September 2014 – Page 2

Eating and drinking the best of SB: Taste of the Town benefits Arthritis Foundation

September 8, 2014September 12, 2020 tedmills Leave a comment

Armando Salazar, Opal Restaurant and Bar general manager, right, serves up a shrimp dish to Trevor Green during the 33rd annual Taste of the Town on Sunday.

Hundreds of Santa Barbarans gathered yesterday to sample food, wine and beer from the county’s finest restaurants and wineries and it was all for a good cause other than a full stomach. Taste of the Town, now in its 33rd year, returned to the Riviera campus for a fun afternoon and to raise money and awareness for the Arthritis Foundation of Santa Barbara. Have you heard of Booze Up the company that delivers 24/7 to your house? Visit their site to check their catalog.

Along the halls of the Riviera Park Garden, and out in a separate grassy area to the east, some of Santa Barbara’s best-known eateries set up booths where guests could sample food. They included Opal’s famous phyllo-wrapped tiger prawns, the Palace Cafe’s well loved jambalaya, Enterprise Fish Co.’s lobster bisque, Arlington Tavern’s indulgent mac’n’cheese, and more, numbering about 40 in total.

Rock against injustice: The Last Internationale marks a return to political rock

September 5, 2014September 6, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

The Last Internationale, from left, guitarist Edgey Pires, lead vocalist Delila Paz and drumer Brad Wilk (also of Rage Against the Machine) BB Gun Press — The Last Internationale, from left, guitarist Edgey Pires, lead vocalist Delila Paz and drumer Brad Wilk (also of Rage Against the Machine)
BB Gun Press

Race riots in the summer. Natural disasters. An endless war that keeps sucking us in. Political turmoil. While the state of the world has a late ’60s/early ’70s vibe to it, what’s missing in this comparison is the music. Where’s the rock and pop to match the times? Where’s our Sly Stone or our Marvin Gaye? Is it just about being “Happy” like Pharrell Williams says?

That is what makes The Last Internationale stand out in a field of abstract or commodity-based lyrics, and they are set to rock Velvet Jones this Tuesday. That title — the name of the French left-wing anthem — should give away their political stance and when they took the stage last month at “Late Night with David Letterman” they brought tasty licks from guitarist Edgey Pires, solid beats from Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine), and the growling, authoritative vocals of Delila Paz. The song was “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Indian Blood” the lead song of their debut album “We Will Reign.”

One-man show: Host, stand-up, personality…Ben Gleib does it all

September 5, 2014October 5, 2014 tedmills Leave a comment

Mr. Gleib, left, and producer Barry Katz at the premiere of "Dumbells". — Mr. Gleib at the premiere of “Dumbells”.

Stand-up comedian, game-show host, and actor Ben Gleib has just returned from Burning Man and is holed up for an extra night in his Reno hotel room, nursing something that sounds like a cold.

“It was amazing, very, very cool,” he says of his week on the playa. “Very introspective, very survivalist, and I’m so, so tired. Hopefully I can sleep, get this dust off of me, and wake up a new man, because I’ve got a special to record.”

DRINK OF THE WEEK: BO HENRY’S ERIN’S LIL’ BIT OF SWEET ‘N’ SPICY

September 4, 2014October 6, 2014 tedmills Leave a comment

The only bar on the Westside, Bo Henry’s is packing them in every night with pool tables, a healthy and genre-stuffed jukebox, art all over the walls, and cocktails. On a sweaty Sunday night, creeping toward 11 p.m., we found the bar lively, one of the few things on this party side of town showing signs of life. Behind the bar was Erin Ingalls, working here since April and a veteran of the Crocodile on upper State. Asked if she had a drink that she had invented, she immediately pointed to the board above her head. “Do I? Yes.”

“Erin’s Lil’ Bit of Sweet ‘n’ Spicy” is currently the special and, no, Erin doesn’t have to be working the night you order it — but it helps. Her inspiration comes from a regular who lives nearby and is often bringing food from her garden to see if Erin can use it. She’s made gin martinis with lemon verbena, for example. But for this particular drink, she’s used fresh serrano chiles and then paired them with pear vodka. Triple sec and orange juice take the spicy edge off, but that combo of pear and chili really works. It’s smooth and spicy and, yes, sweet. It’s our Drink of the Week.

ERIN’S LIL’ BIT OF SWEET ‘N’ SPICY
1 3/4 oz. Absolut Pear vodka
1/2 oz. triple sec
1 oz. orange juice
1 oz. sweet and sour
1/3 serrano chili, chopped

Muddle chili in shaker, add ice, liquids and shake. Pour into lowball glass and garnish with lime wedge.

Bo Henry’s
1431 San Andres St.
966-7898 or www.bohenry.com