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Santa Barbara - 1 place, need ideas..

  • 6

-Under 15 a person.
-No Mexican
-Just stopping for a quick lunch on the way up to SLO.
-Any type of food is fine (except mexi)

Any ideas? Thanks.

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  1. Silvergreens on Chapala Street. Healthy salads, burgers, sandwiches, pasta, low-cal shakes made very fresh and a good value. Quick, but not fast food and near the freeway.


    1. You might want to think about stopping in Carpinteria, instead of Santa Barbara which is the new sleeper restaurant town for this area. This is about 20 miles south of Santa Barbara and the freeway off ramps I believe is Linden Avenue. Lots of non-Mexican choices there in a quaint small town.

      If you can stand the hunger longer than Santa Barbara, our favorite road trip stop is in Pismo Beach with yummy BBQ at Mo's on their main street - Philthy Phil's ribs are hauntingly delicious. Worth the extra time and miles to wait until you get there.

      4 Replies
      1. re: glbtrtr


        there are already plans to stop in Guadalupe for La Simpatia and again in Pismo for Splash Cafe...Coming from San Diego, I'm HOPING I can stand the hunger until I get to Santa Barbara...in all honesty, I'll probably have to add a stop somewhere in LA as well...

        As far as Mo's, I went to college down south and have eaten BBQ in all the hot spots, memphis, alabama, carolina, etc. I'd probably just be setting myself up for disappontment.

        1. re: yanks26dmb

          Mo's brags about his 100 stop tour of exactly all those places you mentioned in search of his perfect BBQ and the spot is adorned with memorabilia from this trip. There is always a line at Splash which shows they are doing something right, so if you want to eat and run at least do Mo's once and then tell us how it could be better. And be sure to get some coffee flavored salt water taffy down the street towards the ocean at HotLix.

          How about trying Sly's in Carpinteria or Gianfranco's also on Linden Ave in Carpinteria as your midway foodie stop. 101 is emerging as a sort of culinary Road of Dreams with this growing collection of excellent food stops in unlikely places.

          1. re: glbtrtr

            Thanks for the suggestions GLB.

            Just checking out Mo's now...Looking at his BBQ Road Trip right now. It's a shame he completely skipped Alabama, which I feel has the BEST bbq in the country (Dreamland BBQ). That being said...I think I'll have my girlfriend wait in line at Splash, while I run down to get a half slab sampler from Mo's :-D

            Ill report back on how it went!

            1. re: yanks26dmb

              Get the Philthy Phil's. You get four choices. Love to learn what Alabama would do differently because having tried some of the four offerings here, there is definitely a difference and I am guessing Philthy Phil is not even a traditional southern one but a tweak by someone named Phil that may never have gone south of the Mason Dixon line.

              But they are d*mn fine for Coastal California which also deserves to be on the map with Mo's fine efforts. After all (you know the chant) Mo knows BBQ, but he don't know fish and he don't know chowda.

              Will love getting your report and please tell us more about 'Bama BBQ. Thnx and have a great trip. Let's do draw a Foodie 101 map for Chowhounders because this is an often asked question.