Road Trip - Industrial Eats, Sideways Lounge, and Santa Ynez Valley Botanic Garden (Buellton)

We still had some time to kill after having lunch at Bar le Cote. We decided a nice walk would be in order. Since we'd be staying in Buellton, I looked for a place to take a nice stroll and came across the Santa Ynez Valley Botanic Garden. So, after doing some additional shopping in Los Olivos we headed on over.

We parked at River View Park which is attached to the garden.

As we walked past one of the buildings, we saw some signs which gave us a bit of a pause.

Hmmmm.....Mountain Lions AND Rattlesnakes? Okay......

Still, it was such a nice spot, we sauntered onward.

There were some nice little trails; signage for various plants, and some really charming art.

It was a nice place to spend an hour or two.

Santa Ynez Valley Botanic Garden
151 Sycamore Dr.
Buellton, CA 93427

We then headed to our hotel right down the road to check in. We were staying at a hotel that was known from a certain movie. At that time it was a Days Inn, but it has been rebranded and has taken on the name of that movie. It is now the Sideways Inn. If you'd like to see more locations from the movie, this is a good resource.

We took a short rest after checking in. Then headed out to our dinner destination. One of the reasons we decided to stay in Buellton was to check out Industrial Eats. Our good friend Candice, knowing how much we loved the now closed Tiger! Tiger!, mentioned that we should try Industrial Eats. She told me that while it's not T!T! it did give off the same type of vibe. By staying at our hotel, we were just a short walk down Highway 246 from the restaurant.

Industrial Eats is located in what seems to have been a warehouse or auto repair shop in a previous life. The wide open and airy space is quite welcoming.

Industrial Eats does it's own charcuterie and from what I understand works with local purveyors to create a farm to table experience. Much like how things went at Tiger! Tiger! you order at the counter. Things are written out on Butcher Paper, there's Pizza, Not Pizza, and Sandwiches.

And also specials on clipboards in front of the counter.

We ordered, got our number thingy, and had a seat. Soon enough, dishes started arriving. Based on the prices, we were a bit surprised as the dishes were larger than we expected.

First to arrive was the Watermelon, Heirloom Tomato, and Mozzarella ($16).

This was so refreshing. The mild sweet-bitterness of the watermelon, with the sour-sweet-acidity of the tomatoes really balanced things out. The basil added the anise tones, the balsamic a touch of fruity-sourness, and the Mozzarella, which was creamy-milky-sour! This was so good.

Next up was the Smoked Duck with Citrus ($16).

The toothsome duck had a mild smokiness, with a touch of an almost offal like flavor. The greens were crisp and fresh, the citrus added a nice acidity.

The White Shrimp and Garlic ($16) was quite good.

While the shrimp was a tad overcooked, it was still nice and sweet. The slices of garlic added some pungency, the broth was richer than it looked.

We really enjoyed the Spinach, Bacon, Blue Cheese ($14) which came crowned with a tasty sunny side up egg.

Loved the earthy, but not overly funky blue cheese and that delicious egg; the yolk was so tasty. The vinaigrette was perfect with the spinach and the cheese, and the bacon added a bit of salty-savory bites.

As you can tell, we really enjoyed this meal. It was quite a bit of food for two, but this was such a satisfying meal. It was the ingredients that were highlighted and we really did get Tiger! Tiger! vibes eating here.

Thanks for the recommendation Candice! We can't wait to return!

Industrial Eats
181 Industrial Way
Buellton, CA 93427

It was getting dark as we walked back to the Sideways Inn. As the Missus and I headed to our room, we glanced over to the Hotel's Bar.

There's also a food truck, but we'd already eaten. The bar looked interesting so we decided to get a nightcap.

The bar area had what looked like locals watching sports. I got a lager, which was fine.

Service was friendly, the beer nicely chilled, it was a nice end to a fun day.

Sideways Lounge
114 East Hwy 246 #9724
Buellton, CA 93427
 

Comments

[SageOlson]

I LOVE Industrial Eats. I don’t drive through the central part of CA as much as I used to but whenever I do I always make it a point to stop there. Good to hear it’s still delicious.

[Kirk]

Yes Sage, Industrial Eats is a definite winnah! Good to hear from you; hope all is well!

[kat]

what a nice meal

[Candice]

Glad you enjoyed it! I think you would like their beef tongue pastrami sandwich.

[Kirk]

We really enjoyed it Kat!

Thanks again for the recommendation Candice! I'll remember that sandwich for our next visit!

[Soo]

Cool botanical garden!

[Kirk]

It was a nice little stop Soo!