NOVEMBER 2010 A Visit to Ojai Valley Continued from Page 36
we’re all about.” We couldn’t have said it better.
thedayspa.com Glowing and renewed we were
off to lunch at Feast Bistro. This is an award-winning place to nosh and people watch. Located on the main street (East Ojai Ave) Chef/owner Su- san Coulter has created a small but focused New American cuisine menu I know you’ll love. It showcases Susan’s talents in an open kitchen at the front of the restaurant. Don’t know how she keeps a running conversation with her devoted clientele as she cooks up and sends out inspired cuisine, but she does…with grace and good humor. She says of her restaurant, “It’s the ex- perience of enjoying food with other people enjoying food.” feastofojai. com
Dinner was at the amazing AZU
restaurant in downtown Ojai. Chef Laurel Moore has created a yummy California fusion style Spanish Menu inspired by traditional Spanish and Mediterranean Cuisine. Fresh local ingredients are used whenever pos- sible. Featuring 25 wines by the glass ($8-$13 -bottles run $18-$120) and a tapas menu to die for, we relaxed and enjoyed small plates of Lamb Kabobs, Chili Relleno, Flat Iron Steak and a Syr- ian Chicken Salad. Dessert followed with home-made (seriously OMG) ge- lato and a trio of crème brulée. This is casual fine dining at its best. I highly recommend you stop here just to see what the Ojai fine dining scene is all about.
azuojai.com After a restful night at the Inn, we
stopped on our way out of town at the two tasting rooms in downtown Ojai: Casa Barranca and Ojai Vineyards. Casa Barranca specializes in bou- tique wines handcrafted from organic grapes. They believe in, “
...organic, natural, and sustainable practices” as they continue to strive for optimal balance in their approach to wine making. Their organic tasting menu includes Pinot Noir, Syrah, Viognier, Grenache, and red blends, including a no sulfites added Arts & Crafts Red and a Bungalow Red ($25) that we liked a lot.
www.organic-wine.com The Ojai Vineyards tasting room
is just around the corner from Casa Barranca. We met up with owner/ winemaker Adam Tolmach. In his 28th harvest and with no lack of enthusiasm after all those years, this man knows his stuff and it was a sincere pleasure to spend an hour with him. His vision is to, “Stay small and keep an eye to- wards the craft that insures premium balanced wines that can age grace- fully for 8-15 years.” What’s “the craft?” It is comprised of knowledge, experience and intuition…and his wines definitely speak to that philoso-
Home
phy. His wines are balanced treasures of strong and plentiful fruit. They’re aromatic and complex. They inspire, rather than tire out the palate. www.
ojaivineyard.com Rested, relaxed, rejuvenated, and
truly stirred by the fine wines, food, ac- tivities, and special feeling that is Ojai, Ginger and I headed back to our hec- tic lives in Temecula. The Ojai wine region has a prosperous future in front of it. I can feel it, I can sense it. No looking back now… I think it is on its way to fame and fortune. YOU should go see it now to see a rock star in the making.
• Design Consultations • Window Treatments • Custom Furnishings • Holiday Decorating
Call for a complimentary In-Home Design Consultation
Cynthia Cuellar, IDS 951-956-0661
www.ranchointeriordesign.com
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