bouchon santa barbara

9 W. Victoria Street phone: (805) 730-1160
Santa Barbara California 93101 email: info@bouchonsantabarbara.com



"With seasonal menu changes, bouchon hits a bull's-eye when it comes to fine dining with an understated flair."

Santa Barbara Magazine, June/July, 2003

"Bouchon, an education in the best of the region's agriculture-- and viniculture."

Bon Appetit, June, 2002

" favorite Recipes "

  1. Bourbon & Maple Glazed Duck

  2. Pacific Ahi Tuna

  3. Molten-center Chocolate Cakes

  4. Venison Loin

  5. Tarte Tatin

    Cooking Class recipes on 'special events' page

"An always-intriguing seasonal menu derived from Santa Barbara County's Wine Country and fresh ingredients, this intimate restaurant lies hidden behind a shrubbery portal in the heart of downtown. The food and service are impeccable, and an experienced staff stands ready to help coordinate by-the-glass wines for each course."

The Best Restaurants in California

Frommer's, California 2005

"These people are serious about wine and the food is creative without being over-the-top; flavors are bright and fresh."

Wine Spectator, June 15, 1999

visit our sister restaurant devoted to fine dining seafood: www.seagrassrestaurant.com

bouchon santa barbara = wine country cuisine

the concept

I created bouchon to reflect my image of fine dining— the freshest ingredients, prepared with care. Excellent wines that reflect the quality and character of our region and work in concert with the cuisine. Warm, inviting ambience, service at a relaxed, leisurely pace.

the food

We source all of our ingredients using an ‘as-fresh-and-as-local-as-possible’ approach, with fish from the Santa Barbara Channel, produce from the surrounding countryside and meats and poultry from local micro-ranches. You’ll taste a difference.

the wine

We believe that Santa Barbara is producing some of the finest California Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah. Other locally produced varietals will surprise you with their quality, variety and approachability. On the last page of the wine list you will find a page of forty or so Santa Barbara wines that we feature by the glass. Please ask your server for recommendations on how any of them may match up with your dinner selections. Bon Appètit!

Mitchell Sjerven, Proprietor

random details:

  • Dinner Nightly from 5:30 pm

  • we gladly prepare vegetarian items

  • bouchon santa barbara opened Bastille Day 1998

  • a non-mandatory gratuity of 20% may be added to tables of 6 or more

  • private dining in the cork room available for groups of 10 – 20 pp

  • corkage is $25./750 ml (not permitted for groups of ten or more)

  • bouchon means wine cork in French

  • restaurant-quality catering for intimate dinner parties

  • we shop year-round at the Farmer’s Market

biographies:

Mitchell Sjerven, Proprietor

A twenty-five year restaurant veteran, Mitchell owns & operates bouchon santa barbara. His passion lies in providing an authentic, regional dining experience.

Mitchell graduated the University of California, Santa Barbara with a degree in International Relations, Political Science. As a member of the Board of Directors for the Greater Santa Barbara Lodging Association, Mitchell is very active in promoting tourism to the Santa Barbara region.

In 2000 bouchon santa barbara was selected by the State of California to be the exclusive caterer for the IMAX film “Adventures in Wild California”, representing ‘California Cuisine’ in twenty international cities. Traveling to the premiere of the film, bouchon created post-screening receptions at each IMAX venue, bringing a “Taste of California” to movie-goers around the world

With wife, Amy, daughters Madeline and Caroline, Mitchell has been a Santa Barbara resident since 1985.

Chef Josh Brown

A nine-year restaurant veteran, Chef Josh Brown hails from Northern California. At eighteen he began cooking full-time and graduated the culinary program at Santa Barbara City College in 2000. Passion instilled, Josh went to work at some of the finer restaurants in Santa Barbara with the goal of one day opening his own, intimate fine dining restaurant.

In 2000, Chef Brown joined the staff at bouchon santa barbara, was quickly promoted to sous-chef and for the past two years has been preparing wine country cuisine on a nightly basis. “One of the best parts of being a chef in Santa Barbara is the availability of extremely fresh, high-quality ingredients, especially at the Farmer’s Market,” exclaims Chef Brown. Running the kitchen at bouchon since 2003, Josh enjoys working in a close, team-oriented environment. “Beyond the obvious passion for food and the guests who get excited about it, it’s the people who share the space next to you on the line that makes chef work so rewarding”.

