The Historic Restaurant That Paul Newman Named The 'Best In The World'

In California, which has been the American movie industry's base for over a century, it's practically de rigueur for any restaurant aspiring to the "historic" label to have a long list of celebrity visitors, and The Ojai Ranch House is no exception. Over the course of its 75 years or so in business, its patrons have included John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Marlon Brando, Robert Redford, Barbara Streisand, and Reese Witherspoon. Perhaps the most enthusiastic fan, however, was Paul Newman. Back in the '70s and '80s, he sent a series of postcards to the restaurant owners from such far-flung ports of call as France, Italy, and Jamaica. In one of these postcards, which The Ojai Ranch House shared online, he lauded the Ranch House as "the BEST RESTAURANT THE WORLD." (The capital letters are his; we'd never dream of shouting at you in that way.)

Newman's passion for The Ojai Ranch House was so great that he declared on another postcard: "There is no 4-star Restaurant in France as good." He went on to extol the home-grown vegetables as well as the quality of the wines and meats, and concluded his missive by saying, "Pardon me as I need [to] go there now." (For his sake, we hope he didn't dash off those last lines during a jaunt to Antarctica.)

Paul Newman was known to be a salad fan, and his name and face will forever be associated with salad dressing in the minds of shoppers thanks to the Newman's Own brand. (Newman's Own Italian dressing is one of our favorite Italian dressings, although Newman's Own ranch didn't make the cut in our blind taste test of the best ranch dressings.) Salads, however, were hardly the only kind of food enjoyed by the actor. He grew up eating goulash, pot roast, and noodles, and in later life developed a fondness for caviar. One of his favorite foods was hamburgers eaten with Newman's Own salsa instead of ketchup. (This condiment landed in the middle of the pack in our grocery store salsa taste test). Surprisingly enough, though, it seems that his favorite restaurant started out as a strictly vegetarian establishment.

Alan and Helen Hooker opened the Ranch House in 1949 as a boarding house where $14 purchased a week's worth of lodging complete with meat-free meals. The following year they began operating as a restaurant, and during the next decade, they were offering meat and even wine. (The boarding house and restaurant had originally been teetotal.) As Newman praised both the meats and wines, it's clear that he knew the establishment in its post-vegetarian, less-abstemious days.

While The Ojai Ranch House menu today features specialties including paté with cognac, herbed slow-roasted porchetta, and scallop risotto, it also stays true to its roots with dishes such as curried cauliflower and portobello pavé with a coconut and tarragon dressing. The dessert list, too, offers vegan options such as beignets with chocolate sauce and berry compote.