Grocery Store Dining

As published in Ojai Quarterly Spring 2013 Issue

I don’t like grocery shopping. I’m not good at it. I get lost in the condiments aisle, picking up each bottle and jar to feel its weight in my hands, noticing every curve, pondering its handling and ergonomics and wondering how it will look next to its counterparts taking up space in the door shelves of my refrigerator. I scrutinize the ingredients for too much sodium and words I can’t begin to pronounce, and mentally calculate the price per ounce before ruling it out and moving onto the next bottle. By the time I choose what I think is the perfect salad dressing, I realize I haven’t seen my husband since we walked in the door. I waltz through the aisles, stopping at the butters, repeating the whole sorted process.       

By the time I find Bill, he’s already at the checkout stand, shaking his head at me. He shows me the butter he already bought – the same one that took me an eternity to choose – and reminds me that he’s making the salad dressing from scratch. Of course! He always makes it from scratch.

The truth is, he hates it when I shop with him. I’m not on task. For me, it’s about discovering and exploring. For him, it’s all business. Get in, scoop, get out. And he never forgets the reusable bags. I’m the one who holds up the line and says, “No, no bag for me, I’ll be right back.” Yeah, I’m that person.

So most every Sunday, he gladly leaves me at home to write and heads out on a short mission to shop for the week’s groceries. He prefers to shop at Starr, because, he says, he can count on ample parking, wide carpeted aisles and Bob, the same produce guy who’s been there for years. He keeps his head down, grabs the basics and gets home in time for whatever televised sporting event has his attention this week.

On the other hand, in my discovering and exploring, I’ve come to find that Ojai’s independent grocery stores offer something you can’t get at the big chains: an alternative dining option. You read that right. You can dine at the grocery store, and we’ve got some gems. In addition to the old-school macaroni and cheese and fried chicken you’ll find at Bill’s favorite store, Starr Market, our three other independent grocers offer their own signature flavors.

The Farmer and the Cook

339 El Roblar Drive

640-9608

            The local hippie market in the small enclave of Meiners Oaks sells fresh-from-their-farm produce and basic organic staples, but, best of all, they have a café featuring recipes inspired by their weekly harvests. The menu offers Mexican specialties for breakfast, lunch and dinner, including huevos rancheros, huaraches, raw tacos and tamales. Tortillas are hand-rolled and salsas are made from scratch. A self-serve, pay-by-the-weight soup and salad bar is great if you’re in a hurry. On weekends, hand-thrown pizzas with fresh herbs and vegetables, and organic beer and wine are added into the mix. Everything is homemade and organic. Order at the counter, grab some utensils and make your way to a rustic table with mismatched chairs indoors or out. Don’t forget dessert. I repeat, do not forget dessert. The bakery case is the big attraction here, with vegan, raw and gluten-free baked goods that will make you wonder what all the fuss is about butter and eggs.

Rainbow Bridge

211 East Matilija Street

646-4017

          Think of it as an upscale hippie market if you want. Fancy, perhaps. I don’t know, it just seems more shiny, and the cars in their parking lot look like they just came from the carwash. Tucked behind the downtown arcade, Rainbow Bridge is a natural foods market offering a wide range of fresh produce, sustainably-raised meats and specialty packaged health foods. It’s the only market in town with a vitamins manager, who oversees an entire aisle of homeopathics, supplements and herbal remedies. The personal-care aisle includes chemical-free cosmetics, deodorants, lotions and oils. The tea aisle is a sight to behold. A deli counter in back offers a hot case brimming with hearty selections for breakfast, lunch and dinner, including lasagna (if the butternut squash lasagna is there, order it), baked chicken, grilled salmon, sautéed vegetables, stews, casseroles and homemade soups. The oatmeal pancake, as big as a dinner plate, is so popular you’ll have to get there early before it runs out. Sandwiches (try the avocado melt or the tuna on squaw bread), salads, burritos, juices and smoothies can be ordered to-go or dine-in (ample seating is available inside and out). Grab-and-go items include sandwiches and salads made fresh daily. Rainbow Bridge is my idea of fast food whenever I want a quick healthy meal.

