By Boyd Lemon / Guest contributor
I lived in Ventura from 2003 to 2007 and after living in Boston and then Paris for four years, moved back to Ventura three months ago. I wouldn’t give up my adventures in Boston and Paris for anything; living life to the fullest requires adventure, but Ventura is surely a wonderful place to live.
I was delighted to find most of the nice shops, restaurants and wine bars still here (sad that Bariloche closed). Better yet, I have found new or improved places that weren’t here four years ago. Three that I would like to call your attention to are: We Olive, Beach House Tacos and The Museum of Ventura County. I guarantee you will enjoy a visit to all three on an afternoon. Then you can dine at one of downtown Ventura’s fine restaurants, say, Jonathan’s (204 E. Main St.), Tutti’s (34 N. Palm St.), The Watermark (598 E. Main St.) or Midtown’s The Side Car (3029 E. Main St.) — maybe even a before dinner glass of wine at The Wine Rack (14 So. California St.). Or if you’d prefer lighter, less expensive fair, Nature’s Grill (566 E. Main St.), The Local Café (1751 E. Main St.) or Tip’s Thai (512 E. Main St.); you could even go back to Beach House Tacos for something different and enjoy the sunset.
We Olive at 294 E. Main St., provides a fun, unique experience tasting gourmet California olive oils, vinegars and tapenades with bread and similar delicacies, all free — much like a wine tasting. Their employees are amazingly knowledgeable and eager to tell you more than you ever wanted to know about olive oil. The bonuses are that it is healthy and you can’t be arrested for driving under its influence. There is no obligation to purchase, but I you will want to.
Beach House Tacos at the Ventura Pier, 668 Harbor Blvd., has outstanding tacos, burritos and Mexican specials with indoor and outdoor seating and great ocean views. You can easily get out for under $10 without alcohol. They serve wine and beer at reasonable prices too. The special for the week the last time I dined there was a shrimp or fish (grilled or fried) burrito with a lime ginger sauce for $5. It was enough for two. All the tacos are excellent, especially the fish or shrimp. Salsas are fresh, as is everything else, and delicious. They also serve a variety of items for breakfast, including a standard American breakfast, as well as huevos rancheros.
Museum of Ventura County at 100 E. Main St. Of course, this museum is not new, but they totally rebuilt it while I was gone. A room devoted to temporary exhibits now has fascinating black and white photos taken by Ojai photographer Guy Webster of practically every famous band and popular singer of the 1960’s and 70’s, while their music plays in the background. The old cramped museum is a relic of the past. The new one is spacious, artistically designed and contains interesting historical and artistic exhibits — currently sculpture by Ramon Byrne, and George Stuart’s life size figurines of famous historical figures. The museum combines art and history, including Chumash artifacts. The new museum even has a lovely plaza in front with benches for relaxing and a soothing waterfall.
Amigos in the 805: Take an afternoon and evening to enjoy downtown Ventura, nearly paradise.
— Boyd Lemon is a retired lawyer, who re-invented himself as a writer, living in Ventura. He recently returned from a year in France and Italy. His memoir, “Digging Deep: A Writer Uncovers His Marriages,” has just been published. It is about his journey to understand his role in the destruction of his three marriages. He believes it will help others to deal with their own relationship issues. Excerpts are on his website, http://www.BoydLemon-Writer.com