Full Belly Files | Bolivia. Burger Week. Bettina & Barolo. Bibi Ji Buy-In

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From left: Alejandro Medina and Matt in Samaipata outside Casa Charo; Picking moscatel near Villa Abecia

Bolivia was fascinating, more so than I ever expected. From the ancient grapevines that climb up into pink peppercorn trees near crumbling, 400-year-old adobes, to the worldly, wise, and kind people I befriended, to the delicious cuisine I encountered in both home kitchens and fancy dining rooms, the experience was exhilarating on many levels.

As promised in my Full Belly Files from three weeks ago, I steadily posted photos of my adventures on Instagram, to the tune of way-too-many every day. Those have all disappeared by now, and the Highlights function was glitching, so that “Bolivia25” collection is only a fraction of the start of the trip. But I just added a few permanent posts with some of my favorite photos and a touch of info about each, so you can check them out at @mattkettmann.

The trip was on assignment for Wine Enthusiast, so I won’t say much more about it until I publish that story in a couple months. I’m not sure exactly what I’ll write for the magazine yet — I’m still going over my notebooks full of scribbles — but rest assured that I will fill in the blanks in this newsletter when the time is right.

For now, let’s just say that the country has changed a lot in the 22 years since I last visited. Cell phones work everywhere, the coca leaf industry is fully commercialized, and the airline service is vastly modernized from when it was loud, old military planes.

From left: Dessert course at Casa Charo, presented by owner by Sukko Stach; Into the Yokich Vineyard in Bolivia’s Cinti Valley

But Bolivia remains a very off-the-radar place, at least for most American travelers. And if ancient history, sustainable wine, stunning nature, and adventurous traveling sound at all like fun, you should book your trip today. I’m happy to share tips and contacts.

Burger Week Is Here

Because I was in Bolivia, I passed off the management duties for Burger Week to my longtime colleague Tyler Hayden, who was graciously willing to take on the job. His grace was not matched with karmic kindness, as this year’s Burger Week turned out to be the biggest beast ever.

All told, the issue that we published yesterday features 37 burgers served up by 35 restaurants, all for $10 dollars from yesterday until next Wednesday, March 12. I really don’t have any inside intel on one of these roundups for the first time ever, so I’m in the same boat as most of you.

Make sure to post your favorites on Instagram by hashtagging #sbindyburgerweek and then tagging @sbindependent. Each photo you post serves as an entry to win a $25 restaurant gift card. For an extra entry, snap another photo with a Validation Ale beer, and make sure to tag the restaurants in your post.

Barolo @ Bettina

Satellite S.B.’s Drew Cuddy (left), Italian winemaker Lorenzo Serafino, and three Barolos at Bettina.

My schedule is usually too jammed to commit to last minute lunch invites, but when Jenna Allensworth of Renegade Wines emailed me on Sunday about coming to Bettina on Monday to meet an Italian winemaker and taste a bunch of Barolos, it sounded like a great way to start my first week back in town.

She was hosting Lorenzo Serafino, who hails from a famous family in Barolo dating back to 1720 that today runs Azienda Virna di Borgogno. He’s the latest generation to be involved in the winery; his mom, Ivana, handles much of the business, while his aunt Virna, the winery’s namesake, oversees the winemaking. She’s rather famous, having been one of the first women to graduate from enology school in Italy, back in 1988.

Virna’s white wine from the timorasso grape.

Lorenzo went to the same school in Alba, and is today involved in the winemaking more than the sales, although this was effectively a sales sort of visit. “I work more in production,” he said. “But I understand English, so I’m here.”

Though he’s spent time in New York City, Texas, and Florida, this was his first time in California. He started in San Francisco, flew on a small plane through very bumpy, wind-whipped skies into Santa Barbara on Sunday night, and finished this week with a train trip to Los Angeles. (He seemed relieved not to take a small plane again.) He was surprised to be liking California so much, because the people he’d met in Texas and Florida had told him it was a bad place. He seemed to have the opposite impression, preferring California’s culture to the strip mall sameness of those other states.

Over Bettina’s whipped ricotta and mortadella (epiphany-level snacking, FYI), two salads, and three pizzas — Lorenzo nodded in approval over them all, though did not like the ranch dressing that Satellite S.B.’s Drew Cuddy made him try — we tasted seven of his wines. We started, and finished actually, on the white: a timorasso, which is a classic Piedmont white, recalling flavors of dried apple and sea salt.

Then came the reds, starting with the dolcetto. “This is an everyday wine for all occasions,” said Lorenzo. “We call it a breakfast wine.”

The barbera was next, which Lorenzo suggested serving with carbs and tomato sauce dishes. “The acidity of the tomato matches the acidity of the barbera,” he said.