Westridge Market

802 E. Ojai Avenue

646-8220

          On the east end of town, a flaming grill in front of the store cooks up the most mouth-watering tri-tip you’ll ever have. Originally established in the late fifties as a meat locker for local ranchers, Westridge has managed to maintain their reputation for offering quality meats, and they’ve got a real, honest-to-goodness butcher counter at the back of the store to prove it. There, you can order premium cuts of beef, lamb, pork and poultry by the pound, or just hold your thumb and forefinger out to show how thick you like your steaks cut. They’ve also got what I think is the most genius offering in town: thick-cut smoked bacon by the slice. A grab-and-go deli case houses an irresistible tomato/basil/mozzarella panino, their famous (and messy) tri-tip barbecue burrito and an assortment of sandwiches, wraps and sides. Underneath you’ll find the usual accompaniments: chips, cookies, fruit and, of course, splits of Veuve Clicquot French Champagne (Westridge boasts a terrific wine selection). The pièce de résistance at the sandwich counter is the Westridge burger to-go. Ground fresh twice daily, the 80/20 all-beef patty is hand-formed when you order, seasoned with their special herb and spice blend, and cooked to your liking while you shop. Served on a fresh brioche bun, this burger weighs in at a hefty two-thirds of a pound (you can order a petite quarter-pounder if you prefer – you are charged by the weight). Unwrap it and devour it at one of their outside tables, or do as I do and take it home to eat over the kitchen sink.

Keep your eyes open at the grocery store. You’re sure to discover a gem just around the corner from the salad dressings in the condiments aisle.

Shaken Not Spilled

As published in Ventana Monthly, February 2013

Sommelier Michael Denney uncorks a new use for the humble rubber band.

By Lisa Snider

Photography by Mariana Schulze

I’d watched him with an intense curiosity over the years as he sauntered in and out of the arched barrel door with trays of wine. A couple of years ago, I finally got up the nerve to ask if he ever allows guests into the cellar. With a smile, he proudly escorted me into a room roughly the size of a shoebox, where some 5,000 bottles are stacked floor to ceiling (many are, in fact, strapped to the ceiling) using a network of colorful rubber bands. It’s an impression that stays with me to this day.
 

Sommelier Michael Denney started pouring wine at the Ranch House in 1980, after pulling the late shift as a bartender for a few years at the Ojai Valley Inn. “I wouldn’t get off work until two in the morning,” he recalled.
 

A friend heard his laments and encouraged him to take a wine steward job at the historic restaurant, a destination for wine connoisseurs since 1953. But Denny was mainly drawn by the lure of work hours that got him home before midnight.
 

Without any specialized training, he acquired his wine knowledge on the job. “In those days, we’d have up to five wine stewards on the floor,” he explained, “and every Saturday night, we’d pull out six or seven wines and bag them up.” The stewards were expected to spend 15 or 20 minutes alone with the wines making their own personal notes. They couldn’t see the labels until they were done. “When you compare things side by side like that, you learn really quickly.”
 

Now, he says, they do it a little differently: “We taste every night instead of once a week. We play a game. What would you be willing to pay for this wine? What am I tasting? What does it remind me of?”
 

Wine, he says, mirrors scores of other flavors, and so he encourages his staff to seek out those comparisons. “A banana tastes like a banana. You’ll never get a little apple or a little blackberry out of a banana. And you’ll never get banana out of a blackberry. They taste like what they are. But wine imitates thousands of flavors, and that’s what’s so fascinating about it,” he said.
 

Denney feels that so much of enjoying wine is noticing its subtleties, which is something he not only shares with his staff, but his customers, too. “If you’re paying attention, it’s really fascinating.”
 

With arguably the best wine list in the Tri-Counties, featuring 700 selections on 53 pages, Denney has, over his 32 years at the Ranch House, successfully evolved his award-winning list to suit new trends as well as the recent economic downturn. “When I started buying the wines, we only had 250 on the list,” he explained. “At one time, we had as many as 900. With the recession, I scaled it down to 700, which is still a big list.”
 

As a result, Denney has become more discerning about what goes on that list, no longer buying a trusted purveyor’s entire line, but instead looking for the exceptional gems. “Sometimes I taste something that’s so good, it deserves to be on the list. And there are those wines out there that remind you how good wine can be. That’s what I’m looking for.”
 

He’s also keenly aware of how different the customers’ preferences are today. “People used to be more interested in vertical selections of Bordeauxs,” he said, “but those have priced themselves out of the market we have here in Ojai. This isn’t Las Vegas or Paris. People [today] don’t seem to require drinking older wines, as they might have at one time, because palates now are geared toward California and younger wines.”
 

