Sly'sBlog

Repeal Day 2016 is here!

The holiday season is upon us, and while I’m sure that everyone is already being inundated with catalogs and circulars and wish lists and Muzak carols in every store, I wanted to remind you of a lesser-known but still very important holiday, at least to the cocktailians here at Sly’s: December 5th, the anniversary of the Repeal of Prohibition.

Being true patriots, we love our freedoms, and the restoration of the freedom to lift a glass with friends and loved ones without fear of jail time (at least, if one quaffs responsibly) bears celebration. To that end, we are pleased to announce that our seventh Repeal Day celebration will be taking place at Sly’s from opening at 11:30 a.m. to closing on Monday, December 5th. As is our tradition, we will be handing out our “speakeasy” menu, which every year features new cocktails conceived by our staff as well as forgotten but fabulous classics that Chris and bar staff created.

This year, the focus is on tired old favorites improved - in a very big way - and made even better. With a nod to Jeffery Morgenthaler, "The Best Amaretto Sour in the world". A frozen strawberry margarita - Papa Hemingway's style, with no less than Harry's Berries extraordinary strawberries. From up north, the Bracing ABV's Gin & Celery. And a Not-Too-Sweet Sex on the Beach. There's more, too.  Chris says that these are "the cocktails you want to drink but have been afraid to order in public."

You can let us know what you think!

In years past, some cocktails that have been on the speakeasy menu have even made it into our general stable of excellent classics because you lovely people kept ordering them and made them exceptionally popular. Two that come to mind are the Whiskey Cocktail and the Corpse Reviver #2 - (Not to mention the Vesper).

A Little Background: Okay, friends, raise your hand if you’ve heard of the Volstead Act. For those of you who have, I expect to hear a round of booing & catcalls. The Volstead Act also known as the “National Prohibition Act”, became the 18th Amendment on October 28, 1919. It was a dark day in libational history, to be sure. So dark that we celebrate Repeal Day each and every December 5th here at Sly’s.

President Woodrow Wilson (bless his bespectacled head), vetoed the bill, to no avail. The temperance movement was too strong, the conservative voices in Congress overrode the veto, and for fourteen years, a citizen would be fined or jailed for the consumption of, manufacture of, or sale of alcohol. The amendment mentions “intoxicating liquors” specifically; it was created so that the populace could not drink.

For fourteen years following the passing of the Volstead Act, beverages containing more than .5% alcohol were forbidden - unless prescribed by a doctor. Bet that made doctors pretty popular! Not just frowned upon, not just strictly regulated...outlawed!

Prohibition brought us one more lovely little slice of American history: organized crime. That’s right, folks, Al Capone and the like were created by running booze illegally, making quite a bit of money. Money that meant that bootleggers had lawmen in their pockets. Speakeasys became glamorous. Rich folks began to host cocktail parties in their homes. Doctors were prescribing whiskey for everything from pain to nervousness. Well-respected, moneyed, otherwise law-abiding citizens were flagrantly breaking the law- lawlessness to a degree our country has not seen since.

Then in 1933 a ray of light. Change in the times. Hope for those who enjoy a good cocktail- or just a beer. The 21st Amendment was drafted, essentially just saying, “That thing we said about not drinking? Ignore it.” It was ratified state by state throughout the year of 1933.

On December 5, 1933, Utah ratified the 21st Amendment, and alcohol was once again legal in the United States.

Please drink responsibly so that you don’t find yourself in a personal Prohibition. For our friends in Santa Barbara and Ventura, we encourage you to take the Amtrak, as we are only two blocks from the station in Carpinteria and there are multiple arrivals and departures on December 5th. Carpooling is encouraged and designated drivers are widely considered to be the sexiest members of any group. So please consider this to be your formal invitation to come lift a glass with us here at Sly’s in celebration of your right to do so. We’ll see you on December 5th!

New Fixed Price Menu at Sly's: Cuisine of the Basque Country

Well! We've finished Avocado Festival weekend and all that the Festival brings. We can get to back to the more quiet life we're used to. The big news this week is that we are now serving one of our favorite fixed price menus at Sly's - both ours and our customer.

Our Basque menu, celebrating the Cuisine of the Basque Country on the south-west coast of France, contains some of our all time favorites dishes, and never fails to remind Annie and I of some of the great times we've spent in St. Jean de Luz, Bayonne, Biarritz, and up in the foothills of the Pyreneesd. 

The Basque people speak their own language, a unique orphan among language families. Their traditional homeland is now divided up between Spain and France. We’re celebrating the cuisine of the French Basque Country. The star of our menu is probably our "mixed" Paella, with homemade chorizo sausage, shrimp, mussels, squid, clams and chicken. Richly seasoned with saffron, it is one of the kings of rice dishes - not to mention one of my wife Annie's favorites!

As usual, Sly's three- course fixed price menu is a reasonable $35. plus tax & tip, or $55. including three glasses of French wine. 

Sly’s Little Paella from the current fixed price menu: our homemade chorizo, chicken, clams, mussels calamari and shrimp in rice cooked in a rich broth with saffron.

