I'm Tony Michael. I grew up in Santa Barbara, and my wife, our kids and I have lived in Los Alamos for about four years. The Ynez started because my friends kept wanting to come up to the valley, so I kept building guides for them. Now it's a guide to the food, wine and places of the Santa Ynez Valley for anyone making the drive, and a way to give the small, often overlooked businesses here the visibility they deserve.
Why I started it
My friends constantly wanted to come up to the valley, so I kept creating guides and doing a bunch of research for them.
I found Los Alamos on a bike. I train for triathlons, and my loop runs from Los Olivos out Alisos Canyon to Los Alamos (with a stop at Bob's Well Bread), back over Drum Canyon to Ballard and home to Los Olivos. That ride is how I discovered the town, and it's why I ended up moving there.
The places I actually order from, and what I order, are on my owner picks page.
I want this to be the most reliable guide to the valley, the one you check before you drive out. That's the goal, not a claim, and the rest of this page is how we work toward it.
Who writes it
Tony Michael, Founder & Editor
Tony Michael grew up in Santa Barbara and has lived in Los Alamos for four years with his wife and two kids. Before The Ynez, he spent years selling to the kitchens that set the standard, from Wolfgang Puck and Michelin-starred chefs to hotel groups like Marriott and Hyatt, and he runs several marketing and advertising agencies. He has eaten and tasted his way through 41 states and more than 20 countries, from Croatia's coast to Spain and France, and he still thinks the Santa Ynez Valley is one of the best places in the world to spend a weekend. Every guide here is checked against each business's own published information, and anything he's seen with his own eyes is marked as an owner pick.
Every guide carries my byline and the date it was last checked. My author page lists every guide I have published.
How I use AI: Duke, my AI research co-pilot
I love that The Ynez uses AI, and I'd rather be open about it than hide it. But this isn't a blog written by AI. Duke, my AI research co-pilot, starts from my thoughts, notes and what I know from living here. It does the research, checks each fact against a direct source and writes a first draft. I am the editor. I read, change or cut what Duke gives me, and nothing goes live until I've approved it. When a business's own pages disagree or a detail is missing, Duke flags it and emails the business to confirm it, and I approve anything that goes out.
Planning a trip? Ask Jenty, The Ynez's trip planner. It recommends only from our guides and tells you where each pick came from.
How we verify
Here's the process behind every page, so you can judge it for yourself:
- Direct sources only. Names, addresses, hours, prices and dates come from the business's own website, an official event calendar or a government record, and each one is logged with its source link.
- No borrowed reviews. We never republish Yelp, Tripadvisor or Google reviews, ratings or photos. Critic scores and press quotes appear only when we can link the original publication.
- Dated. Each guide shows the date it was last checked, so you know how fresh it is.
- Conflicts get checked with the business. If sources disagree or a detail is missing, we email the business to confirm it. Nothing goes out without my approval.
- If we can't confirm it, it's left off. Hours, fees and menus change constantly, so we only print them when the business publishes them. We never make up dishes, and events go up only once the host lists them.
- Watched for changes. Our monitor runs twice a day, around 6 AM and 6 PM Pacific. Event pages are checked on each run, and business websites, menus and official calendars on a daily or weekly schedule. Changes are flagged for my review so pages stay current, never published automatically.
- Fixed fast. When something's wrong, we correct it, move the page's date and log notable fixes on the Corrections page, which is also where you report an error.
Photos that don't show the actual place are labeled "representative." Outbound links (website, reserve, call, directions) are counted with a random session ID, never your name or email, so we can show businesses how many people we send them. The privacy policy lists what each count keeps.
No strings attached
No restaurant, bar, winery, hotel or tour we list pays for coverage or a place in our picks. Some links are paid affiliate links, labeled where they appear and listed on the disclosure page. The chambers of commerce and tourism boards here do great work, and we see this guide as one more way to support that effort.
How affiliate links, sponsored posts and my agency work are handled is on the disclosure page; what we collect about readers is in the privacy policy.
Questions about The Ynez
Is The Ynez written by AI?
No. I use AI and I am happy to say so, but The Ynez isn't a blog written by AI. Duke, my AI research co-pilot, takes my notes and what I know from living here, researches them, checks the facts against each business's own site or an official source and drafts the copy. I edit every page and decide what gets published.
How does The Ynez check its facts?
Every name, address, hour, price and date comes from the business's own website, an official calendar or a government record. Each page shows the date it was last checked. When sources disagree or a detail is missing, we email the business to confirm it. If we can't confirm something, we leave it off instead of guessing.
Are listings on The Ynez paid?
No. Our picks aren't paid placements, and no one can pay to get in or move up. Some links are paid; we may earn a commission. How paid links work is on the disclosure page. There are no ads or sponsored posts.
How do I report a mistake on The Ynez?
Use the Corrections page. Tell us the page, what's wrong and where the right information is published. We check it against the source, fix the page and update its date.