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Eat this: Shrimp and grits at Seabright Social
Santa Cruz’s Seabright Brewery was a popular neighborhood spot for more than 30 years, and I made great memories there over the years – but I never went there for the food. Keiki and Jason McKay, owners of Cantine Wine Pub in Aptos, and Jon Bates, formerly of Soif, purchased the restaurant in 2020, and Seabright Social opened a couple of months later at the height of the pandemic. Despite an initially ambitious opening menu of upscale California cuisine, over the past four years, Seabright Social struggled to gain its footing with food and beverage offerings that had wide appeal and were consistent.
That all changed this month. In December, Seabright Social partnered with Desmond Schneider, the former chef de cuisine at Alderwood and current chef for pop-up Pizza Bones, to overhaul the menu, ordering and kitchen functions. The new menu launched in early February with fresh, modern and interesting gastropub fare that feels appropriate for the large restaurant.
One unmissable dish is the shrimp and grits ($19). This dish was a bit of a passion project for Schneider, who took pains to source stone-ground Pioneer White Corn Grits from California-based Early Bird Farm & Mill. These grits are luscious and creamy, but have texture and bite. The tender shrimp piled on top are sauteed in a housemade Cajun-spiced butter that’s sweet and smoky, with a lingering heat. I told Schneider that if he ever decided to sell that butter on its own, I would buy it by the brick.
Read the full story of Seabright Social’s comeback on Lookout.
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 price – $114 for the first year of Lookout – and offered to all our current members, for $30. Members, click here to buy an apron.
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. Email membership@lookoutlocal.com to set up a time.
Happy cooking, and thank you to Lookout’s members – new and continuing – for your support!
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, plus important news from beyond our borders picked by yours truly.
- Laurie Love on Wine: New film spotlights Mount Eden Vineyards (Lookout)
- Crab gear reduction for commercial fishers extended through mid-March (Lookout)
- Will food prices stop rising quickly? Many companies say yes.(New York Times)
- One of San Francisco’s most famous pizzerias just launched a pizza tasting menu (Eater SF)