Denney’s list seems daunting, perhaps intimidating, but he’ll be quick to tell you it offers something for everyone’s taste and budget, with prices starting at just 25 dollars. “We like to keep our wine mark-up low,” he said. “We want to see people enjoy the wine, and we want them to come back.”
 

It’s a handful of bottles hovering above the thousand-dollar mark that raises eyebrows, and although those bottles don’t sell very often, customers expect to see them on the list. And once in a while, one of those rare bottles gets dusted off and uncorked. “A year ago last summer a guy came in and bought several,” Denney recalled. “He drank one here and took some with him.”
 

Among the cellar’s high-end vintages are a 1953 Chateau Cheval Blanc for $1,950 and a 1986 Chateau Petrus Bordeaux for $2,200. Once in a blue moon, customers will let Denney sample their wine. He stills remembers one of his first nights on the floor; the diners offered him a taste of a 1966 Chateau d’Yquem, long considered the finest dessert wine in France. “It’s a transcendent experience, just because it just goes on and on and on on your palate, and the flavors are myriad and magnificent.”
 

Every bottle Denney delivers to the table comes with a story and his verbal tasting notes. At age 65, he says though his memory may fail him with other details, it’s reliably accurate when it comes to wine. “Wine, at this point, is probably the one thing I can still remember. I remember what things taste like.”

And he remembers the stories that came with the wine. Like the time he accidentally sprayed Pol Roger Champagne all over Herb Alpert and his wife. Or the time Alan Hooker, the restaurant’s original owner, fell into the creek. And he can tell you anything you want to know about every bottle on his list.

“I think the stories behind the wine are interesting,” said Denney. “Things that interest you are easy to remember. It’s worthwhile, and that’s how you make it more enjoyable for the customer, by telling them the story. They get into it more; they pay more attention.”

He also remembers the 1994 Northridge earthquake. “I went to my kids’ bedrooms and saw that they were OK, and the next thing I thought about was the wine room.”

Though only one bottle was lost, it spurred him to go to work on the web of rubber bands now crisscrossing the bins. “It was the cheapest, easiest thing to do,” he explained. “It works.”

For Denney, it’s the stories, memories, and wines all coming together that give him pause to share his epiphany:

“It’s a relationship. And [it becomes] a three-way relationship: the people, the server, and the wine itself. That’s the fun part of this job—getting someone excited about something I’m excited about.” 

 

* * *

 

The Ranch House
102 Besant Rd., Ojai
805.646.2360, theranchhouse.com

For more photos, visit http://ventanamonthly.com/article.php?id=719&IssueNum=81

Ojai's Sushi Joints

As published in Ojai Quarterly Winter 2012 Issue

Photo by Bill Snider

Let’s be honest; I learned to eat sushi as a college co-ed just so I could guzzle sake and giant bottles of Kirin. I batted my eyes and charmed the sushi chef – who never asked for my I.D. – with, “dozo” and “arigato,” while stabbing my chopsticks unsuccessfully at a California roll. He urged me to practice, yet took pity on me every single time, and with some wadded up paper and a rubber band, he fashioned a spring action utensil just for me. Barely 18, this sushi joint on the beach in San Diego soon became my version of Cheers, where everyone knew me as “Risa.”

Eventually I mustered up the courage (maybe it was liquid courage) to sample more ambitious (and raw) sushi dishes, like unagi (eel), hamachi (yellowtail) and my favorite to this day: maguro (tuna). I drew the line – and still do – at rubbery and chewy tako (octopus). There’s still hope for me, I guess.

Readers of this column know the best cook in my house is my husband, for I am just a lowly food writer. While he isn’t one to bust out the nori and the bamboo roller, he does make a to-die-for ahi dish. He selects beautiful sashimi-grade ahi from either Sea Fresh in downtown Ojai or Ideal’s convenient drive-up window in Mira Monte. After a quick sear in blazing hot coconut oil in a cast iron pan, he slices the ahi to reveal the cool ruby red center and serves it up with cucumbers shaved thin on the mandolin and dressed with rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce. The whole dish gets a liberal sprinkling of white and black sesame seeds (toasted or not).

When we feel the pull for authentic sushi, within a couple of miles three sushi restaurants in the valley offer up a diverse selection of raw and cooked Japanese cuisine. All offer the ubiquitous California rolls, beer, wine and sake, with lots of surprises mixed in.

