EASTER EATS

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

To usher in the spring holiday, charming Easter décor can be found across San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito with playful giant bunny ears on top of landscaped archways, bountiful bouquets on every table and hand-carved, individually decorated chocolate eggs on prominent display.

And on Easter Sunday in the Stonehouse Restaurant, a lavish, four-course brunch will be created by Michelin-starred Executive Chef Matt Johnson and his team.

Two other local restaurants are planning special Easter brunch menus — Finch & Fork in downtown Santa Barbara and the new CAYA at La Leta in Goleta.

At the Stonehouse, the experience will begin with a basket of house-made baked

Calendar

The calendar appears Mondays through Saturdays in the “Life & the Arts” section. Items are welcome. Please email them a full week before the event to Managing Editor Dave Mason at dmason@ newspress.com.

TODAY 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Entangled:

Responding to Environmental Crisis,” runs through March 25 at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art in Montecito. The museum is open from 10 a.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. It’s closed on Sundays and college holidays. For more information, call 805-565-6162 or visit westmont.edu/ museum.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“Storytelling: Native People Through the Lens of Edward S. Curtis” is on display through April 30 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays. For more information, visit sbnature.org.

10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. “SURREAL

WOMEN: Surrealist Art by American Women” is on display through April 24 at Sullivan Goss: An American Gallery, 11 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. For more information, www.sullivangoss.com.

11 a.m.: Voctave, an 11-member a cappella ensemble, will perform a family-friendly concert at the Music Academy of the West’s Hahn Hall, 1070 Fairway Road, Montecito. Youths 17 and younger will be admitted free. The regular tickets for 18 and older is $10. To purchase, go to musicacademy.org. By appointment on weekdays: “Holly Hungett: Natural Interpretations” is on view through May 20 at the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara’s gallery, 229 E. Victoria St., Santa Barbara. The gallery is open 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays and weekdays by appointment. For more information, call the foundation at 805-965-6307 or go to www.afsb.org.

Restaurants planning special menus for holiday

goods, along with the option for a glass of champagne, mimosa, Ty Bellini or fresh juice. Starters include Chilled Spring Pea and Garden Leek Soup, Six-Minute Egg Croquette, Spring Beet and Burrata Salad and Kusshi Oysters.

Entrée selections include Butter Braised Maine Lobster Benedict, Center-Cut Prime Filet of Beef, Miso Glazed Ora King Salmon, Herb- Crusted Colorado Rack of Lamb and Roasted Garden Vegetable Shakshuka.

The meal concludes with an Easter dessert buffet featuring SYR signature sweets and the Flambéed Harrys Berry’s Strawberry Shortcake.

The brunch will be served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the cost is $195 per person.

At Finch & Fork in the Kimpton Canary Hotel, Executive Chef Nathan Lingle is supplementing the regular brunch menu of Avocado Toast, Chilaquiles, Vanilla Bean and Chia Seed

Yogurt and Brioche French Toast with special Easter offerings that include the following:

• Citrus Salad: avocado, pea tendrils, endive, pecorino cheese, Saint Germain Lemon Dressing.

• Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict: English muffin, poached farm eggs, smoked salmon, hollandaise, mixed greens.

• Coffee Rub Beef Brisket: Rosemary potato, fried eggs, pico, California seed bread.

• Pan Seared Lamb Loin: Couscous, roasted sun choke, minted yogurt, pistachio dukkah.

• Central Coast Strawberry Hazelnut Linzer Tart: candied hazelnuts, basil semi fredo.

• Chocolate Torta: blackberry air, black pepper chantilly, lemon curd.

• Satsuma Tangerine Curd: almond shortbread, winter citrus, coconut meringue. Prices range from $12 to $38. The Easter brunch will be served from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Also offered will be three Easter brunch cocktails with cheeky names such as the Cottontail Daiquiri and Drunk Bunny for $15 and $13.

At CAYA, the signature restaurant at the retro-chic Leta Hotel in Goleta, Executive Chef Philip Stein has put together an Easter Brunch that includes special menu items, in addition to the regular menu of benedicts, huevos, almond French toast and more.

These special dishes are for

Easter only and are designed to pair with the signature CAYA Bloody Mary, a mimosa or the Leta Lychee Frosé, a libation of vodka, rosé, lyche, strawberry and peach.

CAYA’s Easter menu, served from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., includes the following: email: mmcmahon@newspress.com

• Challah French Toast Sandwich: prosciutto, Swiss cheese, sunny egg, hollandaise, choice of potato or fruit.

• Breakfast Quiche: Spinach, tomato, goat cheese served with choice of potato, fruit or salad.

• Nutella Blintz: Three blintzes stuffed with Nutella mascarpone, bananas, caramel sauce and candied pistachios.

• Ribeye Hash: 10-ounce ribeye, roasted fingerling potatoes, onions, peppers, cheddar cheese, beef jus and overeasy eggs.

Prices range from $19 to $29.

Noon to 5 p.m. “Clarence Mattei: Portrait of a Community” is on view now through May at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, which is located in downtown Santa Barbara at 136 E. De la Guerra St. Admission is free. Hours are currently from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and from noon to 7 p.m. Thursdays. For more information, visit www.sbhistorical.org.

5:30 p.m. A lecture will be given about the sculptures of Ed and Nancy Kienholz at at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St. The talk will be presented by James Glisson, the museum’s curator of Contemporary Art. This will be in conjunction with the exhibition scenes from “Marriage: Ed and Nancy Kienholz.” To purchase, visit tickets. sbma.net.

6:30 p.m. Voctave, an 11-member a cappella ensemble, will perform its evening concert at the Music Academy of the West’s Hahn Hall, 1070 Fairway Road, Montecito. Tickets cost $75. To purchase, go to musicacademy.org.

7 p.m.: Rubicon Theatre of Ventura will perform “Dark of the Moon: A New Musical” on Wednesdays at 2 and 7 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at the theater, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura. Prices are $30 to $69.50 with special discounts for students, seniors, military and Equity members. Lower-priced preview performances are March 29-31. To purchase tickets, go to rubicontheatre.org.

7 p.m. Folk and country singer and songwriter Tom Russell will perform at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St. Tickets cost $35 to $75. To purchase, go to lobero.org. 8 p.m. A gala fundraiser will take place at Music Academy of the West’s Lehmann Hall, 1070 Fairway Road, Montecito. Tickets for the gala, which includes the Voctave concert at 6:30 p.m. at the academy’s Hahn Hall, cost $150. To purchase, go to musicacademy.org.

APRIL 1 2 and 7 p.m.: Rubicon Theatre of Ventura will perform “Dark of the Moon: A New Musical” on Wednesdays at 2 and 7 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at the theater, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura. Prices are $30 to $69.50 with special discounts for students, seniors, military and Equity members. To purchase tickets, go to rubicontheatre.org.

APRIL 2

2 p.m.: Rubicon Theatre of Ventura will perform “Dark of the Moon: A New Musical” on Wednesdays at 2 and 7 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at the theater, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura. Prices are $30 to $69.50 with special discounts for students, seniors, military and Equity members. To purchase tickets, go to rubicontheatre.org.

— Dave Mason