Let me start by saying it doesn't matter how old you are, it always feels decadent to be going out on a school/work night. You feel slightly rebellious and a little sassy. I guess I just never realized how "routine' I am when it comes to work nights-gym, shower, glass of wine, cook and blog. That is pretty much what my life looks like Monday-Thursday. So on Wednesday night when I got off work early to head to Santa Barbara to see Alton Brown and "play" with one of my good friends, her Dad and her brother, I felt pretty out of control...in a good way.

Now if you haven't been to the Four Seasons Biltmore in Montecito, you need to go! It truly feels like you stepped into a different country. The grounds are incredibly lush with vegetation, both their bar and restaurant have patios that look out over the ocean and it seriously feels like instant-vacation. And this is where our adventure started.


It was slightly chilly, but we were bound and determined to sit outside. And the staff was incredible, surrounding us with heat lamps, so it truly felt like a tropical oasis. Sure at one point I did think they were going to set an umbrella on fire with a heat lamp, but alas there was no emergency, and all was right with the world.

So we sat on the patio, sipping an incredible Sanford Pinot Noir and snacking on lemon olives and roasted mushrooms. I was pretty much in heaven-good friends, wine and mushrooms. It doesn't get much better than that!


The Pinot Noir was very smooth and not too earthy. It was fruit forward, but with a slightly dry finish. It was incredible with the lemon olives!


The next stop was to head to Downtown Santa Barbara for some soul food and Alton Brown. We went to a restaurant next to the Grenada Theater, Tupelo Junction Cafe. It definitely specializes in Southern style food, however I would almost describe it as Southern Fusion because it has a California modernist twist to it. For example, I had my first fried green tomato experience, which I loved by the way, but it was served in a stack with a goat cheese and arugula. I loved the tangy flavors of the goat cheese and the slight acidity of the tomatoes and I loved how the tomatoes were fried, but they were still crispy and the batter was not greasy at all. Heaven!


Tupelo Junction is also known for using a lot of very fresh and local ingredients, which was evident in the blue cheese pear salad, we also tried. They used white pears that resembled nectarines, but had a very sweet and distinct pear flavor.


We also shared the shrimp and scallop grits and even though I wasn't that hungry I had to try a bite and it was perfect! The smoky flavor of the shrimp and scallops and the creamy cheesy grits were impeccable!


And as if an incredible happy hour and dinner wasn't enough, we were off to the main event with 11 minutes to spare. I have to admit until Wednesday night I wasn't a huge Alton Brown fan. He was just ok, a little brainy and a little irritating to me. However, I have such a new appreciation and admiration for him, after seeing his show.


I didn't really know what to expect, he is a Chef, doing a show? I had seen Anthony Bourdain earlier in the year and he does a kind of comedy/lecture style show with a question and answer, which I loved, but with Alton I just wasn't sure. His show was incredible! It was a combination of comedy, science, music and theater. Alton Brown is a very talented musician, playing not only the guitar, but also the saxophone and singing. I was impressed! He was funny and down to Earth. He does a Top 10, kind of like David Letterman, but with food which was hysterical. And he covered such true and important things to know, such as never put trout in ice cream, bad idea, that is just disgusting. And most importantly the most amazing Chef is always your wife!!! He also uses science and innovation to make pizza and ice cream, I truly can't even try to describe these events because I will sound like a crazy person, so he is on tour, just go see him!

Yes, I know I look like a stalker! I was pretty excited to find Alton's tour bus!

I was sad to the see the show and the night come to an end. It was absolutely perfect and I have to say, if I can have more nights like this, I am definitely going out on a school night again. Happy Friday!