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8/22/2011

Kim Kardashian wedding shines a spotlight on Montecito


Actually, this enclave next to Santa Barbara, Calif., doesn't need one.
Oprah Winfrey has a home there. And the San Ysidro Ranch, one of the nation's most chic hideaways, has hosted honeymooners including Jack and Jacqueline Kennedy, Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin and ill-fated Sandra Bullock and Jesse James. Plus Julia Roberts and husband Danny Moder. Go to its intimate bar -- anyone can -- and you may see local resident Jeff Bridges. (Did Kim Kardashian and groom Kris Humphries, keep up that tradition after their wedding reception in a Montecito mansion Saturday night? No word yet.)

However, reports say most Kardashian wedding guests stayed at the Four Seasons Biltmore Santa Barbara on the beach, where Kim and sisters enjoyed gals' getaways years before the wedding. So maybe it was the presidential suite there for the newlyweds.

But you don't have to be a star to savor the pleasures of Montecito and Santa Barbara -- the latter has been labeled the "American Riviera" due to its sunny climate, chic atmosphere and gorgeous beaches and palm-studded coastline. Not long back I toured a Motel 6 right by the beach in Santa Barbara -- under $100, sparkling clean modern rooms, quite a deal. And you can eat like the local budget-watchers do, at places such as the simple La Super-Rica Taqueria, frequented by the likes of late cookbook icon Julia Child (who was a local resident), and all sorts of casual restaurants. Dining solo, I felt as if I were in New Orleans at Santa Barbara's raucous, welcoming, affordable The Palace Grill. I was told Winfrey's chef has stopped by to pick up gumbo for her.

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