 

Happy Birthday Julia!

 

Julia Child, who gave America's cooks the gift of French food

Last week, Monday, August 15th was Julia Child's birthday. We're celebrating a Fixed Price menu at Sly's featuring Julia's wonderful - and wonderfully precise - recipes. Boeuf Bourguignon? Of course that's on the menu, along with Veal Liver "Persillade" and silky Quenelles of Sole "Veloute", with a classic white wine fish cream. And three incredible desserts to choose from - including Crêpes Suzettes, Queen of Sheba Cake, and my own personal favorite, the upside down Apple Tarte Tatin covered in delicious caramel. If instead you want a bit of terrific cheese, we have a Caembert Fermier, specially selected by our friends at C'est Cheese.

 

Charming, intelligent and witty, as well as really tall, Julia was bigger than life, both physically and as a force that elevated our awareness of French food, and frankly, gave us the means to prepare it with her thorough recipes.

 

Consider Sly's Julia Child Fixed Price Menu choices sort of "Julia's greatest hits" - we only hope that we would do her proud with our execution. From the silky Chicken Liver Mousse to the rich "Queen of Sheba" cake, there are three wonderful courses for each course.  And, of course, there's the dish that launched Julia's career as a cook who taught us all so much - the Dover Sole Meunère, simply and perfectly prepared, slowly sautéed in butter, and boned tableside by your server - or by yourself, if you'd like. ($10. supplement for the Dover Sole)

A personal story: About 1990 or so, when I was Chef at the El Encanto Hotel, I sat on the terrace with Julia Child and her husband Paul. My first cook book was Julia's "The French Chef Cookbook", and frankly, I was always in awe in her presence. As usual, there was much talk of food, and at one point, Julia said, in that squeaky voice of hers, "What this town needs is a good dover sole Meunière." 

I always remembered that, and that's exactly why we always have the Dover Sole Meunière on our menu at Sly's 

Sly's Fixed Price Menu is still just $35., or $55. for three courses with selected wines. All of Julia's specialties are available a la carte along with the other items from Sly's extensive menu, of course.

 

Sly's goes Tiki in Celebration of Repeal Day!

Read about the Bizarre Rise and Fall of the Tiki Bar at wired.com

We'll admit it. We didn't know what to think when Arianne proposed a Tiki menu for Repeal Day. 

Tiki? Really? While crimes have been committed in the name of the Tiki drink, I should have had faith in the skilled bar staff at Sly's. Long, hard work researching - and testing (love that testing) - means they have come up with a killer Tiki cocktail menu. As can be expected with a skilled staff like we have at Sly's. Not to mention the wealth of material that's out there. The world of Tiki drinks gave us all a lot to work with. The one-day-only menu features drinks dating from 1840 - the Planter's Punch - to the swinging' 70s. Naturally the Tiki drinks that have a constant place on Sly's Classic Cocktail's menu, the Zombie (1937 , limit two per customer) and the Mai Tai (from 1944) are on the list.

It's been a busy couple of weeks behind the bar, with Arianne brewing up falernum syrup, almond based orgeat, testing swizzles and painkillers and fog cutters, Slings and Scorpions. The little paper umbrellas are unfurled, the palm tree swizzles are stocked, and the bar staff is getting ready to cut pineapple garnishes as we speak. Tiki up, my friends, at Sly's this Saturday.

 

Like to look behind just the Tiki drinks at American's "search for a garden of eden?" Here's a great book Tiki Pop, America Conjures Up Its Own Polynesian Paradise. Author Sven A. Kirsten delves into the wave of Tiki culture that swept America - and not just the drinks, by the way. 

Come celebrate the Repeal of Prohibition this Saturday at Sly's

Okay, friends, raise your hand if you’ve heard of the Volstead Act. For those of you who have, I expect to hear a round of booing and catcalls. The Volstead Act also known as the “National Prohibition Act”, became the 18th Amendment on October 28, 1919. It was a dark day in libational history, to be sure. So dark that we celebrate Repeal Day each and every December 5th here at Sly’s. Like this Saturday for example.

President Woodrow Wilson (bless his bespectacled head), vetoed the bill, to no avail. The temperance movement was too strong, the conservative voices in Congress overrode the veto, and for fourteen years, a citizen would be fined or jailed for the consumption of, manufacture of or sale of alcohol. The amendment mentions “intoxicating liquors” specifically; it was created so that the populace could not drink 

The fourteen years following the passing of the Volstead Act, beverages containing more than .5% alcohol were forbidden - unless prescribed by a doctor. Not just frowned upon, not just strictly regulated...outlawed!.

Prohibition brought us one more lovely little slice of American history: organized crime. That’s right, folks, Al Capone and the like were created by running booze illegally, making quite a bit of money - Money that meant that bootleggers had lawmen in their pockets. Speakeasys became glamorous. Rich folks began to host cocktail parties in their homes. Doctors were prescribing whiskey for everything from pain to nervousness. Well-respected, moneyed, otherwise law-abiding citizens were flagrantly breaking the law - lawlessness to a degree our country has seen since. 

