A few years ago I met Cindy Black. She owned a catering business in Santa Barbara and as a food lover and food photographer, meeting people like Cindy is like meeting Santa Claus. Her passion for food is infectious as well as her wise cracking sense of humor.

Cindy is the mind behind The Blue Owl, a brilliant idea for the nighttime scene in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara: a late-night gourmet drunk food restaurant (there’s no need to be drunk to enjoy these spectacular dishes though). The menu features such amazing yummies like a tri-tip sandwich with pickled veggies and oyster chili mayo and a red curry shrimp roll with fried tofu, slaw and carmelized onions.

The success of the Blue Owl’s late night restaurant has recently launched a second day time location.

The new breakfast and lunch menu is a lighter, more healthy fare with a few sweet and salty touches true to The Blue Owl style, like “wake ‘n’ bacon”, a fried egg and bacon hugged between two Crème brûlée waffles, or an egg sandwich with creamy crab melt, heirloom tomato and arugula on fresh bread, or a hearts of palm salad topped with egg and pickled veggies. Cindy is even creating homemade sodas and artisinal pastries.

We loved Cindy so much that we had her cater our wedding, which was such a crowd pleaser. Cindy and The Blue Owl crew are a friendly, fun, and crazy talented bunch. The Sunday Sparkle highly recommends you start your day or end your day with a little Blue Owl in your life.

Find them on facebook here

or visit www.theblueowlsantabarbara.com