Lookout’s Area Guides are an in-depth look at some of the cities and communities that make Santa Cruz County the unique and special place that it is. Writers for this series were chosen due to their personal knowledge and experiences to get to the heart of what it means live in a specific place.
Amber Turpin
Follow Amber Turpin on: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. Amber Selene Turpin is a freelance food and travel writer based in the Santa Cruz Mountains. She is a regular contributor to The Mercury News and Edible Monterey Bay, and has written for Civil Eats, EatingWell Magazine, and many other publications over the last fifteen years. While Covid-19 has certainly put a halt to the travel part of her career, food continues to illuminate and inspire, never ceasing to unveil a good story.
Posted inFood & Drink
Greens with envy: Running down a leafy list of Santa Cruz’s top 10 salads
The end of summer is the perfect time to get your salad on, and the natural bounty of Santa Cruz County and environs makes this the perfect spot to optimize earth-to-table options. There are so many good ones around but we challenged Amber Turpin to narrow it down to a top 10.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
Pour me another: Mezcalito Manny talks bartending in COVID and beyond
As for many who mix drinks for a living, the pandemic was a sad, scary time for Santa Cruz County bartender Emmanuel Hernandez. His “Mezcalito Mixers” side hustle helped, but there’s nothing like creating cocktails and interacting with patrons from behind a bar — and he’s thrilled to be back at.
Posted inCoast Life
Post-pandemic percolations: 10 places to look forward to thanks to Beer Thirty, Penny Ice Cream & others
From a new Beer Thirty and Penny Ice Creamery to wine options from Beauregard, Big Basin and Sante Arcangeli to a local chef returning home from Napa, the new businesses taking shape help bolster this growing feeling of normalcy and new adventure ahead.
Posted inFood & Drink
Mentone atonement: A year after long-awaited Kinch debut in Aptos was due, the real deal finally draws near
It took forever to get David Kinch’s latest creation, his hometown creation, to the starting line. Then a pandemic hit. Takeout and outdoor’s ‘Little Beach’ provided a stop gap. Now, one year later, the grand debut of Mentone’s properly curated indoor experience lies only a few short weeks ahead.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
HOME is where the heart is when it comes to pandemic restaurant resiliency
While so many others retrenched over the past year, Brad Briske and Linda Ritten tripled down on their commitment to bringing the best of fresh local food to people’s tables.
Posted inCoast Life
The joyous mysteries of the mushroom hunt: ‘Part skill, part luck, part serendipity”
Foraging for mushrooms is part art, part science and 100% will to learn. For Jessica Tunis, a deeper dive into the next-level confidence and know-how surrounding what to pick and eat came more recently, with self-taught book research as well as trusted in-person outings.
Posted inPandemic Life
‘Absolutely essential, especially now’: Year-round farmers’ markets a steadying force
Santa Cruz County’s winter farmers’ markets provide ‘arguably a safer shopping environment,’ one proprietor says. But they also tie together a healthy community of like-minded people who strongly believe in their essential-ness amid the pandemic.
Posted inFood & Drink
Takeout Santa Cruz: How to bring the best in holiday dining home
From the fancy feasts of Home, Soif and Alderwood to the down-home eating of Mission St. BBQ and Kianti’s, Christmas and New Year’s feasts are still at hand amid the pandemic.
Posted inFood & Drink
Delivery done right: A look at the local establishments bringing you the goods
Here we are again on the verge of a stay-at-home order with all our great outdoor dining opportunities about to be put on hold. Fortunately delivery isn’t just for pizza and Chinese food anymore. Local establishments have dialed it in.