Eaters Digest is delivered as a free newsletter via email and published on our website. Click here to become a Lookout member – and access all of Lily’s food and drink reporting.
EAT THIS: FOOD TREATS AT CAMERON MARKS
I had a birthday earlier this week, and celebrated with a bunch of my girlfriends over the weekend with an enormous cheese board, a platter of desserts and too many dirty martinis. Their presence was present enough, but nevertheless I received many thoughtful gifts, including local wine, books of food writing, fancy tinned fish – and a jar of spicy fried shallots that, within 24 hours, my husband and I had almost completely demolished. “Where did you get this?” I asked my friend. “Cameron Marks!” she replied.
I’ve been drawn into that boutique in the Swift Street Courtyard on Santa Cruz’s Westside, between Illuminée and Margins Wine, for the artful, design-focused home goods, kitchenwares and high-end clothing. But there is also a corner of the shop where the floor-to-ceiling shelves are stocked with a smorgasbord of difficult-to-find food treats in gorgeous packaging. We’re talking loose-leaf tea, olive oil from Crete, chili oil and chili crisp, artisanal canned fish, a huge selection of alcohol-free cocktails and mixers – plus chocolates, candy, sea salt, vinegars and candles in the shape of wheels of Camembert cheese. Truly, the eye dazzles.
Although I unfortunately do not have a tax bracket that would allow me to consider any of these beautifully designed treats pantry staples – the sambal goreng mixture that I was gifted is $19 for a 4-ounce jar – it’s on my radar for the occasional splurge for myself or another food-loving friend.
402 Ingalls St. #21, Santa Cruz; cameronmarks.com.
BEST OF THE WEEKEND
Santa Cruz County food & drink events to put on your calendar.
On Saturday, celebrate plant-based living at Vegan Day at Santa Cruz Cider Co. in Watsonville from noon to 4 p.m. Seven local producers will offer vegan treats, including pop-up Areperia 831, San Juan Bautista’s Cultiva restaurant, and Hole Foods Vegan Donuts, and cruelty-free artists and makers. All proceeds benefit Little Hill Sanctuary, a nonprofit animal rescue organization.
Thinking about beekeeping? Head to Mountain Feed & Farm Supply in Ben Lomond for a Beginning Beekeeping Class this Saturday. Learn about successful hive management techniques, bee breeds and starter colony options, pest management and more. Tickets are $35.
NEWS OF THE WEEK
ICYMI – here are food news stories from Lookout that you might have missed.
- After sudden $700K drop in funding, Second Harvest calls for community support (Lookout)
- From crisis to comeback: How a tiny nonprofit is working to save Monterey Bay’s fishing industry (Lookout)
- Santa Cruz will explore conversion of downtown library into housing and permanent farmers market (Lookout)
- Eaters Digest: Six food & drink events this spring (Lookout)
- Pesticides must be phased out – I am a physician and the rate of pediatric cancer in Santa Cruz County is more than 38% above the overall California rate (Lookout’s Community Voices)
