Budi’s Back! Chef Budi Kazali Returns, The Gathering Table

Fall’s Don’t-Miss-Dish: Local Quail with Leeks and Ginger Soy Pomegranate Sauce

Last Bite — Fall’s Don’t-Miss-Dish in Edible Santa Barbara magazine

Want the Quail with Leeks and Ginger Soy Pomegranate Sauce recipe? Get it here.

We’re standing on Solvang’s main thoroughfare, Chef Budi Kazali and I, discussing his newly opened The Gathering Table restaurant amid the Parisian bistro style tables and chairs on its shaded patio. Two locals on their lunch break happen by, and the women call out to Kazali by name, hoping the restaurant is currently open during this noon hour. Kazali responds that unfortunately, it is not yet. Weekend brunch is in the works, but for now, the ladies will have to settle for the delectable Kazali-influenced broth and noodles at Ramen Kotori, down the street.

We head back inside, where the fresh interior reflects his laid-back style, communal attitude, and French techniques of cooking. Designed by Los Olivos local Heather Saarloos, the space delights Kazali, and he is happy to sing her praises. It’s a warm, inviting spot where one can nestle in for the evening at a bistro table, leather booth, bar seat, or large communal table to once again enjoy Kazali’s Asian-inspired cuisine, and a new full-bar cocktail (and mocktail) program.

This is The Gathering Table, Part Deux, on Mission Drive in Solvang.

When Kazali’s Ballard Inn & Gathering Table restaurant closed in 2021, it left a culinary void in the Santa Ynez Valley. We all moved on to the new restaurants of that time (and they were all exciting and delicious), but there was something missing. Ramen Kotori, where Kazali partnered with one of his long-time cohorts from the kitchen in the Ballard Inn, satisfied a sprinkle of the craving, a soupçon of his flavors. We all collectively wondered, “Where is Budi cooking?”

After graduating from the California Culinary Academy, Chef Kazali honed his skills at some of the nation’s premier restaurants in San Francisco. He played a key role in opening Blue Ginger in Boston, where he gained experience blending Eastern and Western cuisines. (Blue Ginger later earned a James Beard award.)

In 2004, Kazali purchased the Ballard Inn and transformed its namesake restaurant into a Santa Barbara County hotspot, before revamping the restaurant and unveiling a new name, The Gathering Table in 2017. In 2021, after Kazali sold the Ballard Inn and co-founded Ramen Kotori, he also did some local area catering, private wine dinners, time with family, and personal travel. He defines this period as a nice break from restaurant life. But 2024 found him ready to tackle cooking regularly once again, this time with partner Doug Cavanaugh.

Now, he has divested all other projects to focus on this new re-birth, reaching out to old acquaintances and building community and farmer relationships again. Sourcing local produce has always been an integral part of Kazali’s cooking. He grew up in Indonesia, and still craves some of the foods he had when he was young. He loves to source produce from Shu Takikawa, a kind of master gardener right here in Los Olivos at The Garden of… along with Noey Turk of Yes Yes Nursery.

Partnering with Cavanaugh, who owns the Ruby’s Diner chain in the Los Angeles area as well as restaurants in Newport Beach, allows Kazali to do more, in a bigger kitchen and a bigger dining room, complete with a full bar. It’s a real hangout, with locals coming in several times a week. The pastry chef, Alicia Valencia, formerly of Lucky Hen Larder, is from the original Succulent restaurant (what this building was best known for), and whips up outstanding desserts, including a cocoa sesame cookie that’s worth a third visit this week.

Cavanaugh got to know Kazali through his food at the Ballard Inn, as we all did. But when they started to get together in the community, Cavanaugh began to fully understand Kazali’s friendly nature and just how appreciated he was in the community. “Everyone missed his hamachi,” Cavanaugh says. “We wanted to help him get cooking again, and this was the perfect space.” (Check the Last Bite below for Cavanaugh’s favorite Budi dish).

You may have sat at one of the big tables at the first version of The Gathering Table at the Ballard Inn, where you could gather with neighbors and visitors. That feeling is still there, now with a Paris-bistro vibe added. A taste of France, if you will, where you can watch the passersby on Mission Drive while you tuck into Kazali’s famous Hamachi (his signature crudo yellowfish appetizer), duck confit, perfect garlic noodles, poached cod, classic meats like lamb, as well as this fall’s Local Quail appetizer with braised leeks and ginger soy pomegranate sauce (see below for more).