Sakura
11400 N. Ventura Avenue
649-5555

On the way out of town, tucked between a gas station and a chiropractor’s office, you’ll find a sort of graceful roadhouse version of a sushi restaurant. The front porch offers alfresco dining, but walk inside and you’ll be assailed with gregarious voices booming, “Irasshaimase!” which I think means “Welcome!” or “Come on in!” Servers wear T-shirts with various “Miso” sayings, including, “Miso Happy,” and, “Miso Hungry” – all for sale, of course. Most nights you’ll meet the owner, Eddie, who may surprise you and join you for a beer (or a shot). In addition to an impressive sushi menu, teriyakis, tempuras, noodle dishes and a teppanyaki menu (ask to sit in the small teppan room) are also available. Favorite sushi rolls include the Red Dragon with unagi, crabmeat, avocado and spicy tuna on the outside. My favorite roll is the Wild Thing, stuffed with crabmeat and avocado, and topped with salmon and baked with a sweet mayonnaise drizzle (a local named Debbie has her name attached to a variation of this roll with spicy tuna inside instead of crab – just ask). Vegetarians will love the Green Veg roll with cucumber, sprouts, avocado, seaweed salad, gobo and pickled daikon. Don’t worry about dessert, because your check comes with luscious cheesecake bites.

Hakane
967 E. Ojai Avenue
640-3070

It’s not as casual and laid-back as Sakura, and the downtown Ojai location is certainly part of its appeal. Indoor seating includes the obligatory sushi bar seats, and a comfortable and charming patio awaits outside. The menu offers a dizzying number of selections (there are more than 50 sushi rolls to choose from), and several salads and appetizers to start. The mixed sunomono is our favorite – a cucumber salad lightly dressed with sesame oil and rice wine vinegar and served with thin slices of crab, octopus (which I always push over to Bill) and shrimp. Don’t miss the Baked Lobster roll - stuffed with crabmeat, cucumber and avocado, rolled with rice paper, topped with lobster, green onions and tobiko (flying fish roe), and doused with a delicious warm barbecue sauce. The Starfish roll is another standout - stuffed with spicy crab, cucumber, avocado, asparagus and tempura shrimp, wrapped with tuna, yellowtail and more avocado, and drizzled with a light dressing. The expansive menu also includes teriyaki, katsu, tempura, donburi and yakisoba dishes, as well as soups and udons.

Sea Fresh
533 E. Ojai Avenue
646-7747

With a newly renovated and expanded layout - including a gorgeous patio for gazing at the Pink Moment - and a full liquor license, the hip sushi bar scene at Sea Fresh is a bit of a departure from the traditional experience afforded at Hakane and Sakura, but quality and creativity is never spared. And thanks to the family’s fishing vessel anchored in Ventura, neither is freshness, with primary catches including swordfish, halibut, white seabass, salmon, snapper and shark arriving daily. While you will find typical fish house staples like clam chowder, bouillabaisse and fish and chips, dishes like macadamia-crusted halibut and wasabi-crusted ahi give the menu a more contemporary slant. The sushi bar is the main draw for me, though, with the spicy garlic tuna roll a crowd favorite. My personal favorite is the spicy tuna tartare, layered with hot sesame oil, sesame seeds, avocado, crunchies, radish sprouts and wasabi dressing. The Tara roll is a sight to behold, artfully prepared with tempura shrimp, krab and avocado, and topped with spicy mayonnaise, eel sauce and Sriracha sauce.

Even though Ojai is 15 miles from the sea, we are fortunate to have so many choices for fresh and tasty seafood and sushi. Just remember, practice makes perfect with those chopsticks!

Comfort Food

As published in the Ojai Quarterly magazine, Fall 2012

Photo by Bill Snider

Ojai is one of the few places in Southern California to experience seasons. As the autumnal equinox approaches, the light changes, taking on a warm cast. The Pink Moment becomes speckled with gold, and the liquid amber trees' green leaves turn radiant shades of red and bronze.

Daylight’s golden glow and a slight chill in the evening air signal to me that my husband's annual hunting trip is just around the corner. Every year before he leaves, he makes me a macaroni and cheese casserole to keep me warm and sated for the week he's gone. I am comforted by this. I need comfort because he's away, and I miss those long carefree days of summer.

