UYEE – Butcher & Barrels @ Jill’s Place w/ Carr Winery

I haven’t stopped gushing about Jill’s since Wednesday night’s dinner! The feedback I’ve received from the pictures I posted on Facebook have been overwhelmingly positive and one of my friends called me out of the blue to ask me, just where I had been because the food looked amazing.
After I finally figured out how to park on a one way street, (seriously, I am a work in progress SB) I entered Jill’s and liked the atmosphere right away, classy yet with a casual vibe, nothing pretentious about the restaurants setting, here’s a place to go with friends have a cocktail and then dine on some fabulous, and I mean fabulous food!
Locating my group, I was greeted right away by the owner Jill who was very excited to be sharing some of the house favorites, we started off with Bruschetta topped with fresh Mozzarella, olive oil, and basil, the bread was crisp and the cheese was mild and smooth.
We were then served a Split Pea Soup, it was seasoned just right, the smokiness of the ham was so good, I hated to see the bottom of my bowl, I definitely could have gone for seconds.
Our third endeavor were the bacon wrapped Jalapeño poppers, oh my gosh!!! Now I’ve had poppers before at different establishments, and they are always a hit. but when i tell you that Jill’s has the best, I mean it! Wow, Wow, and triple WOW. I think the difference was in the bacon, it was crisp and the jalapeño had heat, biting into the popper and having a combination of crisp bacon, cream cheese, and a kick of heat… perfection in a bite, they were so well liked they brought us out more!
Imagine sitting with friends, an ice cold beer or the drink of your choice in hand, and an order of Poppers… I’d say you just hit the mother lode!
Fourth on the list was the JP Slider (see triple wow above) the burst of flavor from the spicy mayo and grilled onions was delectable but the beef was seasoned perfectly and it literally felt like a sin to eat it, because it was so good!
Fifth item to try were the Potato Skins, now again as the Jalapeño poppers, this is a typical appetizer you get at most pubs or restaurants, but here’s the kicker… Jill must have magic in her touch, because these potato skins were made with love, I even mentioned to one of my buddies, it’s comfort food in a bite.
By now, you should know the belt I had on was literally starting to cut off circulation, and we still had five more things to try, and we were also drinking terrific varieties of wine supplied graciously by Carr Winery.
The next dish we had were the filet Mignon steak bites, perfect bite of seasoned tender top quality beef, it was served with different sides of sauces, but I chose to eat mine sans anything as it was cooked so perfectly I wanted to savor it.
We then had the grilled artichoke hearts with a balsamic vinaigrette and stuffed with breadcrumbs and Romano cheese, on my so very good.
Then onto the Pork Baby Back rib… I love ribs, but I’m picky about them too. and thankfully Jill didn’t disappoint because it was loaded with meat, and packed with flavor. Way to go Jill!
Our last entrée was the Fried Chicken and Mashed potatoes, by now I was so full I was ready for my Yoga pants, so I only took a small sample of this entrée, but when I tell you that it was cooked to perfection, the chicken was juicy and it would be the perfect summer meal.
Dessert came and my eyes crossed, when Jill mentioned the name Banana’s Shalhoob, I thought oh good, I don’t like bananas … but then I felt like I couldn’t be rude and not at least have a taste… um, yea Jill you didn’t tell me anything about the warm caramel sauce (l love caramel) and vanilla ice cream, I think I might need to rethink my disdain for bananas after this.
I would like to Thank Jill for hosting us, it was delectable and I have told so many of my Ventura friends about you, that I have a feeling you might have an onslaught of visitors coming your way.
Also a round of thanks to Carr Winery, I will be paying a visit to you soon.
A warm thanks to Danah D for putting this together, you simply are the best in the west!

I just found this.
This was my very first Unilocal event. I was graciously invited to join in the fun By Danah D.
It was very cool to meet the friends I have communicated with online. what a great group of peeps! Jill Butcher’s Daughter, wowed us with her endless food creations from
Beef Sliders, Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers, Spicy Sausage, grilled sliced Steak bites, Split pea soup, Bruschetta Charred Artichoke, Loaded Potato Skins, Ribs, fried chicken and taters and gravy and Bananas Shalhoob
Carr Winery, poured some generous tastings of their amazing wines too!
Always good to get some swag too! not a bad time for my first event!
thanks again to Danah for bringing this event together

It’s always fun gathering with the Elite Squad and this UYEE was no exception. The owner, Butcher’s Daughter, Jill Shalhoob, sent out an amazing spread of some of her most popular dishes: Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers, Beef Sliders, Spicy Sausage, Steak, Charred Artichoke, Loaded Potato Skins, Ribs, and Bananas Foster, OH MY! My tummy is rumbling just thinking about it.
Jessica Carr, of Carr Winery, poured some generous tastings of their Pinot Noir, Sauv Blanc (I think — but it might have been a Chard) and my personal fave, their 100% Cab Franc. So good!
All of the best elites were in attendance, including Mark F., Sarah S., Greg W., Ashley H., Lily Z. And Rachel W. Kudos to Rachel W., Jim K. and Elizabeth K. for driving up from the Ventura/​Oxnard. We love it when you represent! Brian M. and Brent W. helped round out the team! This more intimate step up allowed us to really kick back and enjoy the experience family-​style at a long dining room table in the newly renovated private dining area. Speaking of renovation, if you haven’t been to Jill’s Place since they reopened you are in for a treat. It still has that «come as you are feel,» but with modern, shabby-​chic accents and a more open concept that breaths new life into the space.
The event was made complete with complimentary Unilocal swag for all: shiny, new, red canteens and Unilocal buttons! Thank you Unilocal!Another fantastic UYEE in 2015!