Barbareño Teams with Ojai Valley Brewery for Pairing Dinner

Upon opening nearly a decade ago, Barbareño’s founders Julian Martinez and Jesse Gaddy aimed to celebrate Central Coast cuisine, a style of direct sourcing and live fire cooking more than 200 years in the making that’s only now getting the broader attention it deserves. Their menu elevates regionally rooted dishes like Santa Maria tri-tip and Egg McMuffins while incorporating indigenous ingredients such as acorn, wild onion, and black cod.

So when the West Canon Perdido Street restaurant started serving native-plant-flavored beers from Ojai Valley Brewery (OVB) earlier this year, maître d’ Nathaniel Tyson recognized a kindred spirit. “They’re very particular about who they work with, but we have a similar ethos,” said Tyson of the brewery’s very limited distribution. “When our paths crossed, it seemed like we just had to create something together.”

Coincidentally, just last month, the restaurant purchased its first catering truck and grill trailer in order to expand service into weddings, festivals, and other events. That provided the opportunity to bring Barbareño south, and the September 23 four-course “Autumnal Equinox Beer Dinner” was born.