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I’ve got a long list of general topics to explore as future Full Belly Files — American cheese, hard shell tacos, dumplings vs. sausages, why you should be spitting your wine, etc. And I’ve also got plenty of reported stories from around the Central Coast that will one day ideally both entertain and educate.
But sometimes my 3 p.m. Wednesday deadline comes approaching faster than any of those stories can quite gel, so I revert to this grab bag–style approach. It’s certainly more attuned to short attention spans than my usual wordy fare, so I hope it’s a useful and quick read for you. Here we go.
High Camp Flasks @ Potter’s Point: By their very size and shapes, flasks are designed to be hidden, offering a means of imbibing when discretion is required. But what if flasks could be flashy, stylish, and cool?
Nic Barisone and Whit Gautreaux thought the same thing when launching High Camp Flasks about eight years ago in the Bay Area. Now they sell a bunch of different vessels for holding wine, beer, and cocktails, all of them with equally cool and comfortable glasses magnetically attached.
I first noticed them years ago, but it was only this past spring that I was sent a couple: the copper-colored Fireflight Flask for cocktails and the graphite Parkside Flask, which is more designed for wine. (Both are very much interchangeable.)
After months of showing them off to everyone who came to my house — and a few road trips where they never left their boxes — I finally took mine out last week to celebrate the installation of a bench at Potter’s Point, the spot on the Ellwood Bluffs named for my late buddy Chris Potter. It was a morning mission, but Chris always enjoyed a beverage on the bluffs, so I figured he’d appreciate us taking some strong sips as the sun rose over his preferred painting place.
So into the Firelight went tequila, fresh-squeezed orange juice from my tree, and ice. I tossed it into my backpack and hit the short trail out from Santa Barbara Shores. The day turned out to be divine — foggy mist rising off of Sands Beach and the Channel Islands showing themselves right away. Upon reaching the bench, I poured my Destornillador cocktail (“Screwdriver” in Spanish, get it?) into each glass, topped with sparkling water, and passed the drink around. It was quite a hit, as was the flask. It will be back.
“Just because we’re outdoors,” as the company’s cofounder Barisone says, “it doesn’t mean we have to drink like animals.”
The Parr Glass by Raj Parr and Glasvin: Despite officially departing from his longtime role at Sandhi and Domaine de la Côte — which seemed to have happened long ago, but was recently reported here and regurgitated here — sommelier-turned-vigneron Rajat Parr remains one of the busiest guys in wine. Everywhere I turn, his name pops up, and yet he’s mostly focused on running Phelan Farm in San Simeon and the Parr Collective, whose home is the former Stolo Vineyards in Cambria.
Along the way, he made not one but two wine glasses with the company Glasvin. The first was the RAJ Glass, and the newly released Parr Glass is number two. Parr’s original RAJ design was focused on ensuring that every wine — young to ancient, still to sparkling, deep red to orange — showed its best. The Parr Glass aims to do the same, yet with slightly thicker, more durable glass.
No one apparently told that to my wife, who snapped her stem the first time she used it, simply by putting it down. I must have a lighter touch, as mine survives after many uses. The rim of the glass is quite tight, which does focus aromas and makes for a pinpointed pour onto the palate.
That makes you pay a bit more attention to the wine, rather than just slam it down. It is quite dainty, however, so if you’re lucky for throaty guzzles — or have a heavy hand! — this is probably not the glass for you.
It’s also a touch cheaper than the original glass: $69 for a set of two. Click here if interested.
First Taste of Maison Mittal: Any fan of the Paso Robles scene is already familiar with LXV Wine, whose proprietors Neeta and Kunal Mittal developed an eye-opening, spice-and-wine pairing in their downtown tasting room. Though exhibiting an infectious love for food, drink, travel, and the good things in life, Neeta and Kunal are deadly serious about making the best wine that their region can offer.
So I was honored to be the first writer to taste their latest creation: a lineup of Bordelaise wines called Maison Mittal, including one from their Armaa.N Estate Vineyard, one from the nearby G2 North Vineyard, and one from Bordeaux.
At a rented home on Veronica Springs Road, I joined Neeta, winemaker Jeff Strekas, and consultant Frederick Ammons to taste through the lineup, and was thoroughly impressed, as the wines manage to be both dense and fresh. I haven’t officially reviewed them yet, but I’m giving you an early heads up because the only way to get them is by being in their club. I bet that will be full soon.
Garagiste Turns 15 in Paso Robles: Speaking of Paso Robles, the Garagiste Festival is turning 15 when it happens next weekend, November 7 to 8.
It feels like just yesterday when I wrote this “Gathering of Garagistes” article about the inaugural event in 2011. I’ve covered the event — and its sister festival Southern Exposure that happens in Solvang — too many times to count, and was even the topic of a Taste Like a Pro talk in the 2014 version.
It remains the best place to meet the newest of winemakers, so I’d highly suggest a trip north if you’ve got time. Details here.
Two-for-One Beers @ Dutch Garden: If you didn’t know, the Dutch Garden is serving two-for-one beers throughout the month of October to celebrate Oktoberfest. (Yes, we all know that Germans celebrate the holiday in September; though, if you didn’t know, they didn’t move that timing up until the 1800s.) I learned about the month-long deal over a Sunday lunch of schnitzel salad and was reminded of it last Saturday when I went there for their official Oktoberfest celebration, where we had pretzels and beer as the Rent Party Blues Band rocked the house.
Weekday Lunch @ The Timbers: My son got out of school early last Friday, so I picked him up for a round of golf but stopped at The Timbers Roadhouse for lunch on the way. Based on the rather hilarious warning sign for parents about how to watch their kids, the patio must get pretty wild on the weekends and on busy evenings. I joked that my son should dig a hole with a pool stick while standing on the billiards table.
But the patio was perfectly mellow and brilliantly sunny that day, making for a pleasant and leisurely lunch. I had the French dip, which was fine, but my son ordered the right sandwich: The Stack, which layers prime rib with jack cheese, bacon, crispy onions, lettuce, and tomato. Institution Ale’s pilsner was quite tasty too.
Vintners Fest Fun: My wife and I attended our first Santa Barbara Vintners Fest in a few years, and it was just as I remembered it: a convivial space for community building and enological exploration. I barely cracked the surface on tasting — my usual stop at a table winds up taking 20 minutes or more. But I found some new things — or at least new things to me — that you may want to track down:
- Steve Clifton’s lambrusco-style sparkling barbera at Vega Vineyards;
- the Hitching Post’s rather exciting piquette, which makes a watery wine style somehow rich;
- Carr Winery’s “Crystal Brandy,” which is basically vodka by another name;
- Neighborhood Wines’ carbonic dornfelder, which gives verve to a somewhat weird grape;
- Kristin Bryden’s zesty rosé for Zaca Mesa;
- Tatomer’s rieslings with a bit of age;
- anything by Whitcraft Winery;
- and the whole lineup by Barieau Wines, made by second generation vintner Bingo Wathen.
From Our Table
Here are some recent stories you may have missed:
- Our annual Best of Santa Barbara® issue came our last week, and included the always popular/controversial/debated sections on Eating and Drinking. Remember, it’s a reader’s poll, so if you have problems with the winners, blame your neighbors, not the paper!
- George Yatchisin covered a special evening of elevated Mexican cuisine at El Encanto.
- Leslie Dinaberg wrote about a supper club series to support the MCASB.
- For Wine Enthusiast, I wrote a couple of multigenerational wine family histories. One was on the Dusi family out of Paso Robles, and the other was about the Galleano family down in the Cucamonga Valley.
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