Dine Ojai — Restaurant Guide

AGAVE MARIA

Fresh, wholesome Mexican food & drink 106 South Montgomery Street (805) 646-6353 agavemarias.com

AJ EXPRESS CHINESE EXPRESS

Gourmet Chinese food to eat in or to go 11566 North Ventura Avenue (805) 646-1177 ajchinesecuisine.com

AZU

Spanish & Mediterranean comfort food 457 East Ojai Avenue (805) 640-7987, azuojai.com

BOCCALI’S

Pizza & Pasta, from our farm to our tables 3277 Ojai-Santa Paula Road (805) 646-6116 boccalis.com

BONNIE LU’S COUNTRY CAFE

Traditional American breakfast & brunch 328 East Ojai Avenue (805) 646-0207

CAFE EMPORIUM

Locals’ favorite breakfast and lunch 108 South Montgomery Street (805) 646-2723 ojaicafeemporium.com

CASA DEL LAGO

Ojai’s original Mexican restaurant 715 E Ojai Avenue (805) 640-1577

THE DEER LODGE

An Ojai legend since 1932 2261 Maricopa Highway (805) 646-4256 deerlodgeojai.com

FARMER & THE COOK

The best of organic Ojai 339 West El Roblar Drive (805) 640-9608 farmerandcook.com

FOOD HARMONICS

Nutritional Love 254 East Ojai Avenue (Arcade) (805) 798-9253

JIM & ROB’S FRESH GRILL

Mexican-American & regional favorites 214 West Ojai Avenue #100 (805) 640-1301 jimandrobsojai.com

JJ’S SPORTS ZONE

The go-to place for food & sports 820 North Ventura Avenue (805) 649-4655 jjssportszone.com

HIP VEGAN

Vegan sandwiches, salads & bowls 201 North Montgomery Street hipvegancafe.com (805) 669-6363

HOME KITCHEN OF OJAI

Breakfast and lunch in a warm space 1103 Maricopa Highway (805) 646-5346 HomeKitchenofOjai.com

KNEAD BAKING COMPANY

An artisanal family bakery 469 East Ojai Avenue (310) 770-3282 kneadbakingcompany.com

MANDALA

Pan-Asian Cuisine 11400 North Ventura Road (805) 613-3048

THE NEST

401 East Ojai Avenue (805) 798-9035 thenestojai.com

NO SO VITA

Ojai’s social cafe 205 North Signal Street (805) 646-1540 nosovita.com

OAK GRILL @ THE INN

Al fresco dining under vine-covered pergola 905 Country Club Road (805) 646-1111 ojairesort.com

OJAI COFFEE ROASTING COMPANY

Salads, sandwiches & superb service 337 East Ojai Avenue (805) 646-4478

OJAI PIZZA COMPANY

331 Ojai Ave. (Downtown Ojai) 545-7878 TheOnlyGoodPizza.com

OJAI ROTIE

Rotisserie, sourdough, winebox 469 East Ojai Avenue (805) 798-9227 ojairotie.com

PAPA LENNON’S

Family owned, original & traditional Italian cuisine 515 West El Roblar Drive (805) 640-7388 papalennons.com

RAINBOW BRIDGE

A community gathering place 211 East Matilija Street (805) 646-6623 rainbowbridgeojai.com

THE RANCH HOUSE

An Ojai culinary destination for more than 60 years 102 Besant Road (805) 646-2360 theranchhouse.com

SAKURA OJAI

A locals’ favorite for Japanese food 219 East Matilija Street (805) 646-8777 sakuraojai.wix.com

SEA FRESH

Serving Ojai for 30 years 533 East Ojai Avenue (805) 646-7747 seafreshseafood.com

SOULE PARK GOLF COURSE BAR & GRILL

Patio & indoor dining with Ojai’s most tranquil views 1033 East Ojai Avenue (805) 646-5685 soulepark.com

Check websites for specific information, due to the pandemic, hours, offerings and on-site dining options may change frequently.

CHEF RANDY

tomato soup with fresh fennel

This is a wonderfully hearty vegetarian soup for the remaining winter days of the year. Quick and easy to prepare, tomatoes and fennel pair nicely to make a tasty soup. Even better, this soup freezes well. Make a double batch and save some for a rainy day.

