And it’s not even my birthday

ROXANNE ROSENSTEEL

WORK • Thursday Routine

ROXANNE ROSENSTEEL • owner & pastry chef • Roxanne Rosensteel
Neighborhood you live in: Eastside, Santa Barbara

It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace? 
I’m sitting by our big window, drinking a cup of hot black coffee, and going over my to-do list (I swear by the Things app). 

What’s on the agenda for today? 
Thursdays are usually heavy production days for a weekend event, but since I (mostly) have this weekend off and it’s a major heatwave, I’m going to catch up on some non-oven-related tasks: cleaning and polishing silver serving pieces for an upcoming dessert table, processing plums for jam, and making lots of buttercream for upcoming wedding cakes. 

We just booked a trip to Switzerland and France to see my partner’s family later this fall, so I’ll also be spending some time planning. My friend Danielle Rubi is a seasoned traveler and recommended visiting the baths in Gruyere and reserving a table at a countryside restaurant, La Pinte des Mossettes. It’s been a long and productive wedding season, so mentally, I’m there.

Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend? 
I just picked up some bread from our friends at Oat Bakery, so for dinner I might make something light and easy, like tomato toast and a big green salad. Saturday morning I’ll hit the farmers’ market right at 8am, then meet a friend for coffee at Handlebar. For dinner we love to post up at the bar at Bettina for pizza and pasta, or make our way to Dang Burger in Carpinteria. On a typical weekend when I’m working an event, I’ll get takeout falafel from The Daisy where the food is always fresh and calming.

How about a little leisure or culture?
I’ve been having lots of movie nights with friends, so we’ll grab a bottle of wine from Satellite or Potek, and I’ll usually bake something for us to snack on. Recently we watched The Taste of Things with Juliette Binoche, which was maybe one of the most sensual food movies I’ve ever seen. Next on our list is Party Girl – somehow I’ve never seen it!

For wellness, I’ve been working with Minka Robinson at Points of Health. I’ve always found acupuncture very regulating, and they really take care of you at their office. But nothing feels more indulgent than waking up and jumping in the ocean first thing when the waves are still gentle.

Any weekend getaways? 
For a day trip we’ll make our way to the valley for a long lunch at Bell’s or dinner at Full of Life Flatbread. We also love Na Na Thai, especially the gai tod and larb moo, which is so face-meltingly spicy you’ll need to order several bottles of pét-nat to help cool you down. 

We love to drive up north any chance we get and stay overnight in San Luis Obispo or Cambria, where we’ll get dinner with my dad at Babydudes in Morro Bay and make a scenic drive to Gopher Glen in See Canyon for the best apples on the coast. 

What was your last great vacation? 
In July, we spent a week in Sea Ranch, which truly feels like heaven on earth. Some highlights of the trip were sashimi, chicken skin skewers, and crisp sake from Izakaya Gama in Point Arena, and a sunset glass of wine at the Sea Ranch Lodge. But we mostly cooked at our rental, and enjoyed long golden hour meals with the deer, skunks, foxes, and hawks. On the drive home we made sure to stop at Palm City Wines in San Francisco for an Italian hoagie, and ate it on the tailgate at the beach. 

What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love? 
I recently got a bottle of Zuma, 1975 from Thin Wild Mercury for my birthday. The scent feels bright and not too cloying, and one spritz helps me feel pulled together in the evening after a day spent in the kitchen.