Welcome to Lily Belli on Food, a weekly food-focused newsletter from Lookout’s food and drink correspondent, Lily Belli. Keep reading for the latest local food news for Santa Cruz County – plus a few fun odds and ends from my own life and around the web.
… Longstanding Scotts Valley eatery Malone’s Grille quietly closed its doors over the summer, but it was unclear whether the closure would be temporary or permanent. Last week, it became clear that Malone’s is gone for good. In its place, beloved farmers market staple Adorable French Bakery has opened a cafe and bakery, founded by Paris native chef Muriel D’Agostino in 2016.
This is the first public brick-and-mortar location for Adorable French Bakery (it operates booths on the campuses of UC Santa Cruz and Stanford University), but it’s earned fans for its extensive menu of savory and sweet pastries, bread, quiche and other treats available at farmers markets in Santa Cruz County and the wider Bay Area. The new location at 4402 Scotts Valley Dr. is currently open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for coffee and pastries, with plans to open for lunch and dinner later. I’ll report more on this later this week.
…. Fall into fall at the Felton farmers market Tuesday afternoon at the Apple-A-Day festival, happening until 5:30 p.m. The free event features cider pressing and apple tasting with Santa Cruz Cider Co., and a workshop on breaking down vegetables by chef Jessica Yarr of Felton’s Grove Cafe and Bakery, plus face painting and kids activities.
Mark your calendars for these other fun autumn activities at your local market: the Pumpkin Decorating Bonanza on Oct. 15 at the Felton farmers market, and the Foodie Fruity Wreath Making Extravaganza on Nov. 9 at the Scotts Valley farmers market.
…. Before Spanish restaurant Barceloneta transformed into daytime breakfast and lunch spot Ibiza earlier this month, it was known for its paella. On Friday, Sept. 20, owners Brett and Elan Emerson will reprise Barceloneta’s most famous dish for one night at a paella dinner at their downtown restaurant.
The centerpiece of the event: chicken paella with chorizo, mushrooms and romano beans, Spanish appetizers, its famous Ibiza salad with kale, spiced yams and tabbouleh, churros and chocolate, and wine or nonalcoholic beverages. Tickets are $75 per person.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Lookout’s Santa Cruz County pizza guide was released recently, along with a companion piece on the best non-pizza dishes at pizza restaurants throughout the county. For this story, I spoke with eight local chefs, each with their own personal pizza-making style, about whether Santa Cruz County – an area saturated with more than 70 pizza-focused businesses – has its own pizza style. The answers were divided, and it was a fun exploration of the different ways local pizza makers put their own spin on this ubiquitous and beloved food. Plus, I included 13 pop-ups, parlors and restaurants that are shaping Santa Cruz’s pizza culture. Don’t miss it!
ON THE MENU
When chef Lance Ebert offered to let me work an evening on the line at his Felton restaurant, Emerald Mallard, I said “yes” immediately. That might have been a tad impulsive – I’ve never worked in a professional kitchen, and I doubt my poor skills as a server as a young adult will apply to the high-paced environment. Nevertheless, I’m heading in for duty this week (I won’t tell you when), and I’m eager to get a behind-the-scenes look at how a restaurant kitchen in Santa Cruz County operates. Watch for a story next week.
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
Last week, my husband, Mike, and I spent four days in Colorado celebrating his cousin’s wedding at the stunning Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa. Besides the stunning views and warm family moments, these are the food memories I’ll carry with me from a life-altering trip: hot coffee enjoyed in bed while watching the frost evaporate from the forest floor; s’mores made on a huge fire pit while twilight twinkled over the Rocky Mountains; feasting on cacio e pepe pasta tossed in hollowed-out wheels of Parmesan and adorable lemon posset cooked in the rind at the bride and groom’s welcome dinner; fluffy buttermilk pancakes after a morning spent biking through a mountain meadow.
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ Santa Cruz distiller and restaurateur Sean Venus shared his experience using California-grown agave in his agave spirits in a story on the drought-tolerant crop’s increasing popularity throughout the state. Traditionally grown in Mexico, agave is the key ingredient in tequila and mezcal, but has taken root in California in only the past few years in response to warmer and dryer agricultural conditions. (NPR)
➤ Recycling plastic might be good news for the environment, but some studies show it can harbor even more toxic chemicals than virgin plastic. Approvals by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to produce recycled plastic have tripled in recent years, but the agency fails to regulate and notify the public of chemical concerns in recycled plastic packaging used by companies such as Cadbury, Coca-Cola and General Mills. (Civil Eats)