Then in 1933 a ray of light. Change in the times. Hope for those who enjoy a good cocktail- or just a bear. The 21st Amendment was drafted, essentially just saying, “That thing we said about not drinking? Ignore it.” It was ratified state by state throughout the year of 1933. On December 5, 1933, Utah ratified the 21st Amendment, and alcohol was once again legal in the United States.

As always, Sly’s encourages you to drink responsibly so that you don’t find yourself in any sort of personal Prohibition. For our friends in Santa Barbara and Ventura, we encourage you to take the Amtrak - Sly’s is are only two blocks from the station in Carpinteria. On December 5th there are multiple Amtrak arrivals and departures. Carpooling is encouraged and designated drivers are widely considered to be the sexiest members of any group. Don’t forget Uber, either.

Consider this to be your formal invitation to come lift a glass with us here at Sly’s in celebration of your right to do so. We’ll see you on Saturday, December 5th! Did we mention that we have a special cocktail menu for the night? The Tiki is back.

 

 

"What this town really needs is a good Dover sole Meunière."

photo from The French Chef Cookbook,

photo credit Paul Child

Halcyon Days in Santa Barbara

August 13 marks Julia Child's Birthday. This year would be 103, if I'm not mistaken. Sadly, she left us in 2004, but her memory will be with us a long, long time.

About 6 years after I first met Julia, when I had moved permanently to town to work at the bustling El Encanto Hotel, I remember sitting on the terrace of the hotel with Julia and her husband Paul. She said something to me that I've never forgotten: 

 "What this town really needs is a good Dover sole Meunière." 

(You may recall that, as the story goes, it was a Sole Meunière upon arriving on the coast of Normandy that was Julia's first "aha!" moment of the French cuisine she would champion so well.) The idea of "a good Dover sole Meunière" was one I always remembered, and was a sentiment that I took to heart when I was Chef in charge at a restaurant. 

It's not as easy putting a Dover sole on the menu as it is, say, a seared ahi. Starting in 1999, I put Dover sole on the menu, and today at Sly's it continues to play an important role for us. We serve it either grilled with Maître d' butter, or, of course, as Julia suggested, Sole Meunière. The classic takes a lot of preparation, as you have to clean the fish, carefully skin it, trim the edges, and then dip it in milk, then flour and carefully sautée it in butter - lots of butter, the way Julia would like it. We even have special oval "Dover sole" pans to cook it in, so the butter doesn't tend to burn. 

Perhaps most importantly, most Americans expect the Dover sole to have the bones removed from the Dover sole at the table, so there is a dining room organizational issue, and server skill is important. When we first put the Dover sole on the menu, only one older gentleman on our serving staff knew how to prepare the sole tableside. Now, every one of our servers at Sly's is a whiz at it - good thing, as we often have tables where there's five or six soles to bone for our guests.

As a result of Julia's heartfelt comment, we now serve several tons  of Dover sole each year at Sly's. All expertly boned tableside, I might add.

There were many other occasions to meet with Julia, and to cook for several of her birthday parties along the way. I am very proud that in her later years, while living at Casa Dorinda, she was a regular customer of mine in Montecito. When someone wanted to take her out to dinner, often as not she came to the restaurant where I was chef. (Arriving in the Casa's purple Plymouth PT Cruiser. Quite a sight.)

What did Julia like to eat? Over the years, there were many things that she truly seemed to enjoy. There were parties where she came back to sneak an extra piece or two of Quiche Lorraine - her recipe, naturally. Or the time she asked for a second bowl of lobster bisque - my goodness - that's a rich soup. Often she would order a small filet, medium rare, with béarnaise sauce - yes, the sauce was her recipe, of course, the classic one. 

Julia's favorite dish? Well, that may surprise you. I'd have to say that it was our hamburger, freshly ground daily, with ripe farmer's market tomatoes, crisp iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced red onions, and French fried potatoes, that, frankly, I learned to cook by reading Julia. We still serve those great fries and that great hamburger at Sly's, just like we used to make for Julia. Heck, we even make the mayonnaise ourselves, just liked we learned from her tutelage. 

Like so many chefs, I owe her an awful lot, and am proud to have cooked a few meals that made her happy. Happy Birthday, Julia!

How I met Julia

Like pretty much everyone becoming a chef in the early 1970s, my cooking was - and still is - heavily influenced by Julia's precise, carefully delineated and scientific approach to traditional French cooking. The first cookbook I owned, a gift on my birthday at the age of 16, was Julia's "The French Chef", based on the recipes from her 119 PBS television shows. I later graduated to Mastering the Art of French Cooking and I must admit that my experiments with stews, butter creams, and yes, even the elusive perfect croissant may very well have resulted in quite a bit of extra cleanup work for my long-suffering mother. 

