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Eat this: The California Ranch Burger at Pretty Good Advice
Pretty Good Advice is the kind of restaurant where, eventually, you’ll try everything on the menu. I’ve been a fan since the original location opened on Porter Street in Soquel in 2018, and now chef/owner Matt McNamara has added a second location on Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz, in the former home of Pacific Thai. Conveniently, that’s just a few blocks from Lookout Santa Cruz’s new office, and it’s already become the lunch spot of choice for our team.
Pretty Good Advice’s fast food-style menu focuses on egg- and tofu-based breakfast sandwiches, burgers with a housemade black bean patty, plus seasonal soups and salads, smaller breakfast items and fries, sides, vegan soft serve. The price point is hard to beat – prices for meal items range from $5.50 for a grilled cheese sandwich to $11.50 for a kale and delicata squash salad.
My advice: If it’s your first time, go straight for the California Ranch Burger ($8.75). It’s a veggie burger with oomph, and its housemade smash burger-style black bean patty proves you can make a delicious meat-free burger without imitating animal products. It comes wrapped in paper and is pleasantly sloppy, and in addition to the lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion, boasts Pretty Good Advice’s delicious homemade ranch dressing, creamy avocado and American cheese (you can sub vegan cheese on any burger if that’s your thing). This burger is equal parts tangy, creamy and satisfying.
New merch!
I have an exciting announcement: New Lookout Santa Cruz merch just dropped, perfect for you or the foodie in your life. Introducing the Lily Belli Apron!
Yes, that’s me. The hottest new kitchen essential is available free to new annual members, signing up at our special Valentine’s (or Galentine’s) price – $114 for the first year of Lookout – and offered to all our current members, for $30. (Existing members, reach out to membership@lookoutlocal.com to get yours.)
I’m not sure I’m allowed to call something with my likeness on it “cool.” But if you’ve read my food and drink coverage over the past 2½ years at Lookout, clearly we have something in common: We love good food. The idea that some part of me is there with you in your kitchen while you prepare a meal for family and friends warms my apron — I mean, heart — strings.
You’ll be able to pick up your apron at Lookout HQ, our new office right across the street from Bookshop Santa Cruz and above Toque Blanche on Pacific Avenue. We’re setting our first pickup date for next Thursday, Feb. 15, and I’ll be there to greet you. Need to pick it up sooner? Email membership@lookoutlocal.com to set up a time.
Happy cooking, and thank you to Lookout’s members – new and continuing – for your support!
Get full access to Lookout Santa Cruz
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Best of the Week Ahead
Below, find a curated list of the best food and drink events in Santa Cruz County for the coming week. At the top, I share my picks of unmissable local happenings.
News of the week
ICYMI – Here are the food news stories from Lookout that you might have missed.
- Rustico Italian Street Food plans to bring Roman pizza to downtown Santa Cruz (Lookout)
- Collective Santa Cruz’s Social Club promotes pop-up culture with new website (Lookout)
- Locals hit it big at San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (Lookout)