The Review: Blue Plate Oysterette
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For more than 25 years, Wine Cask has been a fixture on the Santa Barbara -- and Central Coast -- wine scene. Founded in 1981...
For more than 25 years, Wine Cask has been a fixture on the Santa Barbara -- and Central Coast -- wine scene. Founded in 1981 by Doug Margerum and family, the restaurant and a wine shop in recent years has been more notable for its fat, comprehensive wine list than its food. Chefs came and went, but whoever was at the stoves, the menu rolled on, seemingly oblivious to any change: old-style California cuisine with fancy flourishes and the occasional Latin touch.
Last year, Margerum, who now makes wine under his own label, put Wine Cask up for sale. The buyer? Bernard Rosenson, who also owns the Sky Room in Long Beach. (Wine Cask in Los Olivos was not part of the deal. That property reverted back to Fess Parker Wine Country Inn, which renamed it Restaurant Marcella.)
Shortly after his purchase, Rosenson cut down the shaggy eucalyptus tree that had anchored the Wine Cask's courtyard patio for decades -- a move that hasn't endeared him to locals. For the new owner, the tree had a certain nuisance factor, shedding leaves and droppings on the patio, so off it went to that log pile in the sky.
After sprucing up the place a bit, which included replanting the courtyard to more closely resemble what it looked like in a 1920s photo, Rosenson hired a new chef. He's John Pettit, former chef de cuisine at Melisse, and before that chef of Michael's, both in Santa Monica.
Pettit's new menu reflects what's going on now in Southern California cuisine and introduces cutting-edge techniques and influences to the long-running wine country restaurant -- with mixed results...Service is some of the best in Santa Barbara, considerate and friendly. Servers are quite familiar with the menu, and when it comes to wine service, they know how to pour a glass and decant a bottle. Sommelier-wine director Thomas Keim is a relaxed presence, talking about wine without a hint of pomposity, a trick that's not all that easy.
The wine list offers a heady lineup from the Central Coast, including sought-after cult labels, newcomers and well-regarded pioneers of winemaking in the area. But if you want to taste a Santa Rita Pinot against a Burgundy or a Pinot from Napa Valley, you can do that too. There's also a fine wine-by-the-glass program.
Under chef Pettit, the food is more ambitious than that of previous chefs. The menu seems somewhat smaller too, which is a good thing. On the left is the daily tasting menu; on the right, a la carte choices. You can also order any of the dishes from the tasting menu on their own.
S. Irene Virbila, Times Restaurant Crtic, 9/24/2008
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Was not dressed to code to have wines at Wine Cask so the bartender suggested Intermezzo. Sat at the bar and ordered a great glass of Pinot Noir from Napa...
A friend and I came here for dessert after dinner at Arigato (we read the desserts there were terrible, and decided to try our luck elsewhere). We didn't...
With this predicted modern generic clean Californian restaurant inside of absolutely no character, I think they can very well fit in in Orange County,...
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