Santa Ynez Valley: Central California’s Wine Country Style

Can we all agree on something? We travel for food first and foremost.

Sure, the sites, resorts, beaches, and people are just as amazing but, if you’re like me, you travel to taste a place. I mean, that’s why you’re here on Salt & Wind Travel in the first place, right? Because, like us, you’re always in search of the best meal a place has to offer and how to recreate it back home.

My recent trip to Santa Barbara had me so smitten, that I was ready to move there by the end of my visit. It’s an amazing place not only for the quaint city of Santa Barbara itself but because just over the hill is the Santa Barbara wine region.  

Each mile of the Santa Ynez Valley has a different gem to uncover. If you head up Highway 154, you must must must stop by Cold Spring Tavern for what are the best BBQ tri-tip sandwiches I’ve ever tried.

And you’ll want to make time for both wine and beer tastings everywhere from classic places like Fess Parker to boutique wines at Storm and craft brews at Figueroa Mountain Brewery.

One of my favorite things about traveling is when you think you’ve got a place figured out and it totally surprises you. I thought I had the Santa Ynez Valley figured out until this trip. Unlike Napa, Sonoma, or France, Santa Barbara’s wine country is more laidback — one part outdoors-y, one part Central Coast ranching, and a big pinch of chic.

And nothing proves that more than the teeny town of Santa Ynez. There’s a downtown that looks like it’s a freeze-frame from an old Western movie with old-time-y facades, but then there are also cute boutiques and great restaurants like SY Kitchen. 

Started by the crew who has Toscana in Los Angeles, SY Kitchen is a place that’s based on Italian food but makes the most of the food and culture of its setting. This is why I’m choosing to celebrate them along with our friends at TripAdvisor in honor of their upcoming Travelers’ Choice Awards.

They served us twists on classics like an octopus-version of a Nicoise salad and a perfectly balanced daiquiri, but also some unique treats like a Basil-Pomegranate Margarita, a Beet, and Burrata Carpaccio, and this Fusilli alla Salsiccia. 

Made with homemade pasta, spicy sausage, and some smoked cheese, I had to recreate it when I returned home. So, here is my take, Pasta with Tomato Sugo, Sausage, and Smoked Cheese. 

But, tell me, what meal has you swooning? Have you tried to recreate it?

Opening photo by Jayme Burrows 

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