uncle Chen at 1025 Casitas Pass Road, Bucatini at 436 State Street and Harbor Restaurant on Stearns Wharf.

NEW CARPINTERIA BBQ: Reader Jen tells me that at 3807 Santa Claus Lane, the former home of Smokin’ Jacks Kansas City BBQ, there is a new sign that says "The Barbecue Company." No word yet about when they will open.

MELTING POT UPDATE: The Melting Pot fondue restaurant opens at 608 Anacapa Street on January 14th, 2009. They begin taking reservations starting January 1st.  Call 845-4444.

THE CRYSTAL BALL: This is a new, recurring column section that includes an evolving list of eateries appearing in the future: Pinkberry (downtown) late December/early January, Live Culture (downtown) late December/early January, Burger Place (Montecito) early January, Melting Pot (downtown) January 14th, Zizzo's (Goleta) January 24th, 3 Pickles (Goleta) January, Yogurtland (downtown) late February/early March, Giovanni's Pizza (Mesa) early 2009, HotCookie.com (Mesa) early 2009, Carl's Jr (Carpinteria) early 2009, Holdren's (Goleta) late 2009, On The Side (Isla Vista) 2009 and The Barbecue Company (Carpinteria) 2009.

FATBURGER EVICTED: There is a Sheriff's Dept. notice on the window of now-closed Fatburger, at 718 State Street, that indicates they have been evicted. The message says "The following property was restored to the landlord on Thursday, December 18, 2008: 718 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101." It goes on to say "Any person not authorized by the landlord, who enters the real property after eviction, may be subject to arrest." In other words, if you want to stay out of jail you might consider buying your french fries down the street at The Habit instead.?   To add to the strange scene unfolding at Fatburger, there is another notice on the window that says "This restaurant is closed. We have enjoyed serving the Palmdale community." I guess the urban sprawl in Palmdale, CA has expanded to such mammoth proportions that it now includes the South Coast! Thanks to reader Tom for the tip.

SPEAKING OF BURGERS: There is a new mobile cheese burger service coming to Santa Barbara in March. The Burger Bus, a service started by Michael and Cheryl Gardner, will be parked at different places thoughout the week. They will spend a couple of days parked in front of Tri-County Produce, a couple of days in the funk zone at Oreana Winery (Cellar 205) and a couple of days in Goleta in office parks. They may add and occasional Friday or Saturday night downtown. For more information visit theburgerbus.com.

BRUMMIS SERVES LUNCH: Brummis - The German Taste at 3130 State Street now offers lunch daily. Lunch hours are Monday - Friday 11:30am-1:30pm. Dinner hours are Monday - Saturday 5pm - 9pm. For more information call 687-5916.

OFF TOPIC: As I scour the Earth each day, seeking blog-worthy restaurant news, sometimes I encounter non-foodie information that seems interesting. For example I recently heard that Anthropologie (901 State Street) is moving near Peet's Coffee on the 1100 block of State Street towards the end of January. 901 State Street will then undergo an extensive remodel and become the flagship store for the Forever 21 clothing chain.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

  John Dickson’s column appears every Tuesday in the Daily Sound. E-mail your restaurant news tips to info@SantaBarbara.com

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The Barbecue Company : 2/13/2009

I spoke with the owners about a week ago. The grand opening is tomorrow. I hope the food is good. I really miss Smokin’ Jacks Kansas City BBQ.

Crystal

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