My real-estate website takes one small step forward every week, and it should be ready by mid-June (when we'll be in Scandinavia, but whatever). Increasingly, I think the site will cover real estate rather broadly, including the openings and closings of businesses, and perhaps have advice for travelers and transplants. As such, I've been trying to frequent noteworthy restaurants that are new to me—and since Adam is out of town, I took the opportunity to visit two that he would've resisted going to.
The first was Taqueria El Bajio. I had asada and abodaba tacos and a cheese tamale, and I didn't need to eat again for hours, which doesn't mean I didn't eat again for hours. It was all excellent, and El Bajio is a worthy option when La Super-Rica Taqueria (famously blessed by Julia Child, with whom I once spoke on the phone, but that's a story for another day) is closed or too busy.
The second was Brophy Bros., a seafood joint on the second floor of a building at the Santa Barbara harbor. The location is superb—no cars anywhere nearby, and views over the boats bobbing on the water, with the mountains in the background. The menu touts the sustainability and freshness of the seafood, but the preparations are uninspired, so I ordered defensively: fish and chips. The fish was nicely fried and the fries were good enough, and it was a rare opportunity to eat cocktail sauce. I don't think I'll go back, but I'm glad it's there.
The server was great, but mid-meal, she put a moist towelette on my table. Was she trying to tell me something?
After lunch, I took a walk out on the breakwater, which was pleasant until a cloud passed over the sun, the wind picked up, and raindrops started to fall.
I got the hint. In the parking lot, two sightings gave me joy: "Stop" signage that appears to have been drunkenly hand-painted, and a truck touting a cleaning company's expertise with red stains. (They are annoying, but are they that annoying?) It reminded me of the year Adam gave me red-wine stain remover as a birthday gift.
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Adam likes to buy lilies at the farmers' market—they're really beautiful—but this week he inadvertently bought the ones that smell. The fragrance is intense any time of year, but in allergy season, it's kryptonite. I went through two-thirds of a box of Kleenex yesterday before getting over feeling sorry for the flowers and throwing them out. They got their revenge.
This was tragic, because my Morgenstern's sweatshirt reliably gets comments from people. (Socialization!) I went online to investigate how to get rid of lily pollen. The first suggestion was to use tape to lift it off, which helped a little. The second was to leave it out in the sun, because occasionally the pollen will fade away. And that's what happened! It was magical. I tell this story because it's all I've got sometimes we all need reminding that the internet can be a force for good.