For many, comfort food brings back childhood memories of mom’s chicken noodle soup, given to soothe or feed a fever. For me, the comfort food of my childhood was my mother’s Maryland blue crab cakes, made with mayonnaise, bread crumbs (not too many), Old Bay seasoning and huge chunks of fresh crab meat.

Early fall was the annual crab harvest at our house in Southern Maryland. We’d buy the crabs by the bushel, boil them with Old Bay and beer, and then throw them out on picnic tables covered in butcher paper. I remember my father corralling the live crabs into a boiling pot. One made its escape and scampered across the kitchen floor. I stood on a chair, pointing and squealing, begging my father to hurry, hurry before it pinched me. He snatched it up and threw it into the pot, then pretended he lost his thumb to the giant snapping crab.

Fall not only conjures these wonderful memories, but it does some crazy things to my appetite. You know how bears gorge themselves before they go into hibernation, tearing the heads off of the salmon? This is sort of what happens to me – a primal subconscious urge to prepare myself for winter. When Bill’s macaroni and cheese runs out, I'm grateful I won't have to turn to devouring fish heads, thanks to the many restaurants in town with an abundance of comfort food on their menus to offer this ravenous patron.

The Village Jester

139 E. Ojai Avenue

Nigel Chisholm runs a very traditional pub in downtown Ojai, and as such, you will find plenty of traditional comfort food to warm you on fall's cool nights. Red wine beef stew, slow-cooked with chunks of carrots, potatoes, turnips, and celery, along with pastry-topped chicken pot pie and shepherd's pie covered with creamy mashed potatoes are all made from scratch and oven-baked until piping hot. While you wait, warm up with a Bailey's and coffee or a Hot Toddy. The portions are plentiful, so don't hesitate to ask for a to-go box.

The Deer Lodge

2261 Maricopa Highway

Perhaps best known for their tri-tip and waitresses in short-shorts and cowboy boots, comfort food now takes center stage with garlic mashed potatoes, maple mashed sweet potatoes, meatloaf, and, yes, macaroni and cheese, made with Gouda or bacon and cheddar. But the stand-out here is the fried chicken, soaked overnight in buttermilk and dipped in crispy panko bread crumbs. Chef Rosie Brooks tells me she perfected her fried chicken recipe by watching countless episodes of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network!

Feast Bistro

254 E. Ojai Avenue

Chef and proprietor Susan Coulter changes up her menu seasonally, which features New American cuisine. What I most look forward to in the fall is the braised pork, slow-cooked until it falls apart, and so succulent it melts in your mouth. Side dishes usually include the old stand-bys of comfort: creamy polenta, parmesan risotto, mashed potatoes or, every once in a while, a potato gratin that will make you want to stake your claim to your table and never leave. If you find yourself missing summer's bounty, not to worry, because Chef Susan insists that peppers and tomatoes will stick around for a while, as well as her favorite vegetable side dish to prepare, succotash.

It's a gesture of love to offer someone a plate of food - warm, soothing, satisfying, familiar. Dust off your Dutch oven and take inspiration from our local eateries. Slow down, slow cook and warm up to cooler nights and early golden Pink Moments.

Back to the Land

It’s a short trip from farm to table at the Troyna home, where organic agriculture is a family affair.

As published in Ventana magazine, July 2012.

Photo by Jeff Byrnes

The sign posted at the gate to Rusti and Kristi Troyna’s Oak View urban farm reads, “Old dog, young dog, several stupid dogs. Please drive slowly.” Sure enough, I’m greeted by a friendly graying mutt that wants a scratch.

“They’re herding dogs, and they keep the chickens alive from the raccoons and coyotes,” says Rusti, who worked in construction until a year ago when illness forced him to leave his job. Now, he and his wife, Kristi, manage a sustainable farm of fruits, vegetables, horses, goats, chickens, ducks, turkeys, cats, and, yes, dogs. And they do it all on only an acre-and-a-half of land, which probably wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for Rusti’s illness.

“I was diagnosed with mercury lead poisoning from all my years in construction,” says Rusti. “Part of the reason we started doing this was for my health condition.” He says Kristi and his doctors urged him to eat more healthy and organic.

They started raising organic produce and organic fowl for meat and eggs, and the results were dramatic. Rusti describes his health improvement as, “Night and day. I’m better now.”

“Good things come out of bad things, I guess,” says Kristi, a former government employee who left her day job to raise the couple’s two children: Hunter, 7, and Ella, 3.