The first time I met Julia was the same day in 1984 that I met Annie, who has now been my bride for some 30 years. Annie and I were both cooking for an American Institute of Wine and Food Mushroom and Truffle event at the Music Academy. I was cooking fresh shell pasta with creme fraîche and truffles, and scrambled eggs with truffles, representing my friend Michael Hutchings. Michael was the host for event, which featured stellar attractions like Robert Mondavi and of course Julia. Julia loved the scrambled eggs and said as much. (My-eventual-wife-to-be, Annie, didn't. She thought the eggs were runny.)

Later that same year, before I'd even moved to Santa Barbara, I was up at the Andree Clark Bird Refuge helping Michael Hutchings (now Michael's Catering, here in Santa Barbara) open his restaurant, Michael's Waterside. A protege of the Roux Brothers in London as well as my first sous chef, Michael's Waterside drew national acclaim. Like all restaurants, the opening was a whole lot of work, and I came up from Los Angeles to help a friend out. We were down in the kitchen one morning (I was sleeping upstairs at night) when in the back door walked Julia. 

Here's what she had to say, in that unmistakeable voice of hers: "Can I borrow a leg of veal?"

What a question! Of course, Michael had a leg of veal, (They are big!) and was happy to lend it to his friend Julia, and to introduce me as well.  I got a chance to tell her how much I had absorbed from her books. LIke everyone meeting someone famous, I probably said something silly and perhaps gushing, but I can assure you that the meeting made my day. 

Julia and Russ Morash, the television producer, were right next door in the old California Highway Patrol building, where they had built a set and were shooting the "Cooking with Julia" series. The veal leg was just the prop that Julia needed for the next episode. 

---    

For the next few weeks, Sly's is featuring a Fixed Price menu of Julia's recipes. 3 courses for $35, with wine (That's how Julia would have had it!) for $55. Here's the menu:

Consider the Burger - we certainly do at Sly's!

Vote for Sly's Hamburger Sandwich

in the Costal View News

Burger Madness Contest!

 

You might be surprised to find a hamburger sandwich on the menu of a restaurant like Sly's, amid the aged USDA Prime steaks, French and Italian specialties, and so on - rest assured, the hamburger is a most important menu item for us. For starters, Chef James adores hamburgers. We think that Carpinteria deserves a truly great burger. And, when asked, James has been known to say that:

"The hamburger might be one of the most complicated things we make at Sly's. After all, we buy a great USDA Prime steak and age it - but cooking it is a simple matter of seasoning it with salt and pepper and grilling it correctly. The 'simple' hamburger is far more complicated."

To begin with, we buy USDA Graded "Choice"  chuck - from the shoulder of top-quality beef. You may have heard of chuck roasts - that's the same cut we're using, for its great flavor and just the right amount of fat. We hand cut it in strips, then carefully grind it - not once, but twice - each and every day. Freshly ground does matter- it makes a big difference. That's why we go to the trouble to grind it ourselves. We then weigh and hand shape the patties - one-half pound each, raw weight.

Of course, it takes more than just great meat to make a great hamburger. The freshly ground meat, as much trouble as it is, is just the beginning. Our experienced cooks know just how to cook it - seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground Malabar pepper. They then cook it on our specially modified char broiler - we've "hot rodded" it a bit, and drilled the jets out so that it gets even hotter - the better to sear the flavor and juices into the burger when it cooks. 

 

We buy a premium hamburger bun from the expert bakers at Santa Barbara's Ethnic Breads. In the business for generations, Ethnic bakes a hamburger bun to our specifications, with a long-rise egg rich bread in the classic "knotted" shape, baked with poppy seeds on top. The buns are sliced in half, brushed with melted butter, and then griddled on a special "vertical contact toaster" to a toasty brown and warmed through. 

Great Cheeses for a great burger

We offer a choice of cheeses on our burgers at Sly's - and not just any cheeses, either. Sly's offers real Swiss Gruyère, aged sharp Tillamook cheddar from up the coast in Oregon & genuine Roquefort blue cheese imported from France. These quality cheeses are more expensive than the cheaper imitations, but we think they make a difference that you will notice. Oh - you can also get plain old American cheese, if that's what you fancy. We think American is pretty perfect for a hamburger, too. We use a generous portion of whatever cheese you select, after all, it's a half pound burger.

So, we've toasted the bun, grilled the hamburger just the way you like it, and put your favorite cheese on it to melt. What's left? The burger "set" for one. For our burger set at Sly's, we use crisp Iceberg lettuce thinly sliced red onions (we use onions from north of Bakersfield - they tend to be sweeter), and best of all, ripe Farmer's Market tomatoes. Our tomatoes at Sly's come from Beylik Farms in Fillmore. We get them at the Carpinteria Farmer's Market on Thursday, down the street on Linden Avenue. They are always stunningly ripe, and that makes a difference. 

Rounding out the plate are Sly's hand-cut French fried potatoes. The French fried potatoes are also made daily, from our carefully aged Idaho Russet potatoes. We use the traditional method, and cook them twice - once at low temperature until they are done, and a second flash-fry at hight temperature to crisp them up to be the perfect accompaniment to your Sly's hamburger sandwich. 

