Shalhoob’s Funk Zone Patio

Funk Zone Fun

The Santa Barbara Funk Zone neighborhood hosts many of the city’s several dozen wine tasting rooms. For a day out tasting wine and enjoying seaside weather, it’s hard to beat. People knew Shaloob as a favorite favorite butcher shop for decades before the Funk Zone Patio opened. The large, open space features long benches and an open area to play cornhole (a popular bean bag tossing game). 

College students and weekenders enjoy the patio beer garden. It also showcases chops and grinds from the attached Shalhoob butchery. The butcher shop earned local reputation for great beef jerky. It is some of the best: soft and fresh, marinades fully incorporated into the meat. Grab a bag or two to take with you.

California Tri-Tip At Its Best

If you have time to stay, have lunch at the Funk Zone Patio. Here you will find an artisan butcher’s take on the tri-tip sandwich. The meat is the most tender tri-tip we’ve yet experienced, almost like a different cut entirely. It is sliced much thinner and more precisely than most hand-carvers could do it. We favor thicker more rustic cuts, but that’s not a big deal. They toss the slices of tri-tip to the grill after carving. They then toss them in spicy BBQ sauce (another unusual flourish). The meat arrives sandwiched in garlic bread. Its marinade and sauce remind us of the flavor of Shalhoob’s peppered jerky, but channeled through fresh BBQ. Accompanying fries are thin, skin on, and crisp. Overall, it adds up to a great lunch combo.

Pretty Burger

We also recommend the house-ground SB burger. Artisan-made American cheese (really!) and caramelized onions top a slightly thick patty. The package becomes one of the prettiest burgers we’ve come across. And it tastes almost as good as it looks.

Corn Salad

Buttery fresh corn taken off the cob becomes a pass-around salad topped with chipotle aioli, parmesan cheese (a superior stand-in for the traditional Cotija), chili, and lime. Tossed together, it captures the flavor of street elote. But it does not make a mess of your face every time you take a bite. This smart dish serves as a perfect foil for grilled meats.

On a nice day, this open space is the Funk Zone’s backyard BBQ and the grilled meats and corn are as good as you’ll find.