{santa barbara} TRAVEL Artists working on a street mural in The Funk Zone.
ON THE RADAR: THE FUNK ZONE
Santa Barbara
It may sound like a 1970s disco track, but Santa Barbara’s edgy new Funk Zone is the epitome of Zeitgeist cool.
TUCKED AWAY downtown, the artsy hipster enclave couldn’t be more different from the city’s sparkling southern foreshore flush with glamorous hotels, pretty, palm-lined beaches, yuppie yogis and reclusive A-list celebrities. In stark contrast, The Funk Zone is a gritty, scruffy, abandoned industrial hub that has undergone an unrecognisable transformation. The cheap real estate has made operating businesses viable for young artists, chefs and entrepreneurial winemakers, while the street art is so impressive it has its own Tumblr account. Like the rest of Santa Barbara, The Funk Zone has a chilled-out vibe — albeit with an indie edge. Wood carvers, ceramicists and surfboard shapers cruise through their open garage studios. Galleries, homewares, fashion and art supply shops sit between craft distilleries, boutique microbreweries and organic kitchens. The derelict warehouses, forgotten scuba shops and vacant sheds around the neighbourhood (off State Street) have led to a close-knit crew of creatives forging the next-gen community of cool. virginaustralia
EAT The hottest new restaurant in the area is The Lark, offering fresh, Southern Cali cuisine sourced from regional producers. Divided into ‘the ranch’, ‘the farm’ and ‘the ocean’, the menu delivers shared plates such as cast-iron-roasted broccolini and smoked farro with charred lettuce. The warm interior is made from repurposed materials including old church pews and a wooden communal table. The owners also operate the more casual Lucky Penny next door, which serves craft coffee and wood-fire pizza. Situated on the site of the historic Santa Barbara Fish Market, the eateries are part of the Anacapa Project — a boutique block that connects nine establishments. Meanwhile, the roaming Burger Bus offers ‘street food’ sourced from farmers
markets and local growers. It’s a low-key operation that once made a stop at Drew Barrymore’s wedding. DRINK Part of the wine-growing region that includes the Santa Maria Valley and Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara is renowned for its abundant wineries and vineyards and is where a group of young trailblazers strips wine of its pretension. Les Marchands Wine Bar & Merchant is the brainchild of 30-something Brian McClintic, one of only 211 professional master sommeliers in the world. It’s the planet’s highest credential for a sommelier, with an admission exam so hard that the self-proclaimed ex-baseball ‘jock’ was the subject of the 2012 documentary SOMM. The affable McClintic hosts wine ▶
TAKE A SOUVENIR Santa Barbara boasts the flagship of Channel Islands Surfboards headed by Al Merrick — considered one of the best board shapers in the world. Bag some branded thongs, bags and board wax.
AUGUST 2014
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