The cocktail program, led by Julio Peñuela, also adds an Asian twist using yuzu. Yuzu is an East Asian citrus fruit that is extremely sour, with a flavor combining the tanginess of lemon, the bitterness of grapefruit, and the sweetness of orange. The tartness is complemented by subtle floral and herbal undertones, and makes for a superb “gimzu” Gimlet and an Old Fashioned you won’t soon forget. The GinGin is the most popular drink, with ginger, lemon, pomegranate syrup, Sparkling Wine, and a mint blossom. They pour local spirits from Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, and unique spirits from far-flung places like Iceland, that you won’t find anywhere else. Cocktails change seasonally, and all garnishes are from the farmers market.

The restaurant is also a great gathering place for celebrations and events with its private dining room, perfect for upcoming holidays. Watch for specialty dinners and foodie events from the team, plus weekend brunch and daily lunch in the future.

Seeing Kazali smile in this big kitchen with windows facing the outdoor dining courtyard is a real treat. Just as he called back to the women on the street day, things are in the works for Kazali, and he is pleased to be in such demand. And we’re pleased to have him back, where he belongs.

Last Bite: Local Quail with Leeks and Ginger Soy Pomegranate Sauce

For locals, and visitors who know of Kazali, this opening is anything but quiet. Since the Ballard Inn closed in 2021 (then sold to new owners), folks have been waiting to see what Kazali would do next. This French-inspired, bistro space is it: fresh, warm, and inviting, located in the former Succulent building. Heather Saarloos designed the interiors to match Kazali’s French and Asian-inspired cooking, as well as his friendly, down-to-earth personality. It’s a place for greeting neighbors, sharing plates, being festive, and just hanging out.

“It’s been great so far,” Kazali beamed. “Friends, farmers, winemakers….they’ve come in several times a week. It’s a real community outpouring.”

Kazali’s partner in part deux of The Gathering Table, Doug Cavanaugh, says the thing he missed most were Kazali’s chicken sliders with their layered flavors. Cavanaugh recently bought a ranch here in Santa Ynez Valley, and now supplies some produce from his property to the restaurant. It’s a symbiotic partnership that brings Kazali’s beloved Asian-French-California food back to the valley.

This fall, find this quail appetizer on the menu. The quail comes from local ranch and farm, Motley Crew near Lompoc and the leeks from Kazali’s long-time provider Shu Takikawa and The Garden of… The shiitake mushrooms are local, and the pomegranates come from a friend’s garden, another benefit of Kazali knowing his neighbors.

Quail with Leeks and Ginger Soy Pomegranate Sauce Recipe

Want the full recipe? Get it and print it here.

To make the quail dish, start with leeks. One day before, take off outer layer and soak in water to clean. Poach white part of leeks in seasoned water for 3 minutes. Drain and wrap tightly in plastic while hot, then refrigerate overnight.

Four to five hours before, remove quail legs. Cover them with a dry brine of salt, brown sugar, black peppercorn, coriander, and thyme, leave on 4 hours.

Chop 2 shallots and 2 cloves garlic. Sauté these with grated ginger in olive oil over medium heat, then add thyme sprigs, soy sauce and black pepper. Add 1 cup red wine and bring to a boil; cook down to reduce by half. Add 2 cups pomegranate juice; cook down to reduce by half. Add 1 cup veal stock, cook down to reduce to syrup consistency, then strain.

Brush the dry brine off quail legs. Add 1 quart duck fat to sauce pan (or bacon fat or olive oil) and heat to a gentle boil. Poach the legs along with shitake mushroom cap for 30-40 mins, until tender. Drain, then cool.

Heat sauté pan with olive oil to medium high heat (not too hot), add mushroom cap and legs to sear both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from pan, and add the breasts, searing each side about 4 minutes, until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.

Turn heat down to medium. Cut leeks 1 inch high, and remove plastic. Sear leeks gently on one side, then add to the plate. Take breast off bone, add to plate with legs and mushroom. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds, frisée salad on top with endive, thyme blossom.