Drink of the Week – Page 10

Dargans’ Irish Coffee

July 9, 2010June 11, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

By the time you read this, the World Cup will be nearly over and you’ll have more of an idea about where your teams of interest stand, if they’re standing at all. At the time of visiting Dargan’s after a long absence, all the talk was on Koman Coulibaly, who was responsible for America tying rather than winning their match against Slovenia. “What was that ref thinking?” “He certainly was the villain of the piece.” And so on.

Because of the early hour for many of the matches, both Dargan’s Irish Pub and its neighbor The Press Room have been opening in the early morning. One would think no one gets up to watch a 4 a.m. match downtown, but they do. Dargan’s is not that bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but they have been opening at 7 a.m.

Carlito’s Pomegranate Margarita

June 25, 2010May 27, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Stunning to think that Carlito’s has been in Santa Barbara 32 years, serving up Mexican food across from the Arlington. That patio always stays packed when the sun is out, and that’s most of the time in our ‘burb. The chips and salsa keep coming, and oh my, that salsa! Or rather, those salsas, the chunky tomato version is so thick that the chips have a hard time standing under the weight. The black bean and corn salsa is oh so crunchy. What really could go with this lovely salt’n’corn combo?

Why, cocktails of course. Silly to ask, really. This is the Drink of the Week column, and Carlito’s was off our radar for a while only because it doesn’t have a physical bar to sidle up to. Instead, we sidled up to the menu, and found that there’s about 20 choices for the cocktail fan. So let the party begin, and come find us on the patio.

Fiddle-Dee-Dee – Fourth Annual FiddleFest pours wines and bluegrass tunes for a good cause

June 18, 2010June 1, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Fiddlehead Cellars never took its name from the actual instrument or from its owners’ interest in music. Instead, the winery takes its name from the curly tip of a fern, which some cultures even pickle as a food. And Fiddlestix, the name of the vineyard, is a gosh darn ol’ swear word. But none of that matters in the fourth year of the FiddleFest, one of the Lompoc area’s favorite fundraisers, as wine tasting and bluegrass music will go hand in hand.

“Just as I started getting everybody that this was about the plant, then I went and added the twist of the fiddle music,” says Kathy Joseph, who owns Fiddlehead along with her husband

Ca’Dario’s Ruby Red Martini

June 18, 2010May 27, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Ca’Dario, in our humble opinion, has never really lost the buzz that it earned all those years ago, when it first started offering Italian food on the corner of Victoria and Anacapa. And that’s not just our opinion, that’s the general vibe at an early-week lunch, which is just overflowing with people. Ca’Dario, although going on 13 years, never opened the bar section (four seats) until late 2008.

Manager Danny Chisholm is the man making our cocktails today, and he says most people sit at the bar when waiting for a table. But here’s where they discover what we did: the bar affords a great view of the magical Ca’Dario kitchen and the plate-assembling area. We got pretty hungry watching pastas, salads and meat dishes pass by with their finishing touches. Nothing to do but have some cocktails.

Moby Dick’s Pineapple Cosmo

June 11, 2010June 3, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Looking back from Moby Dick restaurant toward the blue skies and green mountains of Santa Barbara, we had to once again remind ourselves that we live in the place so many tourists wish they did. And we also have a job that others wish they had. But you know, it’s not all fun and games…in fact…

…well, I can’t come with anything right now. Will get back to you later on that. It was a gorgeous day.

So anyway, Moby Dick takes up prime real estate at the end of Stearns Wharf and offers many a ocean view table — inside and outside — and a tiny little bar set up for making cocktails. And make cocktails they do. Bartender Joseph Silva has been making drinks here for going on 18 months, having worked up from server. With no bar space to sit at, we took up residence at a table and watched kayaks, paddleboarders, sailboats and seagulls pass by.

Chili’s Grill and Bar’s Freshest Margarita

June 4, 2010June 3, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Is it possible to have a neighborhood bar in a big box mall? Hollister Brewing Co. is having a go at it, and next to them, Chili’s looks dinky by comparison, walled in on the other side by Pastavino and Holdren’s. A 10-seat bar, sports inevitably on the TV, windows that look out over the parking lot…and regulars.

Yes, Chili’s is corporate, but manager Israel Fuentes has been here five years (10 total in the Chili’s chain) and bartender Jen Bradshaw has been here three and a half. And during this economic downturn he hasn’t had to lay anybody off.

Mulligan’s Sangria

May 28, 2010May 26, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Back in the day when this cocktail chaser was a young lad, he used to play golf. And being young, he looked forward to the day when a strong 18 holes would end with a celebratory drink at the clubhouse bar. Only later did he realize the shocking facts of life: you can drink at the clubhouse and never raise a club.

That’s what keeps Mulligan’s going after all these years. According to bartender (and owner’s daughter) Melissa Osuna, patrons come from all over for a drink and a meal. The bar is small — four seats — but the happy hour menu is extensive and rather complicated, with special drinks and dishes for each day.

Tre Lune’s Negroni

May 21, 2010May 26, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Tre Lune on Coast Village Road offers Italian food, Italian wine, Italian(ish) photos on the walls…but would it serve Italian cocktails? We drove over at early dinner time last week to check out this very small bar in a very busy restaurant. Behind the bar we ran into several people we knew already. One was a former neighbor of mine. Another was Gabriel, who we had just met a few weeks ago at Las Aves. Another was Steven Goularte, who we swear has made us a cocktail before, but where, oh, where?

Patrick Rathbun and Goularte tag-teamed the bar for our sampling of cocktails, and we enjoyed watching them dance around each other while making various drinks and dodging the other servers coming in for orders.

Las Aves Café’s Raspberry Martini

May 7, 2010May 27, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

When Las Aves used to be known as A Capella, we tagged the bar and restaurant as a perfectly clandestine location for an affair, a nefarious business meeting or a place to hatch plots. And we meant that in the best possible way — to paraphrase “Cheers,” sometimes you want to go where nobody knows your name. But Las Aves, which has taken over the space and remains a part of the Best Western near Cottage Hospital, is having none of that. Remodeled into something bright and airy, with no division between bar and restaurant, you will be noticed, even by people next door at the pool. However, you get to watch them too, so, hey, it ain’t all bad.

Owner Ivan Arroyo, who last worked at CafÉ Del Sol, bought the place only recently and has spent the last month getting ready for the soft opening earlier in April. They just opened and waited to see who would come in, he says. Then we turned up, begging for cocktails.

Tupelo Junction’s Savannah Georgia Peach Squeeze

April 30, 2010May 19, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Third time was the charm when Tupelo Junction finally settled into its current location to the left of The Granada. It had previously tried a spot on Chapala and then moved into a space to the right of The Granada. But we like its final choice for one major reason: It allowed them to get a liquor license. When the food is Southern, what could be better than an accompanying cocktail in a hooch jar?

The Palace also does this jar business, so we assume that nobody in Louisiana ever pickles or preserves anything, as all the drinkers are busy using their glass. Unless you’re talking about pickling your own liver.