As published in the Ojai Quarterly magazine, Fall 2012
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| 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.
