Olio Crudo Bar is fun. It is the latest addition to the Olio group, offering crudo(raw) Italian seafood and meats, as well as cotto (cooked) bar menu items. Sashimi with an Italian accent! Love this place. It’s tiny and the food is delicious. I could have kept eating the Hamachi (pictured below) and they are making some tasty craft cocktails as well.
I love a good breakfast on the weekend and even more so when I am visiting my daughter and she just ran a half marathon. Luckily I had a tip to checkout Jeannine’s. Always a good sign when there is a line out the door and this place delivered. Everyone loved their food. My Eggs Benedict was fantastic. Everything is fresh and scratch made. They have 3 locations in the Santa Barbara area. I will be going back.
I love Santa Barbara. Great weather. Great food. If you like Italian then hit up Olio e Limone. It’s authentic Sicilian fare & wine served in a white-tableclothed dining room. So it’s a little fancy but not over the top. The food is fantastic and so is the wine. Santa Barbara has wine country just north so most restaurants offer some great local wine that is hard to get anywhere else. The Lemon Tart pictured below was tasty. The Olio Group owns two other joints in the same building. Olio Crudo Bar and Olio Pizzeria. Both delicious as well.
DeFalco’s Italian Eatery in Scottsdale, AZ is worth a visit. It’s a family-run deli/market selling Italian ingredients, hearty sandwiches & homemade pasta & sausage. I had the meat lasagna and it was really good. Great joint.
Established in 2002 Barrio Cafe is a little neighborhood eatery providing authentic southern Mexico cuisine in an unpretentious atmosphere. It is located in the heart of Calle 16 – Mural Project. Super cool. I’m telling you the Cochinita Pibil is out of this world. Pork marinated in achiote and sour orange wrapped in a banana leaf and slow roasted overnight, topped with pickled red onion and Yacatan-Style pico de gallo. Heaven. And they have over 200 tequilas. Amazing! And they now have one in the Phoenix Airport as well.
I love a joint that is tucked into a strip mall because it is so easy to over look. But don’t do that with this joint. Perk Eatery in Scottsdale is good! Triple D featured it and I can see why. I got the house favorite; Wine Country French Toast: Stuffed with French Brie, topped with roasted red grapes, and Red Wine rosemary syrup. Uh Huh! Get it!
La Santisima Gourmet Taco Shop in Phoenix is the real deal. And it’s a hole in the wall. Even better. The tacos are delicious and they have a salsa bar with over 10 scratch made salsas. Great place to stop in for a quick meal. It’s short order but they do have a bar. Really good. I will be going back.
I love a good fast food burrito. Especially if I can get it after midnight. Burrito Boy in Eugene Oregon delivers. It’s a local chain and the do it up right. Simple and good.
Oak on the Pearl Street Mall might just be the top restaurant in Boulder. Excellent food, atmosphere and service. It has it all going on. And they make some wonderful cocktails too. I recently returned and had the Double Cheeseburger with a Fried Egg and Tator Tots. So good. The Porkbelly Ramen is fantastic. Throw in some Fried Pickles and life is good! And now they are open till midnight Thursday thru Saturday.
Look. Nothing wrong with Chipotle but if if there is a local place nearby, that’s where I am going and Illegal Pete’s has been dishing out tasty burritos in a chill atmosphere in Boulder, CO for over 20 years. Nuff said. Except they are now in Denver, Fort Collins and Tucson now too. Go!
