Abbott Square adds Indian food, Puerto Rican flavors with two new kiosks

Two new kiosks at Abbott Square Market are bringing northern Indian and Puerto Rican cuisine to the popular food mall in downtown Santa Cruz. 

In mid-April, India Gourmet, a food truck that serves naan wraps, samosas with mint chutney and plates of tikka masala at farmers markets throughout the region, put down roots for the first time at the former Press spot at the front of the market. 

Former pop-up Luna’s Borikén Bites is joining Daisuki Octagon Sushi inside the Octagon, and aims to open by May 1 with a menu of modern takes on traditional Puerto Rican cuisine, including mofongo – mashed plantains served in a hearty soup – and pernil sandwiches, made with slow-roasted pork shoulder. (Pana Venezuelan Food moved from the Octagon to the main inside area of the market, and took over the spot vacated by Flashbird at the end of last year.)

Establishing India Gourmet at Abbott Square felt like a natural fit because it’s a similar concept to a farmers market, said owner Sahil Choudhry. The mobile food stall already serves at almost a dozen markets throughout the Monterey Bay area and the South Bay while cooking out of a home base in Watsonville. Last year, Choudhry purchased the longstanding business from founder Raj Dylan, who started it in 1992 with his brother and recently retired. 

The menu at Abbott Square will be familiar to India Gourmet’s customers, with rice bowls ($10.99), naan wraps ($12.99) and hearty curry plates with basmati rice, spinach saag, and garbanzo beans ($17.99), all with a choice of protein additions, such as chicken tikka masala, vegetable korma or spicy lamb vindaloo (for an additional $3). 

Choudhry added a snack to the Abbott Square Market menu that’s not available at India Gourmet’s other food stalls: scoops of ice cream, with flavors like mango and butterscotch. While researching the area, he said he saw a lot of families hanging out, but not many food options for children. “This spot had gelato before, so I thought it would be a good idea to have ice cream for the kids,” Choudhry said. 

In the Octagon, Ali Luna is opening a brick-and-mortar location for Luna’s Borikén Bites, after hosting pop-ups at concerts and now-closed New Bohemia Brewing Co. “Borikén” is the native name for Puerto Rico pre-Spanish colonization, and Luna said he aims to uplift traditional island flavors with local ingredients, and adding a few twists of his own. 

Luna is inspired by generations of Puerto Rican cooks in his own family. “I’m trying not to water it down, and [will] keep the bold, intense flavors using high-quality Central Coast produce,” Luna said. 

When it opens – by May 1, pending a final signoff from the county, he hopes – Luna’s Borikén Bites will offer dishes like plates with rotisserie chicken and slow-roasted pork, customizable “Borikén Bowls” with salad or rice and traditional pink beans, and mofongo, a classic Puerto Rican stew made with mashed plantains. Luna also plans to make hot-pressed sandwiches stuffed with steak and onions or pernil, and fried treats like empanadas and alcapurria, a meat-filled fritter.

Luna also plans to offer more playful dishes like “loco tostones,” a play on nachos with fried green plantains as the base, topped with guacamole, crema and pico de gallo. 

“I’m sharing where I come from. There’s some deep, personal connection,” said Luna. 

In the early 2000s, Luna opened and ran a Puerto Rican restaurant in Oakland called Sofrito for five years. He is also a professional musician, and plays percussion in several Santa Cruz bands, including La Familia and Cuarteto León. 

Abbott Square felt like the right place to try something new, Luna said. “With everything that happens at Abbott Square throughout the week here, it celebrates music and culture,” he said. “I really feel supported by the community in Santa Cruz, and it feels like they’re excited.”

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