The Restaurant Guy and Gal went to a special dinner at La Paloma restaurant, 702 Anacapa Street, that celebrated the 20th anniversary of the movie “Sideways” that was filmed in Santa Barbara’s Wine Country and featured numerous wines and restaurants.

The event was presented by legendary winemakers Frank Ostini and Gray Hartley of Hitching Post Wines that were highlighted in the movie. The pair, who were recently honored as Winemakers of the Year, shared their passion for winemaking that brought them together and behind-the-scene stories of the filming of Sideways, which was nominated for Best Picture and won an academy award for Best Screenplay. La Paloma blew past their cap of 60 attendees and seated nearly 80 diners. The smoked beef tenderloin was amazing and unusually tender and when I asked how they pulled that off I was told the meat was only smoked and not thrown on a barbecue grill.