The Worker Bee Cafe

Gary:      After a long week at work, I was certainly ready for this weekend. I actually got up at a reasonable time, made some coffee, was in the bathroom getting ready when the phone starting ringing, and ringing. I got to the phone and the messages were from Hope. It seems she was ready, been gardening, feeding animals and again waiting for me and I thought I was doing well. So I get my shit together, pack a bag, decide to ride the Dyna and got my ass on the bike. I arrive in Fillmore at 9:45am and guess who is in her pajamas? Yep, your right, Hope is. Ha, ha, I got her but it is no biggy, because I am never in a rush when I am not working and she got ready in just a few minutes. She is totally not your typical chick.

Since I wanted to get to Fillmore fast this morning I just took the 5 north to the 126 west.

Hope:      My first call to Gary was at about 8:20 am, the second at 8:30 am. Damn it—it was already beautiful outside and I wanted to ride. I had already spent close to two hours doing yard work and I wanted to get on the bike and go. Knowing how slow he is in the morning and that he still had to take a shower, get dressed, and ride to Heritage Valley, I continued weeding the garden and was content to do so in my jammies. I guess I lost track of time because at 9:45, he pulled into my driveway and I stood on my porch still in my jammies! Yikes! Luckily, it was only about 15 minutes before I was dressed and out of the house and ready to roll.

Gary:      After gassing up and cursing at the current prices of fuel, we headed west on the 126 and it led us onto the 101 north. After several miles of magnificent ocean views, we exited at the 150 in Carpinteria, turned left and followed the service road into town. We took a left onto Linden Avenue and parked the bikes.

Hope:      I had been to ‘The Worker Bee’ years ago, but had forgotten what a tiny place it was. You enter through a screen door that opens into a tiny dining area filled with tables and chairs. The first thing you notice is how small and quaint the place is and all the walls are decorated like my grandmother’s house. Gary and I headed to the counter, which was practically empty and ordered tea for me and coffee for him while we started studying the menu.

Gary:      This is a pretty nice little place owned by Oscar & Jamie Beaulieu; two very cool people who take real pride in their establishment. It is decorated with all sorts of stuff that would be in your grandmother’s house. Rob, the counter guy, was moving a mile a minute between refilling coffee/tea, bringing food to customers, and keeping everything running smoothly.

I had something different today, rib eye steak and eggs with country potatoes, biscuit and coffee. The service was very good and the food was just as good.  Everything was cooked exactly how I asked for it. To me this gives 'The Worker Bee' extra points. The steak was a good cut of beef and the country potatoes were very tasty but a bit too salty for me. Like a dummy, I added salt before I tasted them so maybe they would have been fine.

Hope:      I ordered chicken fried steak, eggs scrambled with onions, home fries (Gary calls ‘em country potatoes), and an English muffin. While giving my order, they asked me if I wanted my eggs scrambled easy, medium, or hard…damn! This place really knows how to cater to their customers!! In about 10 minutes, our food arrived and looking down at my plate, I realized I had a LOT on my plate. No worries—nothing goes to waste with Gary around! 

The chicken fried steak was tender on the inside and crispy on the outside and the eggs were cooked to perfection. The home fries were a bit salty for my taste, but they were crispy and flavorful and delish none-the-less.  

Gary:     What can I say? I'm Italian and when I eat, I always hear my mother's voice in my head, "Gaary--It’s a sin to waste food." Now, you also have to remember that my ‘mudda’ is THE typical Italian mother who is 5’ tall, and 5’ round. Maybe I better start sinning a little before I am 5’ round!!

Anyway, the owner, Oscar, who is also the cook, comes out of the kitchen to check on his customers, how the food is, are you cool with everything. How many cooks/owners do that? All in all this was a great day, the weather was so bitchin', and so was the food and the riding (especially the ride back). Let’s face it--It doesn't get any better than that.

The Worker Bee Cafe                                                             973 Linden Avenue                                                                 Carpinteria, CA                                                                  805.745.1828