Sheila's Place

Searching for a restaurant in Camarillo that serves more that barbecue and steaks, I stumbled upon a terrific place in a small strip center just off Carmen Drive at the 101: Sheila's Place, wine bar and restaurant.

Not really knowing what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised. As you enter this quaint little restaurant you feel like you are entering a "Cheers" bar, with its very inviting dark woods, black granite bar with largescreen TVs, coppertopped tables and rich warm colors. One side of the restaurant displays hundreds of bottles of wine.

Sheila's menu offers a wide variety of choices- salads, pizza, steaks, seafood, chicken and pastas. Start off with the boursin cheese ravioli with wild mushrooms, fried leeks and a sweet vermouth reduction sauce. The sauce needed a little more time to reduce, but the taste was great.

Try the ahi tuna tartare with red onions, garlic, capers, cilantro and lime juice, perfectly marinated, and hats off to the chef for adding the jalapeño peppers that give this dish a kick.

There are lots of salads to choose from. My favorite is the pear salad with baby greens, candied pecans, poached port-infused pears and bleu cheese crumbles. The pears really make this salad memorable.

For dinner there are a lot of great choices. Try the chicken breast stuffed with boursin cheese and served with eggplant confit, housedried tomatoes and roasted fingerling potatoes. I could make a meal on a plate of eggplant confit.

The gumbo bouillon with chicken and andouille sausage was good but lacked the Cajun spicy punch I usually enjoy in this dish. I wish they hadn't cut the sausage up into such small pieces.

The blackened rib-eye steak was very tender and juicy, served with sweet potato fries that were crispy and perfectly prepared, sautéed broccolini and a delicious bleu cheese soufflé.

Sheila's also has several pasta entrees; I recommend the chicken pasta Toscana with grilled chicken, pine nuts, sundried tomatoes and roasted artichokes in a marinara-pesto cream sauce topped with fresh parmesan cheese. This is a very rich dish but perfect comfort food on a cold night with a glass of zinfandel.

The wine selection is quite extensive and reasonably priced, by-the-glass prices starting at $6. With more than 300 wines, mostly Californian, to choose from, you will find one to please the most discriminating wine palate. If you are looking for a local restaurant with good food, friendly attentive service and a fantastic wine selection, Sheila's is a good choice.

Lunch prices from $8.95 and dinners from $8.95 to $29.95. Sheila's has live jazz after 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. It's at 330 N. Lantana St. Call (805) 987-9800 for more information. Sheila's is open Tuesday through Sunday for dinner and Tuesday through Friday for lunch.

Marty Bee is a pseudonym for The Acorn's restaurant reviewer. To preserve the objectivity of Mr. Bee's work, his appearance at each restaurant is kept a secret. He could be at a table next to yours. To read past reviews or make recommendations, go to www.marty-bee.com.