When Food Takes Over Fantasy Football

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From left: Pat’s fancy deviled eggs; My fantasy team (well, one of them)

I’ve known about fantasy sports for pretty much my whole life. My dad was in fantasy football leagues when I was a kid, and I vividly recall reading every year’s strategy guide, usually in the bathroom, where it seemed to live.

In 7th grade, seeing how easy it must be, my buddy and I started our own fantasy baseball league with a bunch of other kids. That was a very short-lived affair: The draft itself was a mostly boring eight hours long, and when we realized how much daily work it was going to be — culling reams of statistics every single day from daily newspapers for months — we quietly shut down the league about a week into the season. (If we owe you money back, the other guy has it.)

Maybe that trauma was why I was so reluctant to get into fantasy football as an adult. Well that, and the fact that I stopped following sports with religious fervor once I got to college and realized there was a wider world to wander. By the time I was working multiple jobs, traveling a bunch for work and fun, and caring for kids of my own, I simply couldn’t fathom having the time to learn anything about any new player, and assumed that I’d never have the time required each week to manage my team.

But after hearing from myriad friends that the modern process was very much streamlined, that it took almost no time at all, and that it could even be automated if needed, I decided to give it a try. That was about five years ago, and now I’ve been in two leagues for four years, and am about to help my son manage a third one this year. (Sorry, friends, I am blatantly breaking the unsaid rule about not talking about my other leagues.)

I did win one league once — the one with mostly dads from Foothill School; go Falcons! — but I’m far from being good at it, and still don’t know at least half of what anyone is talking about when it comes to the players. For those who remain reluctant, I can say that it’s pretty easy to manage and takes maybe 10 extra minutes of phone time per week to not totally blow it. Best of all, it makes watching the NFL so much more interesting when you care about players on many teams, rather than just rooting for the 49ers (or whatever your lame team is).

At the heart of any fantasy league is Draft Day, when people get together in person and virtually (almost always a bit of both) to select their players. And like it is for most gatherings — or at least those involving my friends — good food and drink is a mandatory requirement for full Draft Day enjoyment.

This past weekend, I went to a draft at my friend’s home in Hollywood, where one of the managers, Pat, always brings a rack of deviled eggs. This year’s featured two types: one with bacon and olive, the other with fresno chile and scallion — both awesome.

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Every year, we end the draft with a visit to Connie & Ted’s, where the tomato salad is always about perfect this time of year. We added oysters, and I went for the soft shell crab special in a tangy nước chấm sauce. Others opted for lobster rolls, grilled vermillion, and more. We washed it down with Massican’s Annia white blend, just one of many brilliant selections on the list.

From left: Smashing it at Badmaash; Canter’s is right across the street from Badmaash

Dinner was at Badmaash, a modernized Indian restaurant located on Fairfax right across from Canter’s. There was naan and butter chicken and lamb and more, but the hit had to be Dad’s Famous Coconut Curry Mussels. We had to keep the server from taking the sauce away even when the shellfish was done. The natural-leaning wines were also mostly good too, if not exactly typical of their regions.

My incoming breakfast on Saturday was an egg sandwich at Breakfast Republic, so I stuck with a sandwich as my outgoing breakfast on Sunday at Salt’s Cure. Both did their tricks, though I may opt for a dish with griddle cakes the next time I go to Salt’s Cure.

My next drafts are tonight — that’s the one my son is doing at our house, so I gotta figure out something to cook soon — and then tomorrow at my friend’s house on the Riviera. That one is my original league, the Foothill one, and good game day food has always been on the menu.

While others may be wondering who drafts the wisest picks, the real question for me in 2025 is whether Matt’s paella tomorrow will outscore Tadd’s smoked ribs from last year. Anyone wanna bet?

Yellow Belly Memorial on Sunday

Bryan Suerdieck, the beloved Yellow Belly bartender, father, and husband of the De la Vina Street restaurant’s co-owner Tracy Clark died from a rare form of cancer in February. After months of the community wondering how he’d be remembered, Yellow Belly will be hosting a celebration of life this Sunday, August 31, 4-9 p.m., featuring a menu of his favorite foods and drinks to purchase. Event details here.

“Please help us in remembering a wonderful man that touched the lives of so many with stories, laughs, and a whole lot of love!”said co-owner Alex Noormand.

Cheese Shop Launches Cool Club

After years of having customers demand to know what’s new and what’s exciting, the Cheese Shop Santa Barbara — which many of us still just call C’est Cheese, its original name — is launching the Santa Barbara Cheese Club. (I’m pretty certain many of those same customers were also begging for a club of this type for years.)

At the Standard level, the monthly club will feature three cheeses and a paired item for $65, complete with notes on the products. The Deluxe option for $95 adds two more gourmet products, plus cooking/usage tips/recipes. Throw on a bottle of wine for $40 and charcuterie for $15. Club members also will reap some discounts and advanced warning of cool things to come.

Space is limited, so sign up soon here.

Burrito Week Comes September 18

Happy Cats Eats is serving two burritos by the beach for Burrito Week, which starts on September 18.

The Santa Barbara Independent’s fifth annual Burrito Week doesn’t start until September 18, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait for the drooling. Some of the participating restaurants are already ready to share their burritos with our sampling team, so I’ve been assigning some early visits over the past week.

For myself, I assigned Happy Cats Eats, which will be serving two burritos for $9 that week. One is their California Burrito — yep, French fries! — and the other is their Breakfast Burrito, made Instagram famous by this guy. Both feature mac & cheese, which is crazy but somehow works, giving a creaminess to the mix. The leftovers — and there will be leftovers, as these things are rich and massive — were maybe even more tasty.

I’ll drop some more sneak peaks in the newsletters to come.

Dish Hits

I had the swordfish schnitzel sandwich at Santa Barbara Fish Market Café in Goleta this past Monday. It comes with kraut and aioli, and I doused it with Chef Paul Osborne’s hot sauce too. It was easily some of the freshest, most delicious swordfish I’ve ever encountered. I hope it makes the main menu.

I really enjoyed a Sunday visit to Pepe’s in Old Town Goleta a couple weekends ago. I hadn’t been in awhile, and am not sure why. It’s got so many classic Mexican-American restaurant vibes, almost like it’s out of a movie. I went with the Tres Amigos plate, which featured three enchiladas: pork chile verde, chicken in mild green chile sauce, and ground beef with red enchilada sauce. Toss in a margarita pitcher or two, and you’re having a great day.

From Our Table

Here are some stories you may have missed:

Ryan Cruz’s breaking news reporting on the unfortunate death at Ospi last week caused quite a stir.
Jamie Knee reports from Wine & Fire in the Sta. Rita Hills.
I profiled Chef John Vasquez, who’s now in charge of Finch & Fork in the Canary Hotel.
And after making two visits over the last two years — including a horse ride that required Ryan Roark shoving my butt into the saddle — I finally got around to writing a story about a winery and wine people I really like: Demetria Estate.