Bonnie Carroll's Life Bites - Chef & Hotel Profile

Rainy Nights are Perfect to Savor dishes by James Beard Award-Winning Chef Joel Viehland

During our recent storm warning weather a friend suggested we try the new menu of Executive Chef Joel Viehland, the James Beard Award-winning chef at El Encanto Hotel Dining Room in our local neighborhood. When we left the rain had stopped briefly and although it was looking a bit grey outside when we arrived at El Encanto the lovely outdoor covered terrace was filled with guests enjoying conversation with 'happy hour' cocktails and small bites. It was fun to investigate the amazing cocktails and hors d'oeuvres on the menu and enjoy the beautiful ocean view, despite the gloomy weather. This hotel patio location was in earlier years renowned for its gourmet dining as well as the most spectacular view of the ocean in Santa Barbara. I did a review of this venue in 1997 for Food & Beverage Intl Magazine and was stunned by location and the quality of the cuisine.

We moved into the warm and lovely Diningroom to begin our dining adventure and were surprised by the variety in main dishes, farm to table sides and delicious starters, as well as appetizers including a steak tartare with roots and three tempting seafood selections including Santa Barbara Sea Urchin, one of my favorites. They also feature Petrossian Caviar of Royal Daurenki and Royal Ossetra selected for the El Encanto.

So many amazing plates to savor including Chef Viehland's Signarure Halibut, King Salmon Ratatouille, Tagliatelle pasta, a whole Autonomy Farms Roast Chicken, Peads & Barnetts grilled pork chop, Wagyu burgers and more. However, when our server Richardo mentioned the special of the night Chicken Picatta with root vegetables I sellected it, and was simply amazed at how perfectly the large chicken breast was prepared, and covered with one of the most outstanding Picatta sauces ever. The the combination of lemon, butter and capers made me long for a cruise to Sicily. I was presented two wines to sellect from that were considered nicely paired with this dish, a Samsara Pinot Noir and Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc. I selected the crisp, dry Sauvignon Blanc from the Eastern Loire Valley in France, which was rich but light and a delightful compliment to my outstanding chicken entree.

My dining companions selected the grilled pork chop with corn, rainbow chard and peach mostarda, and the signarure Santa Barbara Halibut with Munak Ranch heirloom melon, hairrcot vert, jicima, bok choy, and Vietnamese vinegrette. We were all delighted with our scrumpsious choices and quickly moved on to dessert. Sharing the Chocolate Mousse with vanilla and carmel sauce and a slice of keylime pie gave us all just enough sweetness to end the evening.

The Executive Chef Joe Viehland, a James Beard Award-winning chef, is a chicago native who studied at Johnson & Wales University before t raining with Tom Colicchio at Gramercy Tavern and with Chef Katy Sparks at Quilt's in New York. He also cooked in New Orleans with Emeril Lagasse, Susan Sperer & with Rene REdzepis at NOMA in Copenhagen, where he refied techniques in fermentation, foraging and flavor precision.

I have had the pleasure to enjoy brunch at this breathtakingly beautiful hotel, but this night was a new lesson. The rain and the early hour made the diningroom a Howard Hughes moment, where we had such individualized kind attention from Richardo and our wine stuart. Moral to this story is treat yourself to a sensational dining experience at El Encanto Hotel Dining Room, especially if it's raining.

El Encanto Hotel & Spa The Dining Room Chef Joe Viehland 800 Alvarado Place Santa Barbara, California 93103 805-845-5800