Q&A: Exploring the Local Food and Mixology Scene with Erik Bell

A seasoned local guide provides the insider perspective of the culinary and mixology culture in downtown Santa Barbara.   

Erik Bell is a music specialist at the English Broadside Ballad Archive at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In this interview, he shared about his passion for the local food and cocktails.

What brought you to Santa Barbara and how did you become so familiar with the local bar scene? 

I originally came down here to pursue a terminal Master’s degree in Choral Conducting, quickly switching to an M.A./Ph.D. program in Music Theory. From day one, I was able to find a really good brewery nearby to the converted garage I was sharing. I didn’t actually become very familiar with the local bar scene until a bit after I moved from the campus area to downtown Santa Barbara. This mostly occurred through following up recommendations from friends/housemates, or getting invited to birthdays at various locations. After a while, familiarity with those few places led to recommendations from bartenders and fellow patrons I met while frequenting my favorite places. That, and the occasional random drop-in to places I just happened to be passing by.

Could you share the perks of living in downtown Santa Barbara?

I’ll start with the contrast of living away from downtown SB. Many people refuse to leave the UCSB/Isla Vista area because they wish to be near their work and studies. What most of these people don’t fully realize is that the UCSB/Isla Vista area is very isolated from everything else in the community. It is about a mile to the nearest shopping center with real supermarkets, restaurants, and breweries, and the pickings are somewhat slim. It even takes two busses to get to the Goleta Trader Joe’s, with lots of downtime between busses. The difference between living downtown and living in the UCSB/Isla Vista area is quite pleasantly shocking. The nearest supermarket is usually not much more than a 1/2-mile away, both Trader Joe’s in Santa Barbara are just a short bus ride away, and there are dozens of restaurants, breweries, wineries, cocktail bars, sports bars, movie theatres, stage theatres, and other entertainment venues, all within a short walking distance from where I have lived in downtown.

Describe some of your favorite local venues and your favorite cocktails at each location.

Good Lion Cocktail Bar (1200 block, State St., right next to the entrance of the Granada Theater), was the first place I really loved. They serve the best cocktails in town, using their own house-made fruit cordials (locally sourced!), infused liquors/liqueurs, and they don’t serve cheap liquor in anything they make. Service is super-friendly, albeit not the fastest (I’d rather have a really good drink than a quickly-made sloppy drink). Their prices are comparable to other places, but their quality is much higher. My favorite drink there is the Coffee Negroni. The people who own this place also own three other locations downtown: Test Pilot (I like the Loose Cannon), Shaker Mill (Prickle Rick), and Venus in Furs Wine Bar/Bottle Shop (Manzanilla Sherry).

For beer, I also really like Night Lizard Brewing, where I usually go for their Marsh Mouse Session IPA. The Biergarten in the Funk Zone, although they don’t brew their own, serves in 1L steins and 2L boots, and if you get there early enough, they are also the only place I know of in SB that serves German-style bratwurst.

For a decent sports bar (when it’s not too busy), I prefer O’Malley’s. It kind of helps that I was already a regular at their sister bar, The Study Hall in Isla Vista, before I started going there.

How has the local bar scene colored your weekend plans?

I used to just spend my time at either Good Lion, or at The Study Hall (Isla Vista). Once I heard about the other places owned by Good Lion Hospitality, I started making a weekly Sunday trek up and down State St. to have a single drink at each of the three locations (this is before Venus in Furs opened). I ended up adding O’Malley’s to the end of that, and on the way home from that, discovered Nigh Lizard. Pre-COVID-19, I would hit these places up every Sunday afternoon/night. As COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, I started hitting up Night Lizard first, maybe O’Malley’s or Venus in Furs, then meeting up with a friend or two and bar-hopping in the 400 and 500 blocks of State St.

Could you share about your home brewing and some of the favorite brews you cultivated?

I have been into homebrewing ever since I walked past a homebrew shop on the corner of Willamette and 18th in South Eugene, OR (I did undergrad at UO). Although I’ve made some pretty good ales in the past (and failed quite a few times!), my best so far was a Honey Cream Ale. I also tended to do well with Pale Ales and Stouts, although it’s usually too warm for the latter here in Santa Barbara.

If you have friends visiting from other places,  where would you take them for a celebratory meal and what would you recommend?

The celebratory meal? That really depends on what they’re looking for. For seafood, I’ve always liked the Santa Barbara Shellfish Company, on the very end of Stearn’s Wharf. If you order “to go” from their window, the service is pretty quick, and you’ll get to eat your meal outside on the pier with a really good view of most of the harbor area. You may have to deal with inquisitive seagulls.

For pizza, I recommend Olio Pizzeria in Victoria Court (just a bit off of State St.). I’ve heard the Olio e Limone restaurant/Crudo Bar is also really good for Italian food/drinks. For Italian food, I can definitely recommend Arnoldi’s, although that’s a few blocks off State St.

For sandwiches (daytime only), you can’t go wrong with Norton’s Deli on E. Figueroa. Best Pastrami Reuben I’ve ever had. It was even featured in Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Throughs and Dives.”

For ice cream, McConnell’s.

I’m still learning quite a bit about the food here, as most of my experience has been with the local bar scene. If you were to ask me in a year, I might have some new or different answers.