We still had some time to kill after having lunch at Bar le Cote. We decided a nice walk would be in order. Since we'd be staying in Buellton, I looked for a place to take a nice stroll and came across the Santa Ynez Valley Botanic Garden. So, after doing some additional shopping in Los Olivos we headed on over.
We parked at River View Park which is attached to the garden.
As we walked past one of the buildings, we saw some signs which gave us a bit of a pause.
Hmmmm…..Mountain Lions AND Rattlesnakes? Okay……
Still, it was such a nice spot, we sauntered onward.
There were some nice little trails; signage for various plants, and some really charming art.
It was a nice place to spend an hour or two.
Santa Ynez Valley Botanic Garden
151 Sycamore Dr.
Buellton, CA 93427
We then headed to our hotel right down the road to check in. We were staying at a hotel that was known from a certain movie. At that time it was a Days Inn, but it has been rebranded and has taken on the name of that movie. It is now the Sideways Inn. If you'd like to see more locations from the movie, this is a good resource.
We took a short rest after checking in. Then headed out to our dinner destination. One of the reasons we decided to stay in Buellton was to check out Industrial Eats. Our good friend Candice, knowing how much we loved the now closed Tiger! Tiger!, mentioned that we should try Industrial Eats. She told me that while it's not T!T! it did give off the same type of vibe. By staying at our hotel, we were just a short walk down Highway 246 from the restaurant.
Industrial Eats is located in what seems to have been a warehouse or auto repair shop in a previous life. The wide open and airy space is quite welcoming.
Industrial Eats does it's own charcuterie and from what I understand works with local purveyors to create a farm to table experience. Much like how things went at Tiger! Tiger! you order at the counter. Things are written out on Butcher Paper, there's Pizza, Not Pizza, and Sandwiches.
And also specials on clipboards in front of the counter.
We ordered, got our number thingy, and had a seat. Soon enough, dishes started arriving. Based on the prices, we were a bit surprised as the dishes were larger than we expected.
First to arrive was the Watermelon, Heirloom Tomato, and Mozzarella ($16).
This was so refreshing. The mild sweet-bitterness of the watermelon, with the sour-sweet-acidity of the tomatoes really balanced things out. The basil added the anise tones, the balsamic a touch of fruity-sourness, and the Mozzarella, which was creamy-milky-sour! This was so good.
Next up was the Smoked Duck with Citrus ($16).
The toothsome duck had a mild smokiness, with a touch of an almost offal like flavor. The greens were crisp and fresh, the citrus added a nice acidity.
The White Shrimp and Garlic ($16) was quite good.
While the shrimp was a tad overcooked, it was still nice and sweet. The slices of garlic added some pungency, the broth was richer than it looked.
We really enjoyed the Spinach, Bacon, Blue Cheese ($14) which came crowned with a tasty sunny side up egg.
Loved the earthy, but not overly funky blue cheese and that delicious egg; the yolk was so tasty. The vinaigrette was perfect with the spinach and the cheese, and the bacon added a bit of salty-savory bites.
As you can tell, we really enjoyed this meal. It was quite a bit of food for two, but this was such a satisfying meal. It was the ingredients that were highlighted and we really did get Tiger! Tiger! vibes eating here.
Thanks for the recommendation Candice! We can't wait to return!
Industrial Eats
181 Industrial Way
Buellton, CA 93427
It was getting dark as we walked back to the Sideways Inn. As the Missus and I headed to our room, we glanced over to the Hotel's Bar.
There's also a food truck, but we'd already eaten. The bar looked interesting so we decided to get a nightcap.
The bar area had what looked like locals watching sports. I got a lager, which was fine.
Service was friendly, the beer nicely chilled, it was a nice end to a fun day.
Sideways Lounge
114 East Hwy 246 #9724
Buellton, CA 93427
And I proceeded with my "standard process" of mixing the dish to my satisfaction. I quickly noticed that there wasn't any "sauce" at the bottom of the bowl, it was merely a touch of sate sauce squirted over the egg noodles. This was not nearly enough to coat all the noodles and would not provide enough of that savory-nutty-pungent flavors for the dish. I ended having to add a rather large amount of the broth on the side to the bowl creating more of a soup, which kind of defeats the purpose of things. Also, the broth was quite MSG heavy, but at least wasn't bland. It was good in a soup spoon with a slice of meat and onion in it. The noodles were also undercooked and hard as well.
The was a definite difference in the soup, it was way lighter and thinner than what I'd had here in the past, really lacking in savory tones; more like white pepper-salt water. There were 2 won ton and 3 dumplings….yes, I counted. The wrappers were very soft and tender; really enrobing the fillings. In fact, doesn't the won ton look like brain matter?
The fillings, while being more chewy than I recalled, as nicely flavored, porky, hints of seafood, sesame oil, and so forth. The char siu was hard and very tough and weak in the sweet-porkiness I enjoy.
