Posted: Tuesday, Apr 20th, 2021
Updated: Sunday, Jul 24th, 2022
Ventura’s Top Munchies
Nutrition is all well and good, but — how do we put this delicately — life is short, and lima beans are overrated.
If it’s fun food you desire, Ventura has your answer.
Have your own favorite(s)? Click here and tell us what we missed …
Social Tap
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Social Tap Nachos
Chips, pinto beans, poblano cheese, manchego cheese, pepper jack, pico de Gallo, cheddar jack, cotija, guacamole and scallions. Ohhhhhhhh …
Himalaya Restaurant Ventura
Himalaya’s Silver Burrito
No, not the strangest cultural marriage. Yes, chicken tikka masala curry, wrapped lovingly in garlic naan for a little sweet/spicy/garlicky kick.
Lalo’s Fast Food
Lalo’s street taco
Any Lalo’s taco, washed down with a large agua de Horchata. Oh yea, also great onion rings. Not your traditional pairing. Points for thinking outside the box. And consider continuing to sample down Ventura’s Taco Trail. You may be up for it.
Main Street Meats
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Tri-Tip sandwich
They smoke it slow, then slice it thin and lean…
Slice/Slices
From Jimmy’s Slice, to LLC Imports, to Topper’s, to Tony’s, Ventura has your cheesy dripping slice. Maybe more than one.
Spencer Makenzie’s Fish Company
Spencer’s Makenzie’s Ahi pocket
You don’t have time to wander around the menu. We’ll save you the trouble. It’s under appetizers — a mildly sweet tofu pocket stuffed with sushi rice, and topped with “Dynamite” sauce & Blackened Ahi Tuna.
Banh-Mi Grill
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Banh-mi sandwich
Yes, heaven has a sandwich and it’s called Banh Mi; pickled veggies, mouthwatering baguette and an insert, traditionally, of pork, but beef, chicken, chicken liver, deli meats, or even meatballs work too.
Fatty Vegan
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They’ve got a vegan beer shake, which you’re not likely to find in too many places. Also plenty of other inspiring options for vegans.
Thompson Donuts
Terrific donuts, fair prices, and friendly owners who won’t question your order of two dozen bear claws.
Ex Voto Chocolates and Confections
Everyone raves about their overall quality, but you might want to apply laser-like focus to their toasted marshmallow topping. Traditionally served on top of ice cream, but who are we to tell you what to do?
Surf N’ Yogurt
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One of life’s simple pleasure. Pick your yogurt, then paint your masterpiece topping, beginning with the chewy (mochi and gummy sharks).
Coastal Cone
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Unicorn poop. Unless you have your own unicorn, you can only get it here; soft serve ice cream in flavors ranging from Dole Pineapple Whip, to Unicorn Cake Batter and Sweet Potato Ube.
Plus the colors are cool to look at.
Andria’s Seafood Restaurant and Market
Andria’s has a host of healthy broiled seafood dishes. Nah. Order the Original Fish and Chips or the Fish Burger and Chips. Your lucky day, chips are fries.
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Food & Drink
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Happy Hours
Danny’s Deli & Grill
One word. Reuben. One possible add on. Snatch a homemade pie to go. What happens in the privacy of your own home is your own business.
Two Trees Restaurant and Taps
Chorizo Burger
Angus beef and chorizo, chipotle aioli, jack cheese, tomato and on a fresh baked brioche butter bun. Go ahead and slap an egg on top.
Beach House Taco
Beach House Tacos
A symphony for the senses. Sitting at the foot of the Ventura Pier, close your eyes. Inhale the tang of creosote, the hint of brine, and the cool of the sea. Taste the sweet pop of spicy aioli sauce ladled over a hot fish taco. Open your eyes before it all drips down your front.
Cajun Kitchen
Beignets
Again, one word. Beignets. People go on and on (justifiably) about beignets but basically they’re French doughnuts. Made with a yeasted, sweetened dough, once allowed to rise they are cut into squares, fried, and liberally doused in powdered sugar. They also produce an admirable powdered sugar mustache that’s good for laughs.
Marshall’s Bodacious Barbecue
Ain’t fancy to look at (though the giant rooster on the roof is eye-catching), but no one comes here for the view. They come for ribs, chicken and tri-tip that stand with the best you’ll ever have.
Rice by Mama
No, salad is not a traditional munchy, but perhaps by now you’ve picked up the non-conformist theme. Rice by Mama’s larb salad features chili-lime dressing tossed with diced red onion, green onion, cilantro, grated rice powder, and fresh mint; rounded out by chicken or pork.
Santa Cruz Market
Shawarma
Their shawarmas are mouthwatering; chicken, lamb and tri tip cooked perfectly, cut thin, and served in a saucy wrap.
Caribbean Haven
Meat eater’s, two words. Jerk Chicken. Vegans, jerk cauliflower sandwich. Imagine the spice.
Cafe Ficelle
You’re not going to get better pastries unless you go to France. Pastry is French for complete satisfaction.
Top This Chocolate
Oh, the places you can go. They let you make your own chocolate bar. Providing you the rare opportunity to sample a chocolate bar topped with goldfish chips and gummy worms.
Jolly Oyster
Operating out of trailer parked in San Buenaventura State Beach Park, The Jolly Oyster sells fresh, sustainably grown oysters and clams still in the shell, and you can eat them, dripping fingers and all, right there on picnic tables with a head-clearing sea breeze.
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