If you're still reading this lengthy diatribe, you know that making a burger at Sly's isn't exactly simple; the results, however, are terrific, and worth the trouble. Truth is, we take you hamburger seriously at Sly's. Come on down and try one. 

Now at Sly's, Fixed Price menu with the cuisine of the South West of France

A three course menu for $35. - $55. with two glasses of wine.

We've just changed our 3-course fixed price French Menu at Sly's, and we think everyone will find something that they like on it.

Typically, this menu from the Southwest of France is one of our customers' favorites when it rolls around. From the Roasted Beet & Watercress salad to the "Bras de Gitane" Rum Cake with Oranges with its strong Catalane influence (As does the extraordinary Creme Caramel), the cuisine of Languedoc Roussillon is a popular menu at Sly's. 

Bounded by Spain and Catalonia to the south, the Basque Country on the west, the pleasures of Provence on the east, and Bordeaux to the north, it should come as no surprise that the Languedoc is an area with a rich culinary heritage. Personally, I think of D'Artagnan and the Three Musqueteers, and their adventures, both culinary and otherwise, when I think of the Languedoc. Sly’s has tried to come up with some selections that bring some of the wonderful cuisine of this area of France to life.

This regions menu has always been a popular one, so much so that it would be difficult to say which of the main courses on the menu people enjoyed most. A number of customers have returned to try each item on the menu - quite flattering, I assure you.

 

One standout has the been "our little Cassoulet" - our delicious and filling version of the uber-traditional bean stew of the Languedoc. We had a local farmer grow some special beans for us - makes a big difference, "fresh" dried beans - and then we make in house our duck confit, traditional saucisson à l'ail garlic sausage, & saucisse de Toulouse and simmer all of it together for a great dinner. And, of course, where else are you going to get cassoulet?

Also popular are the "Drunken Lamb" a traditional dish from Gascony. Leg of Lamb, roasted medium rare, and simmered with red wine, many, many whole cloves of garlic, green olives, carrots and onions. Grilled fillet of trout with toasted almonds, and pan-braised chicken breast with dried figs and sweet Banyuls wine fill out the choices for the main courses.

We suggest let our skilled bar staff start you with l'Apero Gascon, which is made with sparkling wine, and our homemade prune and Armagnac syrup - aromatic, flavorful, and not too sweet. A great cocktail to start.

There are several wines to choose from, and you can bet that we’ve chosen some good ones to accompany your meal.

As always, the French fixed price menu at Sly's is still just $35. per person, plus tip and tax, or just $55. per person with two glasses of wine.

 

More great menus to come!

Continuing with the Sly’s tradition of the $35. fixed price menu featuring French cuisine, our next menu offering at will feature the a cuisine closer to home, but further away in time: The French Menu in America. The choices on this “time traveling” menu will feature the dishes made famous when French cuisine in America was in it's heyday, the 1960s and 1970s - and not coincidentally, when Chef James and some his chef friends were "coming up" and learning at those French restaurants in America. Specifically, we'll be featuring recipes from Chez Cary in Orange County (now just a memory) where my friend Chef Michael Hutchings and I did our apprenticeship long, long ago.

Narsai David's dishes featured in Sly's fixed price menu

Narsai David is someone we've always found to be an important person in the Californian culinary scene, was one of the true founders of our California Cuisine - alongside people like Alice Waters and others in the Bay Area. I have fond memories of sipping a 1949 Armagnac brandy with Chef Marc Chayette in Narsai's cool redwood bar. Quite the place, with an incomparable wine list, bar selection of Cognacs and Armagnacs, Sherries, and Ports, great and imaginative cuisine, and incomparable service. As it turns out, one of my dear friends Kurt Grasing, worked with Narsai and now partners with him in Carmel's finest restaurant, Grasing's Coastal Cuisine. (Even better, their award-winning wine lists features some amazing bottles from Narsai's cellar.)

In 1970, Narsai began a catering business. Among his first clients was Bill Graham, the legendary San Francisco rock impresario, for whom Narsai catered events for all major bands including The Rolling Stones. Narsai catered a number of special events, including for the British Royal Family on their visits to San Francisco. In 1972, he opened his restaurant, Narsai's, in the upscale community of Kensington, on the northern tip of Berkeley. The restaurant was described by the New York Times as having one of the finest wine cellars in the world. In 1978, Narsai's Market was opened next door. Narsai's Market closed in 1985, and the restaurant in 1986. They are sadly missed by gourmets everywhere. Mr. David is Food and Wine Editor for CBS in the Bay Area, has a line of gourmet products, Chef Narsai David's Specialty Foods and has a winery that makes a very fine Cabernet, Cuvée Venus, which we are currently offering at Sly's to compliment our fixed price menu featuring Narsai's food.

LIke always the Fixed Price Menu at Sly's is just $35, for threes courses, or $55 for three courses with wine. 

Duck Liver Pate --- Narsai’s famous duck liver mousse, in a ramekin with a layer of port aspic. The secret is onions and apples - not to mention butter and cream. A delicious first course.s

Mushroom Soup a la Narsai--The mushrooms soup is quite different - rich and delicious, and made with clam broth. Striking.

