I had been driving through Oxnard on the PCH for decades, but never considered stopping until a recent two-night trip with a group and found it to be a hidden gem close enough for a weekend get away or even an impromptu day trip.
I got into town on a gorgeous sunny afternoon to check in at Embassy Suites, walking across the hotel’s central court, with its pool and water landscaping. Opening my room was was a breadth taking OMG moment. Both the bedroom and the living room looked out on the beach, and I could even walk out to my own private patio and continue on over the paths through the rocks and the shrubbery to the expansive sands beyond. I could even see the Channel Islands on the horizon. With the exception of stray pedestrians or an occasional bicyclist whizzing by, the beach was practically deserted. It was time to exhale: yes, I was out the city.
We headed out to Waterside restaurant where the lamb chops I ordered had a particularly robust flavor from its cacao chipotle rub and mushroom sauce made from huitachche, a fungus that grows on corn. I had known about this delicacy but never got to try it before; now I could check it off.
We started next day with a cooking class with Michelle Kenney, cookbook author and third generation operator of her family restaurant La Dolce Vita. The mimosas we made ourselves, put us in touch with our inner chefs. With that many hands chopping up vegetables, beating up eggs, whipping up creme under Michelle’s guidance, in no time at all we came up with a Tomato and Leek Fitatta and Chicken Milanese with Tomato and Fennel Sauce. Pretty good.
Heritage Square features a collection of homes from a century ago, many rumored to be haunted by theit original residents. Some of the older building have been repurposed: one a restaurant, another, The Rancho Ventavo Wine Cellers, a tasting room with oak barrel furniture, and pithy plaques: ‘More wine, not whine’; ‘Eat, drink and re-marry’. The old church is still here, currently showcasing the elaborate gingerbread houses for this season’s contest.
Then it was off to Mullins Auto Museum that specializes in the art deco era with a collection of classic vintage French autos and grand prix race cars, along with period furniture, paintings and ceramics from the Art Deco period of pre-war Europe.
Dinner was at the Kitchen Restaurant which has a craft beer pub and a gift shop that carries locally made pestos, salsa, barbecue sauces and such. Chef Steven Stroh’s likes to cook everything with beer, which imparted the unique extra flavor to our family style selection of salmon, turkey, green beans, salad, bread and dessert.
We were scheduled to take the boat to Channel Islands the next day, but a cold front had brought in gusty winds cancelling the trip, so we settled for visiting the National Parks Visitors Center and watching the trip on a movie, `Treasures in the Sea: Channel Islands’, which just convinced us to return soon.
The waterfront Maritime Museum offered some unusual findings: a section of paintings celebrating Lord Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar that you would expect to see in a London museum, and the sea chest belonging to the Spanish explorer who discovered San Francisco.
We lunched at the Moqueca Brazillian restaurant next door, where the traditional Brazillian claypot seafood stew was the right combination of hot and spicy for a cold blustery day. Lunch out of the way, it was time to head back before the other out-of-towners got the same idea.
The Oxnard International Restaurant Week January 19-25 will feature over 34 meal choices at either 2 for $20, or $20 per premium menu item, and Embassy Suites’ Coastal Grill,
The Waterside Restaurant & Wine Bar, The Kitchen, La Dolce Vita and Moqueca Brazilian Cuisine are all participating!