Irreplaceable . . .

To all my Santa Barbara friends...today my parents and I went to Santa Barbara to enjoy a beautiful day in the sun while exploring the shops on State Street.

There were lots of new stores to check out since the last time I was in town.  There is even an Old Navy now on State Street.

As we walked from store to store we spotted reality TV star and train wreck Danny Bonoduce.  He was taller in real life than I expected, but I didn't see if he was wearing boots which would have added to his height.

After we made our rounds we ended at Pascucci's Italian restaurant.  I ordered the Insalata Pascucci.  The salad consisted of organic mixed greens, smoked chicken breast, gorgonzola, candied walnuts, tossed in a sundried tomato vinegarette served in a frico (parmesan cheese shell.)

Unfortunately, I was not in love with my salad.  I usually like my food at Pascucci's but this time I was disappointed.  The silver lining through the whole meal was that I kept thinking about going over to Pierre Lafond deli and bakery afterwards to get something delicious to make up for the not so great salad.

After we left the restaurant we headed toward Pierre Lafond on the main court of the Paseo Nuevo shopping center.  The bakery looked dark.  Were they closed?  As we got closer my mouth fell open.  Pierre Lafond was not just closed, it was permanently gone.

I was so sad.  No more Farm Cake.  No more banana chocolate chip muffins.  No more pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.  No more smoothies, earthquake cookies, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, enchiladas and more.  I spent many breakfasts, lunches and dinners eating the delicious food sold at Pierre Lafond Paseo Nuevo over the years that I worked in Santa Barbara.   This is a real loss to the shopping center.

And while we are on the subject of things that are no longer in Santa Barbara, I still have not fully recovered from the news that the Greek Italian Deli closed.  Who knows how many turkey sandwiches I ate from there?

At least the Lafond's will still operate the Bistro further down State Street.  Hopefully Farm Cake is on the menu.

The Song Of The Day - Irreplaceable by Beyonce