Ding’s Crispy Chicken Sandwich @ The Honor Bar

The crispy chicken sandwich is one of the more reliable lunches on American menus these days, for it’s hard to screw up something with such a tasty morsel of crunchy protein at the core. But Montecito’s newish Honor Bar — run by the Hillstone Restaurant Group, purveyors of casual upscale since 1977 — raises the fried-fowl bar to the roof with this combination of buttermilk-coated chicken, baby Swiss cheese, and spicy Asian slaw served on a pillow-soft bun. One bite is equal parts snap, savory, and sizzle, and eating two wouldn’t be a problem. Being Coast Village Road, it’s not anywhere near cheap, especially since the sandwich is à la carte, so with a state-fair potato salad or hand-cut fries and Scrimshaw, Matilda, or Oberon beer to wash it down, you’re easily dropping $40. Get your boss to pay. $16; 1255 Coast Village Road; honorbar.com; (805) 969-6964.