Eating homegrown and organic was half the equation. The couple also saw it as an opportunity to make ends meet by consulting and educating others, selling organic eggs and meat, and ramping up Kristi’s already successful work with her horses.

“We’re trying to make a go of this, or I’ll go back to doing what I was doing,” says Rusti.

About a third of the property is devoted to horses—three of their own and four that they board. “I didn’t start out to create a business. I was a stay-at-home mom,” but word of mouth, says Kristi, brought her plenty of business giving riding lessons, training for a private ranch, and showing and boarding horses. “We ended up having really great people here that feel like family.”

The horses are also a big reason they now have goats; one of Kristi’s boarders arrived with a goat that never left. “You know the term, ‘Get your goat’? Goats were companions for racing horses. Well, the horse went to a new home, and we ended up keeping the goat. We put the goat on the hill, and as you can see, it’s bald,” says Rusti, pointing to a cleared-off hillside where poison oak and invasive plants previously grew into a massive thicket.

After experimenting with raising different breeds, including Nubians and Nigerians, they’re now focusing on breeding and selling mini Nubians.

“They’re very docile and great milkers,” says Kristi, adding that their size and easy handling makes sense for amateur backyard farmers looking to jump on the urban farming bandwagon.

“The milk tastes just like organic raw cow’s milk. It’s amazingly flavorful. We just love it,” says Rusti, adding that because of the legalities and controversies surrounding the distribution of raw milk, for now they keep it all for themselves and the goats’ nursing “kids.”

The farm inhabitants that seem to vie for the most attention are the fowl. Raising “organic and happy” chickens for eggs and meat hasn’t been easy, but they have a sense of humor about it. Their Facebook page shows a picture of recently butchered and processed poultry with the caption, “It’s going to be a lot quieter around here without all those roosters!” Organic poultry and eggs from their 40 laying hens have made them pretty popular with friends and neighbors.

“We sell our eggs for three dollars a dozen, which is really cheap for organic-fed, free-range. The chickens support themselves,” says Rusti.

The farm is a family affair, and the couple’s two children love to get in on the act. Ella gets a kick out of gathering the eggs, which come in a variety of pale pastel colors. Hunter feeds the fowl every morning, but his parents are mindful of how closely he bonds with the birds in his care.

“He has gotten attached to certain animals. We have trouble butchering some of them,” says Rusti, gesturing to a large white turkey, clucking and following close on Hunter’s heels. “We ended up picking up this white broad-breasted female from someone that was raising her in Ventura as a pet. She is extremely friendly.” The turkey was named Tammy and spared permanently from the butcher block.

The other turkeys, however, will land on Thanksgiving tables this fall. “The turkeys were a hit last year. We did the broad breasted commercial bronze; they grow bigger breasts, they’re juicier, and they have more fat on them,” says Rusti, who plans to offer turkeys for sale again this November.

This summer, their attention turns to offering farm camps for kids six and older. “We’re trying to educate the next generation about better choices. If we hit the kids now, maybe the next generation will be more proactive,” says Kristi.

Farm camp includes hands-on lessons in planting and harvesting produce, milking and grooming goats, an optional butchering day, and frank discussions about healthy, humane, and sustainable food choices. Cooking classes include making cheese, ice cream, jam, and quiche. The best part, Kristi says, is the day the kids compare non-organic grocery store produce to organic homegrown produce. “They’re just shocked by how tasteless and gross food from the grocery store is.”

The goal with the farm camps and the consulting, Kristi says, is to help people make better choices for themselves, their families, and the planet. “With not a whole lot—a goat, chickens, and a garden—food is really good, and it tastes better.”

For more information, log on to Facebook and search “Ojai Urban Farming.” See the full story with photos here.

Savoring Sunday Morning

As published in Ojai Quarterly, Summer 2012

Photo by Bill Snider

Sundays are for sleeping in, only to have a dog’s wet nose wake you too early, shuffling in slippers for hours, scoffing at morning political pundits on the tube, percolating coffee, browsing the funnies and indulging in a hot breakfast. Breakfast. It just might be my favorite meal of the day. For me, no other meal conjures more feelings and smells quite like breakfast.

            If I’m lucky, my husband, Bill, will whip up a frittata - an oven-baked Italian omelet - and stuff it full of roasted red bell peppers and broccoli to ease the guilt of eggs and cheese. While the frittata cooks, we talk about the week ahead, forgetting the week left behind, and linger over fresh berries, caramelized potatoes and the snoring dog at our feet.

