GETAWAYS • Friday Routine
Lobsters & pickles
SHIBANI MONE • senior chef de cuisine • Caruso’s at Rosewood Miramar Beach Monteceito
Neighborhood you live in: Santa Barbara
It’s Friday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
At Caruso’s, we begin the day by collecting and receiving our weekly produce from the farmer’s market. During this time, the team works together to make sure all the fresh ingredients have been handled with care and put away properly. It’s our way of respecting the farmers and the growers for their hard work.
What’s on the agenda for today?
We curate the menus day by day based off the ingredients we have at our fingertips. This approach keeps our team feeling creative, collaborative, and focused on sustainability and seasonality when crafting our dishes. Now that it is lobster season, we were excited to introduce a new dish on the Ocean Tasting menu: Santa Barbara Spiny Lobster Girasoli. We developed this recipe to compliment the delicate flavors of our locally sourced spiny lobster.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Tonight I plan on heading over to the Montecito Country Mart (which is just a short drive away from Caruso’s) to grab a delicious dinner at Bettina. Their menu is seasonal, and I fell in love with their carrot pizza when it made an appearance. For my day off, I’ll venture over to the Funk Zone in Santa Barbara for some cocktails and then dinner at Loquita. Their chicken paella is a must try.
How about a little leisure or culture?
When I’m not in the kitchen at Caruso’s, I spend my time cooking on the barbecue in my backyard. My golden retriever, Mr. Pickles, plays and runs around while I whip up different recipes. On sunny afternoons, I love to sip margaritas on the porch with a good book in hand. I also enjoy making my way to the Santa Barbara Farmers Market to pick up weekly produce. Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of becoming friends with many of the local vendors, so it’s always a fun opportunity to catch up and learn more about the ingredients they grow.
Any weekend getaways?
Two of my favorite getaways are Carmel-by-the-Sea up north or Crestline in Lake Arrowhead. They are both beautiful scenic drives and very dog friendly places.
While in Carmel I love to do the 14-mile drive and take in the seagulls, otters, and other wildlife that is abundant along the coast. Highway 1 itself is part of the escape, the scenic drive leads up to Carmel. There is a small coffee shop that I always stop at on my way there, Carmel Coffee House, which has the best croissants and Boulanger in town. We love strolling around the quaint little shops in town. Last time we discovered this little chocolate shop tucked away in the back called The Xocolatl Garden offering a hundred different types of chocolate bars and a chocolate tasting which we did as a group.
While in Crestline I like to go fishing and kayaking on Lake Arrowhead. It’s a mountain town that has this little Mexican restaurant right on the cliff called Hortencia’s with a thousand-foot drop protected just by a glass panel! Super unique and incredibly scenic. Usually dogs are a no-go but the owner now recognizes Pickles (since he has been there several times since being a puppy) and makes an exception.
What was your last great vacation?
My last great vacation was in Pattaya in Thailand. We were staying at the Rosewood Phukat and the food on property was phenomenal.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
I just recently bought and fell in love with an Audio-Technica record player. I have always wanted to have a vinyl collection for my home.