Where To Travel: The Urban Wine Trail @ Santa Barbara

The Destination: 15 tasting rooms in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara, mostly all within walking distance of one another

The Vibes: Adventurous, informative, educational, fun

Good for: Trying wine from local wineries, at your own pace

When-To-Go: Year-round

The $ Factor: $$; It’s $10-$20 to sample 5-8 tastings at each tasting room

I’ll Be Back…: Because I haven’t been to every tasting room yet!

The 4-1-1: In case you don’t want to worry about finding a designated driver and/or dealing with hassling for taxis, there are several train options that leave from the downtown L.A. Union Station and drop you off two blocks from where the Urban Wine Trail starts in Santa Barbara. 

A recent day trip to Santa Barbara reminded me how much I adore this coastal city. With its sleepy small town feel and picturesque tree-lined streets, although it’s only a couple of hours north of L.A., it's such a welcomed contrast to the hustle and bustle of our mega-metropolis. Santa Barbara simply oozes with character and charm, from the juxtaposition of the expansive Pacific coastline and the rugged Santa Ynez Mountains, to the scores of renowned restaurants and tasteful shopping boutiques.

It also has another fascinating feature: the Urban Wine Trail!

Concentrated in the downtown area only a couple of blocks from the coast and from the main drag State Street, approximately 15 wine tasting rooms scattered along the "trail" offer tastings, wine accessories and a wide variety of special events. Each tasting room has an incredible selection of wines, whether you’re looking for whites, roses, reds or something else (and since wine can be so subjective, I’ll decline to say which wine I liked the best and instead encourage you to try as many as possible, and let me know what you think!).

Each tasting room also truly has its own distinct feel. There are some, like Corks and Crowns, that have over-sized, comfy chairs to plop into, right next to roaring fireplaces. Others, like Kunin, have a sleek, modern feel, and then there are still more like Oreana, which features live music on its patio on weekends. No matter the style – traditional or modern, relaxed or lively, colorful or monotone– you will most likely find one place that you enjoy.

All of the tasting rooms I visited also had superior customer service, with staff who are knowledgeable, professional and courteous, without being too overbearing.

I also appreciate that you can tailor your experience on the Urban Wine Trail to your preference. Spend the morning at one tasting room, grab lunch and check out another one in the afternoon. Or, spend your entire day trying to cram in as may stops as you can. Or, spend an entire day at only one. The decision is totally up to you, and there are no restrictions on how you choose to do it.

In closing, here are a few of the tasting rooms I that I’ve gone to and enjoyed a lot:

Kalyra – Located on State St., this tasting room has a very relaxed, earthy atmosphere, with tiki masks hanging from its walls and other tropical accents. I like Kalyra because it has a more social and lively ambiance than some of the other tasting rooms. It also sells a lot of one-of-a-kind wine knick-knacks that I haven’t seen anywhere else.

Corks and Crowns gets a nod for offering more than wine tastings; it also has beer tastings and Sunday champagne and cupcake tastings. The sweets are miniature cupcakes from Sugar Cat Studio, the 2011 Cupcake Wars winner. Flavors vary weekly, but the staff informed me that they are always unique and creative. On my last trip, I tried the Salted Caramel with Buttercream and the Chocolate Chip Cheesecake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting (below, the third and fourth photos, respectively). 

 

 

 

Santa Barbara Winery has the classic wine tasting room feel, with an expansive wine bar in the middle of the room, and a barrel room in the back. It also has so many good wine gifts.

So the next time you’re looking for a quick getaway from L.A. and also up for some wine tasting, I highly recommend traveling to Santa Barbara to experience its phenomenal Urban Wine Trail.

See you there soon!

For More Information:
Urban Wine Trail, Facebook, Twitter

Where To Eat: Spooning After Dark @ The Serving Spoon

The Eats: Late night/early morning soul food

The Location: Inglewood

The Vibes: Lively – it’s like the party continues from the club into this restaurant

Good for: Those times when after functioning all night long, you need some quality food that will hit the spot

When-To-Go: While it’s open normal hours daily, Fridays and Saturdays, special hours are 10 p.m.- 5 a.m.

