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.