Eve's Wine 101

MATT AND JEFF NICHOLS ANNOUNCE OPENING OF SIDES HARDWARE AND SHOES, A BROTHERS RESTAURANT

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Doors Open for Full Service of Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner in Historic Los Olivos Building

Brothers Matt and Jeff Nichols, chefs and long time Santa Barbara County restaurateurs, have opened their new restaurant, Sides Hardware and Shoes, a Brothers Restaurant, at the former Side Street Café located at 2375 Alamo Pintado Avenue in Los Olivos, California, in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley, on April 16, 2012.

Buzz on the restaurant brings enthusiasm for the restaurant’s launch of breakfast, lunch and dinner service, a wonderful addition to the small village of Los Olivos.
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From The Work Boot with Brothers “bacon steak” – a thick cut of  house-made applewood smoked maple bacon,  Huevos Rancheros and Cinnamon and Golden Raisin Beignets for breakfast; the Hammered Pig Sandwich of Fried Pork Tenderloin with Apple and Mustard Seed Slaw, Roasted Turkey Sandwich with Bacon and Guacamole on Herbed Focaccia,  a classic Brothers Burger and fresh Albacore Fish Tacos for lunch;  as well as Marinated Santa Barbara Olive Appetizer,  Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes, Lamb Sirloin with Herbed Gnocchi  and Salmon with Fingerlings, Pesto and Asparagus for dinner,  Sides Hardware and Shoes adds to the repertoire of Nichols dishes that have become a Los Olivos tradition among devoted locals and visitors over the past decade. Diners will enjoy the dessert menu of comfort sweets, including Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Macaroon Sandwiches and Mud Sundae with Hot Fudge, Caramel and Pecans, borrowing flavors from Brothers classic Mud Pie.

Jeff and Matt Nichols © Brie Cromer 2012

Matt and Jeff Nichols welcome Brothers’ alumni join to form a formidable operating team.  Leading the kitchen is Seth Nelson, Chef de Cuisine, and Pastry Chef Stephanie Jackson brings her talent to the dessert department.
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  The front of the house is capably handled by General Manager Brianna Cromer who oversees the complete running of the restaurant.

The name and concept of the new location is based on the history of the building, founded in 1901 by Milburn Sides, who arrived in Los Olivos with his parents around 1888, shortly after the town was established.  “Matt and I want to honor our community and local history by preserving this building and creating menus that also bring American craftsmanship to the table,” said Jeff Nichols.

Upon entering the restaurant, decorated in buttery pale yellow wood paneling, light browns with white wooden beams, and a decorative tin ceiling, guests can option table seating or a seat at the bar flanking the kitchen for full service. Matt Nichols, who also directs the wine program, has installed an innovative system of eight local wines, stored in kegs and served on tap by the glass, or available from quarter to full litre.  “Not only are we able to maintain the temperature and high quality each individual winemaker envisions,” says Nichols, “we are effectively reducing the impact on the environment by eliminating unnecessary packaging such as bottles, corks, labels and boxes.”

Matt and Jeff Nichols collaborated in the remodel and design with Architect Evans Jones and local interior designer Michelle Neels, in an effort to infuse the existing historical and architectural elements of the interiors and transform the old café into a modern wine bistro. Their use of warm colors, natural woods, cast iron, leather, vintage style lighting, ceiling fans and brushed stainless steel establish a genuinely comfortable and relaxed venue to enjoy great food and pay homage to American craftsmanship from the early 1900’s. The beautiful custom bar area acts as an inviting stage, enhancing the dining experience and drawing in the strolling passersby in the village.  Curt Cragg, Archivist for the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Society helped locate the historical pictures of Los Olivos that adorn the walls. “I appreciate Matt and Jeff’s commitment to honor the history of Los Olivos, especially the Sides building,” says Cragg.  I think the brothers appreciate local history more than most after honoring Mattei’s Tavern with their presence for so many years.”

Sides torn down the original single story structure in 1914 and built the two story building that stands today.  The upper floor was used for local functions including dances, carnivals and even an occasional poker game or two. The family operated it primarily as a local hardware store until 1976. Since then, the building has served to house a variety of art galleries and restaurants.

Breakfast service for Sides Hardware and Shoes, a Brothers Restaurant runs daily from 7 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Lunch is served from 11:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. and dinner service runs nightly from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.  Complete menus will be posted soon on the company website and Facebook page.

Influenced by the Iowan family gardens of their youth, Matt and Jeff Nichols have cooked for over a half million people since the beginning of Brothers Restaurant in 1996.  Their first cookbook of their guests’ favorite dishes, Brothers Cuisine, Recipes from Santa Barbara, California Wine Country, published in December 2010 and available for purchase at the restaurant or on their website, www.brothersrestaurant.com, has already sold over 3000 copies.

