Moqueca Brazilian Cuisine
Exuberant Brazilian jazz washes over me as I enter a restaurant of plum and sea green walls, dotted with brilliant paintings of tropical scenes. Purple tablecloths continue the assault on my senses and I soon found that the food was as vibrant as the décor at Moqueca Brazilian Restaurant in Channel Islands Harbor. Exotic scents … Read more
Photo Fever
I recently spent a weekend in Cambria, on California’s stunning Central Coast, teaching a couple location lighting workshops for High Sierra Workshops. The first morning at Harmony Cellars Tasting Room was foggy, so I demonstrated a simple lighting technique used by location photographers to simulate warm, late afternoon light. When I finished the demo, I … Read more
Itsuki’s Japanese Restaurant
Japanese food has its own aesthetic. A simple combination of rice, seaweed and raw fish is elevated to a structure of complimentary shapes and colors. Design and composition are often as essential as taste and texture. Gleaming lacquerware and earthy stoneware create a proper setting for this very visual cuisine. Itsuki’s Japanese Restaurant, in … Read more
Fly Fishing the Salt
It was a good shoot. The models were great, the weather cooperated, the fish were biting, none of my cameras got wet and I only got hooked once. Like I said, it was a good shoot. Of course, this was only the first of four scheduled photo shoots for a an article on fly fishing … Read more
Elegant Cielito
Mix Santa Barbara’s traditional Mediterranean-style architecture of light stucco, red tile roof, big fountain and palm trees with a glitzy, big city interior and you have the new Cielito Restaurant at the back of historic La Arcada Plaza. The place is stunning. Chef Ramon Velazquez has produced a range of dishes that reflect Mexican and … Read more
Apple A Day Farmer
An apple a day is exactly what Ted Lane recommends. Of course, he grows apples, so his recommendation is based on more than just health issues. Ted sells his apples at a classic, red roadside stand located at Apple Lane Farm between Los Olivos and Solvang, in the Santa Ynez Valley of California. One of … Read more
Osteria Monte Grappa
It was really hot! Too hot to eat. Even the oak trees seemed to be wilting. Set in a valley ringed with mountains, Ojai, California, can get like that in late summer. I was photographing a restaurant review of Osteria Monte Grappa for Westways Magazine and quickly forgot the heat as a colorful plate of … Read more
Tupelo Junction
My wife and I recently had friends and relatives visiting from Chicago. In addition to dragging them all around Santa Barbara, we took them to Ojai and then the Santa Ynez Valley. In each location, we ate in one, or more, of our favorite restaurants and finished the week with dinner at Tupelo Junction, located … Read more
Focus On The Funk Zone
Art needs a home, an area where studio space, and even gallery space, is reasonably priced and artists can congregate. In Santa Barbara, that area is known as the Funk Zone. A mix of old buildings, hidden just inland of Santa Barbara’s famous beachfront, provide large spaces at cheap prices. Change is inevitable, and with … Read more
Sides Hardware and Shoes
For those of us that were able to overlook the sometimes outrageous comments made by chef Patrick at the Side Street Café in Los Olivos, the closing of Side Street was a sad day. The food was excellent and the shady backyard dining area was cool on a hot Santa Ynez Valley day. The location … Read more
