The Restaurant Issue Special Report
of hearty dishes from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., including French country chicken soup topped with sliced truffle, a layer of crisp puff pastry, and melted Gruyère cheese and poulet rôti on ficelle (the namesake thin baguette) of pulled roasted chicken, caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, and remoulade dressing. A steaming bowl of moules (mussels) with white wine and cognac cream sauce and a cheese and charcuterie plate comprised of the chef’s daily selection are standouts on the 4 p.m.to-6 p.m. happy hour menu. French comfort food also shows up in Agoura Hills, at Café Bizou (cafebizou.com), where the menu takes cues from the one at the original Sherman Oaks location, offering classics such as traditional bouillabaisse, lobster bisque, escargots persillade, classic steak au poivre, double truffle pommes frites, as well as the plats du jour. The food may be fancy but the prices are not. It’s rare to see an add-on salad to dinner entrées for $2 and $3 as well as a $2 corkage fee per bottle for diners who prefer to bring their own.
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MARCH 2018 / 805LIVING.COM
Satellite
Following the urban dine-where-youwork trend, Satellite (satellitesb.com) is a small, hip food bar located at the Impact Hub work space on the main corridor of State Street in Santa Barbara. Chef Emma West brings experience from the beloved but shuttered Julienne. Intensely focused on farmers’ market finds, her menu changes daily. On one day, the Yoga Pants salad is a mélange of ribboned kale, radicchio, and butter lettuce, a fine dice of steamed beets and butternut squash, julienned sugar snap peas, dried cranberries, toasted
sunflower seeds, pea shoots, and Ojai micro sprouts, all with a roasted garlic and Marcona almond dressing. The menu is meatless and displays West’s knowledge of flavor. The Grits Cake, an original riff on lasagna, is presented in a mini cast-iron pan layered with creamy, ParmigianoReggiano grits, a succulent blend of broccolini, leeks, blanched almonds, and red chili flakes, followed by another layer of grits topped with spicy pepper jam and a soft pat of oregano butter. Enjoy premium local beers on tap, cider, international beers by the bottle, choices from an extensive wine list, or the sophisticated and refreshing Sunshine Spritz, a personal favorite of proprietor Drew Cuddy made with aperitifs Cappelletti and Cocchi Rosa Americano. Wine-tasting events such as Brown Bag Blind Tasting Tuesday and Flight Night Monday are a plus, and DJs Andrew Elias and Chris Benedict take turns spinning vinyl on Wednesday nights. Also in Santa Barbara, Aaron Olson and Kim Anderson’s Handlebar Coffee Roasters (handlebarcoffee.com) >
Chef Sandry Adu-Zelli of Handlebar Coffee Roasters and guest chef James Siao (above, left); the Handlebowl (left) at Handlebar Coffee Roasters with a soft-boiled egg, bacon, and avocado.
INTERIOR: STEPHANNI LARSEN; CHEFS, EXTERIOR, AND DISH: KIABAD MEZA
Work, Play, Eat