Cold Spring Tavern

{{Short description|Tavern in Santa Barbara County, California, U.S.}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}

{{coord|34.523315|N|119.835408|W|display=title}}

Cold Spring Tavern was established as a stagecoach stop in 1865.Meier, Marcia (November 14, 2010) [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-nov-14-la-tr-taverns-20101114-story.html "Keeping the Old West alive in Santa Ynez Valley"] Los Angeles Times Originally known as the "Cold Spring Relay Station", it was a horse changeover and meals break station. The tavern is located 20 minutes north of Santa Barbara, California, in Cold Spring Canyon, which is about a mile off Highway 154 along Stagecoach Road (in the San Marcos Pass area).

File:Cold Spring Tavern.jpg

The tavern serves steak, lamb, venison, duck, and rabbit.{{cite news|url=http://travel.latimes.com/destinations/santa-barbara/restaurants/cold-spring-tavern/review |title=Cold Spring Tavern |last=Reynolds |first=Christopher |date=Nov 15, 2007 |newspaper=LA Times |accessdate=2008-11-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821220833/http://travel.latimes.com/destinations/santa-barbara/restaurants/cold-spring-tavern/review |archivedate=August 21, 2008 }}

In 1956, Cold Spring Tavern was the first restaurant to serve Steve Henson's original salad dressing. Henson and his wife had recently moved to a nearby guest ranch they renamed “Hidden Valley Ranch”, and decided to try marketing the dressing in the area when it became popular with guests. Audrey Ovington, a friend of the Hensons who owned the tavern at the time, was their first commercial customer, and the condiment has since been known as ranch dressing.{{Cite web |last=Redmon |first=Michael |date=2015-11-25 |title=Ranch Dressing Originated in Santa Barbara's Mountains |url=https://www.independent.com/2015/11/25/ranch-dressing-originated-santa-barbaras-mountains/ |access-date=2023-08-09 |website=The Santa Barbara Independent |language=en-US}}