“One of my favorite things about the kitchen at bouchon santa barbara is the open line. I especially enjoy having guests come up to the window and say ‘hello’ and ‘goodnight’ and let me know how they enjoyed their dinner. It’s cool that people know it’s o.k. to approach the Chef and connect in a personal way.”

Those before me who have paved the way— inspired me to become a Chef and influenced my decision to do so in fine dining — include Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud and Alice Waters. I’m especially appreciative of my time with Chef Charles Fredericks, says Chef Brown, who inspired me to “allow the food to tell me how to cook it.”

Chef Brown dreams of owning his own restaurant one day. “I want to take advantage of the incredible bounty of local ingredients Santa Barbara has to offer”, says Chef Brown, “and in a very small environment where I can create, design and cook a menu that allows me to get excited about chanterelles, favas and braising game!”

Josh Brown, Santa Barbara Chef.

recipes (more recipes on 'Special events' page):

Roasted Tri-color Beet & Baby Carrot Salad

with Oregano vinaigrette, purple haze goat cheese, sweet onion and crushed toasted hazelnuts

Oregano vinaigrette:

1 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

¼ cup champagne vinegar

1 T. Dijon mustard

1 t. minced shallots

2 T. freshly dried oregano*

Salt & Pepper to taste

· Combine dried oregano, shallots, Dijon and vinegar in large bowl. Slowly drizzle in EVOO while whisking. Season with Salt & pepper to taste. Dressing keeps in fridge for one week.

Salad ingredients:

1 bunch baby yellow beets

1 bunch baby red beets

1 bunch candy stripe beets

1 bunch baby orange carrots

1 bunch baby yellow carrots

1 bunch baby red carrots

1 ea. small wheel Purple Haze goat cheese (sub goat cheese)

2 ea. small sweet onions

¼ cup crushed roasted hazelnuts

· Roast separately each individual type of beet in 1 T. EVOO (so as to not discolor lighter beets) at 350° or until tender, then peel after cooled.

· Trim carrot topes down to ½ inch remaining and snip ‘strings’ at bottom of carrots, if any. Wash well and roast all carrots together in 1 T. EVOO at 350° or until tender. Do not peel.

While beets & carrots are roasting, you can:

· Place goat cheese in freezer for 15 minutes & crumble just prior to salad assembly.

· Shave small sweet onions on mandolin, set aside

When ready to serve:

· Quarter beets, halve carrots and toss with onions and hazelnuts with 1/3 cup oregano vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper to taste and crumbled goat cheese over plated salad.

This salad pairs brilliantly with the 2005 Margerum ‘Purisima Mountain’ Sauvignon Blanc, enhancing the herbaceous characteristics of the dressing/earthy flavors of the beets & carrots without making the wine seem ‘vegetal’. Also, Sauvignon Blanc is considered a natural match with goat cheese and I like a lot in my salad!

Serves 4 (starter-sized salads)

1. Bourbon & Maple-Glazed Duck

with fava bean, butternut squash and applewood-smoked bacon succotash

Recipes

  1. Duck Stock

  2. Duck Confit

  3. Maple Glaze

  4. Succotash

1. Duck Stock

Duck bones

2 cups chopped carrots

2 cups chopped celery

4 cups chopped onions

4 gallons water

Preparation:

  • Remove duck legs and duck breast from the bird, set aside.

  • Roast bones in roasting pan at 450º for 1 hour or until golden—turn in 30’.

  • To roasting pan add water, carrots, celery, and onion

  • Boil and reduce heat.

  • Simmer for 6-8 hours, or until liquid is reduced to 2 quarts.

2. Duck Confit:

Purchase 4 duck legs and 1 lb. duck fat from reputable butcher.

Preparation:

  • Dry cure legs in refrigerator overnight in 1 part sugar, 2 parts salt.

  • Immerse legs in hot duck fat, take care not to splatter.

  • Add 4 dried bay leaves and 8 crushed juniper berries.

  • Bring to boil on stovetop, remove and put in 225° oven for 3 hours.

  • Set aside to cool.