The $ Factor: $; Entrees average about $10

I’ll Be Back…: For the wings, fried to perfection

Drive by The Serving Spoon on any given Sunday, around 1pm, just after church let out, and you will see everybody and their aunties/cousins/grandmamas/friends/other family members in line, waiting to squeeze into the doors for its spectacular Sunday brunch. True, many may have heard about how good this quaint Inglewood eatery is for brunch, but I'm here to talk about how good it is for those late night, after-the-club cravings!

I’m sure you’ve experienced it before. There's nothing like being forced to evacuate a nightclub at 1:30/2 a.m., and then thinking about nothing more than grabbing food ASAP.

And while Jack in the Box and McDonald's definitely are viable options, they most certainly don't have anything on The Serving Spoon's late night menu!

In the wee hours of the morning, The Serving Spoon still features its widely popular, heart-warming soul food. Both breakfast and lunch options are available, and they taste just as good at 2 a.m. as they would at 2 p.m. The omelets are big and fluffy, and the fried wings – I’ve never had any like them – they’re delicious. And, I can't fail to mention how fantastic the fried catfish is, pictured below.

But it's not just The Serving Spoon's late night access that makes it noteworthy: it's also the very lively rambunctious environment. It seriously feels like you never left the club in the first place. It’s packed with a whole lot of interesting characters to spark conversations with, even at 3:30 a.m.

So the next time you find yourself in dire need of soul food in the wee hours of the morning, I highly recommend The Serving Spoon. It has great food and an even better ambiance. See you there soon!

For more information:

The Serving Spoon, Facebook, @theservingspoon

Where To Be Merry: Karaoke @ The Backstage

The Merriment: Karaoke Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights

The Location: Culver City

The Vibes: A very down-to-earth, dive bar

Good for: A lively place just to hang out, with inexpensive booze and appetizers and great entertainment

When-To-Go: Happy hour 4-7pm daily; Karaoke Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights; Trivia World Sundays; $5 Burgers and Fries Mondays; Taco Tuesdays; and live music on Wednesdays

The $ Factor: $; Drinks are $3-$9 and food during happy hour is $3-$5

The Menu: See drink menu here

I’ll Be Back…: To watch the karaoke performances, which vary from love ballads to hard rock, rap, 80s pop and Top 40 hits

The 4-1-1: Directly across from Sony Studios, this neighborhood bar has been around for more than 75 years

Why it’s on #WilsonsGuide:

The Backstage is one of those bars that’s great to go to no matter what day of the week it is. Many elements add to the wonderfulness of this place – the fact that it’s never a hassle to get in, the strong libations, the satisfying food, the many activities to do (pool, trivia games, karaoke) and last but not least, the dapper crowd – an eclectic, energetic mix of Angelenos who are always down for a good time.

For the karaoke. The karaoke, by far, is the best aspect of Backstage, in my opinion. You never know who’s going to take the stage next, but you know it’s going to be a good performance. We’ve all been to karaoke joints where the performers are either absolutely horrible or they take themselves way too seriously. But here, singers have the right balance of talent and carefree swag. I’ve found myself sometimes laughing, sometimes clapping along, sometimes staring and thinking “what is going on,” and always, always, always extremely amused and entertained.

For the appetizers. At any given dive bar, you’d expect greasy, over-salted food to be the norm, but here, while they still serve standard bar snacks, everything just taste like it’s golden fried to perfection. Some of my favorites include the spicy buffalo wings and beer battered onion rings, and you absolutely have to get a side of garlic fries.

For the cheap cocktails. Backstage’s cocktails are very reasonably priced, especially for how strong they are. I also appreciate the creative names, i.e., the Culver City Slut, Absolutely F**king Fabulous and Day of the Dead. But, of course, most importantly, they’re strong and cheap. Plus, they’re always having specials of the night and some sort of chilled shots.

So the next time you’re in the mood for a little karaoke and a lot of fun, I highly recommend this Culver City hangout destination. See you there soon!

For more information:
The Backstage; Facebook; @BackstageCC