For more information, contact:
Sides Hardware and Shoes, a Brothers Restaurant
2375 Alamo Pintado Avenue, Los Olivos, California 93441
805. 688.4820
www.brothersrestaurant.com or www.Opentable.com
Follow Sides Hardware and Shoes, a Brothers Restaurant on
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sideshs?ref=ts and Twitter: brothersresto

Book Review: The Drunk Diet Crumbles The Cookie Diet, by Eve

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Luc Carl, New York City bar manager, DJ, and, what is most important to me: someone that drinks, diets and exercises, pretty much drew me into reading his book after this wild ride of an intro:

“The Drunk Diet is not a diet plan that involves getting drunk and then going to the gym to do some cross training…The point is not to get drunk and get into shape…The Drunk Diet is me being a smart-ass and giving the finger to every other “(fill in the blank) Diet” book on the shelf.  This is my story.  If you don’t like it, write your own f—ing book.”

(Note from Eve: Okay, I took out the f word as I don’t want my spam filter to go nuts with a bunch of f—ing comments.)

Carl drinks and works at a bar.  In that sense he’s just like the rest of us, whether I choose to sip and evaluate wine or Luc chooses to throw back a wild concoction he’s made at his bar.  (See Recipe Sunday on 5/13 for his light cocktail recipes.)  Some of what I thought I’d get: changes in his food choices and growing exercise regimens, yes, but I also gained from his perspective on enjoying life within some semblance moderation.

One of Carl’s motivators early on was a line that Bill Murray coughed out as he failed to do a single decent push-up in the movie Stripes, “I gotta get in shape. I gotta dry out or I’ll be dead before I’m thirty.”

Those of us that enjoy wine, or spirits, may enjoy food just as much, myself very much included.  Carl says “When you’re drunk, your body encourages you to eat as much as possible to soak up all that booze.”

Carl mentions the Cookie Diet, and I used it in the title of this review because, as Carl puts it, diet “books were saying the same thing: you can’t drink if you want to lose weight.  I can’t drink but there’s something on the shelf called The Cookie Diet? F— you.”  I felt the same way…really, how healthy and effective can a cookie be?

Carl then takes readers on his journey, not the healthiest of diets since he was a kid, and then later, morphed into the bar scene full throttle.  Once he hit 40 pounds of excess weight, he decided he wanted to be sexy and that became his mantra.

“My whole life, I thought fresh vegetables were gross and pretentious.

(I didn’t even know what the word “pretentious” meant until I moved to the big city.  Just saying the word is pretentious where I come from.)… I stopped thinking of vegetables as ‘asparagus’ or ‘string beans’; I was thinking of them as ‘confidence’ and ‘sex.’”

Carl says it’s easier just to start over with new restaurants, so that you don’t get caught in the rut of ordering what you’ve always ordered.  I know at a certain wine bar I always order the cheese plate, doubled if it’s my dinner.

Probably not the best of ideas to continue that.

He also talks about holiday eating and New Year’s resolutions.  He may still drink what he wants to for this “f—ing shit show to end – the day also known at January 2” but he heads right back to the gym on January 3.

He also tried giving up booze for a couple of weeks.  Worked on week one, and failed miserably on week two – because his body was used to a certain amount of calories. ( I was successful at that once, when Ed was on platoon duty – 24 hours on, 24 hours off – I drank with him at home, and abstained while he abstained at work.  That and the idea that he was doing P90X also motivated me.  I lost 10 pounds.  It’s creeped back and you know what, he’s headed back to platoon duty this very week.  So, it may not be January 3, but I know I can do it…as long as there isn’t a wine event I’m covering while he’s working!)

About halfway through The Drunk Diet Carl tells readers that wine is kind to the waistline: “There’s a reason they don’t call it a ‘wine gut’” – I’d like to have on a T-shirt.

The remaining part of the book is dedicated to Carl’s favorite exercises and his running goals.  I enjoyed watching him execute a push up in his New York bar and, have to admit, could feel his runner’s high.  Especially when he had a cigarette – I’ve never smoked – just before his first 5K.  He finally quit the habit.  But, he did admit to being drunk the night before!  Even ran in a Jack Daniel’s T-shirt = my hero!

In his conclusion he begins with a lament, “…why I couldn’t get drunk all day, eat like shit, get wasted, and repeat.  Wasn’t the human body designed to have fun all the time?”  And then he answered himself: “If we partied every day, all day, partying wouldn’t be that fun anymore.”  Agreed.

More info on the book and Luc Carl can be found here: http://drunkdiet.com