The Casa del Herrero is a historical landmark in the heart of Montecito, California. We prepared a luncheon there for a member of the support group that manages the estate. It is a grand estate. From my point of view, the smithy shop is the big draw. Any tool needed for metalworking is there from forges, casting, embossing, welding, braising etc. There is also a great old Magic Chef stove in the kitchen that is available to cook on. The stove has the invoice from 1934. The cost then was about $250. Today, restored, they run as much as $10,000! It worked just fine, though a little underpowered by today's standards.
From their web page:
"Few of Montecito’s legendary estates remain essentially unchanged. The Casa del Herrero, designed by architect George Washington Smith and completed in 1925, is noted as one of the finest examples of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in America, is included on the National Register of Historic Places, and in January 2009, was designated a National Historic Landmark by then Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne.
George Fox Steedman, an industrialist, engineer, and amateur architect, had a vision for the house and grounds that went beyond fashion, and he assembled an extraordinary team of architects, landscape architects, antiquarians, and horticulturists to produce the Casa del Herrero estate (House of the Blacksmith)—recognized today as a masterpiece of the Country Place era. His participation in every detail of the property’s buildings, furnishings, and gardens is the reason the estate makes a single artistic statement that is greater than the sum of its parts. Today the entire 11-acre site is owned and operated as a historic house museum and garden by the non-profit Casa del Herrero Foundation, with the goal of preserving the house and grounds, as well as the family’s collection of antiques, books, sketchbooks, drawings, and horticultural records."
Shrimp Louis on Cucumber Cups
Chilled Leek and Potato Soup
Abalone with Herb Butter
Spring Salad with Walnuts
Belgian Endive, Local Bib Lettuce
green & white asparagus, beets, parmesan frico
Channel Black Cod
Fennel Mashed Potatoes
light wine jus, market vegetables
Lemon Custard Tart