            If we wake to an empty fridge, there are plenty of eateries in the valley from which to savor a top-notch breakfast, from the usual suspects with traditional sit-down fare like Bonnie Lu’s, Café Emporium and Eggs ‘n’ Potatoes, to the not-so-usual hidden gems. It’s these off-the-radar lesser-knowns that make visiting and living in Ojai so special.

Plaza Pantry

221 E. Matilija Street, Suite G

646-6325

From a small shop tucked behind the downtown arcade, proprietor Beryl Tognazzini has been bringing the U.K. to Ojai for 30 years with shelves stocked full of hard-to-find confections and souvenirs flown across the pond. Her traditional English breakfast comes with eggs to order, sausage or ham, grilled tomatoes and, if you’re game, a side of baked beans. A buttered crumpet with lemon curd rounds out the meal, along with proper tea service that includes your own pot of tea nestled in a knitted kettle cozy served on a tray with a fine English china cup. Other specialties include homemade scones, Cornish pasties, sausage rolls and banger butties (sausage with bread and butter). Order at the counter and enjoy your breakfast at one of about a half-dozen indoor tables adorned with mini Union Jacks. Flip through a British gossip magazine or admire a Princess Kate commemorative mug set while you sip your tea with your pinky in the air. You’ll feel like you’re dining in an English grandmother’s kitchen.

Knead Baking Company

469 E. Ojai Avenue

310-770-3282

This family-run artisan bakery specializes in breads, pastries and beautiful custom-made cakes, but breakfast is starting to take center stage. The menu is simple, but manages to satisfy. A basic egg sandwich turns gourmet with the addition of Vermont white cheddar, La Quercia prosciutto, and lightly-dressed spinach or wild arugula. Served on a fresh-baked sourdough bagel, Italian country roll, brioche or whole-grain English muffin, this is a breakfast you can take anywhere, or simply enjoy in the bakery’s charming outdoor courtyard. Sleep in late if you want, because in addition to the breakfast sandwiches, a daily quiche selection, warm-from-the-oven muffins, cheddar-dill and apricot scones, homemade granola and mini coffee cakes are served all day (or until they run out). Spilling out of the display case and onto the surrounding counter tops, a selection of cookies, cupcakes, tarts and other tempting sweets make leaving here empty-handed nearly impossible.

The Farmer and the Cook

339 El Roblar Drive

640-9608

            Within walking distance of my house – just down the hill and a few more blocks away – is a local hippie market and café. Bill and I like to walk the dog there by way of the Ojai Land Conservancy’s Meadow to get our four-legged friend good and tired before sitting down to a big organic breakfast on their pet-friendly patio. Owned by a farmer and his wife – you guessed it, the cook – this small grocery store sells the daily produce haul from their local organic farm, and also boasts a full-service kitchen that churns out meals inspired by their harvests. The breakfast menu offers organic Mexican specialties, including my favorite breakfast in the entire valley, the huevos rancheros. Theirs features hand-rolled corn tortillas (spelt is substituted when corn is out of season), scrambled eggs, sliced avocado, beans and cheese all smothered in a not-too-spicy guajillo chili sauce, and served with a side of pico de gallo. Everything is homemade and organic. We like to find our way to one of the dusty rickety outdoor tables (this place is anything but fancy) so the dog can have a snooze, and we can eavesdrop on nearby conversations about Mercury going retrograde. The bakery case is not to be missed; here you will find vegan, raw and gluten-free baked goods that are as decadent as the real thing. And don’t forget a mug of their signature chai, made in-house with organic black tea, their own spice blend and soy milk.

            So if the dog wakes you too early and you find the egg carton empty, change out of your slippers and don your flip flops; a non-traditional Ojai breakfast awaits.

James Bond Was Wrong: A martini manifesto

As published in Ojai Quarterly magazine, Spring 2012.

Photo by Bill Snider

On Sunday evenings, I sit at the kitchen counter while my husband, Bill, whips up an amazing meal (yes, I write about food, but the only thing I can make well is reservations). To keep me out of his way while he cooks, he sets about to prepare my favorite cocktail: a Hendrick’s gin martini served straight up. He knows how to make it better than I do, yet I cannot resist the urge to micro-manage every step of the process.

“Not too much vermouth,” I say as he pours a splash into the glass he’s already chilled.