INGREDIENTS: 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 large fennel bulb (diced) 3 Lightlife Italian Style sausage (sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds) 1 tablespoon fennel seeds 2 tablespoons dry white wine 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes 1 tablespoon Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base 3 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley (chopped)

Randy Graham is a noted chef and writer and has been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for over 38 years. Chef Randy has written and published a series of seven cookbooks with original recipes developed over the period 1975 through 2020. He writes for the Ojai Quarterly, the Ojai Discover Monthly, and the California 101 Travelers Guide. His vegetarian recipes are published in newspapers throughout Central California under the header, Chef Randy. He and his wife, Robin, live in Ojai, California, with their dog Cooper. Robin and Cooper are not vegetarians.

Healthy Quick + Easy DIRECTIONS: Heat oil in soup pot over medium heat. Add fennel, and sauté 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in sausage and fennel seeds, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until fennel seeds are slightly softened and bits of sausage are stuck to bottom of pan. Add wine and and cook 5 to10 seconds, scraping to deglaze pan. Add broth, tomatoes, vegetable base, and parsley. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, if desired, and serve with a slice of fresh Ciabatta bread. Robin likes a grilled Havarti cheese sandwich with this soup. You might try that too!

See Chef Randy’s website for more recipes at: http:// valley-vegetarian.com

Design and Supply for Your Living Spaces

Taylor 20” x 16”

DUANE EELLS

Mar. 12-July 5:

Gallery: BOUNDLESS • DUANE EELLS AND JAMES PETRUCCI Fox Fine Jewelry, Ventura • Receception: 3/14, 6-8 PM OVA Arts, 238 Ojai Ave., Ojai, CA

Collect Online at eells.com Studio visits by appointment. • duane@eells.com

Whitman Architectural Design

www.whitman-architect.com

Providing the highest quality custom residential & commercial

Architectural Design and

Construction Services. 805-646-8485

“We Shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” Winston Churchill

Dale Hanson Ojai Valley Real Estate (805)646-7229 B.R.E. 01229522 Notary Public dale@ojaivalleyrealestate.com

Call me for your real estate needs. Residential, commercial, or business opportunity.

Come Home To

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Available at Frontier Paint

227 Baldwin Rd, Ojai 646-0459 • Frontierpaintca.com Selling quality in Ojai for over 37 years

Eight Ways to Stay Green During a Pandemic

Photo by Adi Goldstein

By Aimee Jo Davis-Varela

The global pandemic has changed our lives in many ways, including revising our priorities as we balance personal and public health with meeting our basic needs, figuring out new ways to work, and determining the best ways to be both social and safe. In times such as this when our focus is on the short-term goals of staying healthy, keeping businesses afloat, and finding a way to the other side of the pandemic, it can be difficult to also keep an eye towards long-term goals, such as keeping the planet healthy for future generations.

This is exacerbated by some of the necessary changes put in place to reduce transmission and protect both consumers and workers. For example, we can no longer grab a cup of coffee in our reusable mugs, and many grocery stores are no longer allowing the use of reusable shopping bags. While many of us are not driving as much, we are increasing the environmental effects of transportation by ordering everything online and having it delivered to our doorstep. Those who have replaced dining out with regularly ordering takeout and delivery now have stacks of single-use food containers going into the recycling bin or to the landfill every week.

The focus needs to be on keeping ourselves and each other healthy and working together to get through this. This requires using more disposable products than most of us would like, but there are still steps we can take to maintain a greener lifestyle while focusing on these immediate priorities.

We can start with these:

1. Resist the urge to stock up on bottled water.

The water supply is not currently under threat. Continue using your filter pitchers, fill your own jugs at Rainbow Bridge, or establish delivery service for three- or five-gallon, reusable jugs that you return to the provider.

2. Start a compost pile.

If you are cooking more than you used to, you have more kitchen scraps to discard. If you don’t already have a compost bin or pile, start one to put those scraps to good use in your garden.

3. Invest in a sparkling water maker.

Products like SodaStream let you make your own sparkling water and flavored sodas, which means fewer cans and bottles to recycle.

4. Green your takeout and delivery routine.

We cannot use our own containers when we order food to go right now, but we can still limit the waste that comes with these orders. If you are picking up food to eat at home, refuse the utensils, napkins, and straws that usually come with takeout. If you are having food delivered, specify that you do not want utensils and napkins delivered with your order. When picking up food on your lunchbreak or on your way to a socially distanced picnic, bring your own cloth napkins, reusable straws, and utensils. There are lots of travel sets available with carrying cases that you can keep in your car or bag to make sure you always have reusable options with you.