想象一下你的梦幻海滩之旅:沙滩上点缀着棕榈树, 在海浪中嬉戏的海豚和海峡群岛衬托下的橘黄色夕阳.
That vision isn’t a vacation for Damien Giliberti. It’s his workplace. Giliberti is the executive chef at Ox & Ocean, the restaurant at Zachari Dunes on Mandalay Beach, a Curio Collection by Hilton hotel.
Located in Oxnard, midway between Malibu and Santa Barbara, 海滨度假胜地和它的餐厅是理想的日落观赏, he says.
“We’re in the perfect spot. 奥克斯纳德是一个朝西的城市，bbin游戏官网的房产和海滩都朝西. 就在bbin游戏官网酒店的前面，是一个史诗般的地方，可以看到太阳落在海峡群岛后面的海洋里. 我经常在bbin游戏官网的餐厅里看日落，天哪，真是太美了.”
The hub of a rich agricultural area, 奥克斯纳德的草莓田可能比日落更出名, 但秘密正在泄露——尤其是在扎卡里沙丘经过数百万美元的翻新后于10月开放之后. The Spanish hacienda-style resort features 250 suites, each with a full-sized living room and two full baths, plus tennis courts, a cabana-lined swimming pool, and delicious dining.
Giliberti, 39, created Ox & Ocean’s menu, which emphasizes locally harvested seafood, 在奥克斯纳德平原肥沃的土壤中生长的优质肉类和农产品.
他说:“bbin游戏官网周围生长着令人惊叹的农产品，bbin游戏官网可以利用它们做很多事情。. “When I’m asked to describe my menu, I use the word ‘fun.我也可以用“本地”这个词，但这只是乐趣的一部分.”
Fun-focused food is a good match for Zachari Dunes, 被一大片沙滩与太平洋隔开. 客人在度假胜地度过他们的日子登机，冲浪，游泳，在海滩上嬉戏.
Ox & 吉里伯蒂说，Ocean餐厅的菜单反映了这种沿海休闲的氛围. “我希望人们能如实地来，我希望他们能在用餐时分享体验. 我的部分概念是基于共享的盘子——人们分享食物和分享社交体验. That’s really special.
“我喜欢看着人们吃完饭说，‘哇，太好吃了. 这是我吃过的最好吃的猪排，”或者“这是我吃过的最好吃的奶昔。.“我喜欢创新，喜欢通过我的食物感动人们的生活.”
Giliberti’s love for cooking began at an early age. “When I was four-years-old, my family bought an Italian restaurant, and our apartment was attached to it. 我基本上住在新泽西的一家意大利披萨店，”他说. “我从12岁开始洗碗，13岁开始在流水线上做饭, so I've always felt at home in the kitchen.”
In between shifts at Ox & Ocean, Giliberti indulges his secondary passion: surfing. 2012年搬到加州海岸后，他迷上了这项运动. “我需要在工作之余做点什么，所以我尝试冲浪. 我太爱它了，我不敢相信我花了这么长时间才找到它，”他说.
他不会透露他最喜欢的冲浪时间，但他很乐意讨论 Oxnard’s beaches. “I'm a big fan of the beaches from Rincon all the way down to Oxnard Shores. Oxnard’s coastline is still pristine and undiscovered. 人们不知道文图拉县有一条令人敬畏的海岸线，有大量的沙子, lots of dunes, and huge, practically empty beaches.”
如果游客厌倦了脚趾间的沙子，Giliberti建议他们去探索一下 Channel Islands Harbor这里有帆船租赁、观鲸之旅、滑翔伞、皮划艇和桨板租赁. It’s also home to the Channel Islands Maritime Museum. 展品包括历史上的海景画、木雕、水手工具和小巧的手工制作 ship models by master modeler Edward Marple.
Giliberti often visits downtown Ventura for its Saturday morning farmers’ market. 他表示:“在使命面前，这是一个非常棒的市场。. “Downtown is always fun. It’s a really friendly area that has a lot for people to do.”
Between the San Buenaventura Mission and Plaza Park, visitors can stop by a half-dozen breweries 逛一逛卖服装、古董和海滨家居装饰的商店. Treasure-hunters can browse Copperfield’s收藏的老式打字机和异想天开的小玩意从过去，或扫描的货架 Calico Cat Bookshop and Bank of Books.
“文图拉县几乎所有的东西都是一颗隐藏的宝石，”吉利伯蒂说. “奥克斯纳德有很多东西可以提供，这是一个轻松、令人敬畏的地方. If you’re in L.A., 你可以开车沿着1号公路穿过马里布，去奥克斯纳德看一场美妙的日落.”
FIVE MORE FAVORITES
Giliberti为奥克斯纳德和文图拉县的游客提供了以下建议:
Bike trails: I’m a cyclist, and I’m a part of Chefs Cycle for No Kid Hungry这是一家致力于缓解儿童饥饿的非营利筹款组织. 我和女朋友喜欢一起骑车，文图拉县有很棒的自行车道. We’ll ride from Ventura to Ojai on the Ventura River Trail and the Ojai Valley Trail或者bbin游戏官网就骑文图拉海滩自行车道(正式名称是 Omer Rains Coastal Bike Trail). It goes along the coast at San Buenaventura State Beach, past the Ventura Pier and Surfers’ Point.
Pizza我要为此惹上大麻烦了，因为我爸爸在新泽西开了一家披萨店, where it's sacrilegious to put pineapple on your pizza. But I love getting a Hawaiian pizza at Tony’s Pizzaria in Ventura. 咸味和甜味的结合达到了很好的平衡. Their Hawaiian pizza comes with pineapple and ham, 我通常会加意大利腊肠和意大利辣香肠，所以里面会有各种各样的猪肉. I love to throw all the pork on there.
Tacos: There’s a delicious carniciera in East Oxnard called Hermanos Garcia. 我很喜欢用绿辣酱或红辣酱做成的墨西哥卷饼或墨西哥卷饼(绿辣酱或红辣酱猪皮)。. This little grocery store makes it so well. My girlfriend and I also like Spencer Makenzie's. 他们的炸鱿鱼玉米饼很好吃，他们的加勒比火焰辣酱是我的最爱. I have bottles of it at home.
Coffee: In Oxnard, I like to get coffee at Ragamuffin, which is a great local coffee roaster. My go-to drink is a cortado with almond milk or oat milk. It's basically a short latte, so it’s not drowning in milk. Some places call it a Gibraltar. Ventura has a lot of cool coffee shops too, like Beacon Coffee, Prospect Coffee, and Palermo Coffee. 巴勒莫有很棒的咖啡和礼品店，在后面有很酷的小摆设和婴儿礼物.
Shopping: My girlfriend and I shop at The Collection at RiverPark in Oxnard. It’s great for an outdoor-mall-type experience. 这个系列有很多很酷的品牌，比如REI和Whole Foods. If people want to go outlet shopping, the Camarillo Premium Outlets are close by.
