In Santa Barbara, we take food seriously. Farmers’ markets are offered every day of the week, and you might catch the chef from Convivo, Aperitivo, or Barbareño hauling a little wagon back to their kitchens to make the magic we are lucky enough to experience on our plates. For better or for worse, we’re spoiled by a wealth of excellent restaurants and garden-fresh produce, which have sharpened our palates. Thankfully, for the sake of our wallets, many Santa Barbarans are also avid cooks. As any home chef knows, the key to a great meal is great ingredients. The rise of a variety of gourmet grocery stores slinging sought-after ingredients are sure to take your homemade creations to restaurant level status, or at least send you off with a perfectly prepared meal to-go. In addition to Bodega Flower Girl , the lovely plant-based spot Matt Kettmann recently covered, below are a selection of local stars on the grocery scene.
Coyote’s Market
“Everything on our shelves is here because we strongly believe in the producer, the sourcing, and the story,” said Caroline Hernandez, who owns Carpinteria’s new gem, Coyote’s Market, with her husband, Peter. Caroline honed her cooking chops in the foodie-mecca of San Francisco at the award-winning Fogcutter Catering and then branched into producing spectacular culinary events around the world at Outstanding in the Field. Peter and his family own Central Coast–based Hernandez Family Ranch, which specializes in regenerative agriculture. The common denominator between these two culinarians: a love for their Carpinteria roots, with a focus on thoughtful sourcing and stewardship of the land.