Road Trip! Carpinteria, CA! Surf! Eat! (Part 1 of 2)

Every year around this time we take a little road trip up north to Carpinteria for a few days, with a couple of very close friends. If you've never been to Carpinteria, it is highly recommended. It's little beach town just south of Santa Barbara, and the nice thing about it is it's still a little scruffy around the edges (not that real estate is cheap, because it's not). The waves are usually pretty mellow in Carp, but that's a good thing for me, and I had a blast surfing three days in a row in those mellow waves. Also, it's a very dog-friendly town and that's good for the beagles. In fact one of our favorite dog beaches is in Carpinteria  It's not the state beach. They don't allow dogs on that one.  But if you exit the 101 at Santa Claus Lane (yes, that's the real name!) and then turn onto Padaro lane, here you can park, carefully cross the railroad tracks and you will find yourself on a really awesome dog-friendly beach. Here's a look at sunset:

And one of Beagle George enjoying the view:

If you're curious about the history of Carpinteria, here's a little educational tidbit.

Turns out the town was named after Native Americans who crafted canoes out of wood. Anyway, we arrived late afternoon on Friday in town and headed straight out to the beach for a surf and meet up with our friends. The plan was to have dinner right there on the beach later, and so I packed us a picnic.  Again, we had a lot of Zucchini and some eggplant in the garden so those were put to use (also one friend is a vegetarian) so the menu was chilled Zucchini and potato soup, and grilled vegetable and goat cheese sandwiches.

Here's what the soup looked like:

And here are the sandwiches, with their tops off and with their tops on:

Of course we also had martinis!

So, for the soup, you'll need:

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon Canola or vegetable oil
1 large white or yellow onion, diced
3 large Zucchini, diced
3 medium baking potatoes, diced
About 6-7 cups chicken stock (home made if possible)
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Whole wheat croutons (see below)
Sour Cream or Creme Fraiche
Snipped chives or green onions
*serves 6-8
*make ahead note:  this soup actually tastes better if it chills for a day or two.

1. In a large pot or dutch oven, melt butter and oil.  When sizzling, add the onion.  Season with a little salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until onion is soft, but not brown.
2. Add diced zucchini and potatoes.  Sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper, stir and cook a few minutes, just to sweat the vegetables.
3. Pour in chicken stock.  The stock should just cover the vegetables.  If you need a bit more, add it.  Or you can add some water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until all the vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes.  Off heat, and let the soup cool a bit.
4. Using a blender, food processor or, if you have one, a hand blender, puree the soup until smooth.  Taste and adjust seasoning -- it will probably need more salt and pepper.
5. Refrigerate until very cold.
6. When ready to serve, toast up a couple of slices of whole wheat bread.  Dice into cubes.  Ladle cold soup into bowls, dollop in a spoonful of sour cream, scatter with croutons and sprinkle all with snipped chives.

And for the Grilled Vegetable and Goat Cheese sandwiches:

1 large, or two medium eggplant, sliced about 1/4 inch thick

3 medium zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thick

Salt and fresh ground pepper

3 large ripe beefsteak tomatoes

1 large log goat cheese

2 large baguettes

Extra virgin olive oil

Balsamic Vinegar

*makes 4-5 hearty sandwiches

1. Spread slices of eggplant and zucchini on a sheet pan.  Drizzle with about two tablespoons olive oil.  Season with salt and fresh ground pepper.  Toss everything together.
2. Heat your grill to medium-high (note:  I use a Weber with charcoal and some mesquite chips to give the veggies that smoky flavor -- but this is not necessary.  Gas grill is fine.  You can even roast these vegetables in a 450 degree oven until they're tender and caramelized, probably 25-30 minutes)
3. Grill the vegetables, turning often, until tender and you have nice brown grill marks.  Remove from grill and let cool.
4. Slice tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick.  Cut the goat cheese into slices (here's a tip: using dental floss -- yes, dental floss! - to slice goat cheese makes it super easy)
5. Cut the baguettes into about 9 inch lengths, then slice each in half.  Drizzle some olive oil on the bottom halves.  Then put down a layer of grilled eggplant, followed by a layer of grilled zucchini, followed by a layer of tomato slices.  Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the tomatoes.  Lay the goat cheese slices on top of the tomatoes.
6. Drizzle the sandwiches with some more olive oil and sprinkle on some balsamic vinegar.  Top with the second half of baguette and slice each sandwich in half. Wrap in foil and keep chilled in your cooler until it's time to chow.

So that -- and the martinis -- was dinner.  If you're thinking, 'hey, the dude forgot dessert,' he didn't.  Right on Carpinteria Avenue just past Linden Avenue is Fosters' Freeze! www.fostersfreeze.com.  We got soft-serve cones dipped in chocolate.

So that was it for Friday at the beach. After dinner we headed back to the hotel, which was the Holiday Inn Express on Carpinteria Avenue -- now before anybody says, 'what? Holiday Inn?', the number one reason we stay there is dogs are allowed. And yeah, okay, it's not the Biltmore or the San Ysidro Ranch, or Baccara but you know what?  The rooms are more than decent, you can get free breakfast if you want, there's a pool and jacuzzi and it's reasonably priced.  Really, when we do these weekends it's all about the beach, so if you're just looking for a good place to crash, this is it.  If you want more of a resort (and you're willing to pay five or six hundred bucks a night) try one of those other places. Or try the Holiday Inn www.hiexpress.com/Carpinteria.

Saturday morning, after a really good sleep for everybody, it was time for breakfast at another favorite place in Carp, Esau's, which is on Linden Avenue www.esaucafe.com.  Esau's has lots of outdoor tables, and they are very dog friendly.  In fact somebody usually brings out a bowl with water for your pups before you even ask for it.  How cool is that?  Here are some specials at Esau's:

I ordered Mike's Special, but everybody ordered hearty breakfasts.  Here's what they looked like before we devoured them, with Mike's Special pictured first, then a spinach and cheese omelet, then chilaquiles, and finally a veggie omelet:

By the time we were done there wasn't much left. Mike's special, I have to say, was really good food for surfing because it was extremely delicious…and filling!  FYI another dog-friendly spot just up the street from Esau's is called…The Spot! They don't seem to have a website, but here's a pic. We've had burgers there, and the food is also delicious.

So after breakfast it was back to the beach at Padaro Lane. Below, Sam and Derric are enjoying beach time.  Also, you will definitely get to see Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner go by.  For some reason practically everybody on the beach stops to watch the train and wave.  You'll find yourself doing it too!  Old school, low tech fun, huh?

Oh, here are some things to note about this beach:  it's very rustic. There are no lifeguards here, and no real bathroom facilities.  There are a couple of porta-potties, but just up the street there's also a bunch of cafes and stores where you can also get food and use the bathroom, so no worries, right?

So I think that's the end of Part 1 of this Carpinteria adventure with Beagles and friends.  In Part 2, more surfing, another beach dinner, and then, on Sunday the amazing La Super Rica in Santa Barbara, so stay tuned, folks.