|
more articles like this
Restaurant Roy
updated: Feb 05, 2011, 9:45 AM
By Ms. Lemonjelly
Roy was one of those places that popped up on my radar after I'd returned to Santa Barbara from school. It was one of the first, in my mind, that seemed approachable and affordable to a Joe average person, and that sourced much of its produce from the farmer's market long before it became trendy to do so.
At the time, a prix fixe dinner provided fresh soup, bread, salad, and a main course that cost only about 25 bucks. I remember liking the bacon wrapped filet mignon and almond crusted halibut the most. Plus, it seemed to be the only sit-down restaurant that served dinner all the way up to midnight.
# # # #
Roy has always been an artist hub as well, drawing in local musicians, painters and the like. I run into art curators, art gallery staff, music writers, all sorts of artisans winding down their days, and they sit alongside happy hour office types, birthday parties, tourists and everyone gets along. I gotta give the place props for always having a local feel to it, from the old Jolly Tiger neon sign, to Brad Nack's annual reindeer art show that sells out every holiday season. He and musician Spencer Barnitz (Gobble Song, anyone?) are often assisting with table service, too.
In recent times and recent economic downturn, Roy made adjustments to the menu to make smaller meals more affordable. At the worst of economic times, the restaurant offered a "soup kitchen" special at lunch, with soup and freshly baked bread for just $5. Now, there's a $10 menu that's good for dinner. The food on the menu isn't necessarily different, it just offers the ability to mix and match the menu to suit your hunger level and the price you can afford. The prix fixe is still great, but I admit it's too much food for me, especially if it's late. For the most part, the $10 menu is the main course of the prix fixe meal, skipping the soup and salad.
A small group of us headed over to Roy around 10 pm last week, after we'd all attended an art exhibition opening, and we explored some of the $10 options. The menu is still hand-written, as I've always known it to be. 
# # # #
The meal started out with the usual hot bread we've always had at Roy. It's whole wheat sliced loaf, served with butter. Fresh, nutty, delicious and so good we had two rounds of it before our main dishes even arrived.
# # # #
Two of us got the pork chop. It's a thick cut of pork topped with sautéed apples, and served alongside market vegetables and Roy's signature potato pancakes and crème fraiche. Roy's also used fresh rosemary sprigs as garnish for as long as I've been eating there, so expect there to be a lightly infused flavor of rosemary to everything on the plate.
# # # #
A favorite dish from the $10 menu is the mussels in a white wine sauce with house made fettuccine. I've had this several times (although not tonight). I don't know how Roy does it, but these mussels are some of my favorite in town. Each time I've had them, they've been plump and tender, almost buttery. If you can, save some of the bread to sop up the juices of dish.
My dish tonight was chicken marsala, with lots of tender mushrooms in the sauce, and the usual vegetables and potato pancakes on the side. Yummy. Another good item to save a little bread to soak up any remaining marsala wine sauce.
# # # #
The ambiance is dark and eclectic, with candles at the table and arty lamps spread throughout. The people who eat there run the range of young to old, hip to mainstream. I generally like to eat at the bar and chatter with friends who come and go, but it's sometimes nice to sit farther back in a booth along the wall and enjoy a little privacy.
# # # #
Roy
7 W. Carrillo Street
Santa Barbara 93101
www.restaurantroy.com (parts are under construction)
14 comments on this article. Read/Add
# # # #
|
