Whew, ever sine we got back from Ojai, the Missus has been wanting the amazing produce we got from the Ojai Certified Farmers Market. In addition, there was a place I'd been eyeing out to try in Santa Barbara county. So, we planned a overnight road trip to hit up some favorites, old and new, then grab dinner, and as it would turn out lunch from what is a new favorite of ours.
We first drove up to Ventura County and stopped at a place I've posted on twice before; Ragamuffin Coffee.
I needed a caffeine boost for all the driving and the Missus wanted some natural process beans.
Just what I needed.
Ragamuffin Coffee Roasters
550 Collection Blvd. (In the Annex Food Hall)
Oxnard, CA 93036
Next up a quick drive up to Ojai to the Farmer's Market.
We got three baskets of tomatoes from this stand…..last time we chowed it all down before we left town!
More broccolini.
And some eggs…..which are so good.
The Missus eyed some nectarines from this stand.
And ended up buying a half dozen….
And She's already has me planning our next trip up!
Ojai Certified Farmers Market
300 E Matilija St.
Ojai, CA 93023
I then made the 90 minutes drive to Los Olivos. We'd be having dinner and spending the evening in Los Alamos (California, not NM) and our room wouldn't be ready for a while; so I thought a stop in Los Olivos would be nice.
We stopped in at our favorite Olive Oil stop during our last visit here Olive Hill Farm.
We did a light tasting and the wonderful, no-nonsense young lady working was amazing with spot on flavor profiles.
We ended up getting a bottle of the Lucca.
Olive Hill Farm
2901 Grand Ave
Los Olivos, CA 93441
I'm thinking that we have a pretty large collection of Olive Oil right now…maybe I should do a tasting post. What do you think?
It was around time for lunch, so we took a look at a couple of places. Unfortunately, even thought the Fess Parking Inn is still there.
The restaurant we enjoyed in the Inn, the Bear and Star has been replaced.
So, we took a look across the street and decided to have lunch at the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe.
Along with the outdoor dining, there was a wind shop, bar, and restaurant.
The Missus had seen a salad being brought to one of the tables when we walked pass, which is how we decided on this place.
It was the Grilled Romaine Wedge.
I will often grill romaine or cabbage these days which the Missus enjoys, so this was a no-brainer for Her. She enjoyed the bacon and gorgonzola, and the salad wasn't over-dressed.
I looked over the daily specials menu. It was pretty hot, so I decided to order a bowl of the Japanese Cucumber Gazpacho.
While I would have preferred this a bit smoother with more of the vegetal "chorophyllic" cucumber flavors, it was quite refreshing with a clean finish.
I also ordered the Zucchini Sticks.
While some of the pieces of zucchini were under cooked and too hard for my taste, there were a couple that were nice and creamy. These were nicely seasoned and not overly salty.
This was a decent lunch, though nothing special; the staff was quite busy, but were professional and doing their best.
Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe
2879 Grand Ave.
Los Olivos, CA 93441
As we strolled on over to our car, the Missus and I remarked about how much we enjoyed the vibe of Los Olivos. We just wished there were better accommodations (like under $400/night) and perhaps a nice destination restaurant.
It was a nice visit though….and it had been almost five years since we were last here!
We got back to the car and headed off…..Los Alamos beckoned.
Must be a awesome farmer market if you drive that far to shop.
The Ojai farmers market alot better than the San Diego ones?
I think that an olive oil tasting is a great idea. There is so much diversity in the oils and I don’t think that many people really understand how different they can taste.
It’s kind of like the first time I did a tasting of sake in Japan with about 8-10 different types. My mind was blown!!
It’s our current favorite ST!
We think so Soo. It’s based on the local produce. The tomatoes are amazing. I think I’ll need to try a bunch of vendors here in SD and compare. Well worth a visit if you’re in the area on market day.
OK Dereck, let me try to do that! Thanks for commenting!