Cafe Society: Main Course California adds pop-up barbecue spot in Ventura

Ventura's newest barbecue spot is akin to a weekday version of "Brigadoon," meant to appear for a few hours of lunch service before it disappears again in a fragrant curl of smoke.

"We're already known for our vegetable dishes. Now we're branching out and creating a new option for our clients with smoked meats. It's also a nice way to get a quick bite to eat," said Robert Jacobi, who on Thursday officially unfurled the banner for The Smokehouse at Main Course California, the catering company he co-founded a decade ago in a Ventura business park. 

Available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, the pop-up restaurant offers grab-and-go sandwiches, salads, plates and sides (think BBQ bourbon beans with house-made bacon) selected from the smokehouse menu introduced to Main Course catering clients when Matt Hastings joined the team as executive chef early this year.

On Wednesday, the soft-opening menu featured a smoky brisket melt ($10) with Cheddar and Gouda cheeses and bourbon-peppercorn barbecue sauce as the sandwich of the day. The salad of the day (also $10) was a Southwest BBQ Chicken combo made with mixed greens, pulled chicken and BBQ ranch dressing.

Other selections included the chef's plate, offering diner's choice of one meat and one side ($10) or two meats and one side ($12) from options such as house-made Andouille sausage, smoked barbecue brisket or barbecue pulled pork, plus potato or pasta salad, mac and cheese and the aforementioned beans. Sparkling water, sodas and beer are available in cans and bottles.

"We use a combination of apple and maple wood to smoke everything up. (It) gives a nice sweet, deep flavor," Hastings said. 

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Hastings grew up in Wisconsin, where he received his culinary training and competed in meat-smoking contests in Milwaukee before moving to Arizona to work at upscale steakhouses and country clubs. He relocated to Santa Barbara late last year with his wife, a native of the city. 

Jacobi is from Austria, attended the hospitality program at Vieux-Bois in Geneva and graduated from Boston University with a bachelor's degree in international relations before landing in California. 

Despite their very different backgrounds, the men are kindred spirits when it comes to food. "(Matt) grew up in an area of Milwaukee that's very German, so we have a lot in common," Jacobi said with a laugh. 

Joined by director of operations Michelle Robertson, they plan to bring the Main Course mobile smoker to The Star’s Wine & Food Experience, which will feature nearly 40 participating restaurants, caterers, breweries and wineries when it takes place Nov. 10 at the Camarillo Airport. 

The event will include a cooking demonstration by celebrity chef (and former Ventura County resident) Graham Elliot, an appearance by food scientist turned cookbook author and blogger Jessica Gavin and a cupcake-decorating session with Gina Stymacher of Camarillo Cupcake. (For tickets, $65-$160, go to https://wineandfood.vcstar.com.)

The 6-foot-tall smoker will be there mostly for show, since "smoking tends to be a 'start at 4 in the morning' kind of thing," Hastings said. 

But they're serious about what they plan to serve at the event. The dish most likely will be pulled pork with apricot barbecue sauce and smoky ranch beans.

"We want to introduce people to what we're doing with The Smokehouse, as a place for lunch, and as a catering menu," Hastings said.

For catering clients, the smokehouse menu includes a range of meats (add tri-tip, turkey breasts and Cornish game hens to those already mentioned), sliders (buttermilk chicken, grass-fed beef with bacon jam, portobello mushroom with caramelized cippolini onions) and sides (vinegar coleslaw, bacon-red potato salad and others) that can be prepared for groups of 25 or more.

"When people invite you over for barbecue at their house, it usually means some quick burgers and hot dogs, which is great. But if they're making pulled pork or brisket or another dish that takes all day to prepare — that's family. Those dishes don't happen in an hour or two," Hastings said. 

"This is home-style cooking, elevated with special products like Duroc pork," he added. 

The smokehouse menu is designed to enhance rather than replace long-standing Main Course favorites such as cranberry chicken salad in crispy phyllo cups, tamarind chicken satay skewers, bacon-wrapped dates filled with almond cream cheese and 18-hour braised beef short ribs, Jacobi said.

When it debuted in 2008, Main Course operated as a deli and catering service with an on-site bistro that offered cooking classes and dinner menus created by then-executive chef Rachel Main. Jacobi, a trained classical guitarist, often gave impromptu concerts in the dining room, which now serves as front office space.

Might he be enticed into performing again, for lunchtime patrons who linger at the cocktail tables or row of lunch-counter stools available on the patio just outside the front door?

"Let's get this started and see where it goes," Jacobi said, laughing again. "Who knows? Maybe it could become a Friday thing."

(1363 Donlon St., Suite 11, 805-658-8900, https://maincourseca.com).

WHAT'S NEW ON THE MENU?

Part cafe-wine bar, part trendy home goods shop, Tipple & Ramble in Ojai recently added Mondays to its schedule, giving patrons a full six days per week to sample its wares.

Buena Onda empanadas are served noon to 6 p.m. Mondays and 2-8 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays. For cheese, charcuterie, Mediterranean spreads and seasonal small plates ($12-$23), visit from 2-8 p.m. Fridays and noon to 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Sparkling wines, rosés, beers and hard kombuchas are also available by the glass and bottle. Seating is outside in hammocks, and on string chairs arranged on a dog-friendly patio that features a vintage Shasta trailer (315 N. Montgomery St., http://www.tippleandramble.com).

