Oh, hi.
Hello, there. Today is my tenth wedding anniversary. I like to tell my wife, “they said we’d never last,” yet here we are.
We are in San Francisco and celebrating with dinner at Rintaro; it’s been on my list for years. I’m a poor planner and it’s perpetually booked, but the brilliant part about being in the restaurant business is you’re only ever a few degrees of separation from someone that knows someone that knows the owner. (Thanks, Andrew!)
I spent the first part of July in Ojai, cooking things like avocado pasta on a brilliant blue, restored Wedgewood stove. I loved it so much I went and bought my own vintage stove for our house, an O’Keefe and Merritt.
Like last summer, we stayed on a large ranch/conservancy a few miles outside of town. It is my Shangri-La, and I would tell you more, but it’s the kind of place that requires an intro, they prefer to stay under the radar, and I don’t want to ruin it for myself.
Before Ojai, we were in Montecito, checking out Rosewood Miramar Beach for Yolo Journal, in addition to two other California hotels: Autocamp Sequioa, and The Huntington Hotel in San Fran - if any of these are on your list, stay tuned.
When we first arrived in Ojai, we spent two nights at Caravan Outpost, a funky collection of Airstream lodging on the edge of town, and one night at Hotel El Roblar, the Bowery Hotel of Ojai. I’ve still never been to the Ojai Valley Inn.
We watched Ojai’s charming 4th of July parade from a perch at the Roblar bar, and started our day at the annual Lion’s Club Pancake Breakfast. After the parade, a friend invited us to lunch at one of the most beautiful homes I’ve ever seen - a home I had seen small glimpses of online, but was even more soulful and spectacular in person. Salads were served in our favorite large Peterman bowls and the table was strewn with David Mellor Provencal cutlery, the same we use at home - these were people with exquisite but unassuming taste.
My drink of choice during my stay was Madre’s Desert Water - the Prickly Pear and Lemon - and something I took to calling “Orange Beer:” Skyduster Super Dry Lager on ice, mixed with the juice of half an orange, plucked from the surrounding trees.
The highlight of my time in Ojai was getting to know Serge Becker. Serge has been a creative force in NYC nightlife and hospitality dating back to the late 1980’s, and he’s been one of my idols since my early twenties. Now he lives in Ojai, where he operates Radio Roma, one of my favorite spots in town (go for the Frozen Paloma and the crispy lamb carnitas.) I had the chance to sit with him on the patio of his taqueria and hear first-hand about his experiences, his journey, and his incredible stories, all while I got loaded on his frozen cocktails.
Not only is he incredibly gracious, Serge has exceptional taste. At Radio Roma, he designed a very sexy room out of peg board, linoleum tiles, and roofing shingles from Home Depot, which were affixed to the front of the bar - a move I intend to steal. Lately, I’ve been inspired by humble, inexpensive, hard-wearing materials, and when I brought up the book High-Tech, which I’ve been referencing, Serge said years ago “it was my bible.”
In addition to spending lots of time in Ojai (by ourselves and with friends), this time we ventured further afield to Ventura (home of Patagonia and great Mexican restaurants), and the very cute and laid-back town of Carpenteria - home to Ryan Gosling, Kevin Costner, and the hunkiest of them all: my friend Dewey Nicks. Dewey and his wife Stephanie had us for drink at their beautiful Barbara Bestor-designed home, and when Dewey told me that Paul Fortune (my favorite decorator) had done the interiors, I nearly lost it.
There is an easy-going energy I really love about this part of California. Ojai, specifically, is a place I could see myself living if my life weren’t so firmly established in Charleston. There are avocados from the heavens and lemons the size of your head.
Here are some of my favorite spots in the area:
