The locals of Los Alamos give their little Baby nicknamed California Town: Almost lost.
Not only because it’s small – Bell Street, the town’s main street, is only seven blocks long – but also because, for a long time, it was The kind of place people deliberately don’t talk about. “The rich and famous come to the Santa Ynez Valley to hide from the limelight,” explains Daisy Ryan. “They’re here to be alone.”
Lost – but only almost. Because despite its remote vibe, Los Alamos is actually easy to find: just three hours north of Los Angeles 59. “It’s next to one of the most important highways,” Ryan said with a smile. “So, really, it’s on off the beaten track.”
Ryan grew up in the area and has long been fascinated by legends here absorb. She can tell you how Los Alamos became a popular stop after the gold rush 65 years ago; how the hills around it were the inspiration for the legend of Zorro; Michael Jackson’s infamous Neverland is just down the road. She can also introduce you to the area’s newest attractions – its great farms, sprawling ranches, and easy access to the fresh seafood of the Central Coast.
She is right The love of this area is so deep that in the early days 150, after cooking at restaurants like Gramercy Tavern, Brooklyn Fare and Per Se, she Back in the valley with her husband Greg (who also worked at Per Se after working at the Tribeca Grill and Beverly Hills Hotel): a French restaurant in Los Alamos called Bell’s.
Daisy Ryan of Bell.
Courtesy of Daisy Ryan
“We don’t feel like there are any expectations of ourselves here,” Greg said of the town’s “lost, almost” appeal. “It allows us to be more creative and free.” Plus, the town already has a small food scene. Bob’s Well Bread is a beloved bakery run by a former Hollywood executive in 630, and vibrant flatbread, this is a Hand-fired wood pizzeria, always packed. Independent tasting rooms such as Lo-Fi Wines and Casa Dumetz are starting to pop up, while young winemakers from Sonoma and Napa flock to the region’s vineyards. “Building was slow; young people started making more interesting wines — Pinot, Chardonnay, Gamay, even sparkling wine — not just the usual California Cabernet,” explains Daisy. A community with a modern sensibility begins to form.
Attract them – and have – established communities of farmers and ranchers – to be Bell Focus. The Ryan family bought a small 68 building, originally the Bank of Italy, and work began. They kept the old floor tiles of the bank but replaced the deli counter of the former restaurant with a smooth stone bar. They built leather benches and decorated the dining room with old-fashioned Persian rugs and copper pots collected from long-ago trips abroad. They source produce and meat from surrounding farms and ranches, and even invite their neighbor — a real sea urchin diver — to bring them the fish she catches every day. And, knowing that winemakers in the region will appreciate the opportunity to taste products from outside their purview, they have compiled a wine list culled from far-flung places like Compagnia and Las Canarias. “We really wanted to be a restaurant that winemakers love,” explains Daisy. “We want them to say, ‘Oh, this place has an interesting wine list, it’s&#x; affordable, comfortable to sit and good food.’”
“Nice” is of course an understatement. As Executive Chef, Daisy has created a menu of seasonal French bistro classics with fresh flavors from California, and these “simple and elegant” dishes will linger long after your meal. For example, a delicious lasagna with Santa Barbara sea urchin and Regiis Ova caviar, and a delicious salad with freshly picked Finley Farms lettuce and Medjool date vinaigrette.And steak with fries, because “everyone loves french fries.”
Photo: Hiyama Carter
Photo: Hiyama Carter
Four years later, Daisy Cooking “French” – a combination of the words “French” and “Rancho” coined by the restaurant’s pastry chef Rusty Quirk – earned her the
Best New Chef Award Food and Wine , recently, this restaurant received a Michelin star. Visitors from all over California and beyond come to eat at Bell’s, making Los Alamos a culinary destination of its own. “It’s now part of people’s travel plans,” Daisy points out.
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So much so that the demand for stylish accommodation is also growing. To that end, Auberge Resorts Collection recently refurbished and opened a historic lodge at Mattei’s Tavern in the neighboring town of Los Olivos, offering Deluxe rooms and villas as well as pool and spa. (Ryans also recently opened a second restaurant in the town of Los Olivos, the Mediterranean-inspired Bar Le Cote.) In addition to the two retro-chic roadside motels in Los Alamos—the glossy Skyview and the minimalist Alamo Motel – There are also some well-appointed Airbnbs to choose from: Bodega House, an airy 630 farmhouse by a gorgeous open-air bar and the team behind the shop Bodega; mid-century decorated Cottonwood camp; and Centennial House, a cleanly refurbished former blacksmith shop Century House.
A room at The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern.
Photo: James Begley
But despite the new attention, Los Alamos has retained its avant-garde small town aesthetic and the unknown The magic of it – it’s still the kind of place where you can almost get lost. “There&#x;s an authenticity of what people are doing here; we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” Daisy said. “For Bell, it’s just a mixture of good luck and being in the right place at the right time.” As Greg said, “It’s amazing how certain circumstances can make this one-street town a reality. Thrive organically in a way no one has really dreamed of.”
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