Yellow Belly Tap — Restaurant in Santa Barbara

Traffic mitigation strategies. What are some of yours? One of mine is just temporarily surrendering, pulling off the stinking freeway 😡, and finding literally anything else to do for a spell.

Therefore, all that I really asked of Yellow Belly was to be my sanity break from that parking lot formerly known as U.S. Highway 101.

Well they ended up being far more than that! Their “Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sandwich” was crispy and delicious! Although I was satisfied with the portion I was provided, I seriously wanted another one. Not because I was left wanting, but because I just wanted that dining experience to continue.

Their “Fig + Goat + Bacon Burger” was also outstanding. The figs and goat cheese provided a sweet and savory combo that matched the saltiness of the bacon wonderfully.

Their dining environment is on the minimalist side of the spectrum, but they offer fairly substantial outdoor dining opportunities.

There is absolutely no way that I could fail to mention the typewriter found in the restroom (multitasking anyone?). That is just the right about of quirkiness to appeal to me and engage my imagination. (And for those who may be wondering, that is NOT where this post was written. 😉)

I really enjoyed the 70’s Funk and Soul they were dishing out during our visit. 🎷🎶

The next time I’m visiting Santa Barbara it won’t take another California traffic jam to get me in here.

And that’s…Henry’s...

This is one of my favorite cozy places to go out in Santa Barbara. The menu is diverse and has rotating specials and they have an excellent beer menu. It's casual, but has the feel of a great place.for a date night. Dining is in or out and children are welcome too. The servers are always warm and friendly. It's not full service, you have to order at the bar and they bring your food out to you. So if you need something you'll have to flag someone down or go to the bar but the staff doesn't mind. My favorites are the chicken wings or one of the many inspired burgers they have. There is a contained children's play space in the back and the restaurant is very welcoming to kids. On a recent night out there were several families with young kids enjoying themselves in the family atmosphere. Prices are consistent with any place eating out in Santa Barbara, and they have...

I didn't want to drive to Oxnard, the closest Popeye's location, even though my experience has been that Popeye's fried chicken sandwich is the best possible. I thought a local, non-franchise restaurant, i.e. Yellow Belly, might be even better. What a bitter disappointment. The sandwich consists of a thick, dry, flavorless hunk of chicken meagerly draped in an unseasoned, soggy batter. Yellow Belly slips the uninspiring hunk of chicken into a french roll and adds flavorless cole slaw, flavorless pickled onions and a small smear of flavorless dressing. French fries, of the drearily predictable kind you get at most indifferent sandwich joints, round out the lousy meal at about twice the cost of the Popeye's sandwich. I still don't want to drive to Oxnard but I'll never waste my time and money at Yellow...