Hearts of Romaine in a Citronade Dressing -- A very simple salad - crisp hearts of romaine, with a lemony mustard dressing. 

Main Courses

Scallops & Oysters, Mushrooms and Truffle Oil ---scallops and oysters, poached in chardonnay and nutty Amontillado sherry, with thinly sliced white mushrooms, finished with a bit of cream and our Chardonnay butter, with black truffle oil.

Narsai's Assyrian Lamb Leg of lamb here, Narsai most often used rack of lamb. Marinated overnight in pomegranite juice, onions, garlic, and basil. Seared, and roasted medium rare. Red wine sauce.

Served with Azerbaijan pilaf, basmati rice with white sesame seeds and toasted almonds. Vichy carrots - rounds of carrots, slow braised in water and butter. simple and classic.

"Chicken in a Pot" Said to be one of Narsai's personal go-to favorites. An “airline breast” of chicken poached in white wine and our rich chicken broth with fresh farmer’s market fennel, carrots, and tiny boiled potatoes. Not bland - with a few crushed chiles and pickling spice, served in our large pasta bowl. 

Desserts

Narsai's culinary repertoire provided us with three really great desserts - in my opinion. 

Narsai's Almond cake is one of my favorites - I just love it. The almond cake has a bit of flour, but is mainly almond paste, eggs and butter. The flavor is incredible - we use a local Bakersfield almond paste from the artisans at Mandorli. Served with chantilly and fresh raspberry sauce. 

Narsai’s Chocolate Decadence is both! The is probably the first chocolate desert of its kind - many have followed, but we think Narsai's version is one of, if not the, original. This rich little cake was created to make a dessert fit to be served (and stand up) to port wine. It works well. Sinfully delicious. Sly's has port by the glass, and you can have a glass of port as part of Sly's three course dinner with wine for this course. 

There are many stories about when and how Crêpes Suzettes were invented - and we won’t join that argument. Suffice to say that the thin, tender pancakes are a classic. Our version is delightfully thin pancakes, with a butter sauce with orange and lemon peel and Grand Marnier liquer. Delicious.

There's a cheese course available with the fixed price menu at Sly's if you like - always with some great cheeses from the experts at C'est Cheese. Kasseri cheese is a sheeps milk cheese from the middle east. Served with cumin and walnuts here. Delicious if you like to finish with a cheese.

And of course, you can always have one of Sly's incredible Grand Mariner Soufflés for a supplement of just $5 with the fixed price menu. One of the best deal's around!  

Sunday Gravy at Sly's November 2, 2014 at 5 pm

On Sunday, November 2nd, Sly's is featuring an old-fashioned "Sunday Gravy" in the best East Coast Tradition. "It's something that I've wanted to do for a while now, and with the urging of some of our home-sick Italian American customers, I've finally decided to do it this month". The single seating takes place at 5 pm, and begins with aperitivo and appetizers and a chance to mingle with some pretty interesting people.

The family style first courses will include Crostini di fegatini, bruschetta with chicken livers, deep fried risotto "suppli", and sumptuous eggplant caponata

The rich traditional main course will feature steaming platters of traditional braised bracciole, Sly's homemade "pinwheel" sausages and hot italian sausages, braised ribs, and that old standby, homemade meatballs. The rich tomato gravy will be served along with mostaccioli pasta. 

If that wasn't enough, the homemade desserts will include freshly made cannoli with ricotta, bittersweet chocolate, and pistachios, Tira mi Su, and Budino di Zucchero with warm caramel sauce. We're pretty sure you won't be leaving hungry. (I'm hungry now writing about this...)

And following that, there's "una Supresa" - a little surprise.

We have chosen some great Sicilian red and white wines, as well as a choice of aperitifs, all included in the $65. price. Tax and tip are extra.

You can reserve by calling Sly's at (805) 684-6666 and asking to reserve for Sunday Gravy.

Seating is limited, and going fast. See you there! 

 

This fall: Fixed Price Basque Menu at Sly's

Well! We've finished Avocado Festival weeked and all that the Festival brings. We can get to back to the more quiet life we're used to. The big news this week is that one of our favorite fixed price menus at Sly's - both ours and our customers - is now being served.

 

Our Basque menu, celebrating the Cuisine of the Basque Country on the south-west coast of France, contains some of our all time favorites dishes, and never fails to remind Annie and I of some of the great times we've spent in St. Jean de Luz, Bayonne, Biarritz, and up in the foothils of the Pyranees.  

The Basque people speak their own language, a unique orphan among language families. Their traditional homeland is now divided up between Spain and France. We’re celebrating the cuisine of the French Basque Country. The star of our menu is probably our "mixed" Paella, with homemade chorizo sausage, shrimp, mussels, squid, clams and chicken. Richly seasoned with saffron, it is one of the kings or rice dishes - not to mention my wife Annie's favorite!

 

 

 

As usual, Sly's three- course fixed price menu is a resonable $35. plus tax & tip, or $55. including three glasses of French wine. 