The pieces of karaage were large, the batter slightly crunchy, the chicken was on the tougher chewier side. It was also fairly bland in terms of seasoning. Not my favorite version of this.
The broth was interesting, a lot lighter than I would expect for Hokkaido style ramen. It did have a good amount of saltiness and based on what I'd read, there's supposed to be a savory-seafood based component to it, like how Santouka is in Japan. I was looking forward to that, but I really couldn't make that out. As a whole, the broth lacked complexity.
The noodles were nice and springy, of the slightly thicker variety, much like what we'd had at 
Man, check out that chashu. It looked different from the version I'd had on my previous visit. It was still the same overly lean cut, but was also super salty. In fact, I wasn't able to finish it!
The one bright spot were the perfectly textured, springy noodles, that did a great job picking up the broth. Now it would have been great if it wasn't so salty….and I like salty foods!
Opening the sandwich up, the first thing I noticed was how much shredded lettuce there was. So much iceberg that it could have sunk the Titanic. Also, I remember Grab & Go as having some of the messiest, sloppiest sandwiches and this definitely lived up to that rep. One of the reasons I enjoy this sandwich is that it’s toasted, the bread was yeasty-crackley-crusty goodness. Also appreciated that the Provolone was melted. The jalapenos added some heat though not a huge amount. The oil and vinegar dressing is perfect for this sandwich; mayo would be overkill in my opinion.
The bun is thin with a slight pleasing crispness to it. The filling was scalding porky heaven, with nice hints of black pepper, mild sweetness, and savory tones. This was delici-yoso!!!
So, how did this match up? Well, the wrapper was not as tender and more brittle than what we'd had at DTF. The "soup", the aspic based liquid was porky and flavorful. The filling was tender, though not quite as flavorful as DTF in our opinion. Though, it could be that having been to several locations of DTF around the world we've been indoctrinated?
This former bank building seems to always be busy, with many people using the drive-through. But, I'm still following my 1998 New Year Resolution and continue to not use any drive-through lanes and instead stick to parking and walking into the building.
Some menu prices have increased.
There's always something interesting to find in the decor, especially while waiting for a 'to-go' order.
The "2×2" ($6.10) is an excellent imitation of a Double Double from In-n-Out, served on a toasted bun and is satisfying..
The Combo Plate ($6.80), listed under "Sides", has a 
One day, I decided to try a Greek Chicken Wrap ($8.95). It was great! A greek salad with plenty of grilled chicken breast in a tortilla. All the flavors and freshness without a fork. 
Another day, I ordered a Turkey Wrap ($8.40). Not as interesting as the Greek salad, but still very fresh and satisfying.
The Avocado Salad ($9.85). The Thousand Island dressing is made in-house and is really nice. There is a whole avocado on this very large salad, along with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, cheese and hard boiled egg. This is a bad photo because of a 
Here is the chicken strips salad ($10.60). Almost too much chicken to salad ratio. Another great meal.
Two days ago, the front gate was almost ready to welcome thousands of people daily, beginning tomorrow (June 12) until July 7 (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays).
The Exhibit Hall (to the right when you walk in the main gate) is decorated with "Pac Man" logos and is filled with information of the theme- displays of items from the past, video games, music and more.
Last week, there was no Ferris Wheel at the end of the Midway and one specific booth was not yet set up.
But that is all taken care of now.
Similarly, the path toward the Infield, with rides for children, garden and farming education displays has also been made ready for visitors.
This booth looks interesting; I think the French Toast/ice cream combination sounds yummy.
Then again, I noticed this on one of Chicken Charlie's booths…
Many of the rides and booths were not not yet set up because they had all been at the Los Angeles County Fair which had its run in May. That Fair closed on Memorial Day and everyone had to pack up and move to the Del Mar Fairgrounds and set up while waiting for inspections. 
Home Made has been judging crafts and setting them up for display.
The quilts this year are beautiful. 
The collections are, once again, eclectic.
There were many entries in the Preserved Foods Division.
The Baked Goods Division had more entries than last year.
Of course, the Theme of the Fair is encouraged for all crafts, collections, and even food entrants!
It was a very large portion! Though you can see how thick the kitchen is slicing the tendon and pork ear now. Eating some of the pieces of tendon was like trying to bite into your flip-flops! The pig ear was crunchy and manageable. The smacked cucumbers were better than what I'd had here previously, with a decent amount of salt. The chili oil based sauce wasn't quite as spicy as I recalled and it had a hint of sweetness and more soy sauce, which wasn't a bad thing.
Soon enough my plate arrived. I loved the colors on my plate. The rice was fluffy and fragrant, the adana kebab, while not as full of various spices as the version during Sultan's heydays was surprisingly moist, tender, and very beefy.
Other than that, this was a nice meal. A nice reacquaintance to an old favorite, a place like I mentioned so many times inspired us to 