Santa Barbara Bites

and by 'bites' I mean place to eat...

A few weekends ago the boyfriend and I met up in Santa Barbara for a weekend getaway.  Living a few hours apart from each other now definitely makes weekends like this one very special.  Santa Barbara is basically the midway point, so we figured it would be perfect.
 

We couldn't have asked for better weather

Our theme for this weekend seemed to be eating and I would say that we pretty much ate our way through downtown Santa Barbara.

After picking up the bf from the train station we went to eat. obvs. I had looked up a couple places to eat prior to the trip and one of them, Sambo's,  just happened to be a block away from the station.  The location is right across from the beach and we were lucky enough to get patio seating.  Unfortunately, I was too tired and hungry to take pictures of our food, but the low price and great view were a win-win.  I ordered the Two-Eggs (any style) with sides of fruit and toast ($5.95).  The bf got his usual, Two Biscuits and Gravy (side order, $4.25).  We also ordered coffee, needless to say.  Check out their website for their full menu, the whole thing looked pretty good. 

Sambo's

216 West Cabrillo Blvd.

Santa Barbara, CA

We did the typical touristy thing during the day and checked out a Farmer's Market, walked along State St., and then checked into our hotel.  We weren't super hungry for lunch but decided to find a place to get sandwiches.  A few blocks down from our hotel was a place called Cantwell's Market.  They had a deli which had specialty sandwiches and make-your-own sandwiches.  We both chose to make our own.  To be honest I don't remember what kind the bf got (something with meat), but I do remember there were too many jalapenos.  I got an avocado sandwich with p-jack cheese, the only reason I mention this is because the avocado didn't cost extra and was the same price as any meat sandwich (it's usually extra and as a non-meat eater I am like 'wtf, I don't have any meat on this sando, just gimme some avocado, dammit')    I also noticed that they served breakfast at the deli all day long, which is always a plus.  In conclusion: decent sandwiches, cute market.

Cantwell's

1533 State St.

Santa Babara, CA

P.S. The sandwiches were more filling than expected so we ended up going to a late dinner.  We wanted to choose something within walking distance from the hotel because a) it was nice out and b) we wanted a drink or two at dinner.  Yelp came to the rescue and we found Jane.  This restaurant was by far, the best choice we made all weekend.  The food was absolutely delicious!  We started with the Mixed Greens, Fried Brie, Apple Fritters with Pecans and Maple Dressing ($9).  Honestly, it was one of the tastiest things I've ever eaten. No lie.

Mixed Greens, Fried Brie, Apple Fritters with Pecans and Maple Dressing

 

For my entree I ordered the Seafood Penne Pasta ($17) which had shrimp, clams, and scallops.  I ate until I could eat no more and I still feel like I didn't make a dent.  It was the perfect seafood pasta.  The bf ordered Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Fried Brie, Sauteed Mushroom and Onions, Herbed Mayo on Ciabatta ($13) and came with garlic fries.  He enjoyed it his meal, and was excited about leftovers the next day.   We also shared a bottle of wine, Franciscan, Cabernet Sauvigon which was quite tasty. Let's be real, I'm a fan of wine in general, but this wine was better than what I usually drink. Their wine selection was extensive and the literally have bottles lining one of the walls.  The ambiance was perfect for a date night, dimly lit, cozy restaurant and we were seated right next to the window, perfect for some people-watching.  Sorry for the low quality pics, they were taken with a camera phone.

  

my Seafood Penne Pasta

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

Jane

1311 State St.

Santa Barbara, CA

 

If it's possible to still be full the morning after, we were.  The bf ate his left over sandwich and then we headed out for Day 2 adventures.  No trip of mine would be complete without a trip to a cupcakery; I had decided well in advance that we needed to make a pit stop at Crushcakes for my cupcake fix, because yes, I consider a cupcake I legitimate breakfast food.  I ordered their seasonal cupcake which was pumpkin with maple frosting, hold the bacon. That's right, you can get a piece of chocolate covered bacon on top. That, however, was not for me.  The cupcake itself was light, fluffy, and delicious.  Not the best cupcake I've had, but not bad at all...I really want to try their peanut buttercup cupcake and their crushcake. I guess there is always next time. 

My idea of a perfect morning

Crushcakes Cupcakery

1315 Anacapa St.

Santa Barbara, CA

After checking out the local art and craft fair and doing more walking around we chose to eat at Sandbar because the football games were on tv there and we saw they had delicious looking margaritas.  The atmosphere was great and there were even some cuervo tequila promoters there so we got a free taste and I got a free shirt.  Not too shabby.  I ordered the Tacos Dorados (8.25) aka mahi fish tacos and the bf got a Two Enchilada combo ($8.49).  The food was tasty but definitely just your typical mexican restaurant.   I'd come back for the margaritas in a heartbeat though.  I got the Perfect Margarita ($15.50-large) which doesn't have sweet & sour but instead uses lime juice and agave nectar.  The bf got the Cadillac Margarita ($16-large) which was more of a traditional margarita.  I highly recommend either of them.

Great end to the perfect weekend

Sandbar

Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar

514 State St.

Santa Barbara, CA

 

Oye, I apologize for the length of this post, but as I said earlier we literally ate our way through Santa Barbara and it was well worth it!