Hey, big spender! Mastro's in Thousand Oaks (and beyond) has two new dishes for those times when you're feeling flush. Available through the end of the year, Châteaubriand, a center-cut beef tenderloin best served rare to medium, is sliced tableside and presented with Béarnaise and peppercorn sauces on the side ($115).

Joining the dessert menu for a limited time is pumpkin batter cake ($17), topped with pumpkin pie-spiced cream cheese and caramelized raw sugar and served with vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce and house-made whipped cream (2087 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., https://www.mastrosrestaurants.com). 

Feeling the opposite of flush? Then the new happy hour menu at The 2686 Kitchen in midtown Ventura may be more your speed.

Launched soon after the restaurant obtained its full-bar license in late September, the menu available from 3-6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays includes draft beer and house wine ($3), well drinks ($4) and margaritas ($5). Food specials include a house-made empanada ($2), premium fries ($3), bacon mac and cheese ($4) and pepperoni pizza ($5). 

Bottomless mimosas ($10) are available during brunch service from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, when pastry chef Anastashia Chavez also unveils a new batch of seasonal-inspired doughnuts each week (2686 Loma Vista Road, https://www.the2686.com).

GIVING THANKS

One sign that Thanksgiving — aka Nov. 22 — is on its way? Area restaurants (especially those located at hotels) have started sharing details about their holiday menus. Here's a roundup of Turkey Day news delivered to my email inbox so far:

In Newbury Park, a buffet from noon to 6 p.m. at the Palm Garden Hotel will include roasted turkey with gravy, prime rib with au jus, chicken scallopini, sweet potatoes and stuffing, plus less traditional dishes such as ceviche, shrimp cocktail and whole poached salmon with bagels. Pumpkin and apple pies will be available, too. Reservations are $42, or $19 for children (805-716-4335, https://www.palmgardenhotel.com).

The Ojai Valley Inn is offering two options. A grand buffet from noon to 7 p.m. in the Anacapa Ballroom will feature stations devoted to salads, seafood, caviar, carved meats, traditional Thanksgiving dishes (think candied yams with maple glaze and toasted marshmallows) and desserts. Chef-attended stations will focus on blackened jumbo shrimp with three-cheese polenta, and on macaroni and cheese with diners' choice of additions that include bacon, asparagus, truffle Parmesan sauce and more ($130 for adults, including champagne; $50 for kids age 5 to 12).

Olivella, the inn's fine-dining restaurant, will serve a prix fixe, four-course dinner from 3:30-8 p.m. Selections include roasted butternut squash bisque with spiced crema, lobster raviolo with spicy tomato sugo, slow-cooked turkey breast with porcini mushroom stuffing, and spiced pumpkin tart with pumpkin seed brittle and cranberry marmalade among the selections. Reservations are $135, or $195 with paired wines that include Sea Smoke Sea Spray Sta. Rita Hills blanc de noirs and Justin Isosceles Paso Robles cabernet sauvignon (805-640-2085, https://www.ojaivalleyinn.com).

In Oxnard, the beachfront Embassy Suites by Hilton Mandalay Beach Hotel & Resort will offer a holiday buffet from 1-5 p.m. Featured will be breads, California cheeses, fresh fruit, crab legs and steamed mussels, along with salads and carving stations devoted to herb-crusted prime rib and turkey with gravy and cranberry relish. "Dinner spread" selections will include vegan chicken breast with apple horseradish jam, seared salmon with orange-pomegranate glaze, creamed-corn spoon bread and an assortment of desserts. The cost is $64.95, or $19.99 for children younger than 12 (805-984-2500, http://www.mandalayembassysuites.com).

Looking for a non-hotel-related spot for Thanksgiving?

Cafe Bizou in Agoura Hills will be open from noon to 9 p.m. with a choice of a three-courses-for-$36 meal (add $10 if you opt for the steak-and-lobster option) or an a la carte menu of selected favorites ranging from a filet mignon burger ($16) to macadamia-crusted Alaskan halibut ($26-$32) with citrus sauce and vegetables (818-991-9560, https://www.cafebizou.com).

The Gallery restaurant at the Shoppes at Westlake Village will offer its regular menu in addition to several Thanksgiving specials from noon to 9 p.m. The latter includes a traditional turkey dinner ($32) with stuffing, gravy, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, green beans amandine, candied baby carrots and cranberry sauce (818-889-1338, https://www.thegallerywestlake.com).

SAVE THE DATES

The 10th annual Taste of Conejo presented by the Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce will feature food-and-drink tasting with more than 60 area vendors from 6-9 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village. Entertainment will include cocktail-making by bartenders from The Flair Project. For tickets, $75 and $120, click on https://tasteofconejo.com.

Why eat apples when you can drink them? That tongue-in-cheek question guides The Core Pour, now in its fourth year as a combination hard cider-tasting and music festival in Santa Paula. The Nov. 10 event will start with a self-guided tour of tasting sites throughout historic downtown from 1-3 p.m., followed by music in Ebell Park from 3-9 p.m. Tickets, $65 and $100, will benefit Upper Ojai Relief and the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce. For details, visit https://www.thecorepour.com.

Lisa McKinnon is a staff writer for The Star. To contact her, send email to lisa.mckinnon@vcstar.com. To have the VCS Eats newsletter delivered directly to your inbox, visit http://bit.ly/VCS_Eats and type in your email address.