Downey's Restaurant

Goodnight dear friends. It's been a good run of 35 years but now we are riding off into the sunset. We appreciate so much all the support you have given us. Without you Downey's could never have existed. This photo is of our memorable "Cast Party" after we had served the final feast. We may keep our Facebook page open for a while and post a recipe or two occasionally so keep a lookout for us. Cheers...John, Liz and all the Downey's staff.

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Thanks for the kind words Tim. I'm proud to say that at Downey's we continue to serve our guests food that is not very trendy at all. It's just wholesome, eye-appealing and tastes pretty good.

I ran into my friend Justin West (formerly owner of Julienne and now Wildwood) at the Farmers' Market Tuesday. He was looking pretty pleased and told me that we were both selected as one of the "Ten Essential Santa Barbara Restaurants" according to the online food magazine "la.eater". We ten are listed alphabetically so look for us under "D" for Downey's about half-way down. Justin lamented that Wildwood (with a"W") showed up at the bottom of the pack. I told him he should have called his new restaurant "Acme Barbecue" instead. This way he would have been listed first every time...not to mention a line of exploding Road-Runners out the door. See what I did there? You can see the whole article here https://la.eater.com/maps/best-santa-barbara-restaurants

Fresh from the Santa Barbara farmers' market. "Royal Blenheim" apricots with ricotta/cream cheese in an almond crust. This variety of apricot is incredibly flavorful but it has a very short season so we have to get them when we can. Same is true for the tart...I make only one each day. Eight pieces...when they're gone they're gone. Tasty.

Here are some lovely early "Early Girl" tomatoes I found at this morning's Santa Barbara Farmer's Market. They are really early in the season because they came from vines that were kept over the winter from last year in a very temperate field near the coast. They are absolutely delicious and available on our menu tonight!

The Frozen Peach Dacquoise is our favorite dessert right now. I start with Spring Crest Peaches from Regier Farms and make the ice cream which is layered between almond meringues. We coat the sides with toasted almonds and top with more fresh peaches. Finally we make a fresh strawberry coulis with berries from Lane Farms to serve with it. Would you like one?

It was a gray & drizzly morning at the Santa Barbara Farmers Market but my shopping cart looks good. Strawberries, turnips, papayas & a few fresh herbs. Eye-candy for chefs!

Red rock crab from Santa Rosa Island. We'll take the meat from the shell for you and serve it with papaya grown in Carpinteria (Golden State Papayas at the Farmers' Market) and fresh ginger-lime dressing. Good.

This is our lobster and angel hair salad. Look carefully and you'll see asparagus, sundried tomatoes, olives and basil. This time of year we use Maine lobsters, but come October when the season opens we'll be back with local spiny ones. Do you have a favorite?

Someone really likes the cauliflower soup! A lot!