Downey's Restaurant
If you want perhaps the best restaurant in Santa Barbara that supplies amazing meals day after day, year after year without the PR/media fanfare given other restaurants in our area, look no further than Downey's. Chef John Downey runs his little comfortable restaurant like a well oiled machine and last night's Chef's Local Tasting Dinner was a hands-down, checkered flag winner.
Appetizer - Fresh Local Crab with Ambrosia Melon. Pine Nuts, Opal Basil and Fresh Ginger-Lime Dressing. (packed with textures and flavors. Crunchy. Soft. Tangy. Smooth. Perfect compliments to each other. Perfect way to start up the tastebuds.)
Salad - Tom Shepherd's Salad with Fresh Herb Vinaigrette. (Tom Shepherd. Need we say more? Fresh, local salad...once you've tasted it, you will never want to go back to packaged stuff again...)
Main - Carpenter Ranch Squab with Caramelized Apples. Butternut Squash with Leeks. (Succulent. Moist. Taste of pure comfort. This meal would warm even the cockles of Scrooge's heart...oh, heck...it might even warm up Dick Cheney's.)
Dessert - Choice from the Dessert Trolley (I wanted them all, really..but chose a chocolate/hazelnut tart and refused to share it with any of my dining companions, save one.)
Four truffles to seal the dinner deal.
Absolutely scrumptious. No better way to celebrate Epicure.SB and showcase our local flavors than with a visit to our local little gem of a restaurant.
Thanks Chef Downey...and hostess with the mostess, Liz. I'll be back for more!
Appetizer - Fresh Local Crab with Ambrosia Melon. Pine Nuts, Opal Basil and Fresh Ginger-Lime Dressing. (packed with textures and flavors. Crunchy. Soft. Tangy. Smooth. Perfect compliments to each other. Perfect way to start up the tastebuds.)
Salad - Tom Shepherd's Salad with Fresh Herb Vinaigrette. (Tom Shepherd. Need we say more? Fresh, local salad...once you've tasted it, you will never want to go back to packaged stuff again...)
Main - Carpenter Ranch Squab with Caramelized Apples. Butternut Squash with Leeks. (Succulent. Moist. Taste of pure comfort. This meal would warm even the cockles of Scrooge's heart...oh, heck...it might even warm up Dick Cheney's.)
Dessert - Choice from the Dessert Trolley (I wanted them all, really..but chose a chocolate/hazelnut tart and refused to share it with any of my dining companions, save one.)
Four truffles to seal the dinner deal.
Absolutely scrumptious. No better way to celebrate Epicure.SB and showcase our local flavors than with a visit to our local little gem of a restaurant.
Thanks Chef Downey...and hostess with the mostess, Liz. I'll be back for more!
Labels: local, meal, Restaurant, Santa Barbara
