2008 year in review

By JOHN DICKSON

MY FOODIE DUTIES for the year wouldn’t be complete without summarizing eatery activity on the South Coast:

In 2008 there were 44 openings and 42 closures of food-related businesses (with walk-in storefronts). When compared to the activity in 2007 there has been a 10% increase in the number of openings and a 24% increase in the number of closures.

Openings included: American (13), Dessert (6), Deli (3), Mexican (3), Bakery (3), Burgers (2), Japanese (2), Spanish (2), Thai (2), Cheese Shop (1), Chinese (1), Coffee (1), French (1), Fusion (1), German (1), Mediterranean (1) and Vietnamese (1)

Closures included: American (11), Dessert (5), Coffee (4), Burgers (3), Japanese (3), Deli (2), Fusion (2), Italian (2), Spanish (2), Bakery (1), BBQ (1), Chinese (1), Mediterranean (1), Mexican (1), Pizza (1), Thai (1) and Vietnamese (1)

Biggest Goodbyes: Chad’s Restaurant and Mel’s Lounge. Chad’s went out at the top of its game. After 16 years in business Chad’s closed its door while as popular as ever and after winning many awards in local restaurant polls for 2008. Ever-popular Mel’s Lounge accumulated generations of fans before having its last call in 2008, after 45 years in business.

In 2008, the top five most talked about eateries in the SantaBarbara.com Restaurant Guide were: Boathouse (71 reviews), Brummis – The German Taste (54 reviews), Marmalade Café (53 reviews), Crushcakes (51 reviews) and Renaud's Patisserie & Bistro (49 reviews).

Most Anticipated Arrivals for 2009: Based upon word I hear around town, it appears that Pinkberry and Whole Foods Market will do big business when they open next year.

Foodie Topic of the Year: The South Coast cupcake invasion. There are now six local cupcakeries including Bella Dolce, Crushcakes, Sugar Bliss Sweets, Sweet Buttercup, Sweetie Cakes, and Whodidily (formerly Sprinkled Pink).

GRAPEVINE OPENS: Co-owners Claudette Pentz & Victor Kerschbaumer (chef) have opened Grapevine, a fine food market at 126 E. Canon Perdido Street (former home of Jimmy's Oriental Gardens). Kerschbaumer has a background in fine dining restaurants and his goal with Grapevine was to create an environment where people can come in and get really high-quality food to go.

   Grapevine offers a lot of imported goods included high-quality Russian, Polish, Czech, Irish, Scottish, German and Austrian products. They chose a few items that they feel is the best from each country and will adjust their offerings based upon response from the community.?   They offer two soups each day, one vegetarian and the other is a chef's special. There is also a salad bar with a lot of organic fresh vegetables. In the future they plan to offer catering and after hours wine & cheese dinners with a chef's table, exotic dishes and wine pairings. They will also be offering local and imported boutique wines. ?   Grapevine is open Monday - Saturday 9 a.m. – 7 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. For more information call 899-8800.

PINKBERRY UPDATE: I called corporate headquarters yesterday and was told that frozen yogurt phenomenon Pinkberry hopes to open at 742 State Street in mid-January.

THREE PICKLES UPDATE: I stopped by the Three Pickles deli downtown and was told that they are aiming for a March opening of the new Three Pickles deli on Fairview Ave in Goleta.

WINTER WARM-UP:  Hollister Brewing Co. in Camino Real Marketplace offers a new specialty cocktail to keep you cozy: “The Winter Warm-up”. It includes Amaretto, Bailey’s Irish cream, and Pete’s coffee, with Grand Marnier drizzled over whipped cream. Hollister has also just introduced a new beer called “Barleywhine” that has the highest alcohol content (9.7%) of any beer on their menu.

E-BAR HAPPY HOUR: I had dinner at the Elephant Bar & Restaurant recently and my waiter Chris Chavez (who provided excellent service) told me that the E-Bar had just launched a whole new Happy Hour menu. The menu is available Monday – Friday 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. in the bar area only.

    The appetizer menu includes Mediterranean Style Hummus $3.95, Oven-Broiled Potato Skins $3.95, Hand-breaded Fried Shrimp $4.50, Hand-breaded Chicken Tenders $3.95, Niu, Niu Coconut Fried Shrimp Skewers $5.95, JamaicaMojo Grilled Shrip Salad $4.50, E-Bar “Famous” Artichoke Dip $4.50, Vietnamese Shrimp Spring Rolls $3.95, Baja Chicken Quesadilla $3.95, Tomato Bruschetta $2.95, Big "E" Sliders with French Fries $4.75, Wok-Fired Chicken and Lettuce Wrap $4.50, Sweet Potato Fries $2.95, Quick-Fried Soy-Ginger Calamari $4.95.

    The beverage menu includes ‘Olu Passion Mai Tai $4.50, Jungle Mojito $4.95, E-Tea $3.95, House Margarita $2.95, Ivory Coast Margarita $4.95, Select Martinis $3.95, Well Drinks $3.50, Wines by the Glass $1 off, Select Domestic Pints $3, Select Import Pints $4, Select Domestic Tall Draft $4, Select Import Tall Draft $5, Kona Kooler $3.95, Flavored Lemonades $2.95, Frozen Adventure Drinks $3.50.

KIDS AND BIKES: On Christmas Eve I met a gentleman by the name of Louis Ventura who told me about a wonderful organization he operates called the Kids and Bikes Foundation that makes a lot of children happy.

   Kids And Bikes Foundation is a non-profit organization that started in December 2004 for the purpose of providing new bicycles to the children of families who had fallen on hard times. The idea was to get the members of Goleta Valley and Santa Barbara to donate money for bicycles. Bikes would be purchased at cost and assembled by volunteers to provide a gift to those children who would otherwise go without. “Everybody remembers their first bike and Kids And Bikes Foundation wants to be part of that memory,” Ventura says.

   This last Christmas, 253 volunteers built 585 bikes and delivered them to children across the South Coast through a variety of organizations including Unity Shoppe, Isla Vista Youth Projects, Cottage Hospital, and many others. To learn more about the Kids and Bikes Foundation visit kidsnbikes.org or call (805) 685-1649.

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

Comment on this article

Subject:

Body:

Poster:

Enter text seen above: