Stockade Grub and Whiskey

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It’s been a long time since I’ve driven up Hwy 18, along the Rim of the World Hwy, and into Crestline. I still own some property, but everyone I knew up there has since died or has moved away and all that remains are the memories. The Stockade Grub and Whiskey has it’s got a spot reserved in my memory, and will probably still be in business long after I’ve retired and/or expired.

It’s a bit bigger inside than it looks from the outside. The inside front, facing Lake Drive is the bar with pool table. Towards the rear are tables, as there should be when you’ve added the word “Grub” in your name. The bar is good, and appeals to me as I favor the roadhouse, mountain, rural and rustic look. That’s the “Whiskey”. You really can’t go wrong on the whiskey side.

As for the “grub”, I only went at dinner, but I understand the breakfast is good. The dinners were great. I can only speak for the steak smothered with mushrooms. Smothered so that the little life this steak might have had left by ordering it medium rare, had been extinguished by a huge portions of sauteed mushrooms covering it. Each visit, this was how the steak came time and again.

It’s time to point the truck north and take a drive up to Crestline. The original “Roadhouse” on Hwy 18 up towards Running Springs doesn’t exist anymore, but I know by taking Lake Drive, the Stockade is still standing on the right. If you go but have trouble finding it, just look for the Skull and Crossbones flying under the Stars and Stripes.

The Palace Grill

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The Palace Grill is the higher end of the choices for New Orleans/Cajun style cuisine in Santa Barbara. My preference by far is the Cajun Kitchen(s), although the De La Vina location is preferred over the others.

The differences between the Palace Cafe and the Cajun Kitchen actually balance the scales quite well. The Cajun Kitchen opens at 6:30 am and closes at 2:30 pm, the Palace serves lunch at 11:30, dinner at 5:30 until 10:00 or 11:00 pm.  The Cajun Kitchen has a long list of breakfast choices and serves Dixie beer. The Palace Grill has a long list of dinner choices and serves hard alcohol and Abita beer. Abita beer tastes a lot better than Dixie to me.

In my opinion, the Cajun Kitchen wins out in taste, hosts and hostesses, cooks and busboys and the dollar figure at the bottom of the bill. The Palace wins only in that it serves food while the Cajun Kitchen is sleeping, it has a liquor license, and if you want an authentic beer with your Jambalaya, you can order an Abita Amber or Turbo Dog.

It’s a good drive, but really there’s no substitute for a meal at Coop’s Place.

Joe’s Cafe (U.S. History 101)

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Originally opened in 1928, Joe’s Cafe has been a mainstay of the Santa Barbara downtown. Closed for a while following a remodel and a move a few blocks up State Street, for the most part Joe’s hasn’t changed much over the years, with maybe it’s reputation growing stronger through the 80’s and 90’s. That reputation was that Joe’s was probably the place to go for the stiffest drinks. I’m not sure that holds true today. It’s a reputation that Joe’s itself continues to push. Not “Joe”, the original Joe Ferrario is no longer with us, and the cafe became a part of the ownership that includes Lucky’s and Ca Dario, but the cafe’s advertisements state they serve the stiffest drinks. Harry’s would be in the running as would many other bars from the breakwater out to Winchester Canyon.

I think for a bartender, having the rep as a strong server is similar to getting a merit badge for a Boy Scout. You don’t sew the little patch on your sleeve, but you are known and well respected amongst your peers and patrons.

It is rumored that when Joe’s opened in 1928, during Prohibition, that it was a Santa Barbara speakeasy (a place where illegal alcohol was sold and consumed). U.S. History 101: United States Prohibition, 1920 to 1933 banned the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption. Increasingly unpopular, President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law in March, an amendment allowing for the manufacture and sale of 3.2% beer and light wines, and later that year the repeal of Prohibition. Roosevelt’s famous March 23, 1933 remark; “I think this would be a good time for a beer.” Previously unaware of his quote, I think I’ve made that same statement a thousand times over.

For those of us who complain as the clock nears 2:00 am and we wish we were in Las Vegas or New Orleans or anywhere that the phrase “last call” doesn’t exist, think of this… The Prohibition laws, (the Eighteenth Amendment and the Twenty-first Amendment), gave states the right to restrict or ban alcohol sales. Mississippi had actually made alcohol illegal in 1907 and was the last state to repeal Prohibition in 1966. Kansas did not allow sale of liquor “by the drink” (on-premises) until 1987, and there are still numerous “dry” counties and towns across the United States. So for those of us whose State Street shuffle ends at about 1:45 am, think about poor Dorothy and Toto. After all that, wouldn’t you have wanted to put the dog in the basket and ride your bike to the corner bar for a double?