EPICURE Early Spring 2020

After a restful nights sleep in my luxuriously comfy bed, I
was ready for a day of exciting activities. To get us started, we
required a hearty breakfast, and Goat Tree was just the place
to go. A gourmet cafe with a relaxed vibe, Goat Tree offers
everything from fresh pastries and baked goods cooked inhouse
by their resident pastry chef, through to cooked breakfasts
with a Mediterranean twist. I opted for the classic Shakshuka,
accompanied by homemade flat bread. Possibly the best, tastiest
start to a morning ever.
Harbor View Inn Hotel
Feeling suitably energised, it was time for a spot of kayaking
down at the harbour front, courtesy of Santa Barbara Adventure
Company. Kayaking is a great way to view a side of Santa Barbara
that perhaps few visitors get to see, so it felt like such a treat. Not
only this, it was a perfect opportunity to spot some of the resident
wildlife.
It was perhaps my enthusiasm at this opportunity that had me
labelled a ‘Twitcher’ on this trip. On every dock we manoeuvred
around brought hoards of enormous pelicans, gangly herons
and rather amusing loons to name but a few. We even managed
to paddle right up to a raft of sealions. So much of the wildlife
on show were species that I had never seen out of captivity, it
was a very special morning indeed. I can’t say I am a particularly
experienced kayaker, having only dabbled on holidays in the past,
but I needn’t have worried. The Adventure Company specialise in
providing tours for all abilities, so I was in safe hands!
A great way to experience the harbour front is to sample some of
the specialities, and so with this we took a stroll over to Stearns
Wharf; California’s oldest wharf named after builder John P.
Stearns. There we took some seats at Santa Barbara Shellfish
Company, and were served an array of locally caught seafoods, all
washed down with some local beer.
Kayaking around Santa
Barbara harbour
To garner more of an overview of the city, we then took a ‘trolley
tour’ via Santa Barbara Trolley Co. This 90 minute tour is lead by
a highly insightful guide, who relays all sorts of interesting facts
about the city, as well as a little local celeb gossip on the side!
After a quick freshen up it was time for a bite to eat. Cue...
Cubaneo! Californian Cuban cuisine served alongside cocktails
from Shaker Mill who neighbour within the same premises. It is
easy to see how you could happily waste away an evening here,
and we did just that! With a cubano sandwich in one hand and a
‘Bay of Santiago’ cocktail in the other, you could have easily fooled
us into thinking we were in Havana!
Loquita Restaurant
After another restful nights sleep, I skipped breakfast in order
to make room for the immense amount of food we would be
sampling on the Eat This, Shoot That! Funk Zone Food & Photo
tour. A three-hour expedition, this is a chance to sample some of
Santa Barbara’s finest fodder, as well as learn a little more about
the city’s history, all while discovering how best to maximize your
photo-taking ability, achieving the most Instagram-worthy images
that will make you the envy of all your friends.
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