Lorenzo Serafino pours some nebbiolo at Bettina.

The Langhe Nebbiolo was of the 2022 vintage, but Lorenzo was proud to explain that he had full control of this wine for 2023. Like younger vintners in California, he is opting for shorter macerations, less heat in the ferments, and other techniques that preserve freshness. I’m excited to see what he does.

The trio of Barolos were next. All made from nebbiolo and aged for an extended time in wood, as tradition demands, they each proved remarkably distinct.

The 2019 “Noi” bottling, which means “us” in Italian, is an easier drinking ode to family. “We use the same combination of vineyards that my grandfather used to combine in the 1950s and ‘60s,” said Lorenzo. The point, he said, “is to make a nebbiolo that’s very smooth, for every type of mouth.”

The 2018 Cannubi hails from the most important hill in Barolo, not far from where Lorenzo lives beneath the famous castle. “It’s located perfectly in the middle of the area,” said Lorenzo, noting that the original name of the Barolo village was Cannubi.

The 2018 Sarmassa is another single vineyard expression. It’s treated the exact same in the vineyard and cellar, and grows only 300 meters away. But it’s totally different, more leathery, tobacco-laden, and savory. “The only difference is the soil, which is clay,” said Lorenzo, compared to the sandy white soils of Cannubi. “The Sarmassa is more powerful. It’s not fruity at all.”

You can find some of the Virna di Borgogno wines at Renegade Wines. Because of the lunch, I wouldn’t be surprised if you can soon find them at Satellite S.B. or the Montecito Village Grocery as well.

There’s more info Virna di Borgongo via this Shiverick Imports description, and you can learn about the winery’s dedication to sustainable practices, as well as other producers in the Piedmont region, by visiting thegreenexperience.it.

Buy Into Bibi Ji

Bibi Ji’s new location in a former McDonald’s on State Street features pink walls and tons of natural light. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom

My trip to Bolivia was with Alejandro Medina, who is part Bolivian, spent much of life down there, and started making Bitoque Wines with friends there a few years ago. But you know him best as the proprietor of Bibi Ji, the modern Indian restaurant that just moved a few blocks up State Street.

Alejandro Medina opened Bibi Ji’s original location in 2018. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom

The restaurant is doing very well, Medina reports, but he’s still overcoming the high costs that it took to move operations while being shut down for months. So he’s now offering up the chance for Bibi Ji fans to support the restaurant directly via an outfit called SMBX, which stands for Small Business Bonds Marketplace. Founded by “a team of recovering bankers, financial engineers, and technologists working around the clock to democratize small business finance,” SMBX helps small businesses raise funds while providing reliable returns to investors.

“This is for team expansion and finishing some construction loans,” Medina explained. To get involved, go to thesmbx.com and register an account to buy the small business bonds. When the offering closes, investors will earn monthly payments at 11.5 percent interest over a five-year period, according to Medina.

“It’s all because of your love and support throughout the years that we have this opportunity to invite you to become an investor,” said Medina. “After six years of steady growth, we can’t wait to continue to welcome guests to our newly renovated location to meet our growing demand.”

The investment opportunity closes on March 18, so that’s your deadline to directly support, and in turn be supported by, Bibi Ji.

Just 8 Supper Clubs

Matt Kettmann pours at Clean Slate Just 8 Supper Club | Photo: Wine Club Marketing Inc.

Many thanks for my friend, longtime colleague, and former UCSB writing professor George Yatchisin for coming to a recent Just 8 Supper Club at Clean Slate Wine Bar in Solvang and writing up this excellent description of what we’re up to.

TLDR: For just eight guests per evening, Chef Melissa Scrymgeour prepares eight amazing courses to which I pair more than a dozen wines hand-picked from my own cellar.

The next ones are on March 13 and April 3, and there are a few seats left at each. Be one of the eight guests per night by signing up here.

From Our Table

Here are a bunch of stories that you may have missed over the past two weeks:

Nick Welsh reports on the attempts to crack down on street food vendors.
Rebecca Horrigan heads to a Goleta business park to taste the lunchtime glories of White Caps Beach Club.
Madeline Slogoff previews the seemingly incongruous Buellton Wine & Chili Festival, which is on March 16.
I headed down to El Paseo to meet up with Laura and Paul Hughes at their brand new Loubud tasting room.
I’ve already written about Clark’s a couple times on this newsletter, but here’s my proper feature on the Coast Village Road oyster bar.
I did a piece for Wine Enthusiast on why you should be aging your Rhône-style wines, and relied on the expert advice of longtime Santa Barbara wine pros Bob Lindquist and Patrick Will of Vintus. Read it here.
Last but certainly not least, here’s my cover story on James Ontiveros, who just might be the most important man in West Coast wine right now.