He turns to me with a poker face and says, “I thought you liked a whole lot of vermouth,” then he promptly empties out all the vermouth, tipping the glass over the sink and shaking it for extra effect to show that he has removed every last drop, leaving the glass with barely a lick.

“Don’t shake it,” I say as he pours the gin into a cocktail shaker full of giant ice cubes. He slowly waves the shaker in front of me while rolling his eyes, the ice quietly clinking the sides of the metal shaker.

“Olive or cucumber?” He knows this is where I get finicky. Hendrick’s is heavy on juniper and coriander as is typical of a fine gin, but it is infused with rose petals and cucumber, which lend a unique floral and crisp herbaceous essence. Some like their martini with a lemon twist, an olive or a cucumber wheel, but on this particular Sunday, I wanted to try it with a local concoction: Katie’s Famous Pickled Romano Beans. The beans are marinated with rosemary and lemon peels and are great in salads, but even better floating in my martini glass.

Fortunately, Bill's not the only mixologist in town who crafts a superb martini. Here are some other local options:

The Village Jester

139 East Ojai Avenue

One place I can count on for the perfect classic martini is the Village Jester, a traditional British pub in downtown Ojai where proprietor Nigel Chisholm knows a thing or two about pouring a proper pint, but he is an absolute savant when it comes to the proper cocktail. Nigel is English, but he does not see eye to eye with his fictional countryman James Bond, who always orders a vodka martini and suavely insists that it be "shaken, not stirred." Nigel agrees that a classic martini is made with gin – not vodka – and should be stirred – not shaken – otherwise you “bruise” it, which means you stun the liquor by aerating it, causing it to lose the subtle flavor nuances of the gin (and anyone asking for a colder martini is just asking for a weak cocktail watered down with ice water). The other reason I like to belly up to the Jester’s bar is to enjoy the ideal accompaniment to a classic martini: the Jester’s Kitchen Sink Burger. Not for the faint of heart, this third-pound Angus beef burger is piled high with bacon, ham, avocado, cheese, lettuce, onion, tomato and – get this – a fried egg. A handful of onion rings and a pile of French or sweet potato fries will make you swear you will work it off tomorrow (I have been known to substitute a salad for the fries to ease my guilt).

Barrel 33

308  East Ojai Avenue

A cozy downtown wine bar might seem like an unlikely place to come across a classic martini, but once you meet Andrea the bartender, you’ll soon find you’re in exactly the right spot. Andrea knows her gins and vodkas, and shares the most daring twist on the classic martini I’ve seen anywhere. She takes Ketel One vodka (because, she says, it blends extremely well with other liquors), adds a drop or two of Lagavulin – a very peaty and smoky Islay single malt Scotch –  gently shakes the two together with ice and strains it into a martini glass with a briny green olive stuffed with bleu cheese. Barrel 33 has a small menu of salads, thin crust pizzas and appetizers, but my favorite to complement this particular martini is the Mediterranean platter, which has hummus, dolmas, herbed feta, baba ghanoush, green and black cured olives, roasted garlic, roasted red pepper strips, and lots of toasted whole grain pita triangles.

Bodee’s Restaurant

3304 Maricopa Highway

Just outside of town and up Highway 33 is a historical gem that dates back to 1947. Outside, a massive wood-burning fireplace warms guests on cool nights, and an impressive oak-covered patio waterscape makes for pleasant al fresco dining in warmer months. Inside, dark wood paneling, comfortable booths and another fireplace create a cozy place to enjoy a cocktail. Our server, Coco, turns on her charm and reveals that some of the organic produce grown on Bodee’s nearby ranch finds its way into the cocktail menu, putting a pleasant spin on the classics. The standouts are a strawberry-jalapeño-lime martini made with cucumber vodka, and a cucumber-basil-black pepper martini made with Hendrick’s gin. Bodee’s has a tempting gourmet dinner menu featuring lobster macaroni and cheese, tuna tartare and a duck confit quesadilla, but they are best known for their steaks, and their flame-grilled New York strip pairs beautifully with either of these martinis.

So while James Bond is choking back a bruised, watered-down sorry excuse for a martini, I’ll enjoy mine stirred, not shaken, thank you, with a pickled green bean (thank you, Katie) and a dash of fresh-cracked black pepper (thank you, Coco). How will you have yours?

To learn more about Katie’s pickled treats and jams, visit www.facebook.com/katiesfamousjams