La Super-Rica Taqueria

622 N. Milpas Street (corner of Alphonse Street)
Santa Barbara , California 93103
Tel: (805) 963 4940

Super-Rica is one of Santa Barbara's most cherished spots, even though it's more local and less of the tourist side of town, it is basically just a white taco stand with turquoise trim, a walk-up window, a tent-covered dining area, and white plastic chairs.

It was a favorite of Julia Child, who spent her last years in Santa Barbara.

Handmade tortillas form the basis of the menu, which includes tacos, taquitos, chilaquiles, tamales, and a variety of sopes. The food is fresh, made right in front of you, and so good that loyal Super-Rica fans will drive up from Los Angeles just for tacos and the tamal de verduras, a vegetarian tamale made of chayote, cheese, corn, zucchini, potato, chile strips, and tomato with a cream sauce.

There's always a daily special, such as chile poblano stuffed with cheese and beef, chicken, or pork.

Open Thursdays through Tuesdays 11 am to 9 pm.

The Four Seasons Biltmore

1260 Channel Drive
Montecito, California 93108
Tel: (888) 424 5866
Tel: (805) 969 2261

In privileged Montecito, this exclusive Spanish colonial–style 207-room resort is more than a beachfront Four Seasons—it's been a glamorous Santa Barbara institution since opening as the Biltmore in 1927.

A place where Greta Garbo, Errol Flynn, Lana Turner, Bing Crosby, and other Golden Age movie stars once played croquet on the front lawn, the hotel is now a gathering spot for locals (the Sunday brunch, oceanfront dining, and bar with live entertainment are big draws) and the resort of choice for visitors who want Santa Barbara's toniest beach getaway.

Sweeping archways, heavy carved entry doors, colorful imported Spanish tile, and carved woodwork are renovated features of the original hacienda, but modern amenities abound, too, including a 10,000-square-foot spa.

Only a sprawling green lawn and a road separate the hotel from Butterfly Beach. Revamped rooms feature Mission-style antiques, local art, more Spanish tile, decorative ironwork, rain showers and deep soaking tubs, 42-inch plasma-screen TVs with surround sound, DVD players, and broadband Internet.

A botanical guide to the 44 exotic and rare plants in the resort's 22 acres of tropical and subtropical gardens is available at the concierge desk. Guests are also allowed access to the private Coral Casino Beach & Cabana Club next door.

Standard Room rates run between $575.00 and $645.00 per night with the Ty Warner Cottage going for as much as $4,600.00 per night.


This resort is currently owned by Ty Warner, the CEO of Ty Industries, famous for making Beanie Babies. He also owns other oceanfront property throughout Montecito and Santa Barbara.


CLICK HERE for a direct link to this hotel's website.

Epiphany Restaurant

21 W. Victoria Street
Santa Barbara , California 93101
Tel: (805) 564 7100

This low-lit restaurant in a 19th-century house feels a bit like a wine cellar, with its brick walls and archways. But its hidden nooks, fireplace room, private dining area, and patio cabanas also create the perfect venue for an intimate meal.

Formerly owned by Kevin Costner, the restaurant is now run by Michelle Mastrangelo, with chef Ron True, former chef of Gramercy Tavern in New York, cooking the cuisine du jour.

Try the Limo Ride, a $55 chef's tasting menu (six courses), or sample from the raw bar. Alternatively, order the free-range Uruguayan filet mignon or the carpaccio of beef on a bed of arugula with truffle vinaigrette and shaved Parmesan.

The lounge serves a bar menu until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Specialty drinks include a tiramisu martini (Godiva chocolate liqueur, crème de cacao, Frangelico) and a Cosmo-piphany, a variation on the cosmopolitan made with mango juice.

Open daily 5:30 to 10:30 pm.

Wine Tours

Sideways put Santa Barbara's pinot noir in the spotlight, but let's not forget the award-winning chardonnays and great cabernet. Wine country is only 30 miles northwest of Santa Barbara, with 80-plus wineries to choose from—unless you have a willing designated driver, take a tour.

Cloud Climbers' Back-Country Wine Tour has a terrific young staff and six-passenger open Jeep Wranglers that make vineyard-hopping fun and easy (805-646-3200; www.ccjeeps.com).

For the vine huggers out there, Sustainable Vine Wine Tours offers guided tours of organic and biodynamic wineries in a soybean-powered van (805-698-3911; www.sustainablevine.com).

Then there's Wine EdVentures, an educational safari of the Santa Ynez Valley in a plush van (805-965-9463; www.welovewines.com).