Bring in the Old! French Food in America

Our current 3 course fixed price menu at Sly’s. It’s still just $35., and only $55. with three glasses of French wine. (Sly's also offers 10% off any bottle of French wine on our list when you order the menu) As usual, this menu will run for about 6 weeks before we chance to another interesting region of France, idea, time or concept in French cooking.

The French menu in America.You might say that in modern times, It started with the Kennedys - and Jacqueline Kennedy. A French Chef - in the White House, René Verdon. And it continued for years, especially after Julia Child came along and made us even more enamored with French food.  A fancy, special occasion restaurant in Manhattan, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco or Los Angeles in those years? Chances are, it was French. Your local, go-to neighborhood restaurant in those same cities? Probably a French bistro as well. Fine food was, well, French food. The 60’s, 70’s and 80’s were great years in America for “French” food. 

Those were great years for me, too. I was reading The French Chef Cookbook by Julia Child, doing an apprenticeship, first at a fancy French restaurant in Orange County, then at the Ritz in Paris and the Hôtel de Paris in Monte Carlo, and working with 3-star Michelin Chef Michel Guèrard in Eugenie-les-Bains, Paris, and New York City. 

A Frenchman might not have recognized all of the choices of our American French menus, but we Americans had a pretty good idea what we thought “French” was - and it included things from Frog’s Legs and Onion Soup right on to Crème Caramel and Chocolate Mousse. And, don’t forget the Camembert cheese - what could be more French than that? So, that's the sorts of dishes we've included in our current Fixed Price Menu. 

So, this Fixed Price French Menu at Sly’s celebrates “The French Menu in America”. If you’re old enough to remember, come on down and reminisce with some old favorites. If you’re younger, come try a little history, and maybe you’ll understand a delicious part of American’s past. Either way, it's a great dinner, and a great value at Sly's in Carpinteria.

Sly's French Onion Soupe Gratinée is one of the items on our Fixed Price menu - homemade chicken broth, slowly simmered onions, a croûton made from our homemade bread, and carefully baked with Gruyére and Reggiano Parmesan cheeses. 

The Southwest of France, Land of the Three Musketeers, the current French Menu at Sly's,

 

A three course menu for $35. - $55. with two glasses of wine.

We've just changed our 3-course fixed price French Menu at Sly's, and we think everyone will find something that they like on it. Typically, this menu is one of our customers' favorites when it rolls around. From the Roasted Beet and Watercress salad to the "Bras de Gitane" Rum Cake with Oranges with its strong Catalane influence, the cuisine of Languedoc Roussillon is a poplular menu at Sly's. 

Bounded by the Basque Country on the west, the pleasures of Provence on the east, and Bordeaux to the north, it should come as no surprise that the Languedoc is an area with a rich culinary heritage. Personally, I think of D'Artagnan and the Three Musqueteers, and their adventures, both culinary and otherwise, when I think of the Languedoc. We've tried to come up with some selections that bring some of the wonderful cuisine of this area of France to life.

This regions menu has always been a popular one, so much so that it would be difficult to say which of the main courses on the menu people enjoyed most. A number of customers have returned to try each item on the menu - quite flattering, I assure you.

One standout has the been "our little Cassoulet" - our version of the uber-traditional bean stew of the Languedoc. We had a local farmer grow some special beans for us - makes a big difference, "fresh" dried beans - and then we make duck confit, traditional saucisson à l'ail garlic sausage, and saucisse de Toulouse and simmer all of il together for a great dinner. And, of course, where else are you going to get cassoulet?

Also popular are the "Drunken Lamb" a traditional dish from Gascony. Leg of Lamb, roasted medium rare, and simmered with red wine, whole cloves of garlic, green olives, carrots and onions, and the breast of chicken with dried figs and sweet Banyuls wine.

We suggest you start with l'Apero Gascon, which is made with sparkling wine, and our homemade prune and Armagnac syrup - aromatic, flavorful, and not too sweet. A great cocktail to start. There are several wines to choose from, and you can bet that Mandy has made sure that they are good wines.

As always, the French fixed price menu at Sly's is still just $35. per person, plus tip and tax, or just $55. per person with two glasses of wine.

Continuing with our tradition of the $35. fixed price menu featuring French cuisine, our next menu offering at Sly's will feature the a cuisine more close to home, but further away in time: The French Menu in America.

The choices will feature the dishes made famous when French cuisine was in it's heyday, the 1960s and 1970s - and not coincidentally, when Chef James was "coming up" and learning at those French restaurants in America.

 

Drought in Santa Barbara County: How Sly's is Helping

The far reaching effects of the drought emergency in California are here, and affecting all us. It was difficult to think of that this last week with the rain pouring down, but it's true none the less. We’re concerned for the the farmers we buy from at the farmer's market, and we’re concerned for the folks providing the pasture-raised beef at Watkins Cattle & Livestock. And, of course, water is an important thing when you operate a restaurant.

