On my summer trip to Carpenteria with several friends, we were always looking for good, healthy places to eat. By browsing the internet, we discovered a great restaurant. It's called Savoy Café and Deli www.thesavoycafe.com. It's right off State street, but unless you know about it, you'd never find it. We stopped in for lunch one day, and were treated to an unexpected surprise: good, healthy food, nice surroundings, and reasonable prices. Here are just a few of the wonderful menu items: great salad bar, sandwiches of all types, on wheat bread or ciabatta (fresh turkey, ham, roast beef, salami), house made soups, including tomato basil, carrot chipotle, turkey posole, beef chili, and black bean. The deli case is where I went for lunch. Roasted beet salad, curry chicken, forbidden rice salad, quinoa and butternut squash salad, tuna cranberry, and so much more. They also have a hot case, with roasted chicken and mashed potatoes, tofu stir fry, wild salmon with pineapple salsa and brown rice with vegetables. They have gluten free desserts. I tried the ginger molasses, which was surprisingly delicious. All in all, a great find for breakfast or lunch (they also serve dinner) at a very moderate price. It's on Figueroa street, just a few steps from State Street. Try it for lunch next time you're in Santa Barbara.
One morning we took the car out and decided to drive through Montecito, you know, the exclusive area where stars such as Oprah reside. We planned to go to San Ysidro Ranch, an exclusive hotel in the area, never knowing whether we could get onto the grounds or not. Many exclusive hotels with guests that want a lot of privacy do not let strangers come in off the street, but this hotel is not like that. In fact, they greeted us warmly, offered us a tour of the grounds (we declined)and told us to just walk around and enjoy ourselves. We did. What a beautiful hotel and magnificent setting. It's old California, with bungalows, small buildings, and beautiful grounds, including a pond with water lilies. Fran was tired of walking around so she went into the main building to wait. She asked for a cup of coffee, and even though they were not serving at that time, someone went and, free of charge, got her a cup of coffee. I can't tell you how helpful everyone was, even though they knew we weren't staying there. Go take a look if you're in the area. Finally, we discovered that the Avon 2 Day Breast Cancer walk was taking place the weekend we were in Carpenteria. We saw the men and women dressed in pink shirts, pants, tutus, etc. walking around on Saturday, and knew the finale would take place on Sunday afternoon, in the park right across from Christie's condo. We all went to watch the walkers come in from their 36 mile walk, tired yet exhilarated, and to watch the closing ceremonies. It was fun to watch even though we weren't part of the walk, and to see the commitment these men and women have to working towards a cure for breast cancer. It was a great weekend away from the heat of San Diego. If you find yourself touring the Santa Barbara area, try breakfast or lunch at Savoy, and be sure to drive into Montecito and see San Ysidro Ranch.
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