3. Bourbon Maple Glaze

1 gallon bourbon whiskey

½ gallon maple syrup

¼ pound fresh thyme

Preparation:

  • Reduce whiskey in stainless pot (careful not to flame)

  • Add syrup last 3 minutes

  • Steep thyme for 15 minutes off heat

4. Succotash

8 oz. applewood-smoked bacon (julienne)

4 oz. leeks (julienne)

2 ears corn (cut from the cob)

8 oz. fava beans (cleaned and cooked)

1 lb. regular butternut squash

4 oz. fresh picked thyme

2 oz. heavy cream

Preparation:

  • Sauté bacon until properly cooked.

  • Add leeks, corn and butternut squash, cook thoroughly.

  • Add cream, thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Ready to serve:

  • In a separate pan cook the succotash as described in the recipe and set aside (keep warm for serving).

  • In a cold dry pan, over medium heat, slowly render duck breast and remove from pan when completely cooked (pour off excess fat). Replace pan over fire and increase heat. Sear cooked confit leg until exterior is golden brown.

  • Return breast to pan, add bourbon glaze and cook until a syrup-y consistency

  • Finish glazed duck in the oven at 450º for 2-3 min. This will cook center slightly and heat duck. After removing breast from oven let stand for 2-3 min., then slice.

Presentation:

On the plate, place heaping mound of succotash in center, arrange duck slices around succotash. Place duck confit on top of succotash and garnish with thyme. Bon Appètit!

2. Pacific Ahi Tuna

As featured on ‘FoodNation’ with Bobby Flay (June 8, 2005)

Yield: 4 main dishes

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Ahi (or substitute albacore) from fresh fish market

Muscatel Vinegar

1 qt. vinegar (substitute rice wine or champagne vinegar

White Beans

2 cups dried white beans, (soaked in 2 quarts water overnight)

½ cup white onion, diced

3 ea. cloves of garlic

to taste olive oil

to taste salt & pepper

to taste butter

Oven-roasted tomatoes

10 ea. Roma tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise

3 tbsp garlic, minced

2 tbsp parsley, Italian

2 tbsp olive oil


Preparation:

ä Making the Muscatel vinegar reduction: Reduce over medium heat until one cup remains.

ä Making the white bean purée: Cook soaked beans in simmering pot of water with onion and garlic until soft. Strain and let moisture drain out in a warm place. Blend in food processor until smooth, slowly adding butter & olive oil. Season to taste and keep warm until ready to serve.

ä Roasting the Tomatoes: Sprinkle garlic and parsley on top of halved Roma tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil, place in oven and let roast on a low oven setting for approximately 3-4 hours around 140°.

ä When ready to serve: Coat exterior of Ahi with herbs de Provençe and coarse salt mixture. On very hot skillet, in 3 tbsp oil, sear fish on all sides (approx. 30 seconds per side) by turning to ‘crust’ the exterior of the fish and yet keep the light purple center rare. Next, sauté some greens, asparagus or haricots verts to serve. Place mound of white bean purée just off-center on plate, slice albacore into slices and fan out around white bean puree. Add roasted tomatoes and drizzle muscatel reduction around plate and serve.

Wine Recommendations:

For the Sauvignon Blanc lover this dish presents wonderful possibilities. With an abundance of herbs, veggies and fish the Brander ‘Au Natural’ (Santa Ynez Valley) is a perfect match. Lots of acid, no oak and ready to take on this dish with zest. Those who go straight to Pinot Noir with fish these days, however, won’t be disappointed. Tuna is particularly well-suited to the earthy strains of Santa Barbara County pinots. Try the Fiddlehead, Clos Pepe or melville (Santa Rita Hills) for some wonderful wines that are earthy and fruity, but too ripe.

3. bouchon santa barbara Chocolate Cakes

1 lb.

Santa Barbara Chocolate*, chopped into rough chunks

5

Eggs, whole

5

Egg yolks

6 T.

Sugar

¾ cup

Flour

*Great local chocolate product www.santabarbarachocolate.com

A good Belgian substitute would be Callebaut. Valrhona (French) works well too!

A simple, yet delicious recipe for mouth-watering chocolate cake. Because of the simplicity of this dish, the highest quality chocolate and farm fresh eggs, if at all possible, are desired.

To prepare:

  • Melt chocolate over water bath to 104 degrees (or until liquid).

