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When I’m done with staring at this computer screen at the end of each work day — or, on better days, when I’m back from traipsing around wine country — my next stop is usually the kitchen to plot that night’s dinner.
Coming up with a menu based on what we have on hand is the most creative part of the process, and still probably my favorite step, at least next to those first bites. But as I’ve settled into fatherhood — with making dinner as one of the few regular routines in an often-erratic existence — I’ve come to appreciate seemingly menial parts of cooking that once felt more mandatory than meaningful.
I’m even beginning to think that the peeling of garlic, rinsing of lettuce leaves, chopping of vegetables, and other tasks that once stood in the way of actively “making” a dish might be more central to cooking than anything else. Could the simple chore of chopping be the holy grail of cookery?
I’m sure countless chefs would say so, having spent their culinary school days and early kitchen careers tending to stations that required repetitive motions all day long. I’d also bet that many veteran chefs — even after graduating to create their own menus and launch their own restaurants — find a special kind of solace in these rudimentary tasks.
For me, and probably them, the chopping serves a therapeutic role. After hours spent tying words together, responding to emails, and otherwise engaging the critical thinking part of my brain, I catch a brief rush of relaxation when I reach the kitchen and grab a knife. It’s a form of meditation: inspecting an onion, peeling away its layers, making lateral slices, then cutting it into right-sized bits.
The same goes for pulling lettuce out of the fridge, inspecting leaves as they wash under the faucet, and tearing them into the salad spinner before giving them a drying whirl. Even the unsheathing of stubborn garlic cloves is a little less frustrating, and occasionally redeeming, when viewed through this lens.Aside from making sure not to cut myself, the work is a bit mindless, and that’s the appeal. Focusing on rote steps frees up my brain a bit, if only for a short while, before the heat turns on and more direct attention is required.Then I’ll dare with various versions of flame, adjust my seasoning flair, and plate the outcomes accordingly, garnished often with the first things I cut that night. Without those chops, after all, there’d be nothing to cook.
Publish Your Food Poem
Santa Barbara’s recently named Poet Laureate George Yatchisin — who was also a professor of mine at UCSB in the late 1990s and has been my food-and-drink-covering colleague here at the paper for decades — is teaming with Gunpowder Press to publish an anthology of poems focused on the culinary culture of Santa Barbara.
To fill those pages, they’re asking for submissions from the public of poems that “explore themes including, but not limited to, local farms, agriculture, wineries, restaurants, fishing, labor in food industries, and home cooking.” The poems should touch on “topics reflective of Santa Barbara’s food ecosystem, such as farmer’s markets, vineyards, ranching, edible native plants, specialty local dishes, or culinary labor.”
There’s no fee to submit, but contributors — who must be residents of Santa Barbara County — are asked to submit only once. Submissions due by August 31, and the anthology is expected to be published next April.
See gunpowderpress.com.
Recent Bites and Bevvies
It’s been a busy week of eating and drinking for both work and fun. The highlight reel:
- A tasting and Sushi Teri lunch in my backyard with the team at Gainey Vineyard, who are now making sauvignon gris and petite sirah among their always excellent lineup of all the Santa Barbara County classics, from pinot noir to syrah to cabernet sauvignon.
- A full day of visiting new or recently reenvisioned properties, namely 10 Ninths at the former Hilliard-Bruce estate in the Sta. Rita Hills, where Alice Anderson of Âmevive is leading the winemaking; the long-established Koehler Winery, where second-generation proprietor Derek Koehler is taking the reins alongside newish winemaker Trace Brueske; and St. Avalo, where the Ramleth family is building a small brand and impressively large garden of exotic plants from around the world.
- We finished another round of Just 8 Supper Clubs at Clean Slate in Solvang, including one that was very possibly the best one yet. Case in point: spring pea crab risotto with 2015 Talley chardonnay and 2012 Stolo pinot, among 15 other pours from my own cellar. More dates to be announced soon.
- A Friday morning tour with a college buddy through UCSB and Isla Vista culminated in an early lunch at The Ellwood. The crispy chicken sando and burger were great, but that salmon poke with strawberries and marinated tomatoes remains one of the most revelatory dishes I’ve had in awhile. My friend agreed.
- A Saturday with Mom in town meant we got to introduce her to Secret Bao, which she’s been hearing about for years now but finally got to try. We rolled through all the dumplings (try the new scallop and corn concoction!), a few bao, the hamachi wonton tacos, and a couple noodle dishes, including the curry with crab that Chef Peter Lee sent out. Somehow, we even did the sticky mango rice dessert.
- Meet Up Chinese Restaurant on Las Positas Road emailed to let us know that they’ve got a brand-new robot to go along with the one they unleashed back in 2022. We checked it out this past Monday, and enjoyed the cucumber salad, chili wonton, dan dan noodles, pork belly with jalapeño (though really serrano), and hot and sour soup while we awaited the show. The short humanoid bot eventually came over to our table, escorted by its UCSB student programmer, Jerry Yang. The robot — nameless, though my son suggested Tom — is not quite ready for primetime, so I’ll write more about it when that time comes.
- Why aren’t savory Danishes more of a breakfast thing? I had a pesto-filled, tomato- and herb-topped one from Helena Avenue Bakery on Tuesday, and it’s a strong argument for more.
From Our Table
Here are some stories you may have missed:
- Madeline Slogoff wrote this moving profile on Kin Bakeshop. I’ve been wanting to write something myself since it opened, but I could never brave the line. It sounds like I’m missing out on a big part of it!
- Leslie Dinaberg was one of the first to try the affordable food at Win-Dow on Chapala Street. Actual food for less than $5!?!?
- I did a Q&A with the folks behind The Sando Truck and Good Kitchen Products in advance of their pop-up collab with special veggie sandwiches for Father’s Day on Sunday.
- Well-known Central Coast wine photographer Heather Daenitz was just named the best wine photographer on the planet, so I did this story to celebrate.
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