Following Julia Child’s Tasty Trail Around Santa Barbara

The culinary icon had some surprising favorites around the city she called home later in life.

Following in Julia’s footsteps

The prolific writer and cooking show superstar famously fell in love with food while visiting France for the first time with her husband, Paul. But her egalitarian tastes ranged from high brow to low. Hello, Costco hot dogs! That’s right, Costco is on the official Julia Child guide to Santa Barbara County. The In-n-Out in Goleta was also a favorite haunt.

The guide was published in early 2020 and received all sorts of attention. Food & Wine gushed: “There’s finally a Julia Child food map.”

During a recent visit to the area, I hit a few of those spots and was a bit shocked by what I discovered. 

But first, a little background

I think every Julia Child fan has a story about how they discovered her. My introduction came by way of a crazy uncle who taught me a thing or three about cooking. He used to do a Julia Child impression when he was making chicken, recreating the famous faux pas in which she retrieves a bird she’d dropped on the floor while prepping on live TV. That boo boo that went viral years later in a skit on Saturday Night Live. 

Many years later, I trembled as I introduced myself to the legend at a culinary event in Seattle. She couldn’t have been nicer. I’m extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to be in her presence a few more times and each encounter was special. She was extraordinary in her life’s work. Her mission was to get home cooks excited about tackling amibitious projects, but her true gift was in her ability to shrug off mistakes. To make citron presse out of lemons. 

The chicken falls on the floor? NBD. Wash it off and move on. After reading about her considerable struggles to get her first book published in the excellent book, The French Chef in America, I was even more impressed by her considerable achievements. 

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Julia who?

One of my first stops on the Julia Child culinary trail was at a classic diner in Carpenteria, just south of Santa Barbara. This community calls itself California’s last great beach town. It’s where Julia and her family spent summers when she was a kid, growing up in Pasadena.

Some of those old haunts are still around, including an old-school diner called Esau’s. It’s been flipping flapjacks since 1939 and don’t think you’re going to get a table without waiting if you show up on a busy weekend. 

I arrived early on a weekday, riding my bike from our beachside campsite at Carpenteria State Park. It was chilly, but I opted to sit outside. 

When I asked the server if he knew what Julia Child used to order, he looked confused and asked: Who? 

OK, yes, she’s been gone since 2004. But it seems to me that a restaurant featured on the Julia Child food trail guide should have a special scramble named in her honor. At the very least.

Still, I thoroughly enjoyed the chili relleno omelette and the crispy hashbrowns on the side. The biscuit was also a thing of beauty in its tall stature and its distinctive buttermilk-y flavor. 

Moving on up the street, I stopped at Robitaille’s Candies and asked: What kind of candy was Julia sweet on? 

This sweet shop is decidedly old-fashioned, offering up an extensive selection of fudge, nut clusters and hard candy. Ever heard of divinity? Probably not, but your grandma loves it and they make it in the back at this landmark sweet shop.

Unfortunately, the clerk behind the counter didn’t have a clue what The French Chef used to purchase. “That was a long time ago,” she said.

Yes, it sure was. And yet eating a chunk of chocolate covered toffee somehow transported me back to another time. One in which I didn’t need to worry about an unexpected trip to the dentist if I bit down too hard on that exquisite example of nearly burned sugar and butter coming together to create something magical. 

For years, I had a tradition of making English toffee during the holiday season. But it’s a hot mess and there’s absolutely no way I could pull it off in my 23-foot motorhome without setting off the smoke detector. 

So, I loaded up on some more goodies in Julia’s honor. I think she would have gotten a kick out of the white chocolate truffle shaped like a deviled egg and the chunk of divinity destined to be delivered to my beloved aunt. It’s unlikely that I would have walked in the door if it hadn’t been for the map and I’m awfully glad I did.

Call to action?

While it’s very cool that the Santa Barbara Culinary Experience created the tasty trail map, I’d sure love to see the organization work with those featured to keep the story of this extraordinary icon burning brightly.

At La Super Rica, the last stop on my quick tour, I once again got a blank stare when I asked WWJD? What would Julia do? I’m guessing she probably liked the tamales, especially during the holidays, so that’s what I ordered.

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