Sly's is now following the Carpinteria Valley Water District’s guidelines on providing glasses of water only upon request. In spite of all that, it takes a lot of water to run a restaurant. At Sly’s we’re working proactively to help reduce that amount.

Last month, we requested a Water Usage Audit from the Carpinteria Valley Water District, and went step by step through our restaurant with the District’s water conservation expert. Happily, he gave Sly’s a good report card on our water usage - no leaking toilets or dripping faucets or other obvious waste.

Here’s some of what Sly’s does to save water:

- Last year, we installed a waterless urinal in the men’s room. We’re told that this saves between 20,000 and 45,000 gallons of water a year. We think everybody should be installing them-that’s a big savings in our mind.

- We’ve installed a recirculating system on the hot water for the bathrooms - it means you don’t have to run gallons and gallons of water down the drain just to get to the hot water for hand washing. 

- We don’t have a lot of planting - just our few rosemary bushes, our drought resistant matillaja poppies, and the old-fashioned Don Juan climbing roses. We use a timed sprinkler system to minimize water use on these plants. 

- We wash our floor mats in a special mat washing area that drains to a grease interceptor, keeping grease out of the city’s sanitation system, and helping to make the sewage treatment plant work as intended. When we do wash those mats, we use a special low-flow pressure washer that minimizes the amount of water needed to get clean, sanitary floor mats each day.

- Sadly, we haven’t hosed down the driveways or washed the sidewalks in a long, long time as the City of Carpinteria has always frowned on using water to clean them, even when we were following their own guidelines. We’ll continue with that policy.

- The dishwasher where we wash our dishes and glasses is pretty darn efficient. To wash 25 glasses, it takes just 1.5 gallons of water - and that’s for the rinse water. After rinsing a rack of glasses, the rinse water is saved to become the wash water for the next batch. So the total per rack is 1.5 gallons - which is less than 8 ounces, a mere measuring cup, per glass. Of course, it takes about 16 ounces to fill the glass of water that you’re drinking. 

Truth be told, though, ware washing is the least amount of water we use at Sly’s. Unfortunately, to run a clean, healthy and safe operation, it takes cleaning, and more often than not that takes water. We want our staff to wash their hands - and often, I think you want them to as well! And we have to scrub all the pots and pans we cook in, all the cutting boards, all the knives, cooking spoons, spatulas, mixing bowls and tongs. 

Then there’s the cooking. At Sly’s we make pretty much everything here, including things that at some restaurants just have arrive in boxes. Baking our fresh breads and rolls takes water - both to make the dough and clean the mixing bowl. We need water to wash the vegetables and to soak the French fried potatoes when we cut them fresh. Cooking our fresh vegetables from the farmer’s market, making the wonderful soups and stocks we have, and cooking our pastas and noodles fresh all take water. And we keep washing those hands, too. 

We think that we’re lucky in our modern world to have fresh, clean water - so lucky that we tend to take it for granted. With any luck, we’ll have some rain coming our way, and the drought conditions may end. In the meantime, we’ll be trying our best to save water at Sly’s.

Repeal Day 2013 - 80 years since the end of Prohibition

From Sly's Manager Mandy Huffaker Chinn

Here we are again, still feeling a bit full from Thanksgiving, with another celebration to be enjoyed!  Certainly this season is full of the “big” holidays, but we here at Sly’s also celebrate another holiday this season: December 5th, the anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition.  

We call it Repeal Day, and we celebrate the 21st Amendment by creating a new, “super secret” cocktail menu every year.  We have put together a roster of 12 cocktails this year, a couple of “forgotten” classics as well as new creations by our bar staff.  In years past, we have asked individual bartenders (as well as Chef Sly) to create cocktails on their own, to showcase their individual talents.  This year, we took a more collaborative approach and created the new cocktails together, bouncing ideas off one another, adding a pinch of this and a dash of that, to create what we think is the best menu yet.  We learned in the process that all of us experience cocktails differently, and working together enabled us to craft really balanced cocktails that we believe will appeal to many.

 

This year we got to play with a few of our new “toys” behind the bar.  The absinthe atomizer makes an appearance on this year’s menu, as does the very retro Horsford’s Acid Phosphate that Chef Sly acquired for us.  We discovered that we love Aperol and Applejack, both of which feature in cocktails on this year’s menu.  The considerable talents of our kitchen are also featured this year in the use of three of the different syrups that they have made for us: chocolate, cherry and orgeat.

 We believe that the 80th anniversary of the repeal of the Volstead Act demands the very best that our bar has to offer.  We will have knowledgeable bar staff on hand all day and evening to answer questions, share history, make suggestions and celebrate our freedom to enjoy a cocktail.  There is one catch to our celebration, however; you must be present on December 5th to acquire a copy of our “super secret” cocktail menu.  

Think of it like knowing the password to the speakeasy; once you have the menu, you can order the cocktails on it for the rest of the year.  We do not give out the Repeal Day menu again until a new one is created next year.  So please come join us in celebrating the cocktail craft on Thursday, December 5th...and here’s to you.  

Cheers!  -Mandy