Santa Barbara is about as close as it gets to an American Riviera. Get below the surface and really see it. To that end, the Santa Barbara Conference & Visitors Bureau and Film Commission has a slew of suggestions on how to enjoy the area like insiders do. Among them, you can:
- Tank up on California-style Mexican food at La Super Rica, a low-frills eatery once frequented by the late super chef Julia Child. Word is folks make day trips up from LA just to partake. Bring cash.
- Kick back at the Arts & Letters Café. It’s secreted in a downtown art gallery and is graced by a patio that’s arrayed around a lovely fountain. If you’re looking for a place to retreat from the madding crowd, this is it.
- Talk to the animals, great and small. The Quicksilver Ranch breeds horses no larger than big dogs. Then there’s Ostrichland U.S.A., a large grassy expanse given over to elegantly imperious ostriches and emus.
- Head to the courthouse tower for a panoramic, 360-degree view of the surrounding city, ocean and mountains. On a clear day, you can see forever – or at least to the nearby Channel Islands.
- The Santa Barbara Museum of Art is great, a Pacific Coast gem. One resident masterpiece is David Alfaro Siqueiros’ Portrait of Mexico Today.
- Bring along the plastic and lose yourself in the Urban Wine Trail. As the name implies, it’s in downtown Santa Barbara and includes a number of first-rate wineries. Wine tours often entail lots of driving ‘twixt far-flung vineyards. Not here. These wineries are close, convenient and wondrous.
(Image: Steve Mazurov)