  • Beat eggs and sugar with whisk until fluffy, fold in melted chocolate.

  • Stir in flour.

  • Divide batter equally into 8-10 small 8oz. ramekins, buttered and sugared.

  • Bake 7-9 minutes and serve immediately.

  • Center should still be moist and gooey.

Serve with coconut ice cream (or another that sounds good to you!) and sprinkle with crushed macadamia nuts.

If desired, individual cakes can be prepared in advance and refrigerated overnight. Bake 15 minutes if chilled. If you do not have individual china ramekins aluminum muffin tins will do.

Serves 8 – 10

4. Honey-Mustard marinated Santa Ynez Venison

12 ounces

Grain:

Venison leg, boned (dinner for two)

1 cup

½ onion

Pearl barley

Red onion, small dice

2 cups

Sauce:

Water, cold unseasoned

1 cup

2 cups

¼ cup

1 t.

1 ounce

Garnish:

Port

Beef stock

Cranberries, dried

Honey

Butter

½ cup

Hazelnuts, toasted, large crush

Legumes, such as haricots verts or Blue Lake green beans make an excellent accompaniment to this dish.

Preparation:

§ Marinate venison: 24 hours in advance in 2 tablespoons honey, 3 cups port and 3 tablespoons whole grain mustard.

§ To make sauce: cook port until reduced by half, or until you have a thick, syrupy consistency. Then add beef stock and reduce again by ¾. Add cranberries to sauce to plump them. Finish sauce with honey and butter, set aside and keep warm until serving.

§ Simmer barley: 15 minutes in water. Drain and set aside. ‘Caramelize’ onions (sauté at very low temperature in olive oil) until translucent. Add to cooked barley. Set aside and keep warm.

§ Cooking Venison: Coat venison with kosher or coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Sear venison evenly, rolling in pan one quarter per turn so to as preserve an even cooking temperature and a beautiful dark purple ‘eye’ in the center of the loin.

§ Plating: Place large mound of barley in the center of plate Cut venison against the grain in thin (¼-inch thick) slices, fanning out on top of barley mound. Drizzle sauce around mound, sprinkle crushed hazelnuts on green beans or legume of choice.

Note: You can order venison locally in the Santa Barbara area from Lazy Acres or Shalhoob Deli.

5. Tarte Tatin

Ingredients:

12 large apples, preferably granny smith

(when in season, feel free to substitute peaches— firm, so as to not add too much moisture-- or pears)

‘puff pastry’

(Puff pastry often comes in standard 10” x 15” sheets. It can be purchased in the frozen food section, Pepperidge Farms is a widely available brand. You’ll need enough to cover either one 12” skillet or ten individual 3-4” molds)

for caramel:

1 cup sugar

1 # butter, quartered

½ cup red wine

¼ cup cream

Preparation:

q Make caramel in a medium-sized sauce pan, stirring sugar with a wooden spoon until it begins to caramelize. Carefully & slowly add red wine with a measuring cup avoiding steam. Stir until liquids are combined, then carefully and slowly add cream (adding cold liquid will create steam). Add butter a quarter at a time and continue to stir until caramel is brown and ‘pourable’. Will make enough for 10 individual ‘tarte tatin’ or a large one.

For individual Tarts:

q Slice fruit into ¼”-thin wedges, set aside. Pour caramel into molds (individual ramekins or shallow china ‘cappuccino’ cups work very well) and set aside. When ready to bake, place apples on top of caramel and bake for approx 15 minutes at 350°.

q At the same time, use a ramekin as a ‘cookie cutter’ and create individual puff pastry ‘tops’. Bake puff pastry separately until it rises and turns golden brown (approx 15-20 minutes). When ready to server, add round of puff pastry to top of ramekin and invert for each individual on a dessert plate.

For cast iron skillet version:

q Butter bottom of 12” skillet. Layer on pitted and halved peaches and pour caramel mixture over fruit. Fit cut out puff pastry sheet over top of fruit and bake together for approx 15 minutes at 350°. Carefully invert on wooden cutting board to cut and serve.

Yield

Serves approx. 10 desserts

Delicious a la mode, we serve with cinnamon ice cream (but vanilla bean is great, too)!

beyond here lie monsters...!