Full Belly Files |The Soon-to-Be-World-Famous Fried Yuba Sandwich
A Plant-Based Epiphany at the New Tyger Tyger and More
This edition of Full Belly Files was originally emailed to subscribers on December 9, 2022. To receive Matt Kettmann’s food newsletter in your inbox each Friday, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.
You’ve got to be a little suspicious when a chef drops a dish on your table and declares that it is “soon to be world famous.” But the formula for the fried yuba sandwich at the reenvisioned Tyger Tyger ensures a more than fighting chance of claiming such a lofty crown.
First off, the modern-Asian, street food-inspired restaurant in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone — which closed for staffing issues during the pandemic in late 2021 despite a rabid fan base — is an outpost of Acme Hospitality, whose founder Sherry Villanueva and management team never do anything halfway. Her flagship, The Lark, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary next year, and the portfolio now includes both multiple restaurants — Loquita and La Paloma, to name a couple — and hotels in the Sierra Foothills and Palm Springs.
