Eaters Digest is delivered as a free newsletter via email, as well as on our website. Sign up for texts from me to get an alert the moment it’s in your inbox. To read the full story, click here to become a Lookout member – and access all of Lily’s food and beverage reporting.
EAT THIS: SEAFOOD CHOWDER AT FIREFISH GRILL
Despite the East Coast name, eating a bowl of New England clam chowder – within or without a loaf of sourdough bread – is an iconic culinary experience when visiting the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, the longest wooden pier on the West Coast. But I usually don’t recommend it.
Even at its best, clam chowder is, in my opinion, just OK. Most offer more vibes than flavor, and often, eating it is an exercise of managed expectations. When the marine layer drops the temperature by 20 degrees, nothing sounds cozier than a creamy soup ladled into tangy sourdough. But too often, you end up wading through a thick, underseasoned broth to find a few rubbery clams and milky cubes of potato. My enjoyment of clam chowder is directly related to how cold the weather is, and the quantity of Tabasco and oyster crackers I have access to.
But there is one chowder on the wharf that is paving new ground for this maligned soup, and strutting down it in a pair of heels. The seafood chowder at Firefish Grill ($28.95), located about halfway down the wooden walkway, is not just flavorful and loaded with seafood – it’s fancy.
Read the full story about the eye-catching soup.
__
FOR THE RECORD: A previous version of this newsletter misstated the price of the seafood chowder at Firefish Grill. It is $28.95.
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.
The Lookout Santa Cruz app is available now in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Learn more here.
NEWS OF THE WEEK
ICYMI – here are the food news stories from Lookout that you might have missed.
- ‘Scarier than COVID’: Wharf collapse costs nearby restaurants hundreds of thousands of dollars (Lookout)
- After six turbulent years, Alderwood Santa Cruz closes its doors (Lookout)
- Gabriella Café-owned Gabrielita Tamaleria, newcomer Crepe Cones open inside two downtown Santa Cruz kiosks (Lookout)
- Lily Belli on Food: New food businesses all over, Pete’s rebrand (Lookout)
- New tenant inching closer for empty New Leaf store in downtown Santa Cruz (Lookout)
