from the Ojai Valley News

The lure from the sidewalk is magnetic. More than just curb appeal, the magic that happens inside Feast Bistro’s picture window is the first thing passersby notice. At night, the warm glow seen from Ojai’s downtown arcade doesn’t just come from the open kitchen’s stovetop flames or candlelit tables, it comes from the hearts of the owners, Chef Susan Coulter and Beryl Schwartz, who celebrate the restaurant’s four-year anniversary by giving back to the community they have grown to love.

“We had a couple come in who have been living here for 40 years, and they came in for the first time last night,” said a beaming Coulter, who, after 25 years of cooking, still relishes welcoming new diners.

Feast Bistro has been getting noticed by Sunset and 805 Living magazines, but on the heels of their four years as restaurateurs, Coulter and Schwartz were also recently awarded the Ojai Chamber of Commerce’s distinguished Small Business of the Year Award.

“Winning the award is just the icing on the cake,” said Coulter, adding that the nomination by her peers in the community was really more than she had hoped for.

The recognition spurred them to action, taking on charitable causes near and dear to their hearts, including the Ventura County Rainbow Alliance, the Ojai Music Festival, the Environmental Defense Center and the recent effort to Save Libbey Bowl.

“This community is obviously very important to us,” said Schwartz, who moved to Ojai with Coulter from Chicago 8 years ago.

Last month, the sold-out dining room packed in enthusiastic fans of the Ventura County Rainbow Alliance, to which Coulter and Schwartz happily donated 10 percent of the night’s receipts.

On April 15th, they will donate to the Environmental Defense Center in Santa Barbara. Dubbed “Dine Out for the Earth,” they will give 10 percent of their earnings from all of the day’s lunch and dinner checks.

Coulter is one of the featured chefs for the Ojai Music Festival’s Farm to Table Tour on April 17th, which offers three local farms tours followed by a lunch at Soule Park catered by six local chefs. The event benefits the festival’s BRAVO! music education program for the schools.

Seeing another opportunity to make a difference in their community, Coulter and Schwartz also decided to help the efforts to rebuild Ojai’s beloved landmark Libbey Bowl.

“Beryl thought about it and said, ‘Sue, let’s make a statement!’” said Coulter.

“The bowl is right there and has such potential for bringing people into town,” explains Schwartz.

Every Thursday in May, Feast Bistro will give 10 percent of lunch and dinner receipts to Save Libbey Bowl, the organization charged with raising funds to help restore the bowl and make it more beautiful than ever.

“We don't just do these things…it has to mean something to us,” said Schwartz.

In the midst of all of their philanthropic efforts, Coulter and Schwartz are also introducing a new spring menu. In keeping with their trademark New American cuisine, menu offerings still feature local produce and borrow from many ethnicities with a nod to the French cooking Coulter perfected while training under the likes of Charlie Trotter and Tony Mantuano in Chicago.

Among the new dishes this season are the antipasto di mare (chilled shrimp, calamari, clams and mussels marinated in lemon and Ojai Olive Oil), pork tenderloin (rubbed with truffled salt and sugar, seared, sliced and finished with a Spanish allioli of pureed pears, apples, garlic and olive oil) and the Jamaican jerk chicken (boneless chicken marinated in spices and served with freshly toasted coconut basmati rice). An excellent beer and wine menu is also offered.

While the menu dazzles, the prices certainly will not pinch your wallet.

“We try to keep prices reasonable so people will come in,” said Schwartz.

And they do it all from a 108 square-foot open kitchen, where diners watch Coulter and her talented Sous Chef Rosie Brooks whisk and sauté, while Schwartz walks through the warmly lit dining room and alfresco patio to welcome and chat with patrons.

Coulter reflected on her four years at the restaurant’s helm, “Someone left a comment recently that said, ‘It's like being in someone's kitchen.’ That makes me feel good.”