Ristorante Tiramisu, Nuevo Paseo off State Street,
Santa Barbara, California, USA

La Piccola Mollie has sold to Chef Victor Carranza and his wife and his wife Toni. Chef Victor was formerly the Executive chef of Restaurant Piatti in Montecito and has created a whole new menu with echos of Piatti with reasonable prices. We will be doing a new review of Ristorante Tiramisu soon. But the Carranza's only opened in January 2006 so we like to give them time to work out the kinks, not that we experienced any on our first couple of meals with them. The interior and exterior are little changed, but the service is far more professional than that of La Piccola Mollie and correctly friendly into the bargain. A perfect place for lunch or dinner, inside or under the covered terrace or in the warm winter sun under an umbrella.

This is rustic Italian cuisine at affordable prices.

This is a prime location right opposite Pierre Lafond in the Neuevo Paseo and the center of downtown Santa Barbara just of State Street. The café tables and market umbrellas extend onto the wide pedestrian way where the sun shines most of the time. Perfect for people watching. Also perfect for being able to have your dog with you if you sit at an outlying table.

They offer several salads including a tastely Caesare with or without grilled chicken, a salmon salad with a fillet on top of mxied greenes, cucumber, red onion, tomatoes and olives all topped with feta cheese and more. Linda enjoyed a roasted tomato soup with just the right spiciness. Other soups include a hearty Minestrone with vegetables and grbanzo beans and fresh spinach. A couple of antipasti - Melanzane con Proscuitto which has giant slices of roasted eggplant, rolled and filled with proscuito di parma, goat cheese, fresh bsit and topped with a balsamic reduction.There is also Torta di Salmone with wild salmon and a crab cake with sweet caramelized onions, celery and fennel in a spicy shittake mushroom, bell pepper and shallot sauce.

There are five pizze's from a Margherita, chicken cheeses and vegetable melange. There are nine excellent pasta's and four foccaccia's. They have a couple standard entrées; Herb marinated chicken breast served in a lemon caper sauce with mashed potatoes and sauteed veggies as well as a maarinated lamb loin served on a bed of wild mushroom risotto with a cracked pepper Borolo sauce.

Desserts number seven and include, wait for it..... Tiramisu, a Forta di Cioccolate (flourless chocolate cake) with amaretto raspberry sauce, a warm spiced apple and currant pie with custard, classic creme brulée, apricot and apple tart and more.

There is even a kids menu with five choies.

This is a great place to grab a quick lunch while shopping or for a destination to enjoy a relaxing meal with friends on good food that won't break the bank.