In the mid 1980's there was a banana farm at a costal city call La Conchitas near Santa Barbara. Dough Richardson was growing as many as 60 varieties at the time. It was not easy farming an area prone to freezing, infested with gophers and punctuated with mudslides. I used Dough's bananas in a variety of recipes including curries, salsas and desserts. It was a real education to tasting the varieties and develope recipes for them. See below for a few delicious dishes.
At one pint, Dough and I teamed up to do a story with CNN. The show was delayed airing due to the Gulf War. When it did air, I got a call from Chef Albert Roux (Le Gavroche, London). He said that before I spoke a word, "let me tell you what I saw on the tele in my room in Moscow. There you were cooking bananas at Michael's Waterside."
Seaside Banana Gardens—considered the first banana farm in the continental U.S.—once sold nearly 60 varieties of locally grown bananas through the 80s and 90s at markets and a roadside stand by the 101. But in 1995, owner Doug Richardson stopped selling at markets after mudslides flooded part of his farm. And in 1999, he vacated the property, six years before another slide wiped out more of the farm and killed 10 nearby residents.
Here is a link to another story in the L.A. Times.