All pick you up in Santa Barbara and offer private tastings of six to eight vinos at a minimum of four different wineries each day, plus a gourmet picnic lunch. Don't have an entire day to devote to wine? You can always explore Santa Barbara's Urban Wine Trail on foot.

The self-guided tour leads you through eight wineries and tasting rooms conveniently located downtown. Key stops include Cellar 205 Winery & Marketplace, Santa Barbara Winery, Jaffurs Wine Cellars, and East Beach Wine Company. There's even a tasting room on Stearns Wharf.

Most wineries offer wine purchase drop-offs at local hotels as well as maps to guide you through your grape adventures.

Inn of The Spanish Garden

915 Garden Street
Santa Barbara , California 93101
Tel: (866) 564 4700 (toll-free)
Tel: (805) 564 4700

Hidden in a quiet residential neighborhood three blocks from State Street, this white adobe boutique hotel with a red-tile roof has a plain exterior that doesn't quite prepare you for what's inside—a charming fountain courtyard surrounded by 23 luxurious rooms and one- and two-bedroom suites with private balconies or garden patios.

Rooms have gas fireplaces, vaulted ceilings, Frette linens, deep soaking tubs, and Wi-Fi. Within the courtyard, there's a heated pool and sundeck for lounging during the day and a fire pit to warm up beside at night while having an evening cocktail.

Leave your car in the hotel's free underground parking and get around by foot, trolley, electric shuttle, or bicycle.

Room rates average $350.00 nightly.

CLICK HERE for a direct link to this beautiful hotel's website.

Bouchon Restaurant

Bouchon Restaurant

9 W. Victoria Street
Santa Barbara , California 93101
Tel: (805) 730 1160

One meaning of the French word bouchon is wine cork, so it's no surprise that you can sample 40 Central Coast varietals by the glass at this cozy downtown restaurant. Chef/owner Mitchell Sjerven pairs wines with dishes using produce from the local farmers' market, meat and poultry purchased from neighboring micro-ranches, and lots of freshly caught fish.

Offering a French-inspired take on California cuisine, Bouchon turns out starters such as pumpkin soup with chanterelle mushrooms and hearty entrées like venison loin with wild-chestnut puree and local organic arugula, or a bourbon- and maple-glazed duck served with a succotash of fava beans, apple-smoked bacon, and butternut squash, a menu favorite for nine years.

Ask for a table on the patio or by the glassed-in kitchen, where you can see everything.

Open nightly at 5:30 pm.

CLICK HERE for a glance at their menu

An abstract cubist rainbow greets passerby's along Cabrillo Blvd at the beach. Just across from the beautiful rotunda of Fess Parker's Doubletree Resort and a few steps from the hundreds of palm trees and Chase Palm Park, this "Chromatic Gate" was designed by the renowned artist Herbert Bayer in 1975, and was given to the city by his widow in 1991.

Like most public art, the sculpture has been provocative and criticized as not being "Spanish" enough for Santa Barbara, but the design actually derives from similar mysterious structures that Bayer saw in empty desert spaces in Morrocco, and thus has cultural roots as old as Moorish Spain.


Photo courtesy of Dan Heller Photography

S.B. International Orchid Show March 20 - 22

Often called the "American Riviera", Santa Barbara has an ideal climate for growing orchids. In fact Santa Barbara now produces more orchids then any other region in the country. Every year Santa Barbara hosts the international orchid show at the Earl Warren Showgrounds located at the intersection of the 101 freeway and Las Positas Road. This year, it takes place from March 20 - 22. Many orchid dealers are present at this show. Some local nurseries that are usually not open to the public exhibit their orchids and are open to the public for tours of their greenhouses.

You will be amazed to see the large number and variety of orchids displayed. People come from all over the world to see this great show and display their orchids. You will see many orchids in the main pavilion. Some are displayed by private growers, others are displayed by public growers. They are judged and then awarded prizes. Then in a smaller room many dealers sell many different varieties of orchids. The prices range from 10 to over 100 dollars, with most Orchids in the range of 15 to 45 dollars. Orchids were originally introduced to Santa Barbara around the early 1900's when wealthy industrialists came to enjoy the spa resorts. Many of these people fell in love with the climate (its not hard to do!) and they commissioned world class horticulturists to plant orchids in their elaborate gardens. Exotic orchids soon became popular and were heavily planted in the Montecito and Hope Ranch estates. After World War II, the oil baron Samuel Mosher spent $ 1.5 million on breeding orchids at his Dos Pueblos Orchid Company. His breeding grounds provided young plants for other growers who would often times pay up to tens of thousands of dollars for rare varieties. Today the prices have dramatically dropped due to the cloning of many orchids and various laboratory techniques. There are various Orchid growers that are present at the Orchid Show.