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.
… Your favorite coffeehouse might be a restaurant now. In the post-third wave era of coffee, a quality cappuccino brewed with specialty beans by a trained barista is the norm. But some cafés that have traditionally focused solely on beverages now offer full menus of burritos, sandwiches, salads, French toast – even breakfast gnocchi.
It’s not just happening in Santa Cruz – the shift toward expanding food menus reflects an industrywide trend aimed at making storefronts stand out in a sea of great coffee.
“That market has standardized, and now if you really want to be cutting edge in coffee, you have to differentiate,” Cat & Cloud retail manager Herman Madrigal told me last week, while we sat at the Westside Santa Cruz location, which boasts a full kitchen and a 20-person culinary team. “We wanted to show people we are as intentional with our food as we are with our coffee.” Read the story here.
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… Two new kiosks at Abbott Square Market are bringing northern Indian and Puerto Rican cuisine to the popular food mall in downtown Santa Cruz.
In mid-April, India Gourmet, a food truck that serves naan wraps, samosas with mint chutney and plates of tikka masala at farmers markets throughout the region, put down roots for the first time at the former Press spot at the front of the market. Former pop-up Luna’s Borikén Bites is joining Daisuki Octagon Sushi inside the Octagon, and aims to open by Friday with a menu of modern takes on traditional Puerto Rican cuisine.
Owner Ali Luna told me that he’s inspired by generations of Puerto Rican cooks in his own family. “I’m trying not to water it down, and [will] keep the bold, intense flavors using high-quality Central Coast produce,” Luna said. Here’s what you need to know.
… The Cruz Room at the corner of Bay Street and Mission Street in Santa Cruz opened on Friday. Check out this story from March on how owner Matisse Selman plans to transform the former burger joint-then-pizza parlor into a community space with art, music and multiple food vendors – including the new home of longstanding pop-up Sleight of Hand Pizza.
… Eat with your eyes: The inaugural Santa Cruz Bake and Gather, a cake and pie potluck, was held last Saturday at the Midtown Community Center, and the pictures are the ultimate eye candy. Amateur bakers created some truly lovely and whimsical designs festooned with flowers or colorful sprinkles, even molded into tree stumps or beehives. Organizers said they plan to hold another event this fall – check out santacruzbakegather.com for more info.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The River Street location of Java Junction has closed after 28 years. Last week, I spoke with owner Michael Spadafora, who blamed steep rent increases, prolonged construction disruptions and conflicts with landlord Balboa Retail Partners and property manager JLL.
The closure followed months of reduced sales tied to lost outdoor seating and limited communication about the project, Spadafora told me. The café’s Seabright and Santa Cruz Harbor locations – which have also faced challenges related to construction on the nearby Murray Street Bridge – will remain open. Here’s the story.
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
Want to give fermenting vegetables a try? There’s probably no better teacher than Shane Peterson, the master fermentologist at Santa Cruz-founded Farmhouse Culture. He’s teaching a Fermentation Workshop this Friday at 5:30 p.m. at the Live Oak Grange. The demonstration is hosted by the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz, and students will make a kraut with mushrooms. Tickets are $60, or $70 for two people who will share the same materials.
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
Non-meat eaters, avert your eyes. The trick for the crispiest chicken cutlets is dredging them in crushed pork rinds. My husband, Mike, is obsessed with this crunchy snack, and the other day I tried replacing them with breadcrumbs in my regular cutlet recipe. I crushed an entire bag of chicharrones with a rolling pin, then did my normal steps: pounded chicken breasts very thin, seasoned them, dredged them in a light coat of flour, then egg wash. Then they went into the powdered pork rinds before a bath in hot oil. The result was a golden, incredibly crispy, deeply seasoned cutlet. The coating stayed crunchy under a tangy salad for dinner, and through lunch the next day.
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ Ube is surging in popularity. A staple in Filipino cooking, over the past year the naturally sweet, deep purple yam has found its way into everything from desserts to espresso martinis. Ube offerings have risen 230% across American restaurant menus, and the U.S. has become the largest importer of the tuber from the Philippines. (CNBC)
➤ How much should you tip when you go wine tasting? The opinions of winemakers and tasting room managers around Monterey Bay varied from a $10 to $20 flat rate, to a percentage of the purchase price. Most agreed that departing without leaving something for the server only reflected poor service. (Edible Monterey Bay)