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.
Stay in touch with me by text throughout the week – I send text alerts every time I publish a story. And you can text me back! Share your thoughts, send tips and give feedback. Sign up for texts from me here. Thanks to those of you who’ve already subscribed! Check out all of my food and drink coverage here.
… New Leaf Community Markets has set a departure date for its downtown Santa Cruz store. The Pacific Avenue location will close on Oct. 15. A new, larger location is planned about a mile away in the Gateway Plaza on River Street, and will open sometime in 2025.
New Leaf’s move leaves the rapidly growing downtown area with just one grocery store, Trader Joe’s on Front Street, to serve potentially thousands of new residents in the many apartment buildings now clustering in that district. A new grocery store tenant hasn’t yet been determined, a city representative told me. Read more here.
… Summer is hot dog season, and in that spirit I visited all of Santa Cruz County’s hot dog stands – there are more than you’d think! – to find the best hot dogs in the area. Check out my recommendations in my hot dog guide, and learn about how these local business owners are elevating this iconic all-American dish to an art form. Read it here.
… Alderwood Santa Cruz reopened under the helm of new executive chef Mikey Adams in mid-June with an entirely new concept. Adams’ concise inaugural menu offers around a dozen vivid yet unstuffy appetizers and entrees, ushering in a more relaxed atmosphere for the Michelin-listed restaurant. Read about my experience here.
… Craving one of chef Enzo Pelliccia’s Italian pastries, I stopped into Emozioni Pasticceria in Soquel last week. Pelliccia and his business partner Michele Tartaglia have been hard at work since they opened their shop off of Soquel Drive in late March, and have added tables to their outdoor patio and a small market. Later this summer, Pelliccia told me that he plans to add housemade gelato to the menu as well. He’s currently working on the recipes and waiting for serving supplies from Italy to come in. I’ll keep you posted.
TEXT ME
Want to stay on top of the latest local food news? I send text alerts every time I publish a story. And you can text me back! Share your thoughts, send tips and give feedback. Sign up here.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
If you’ve walked past Toque Blanche in downtown Santa Cruz in the past two weeks, your eye has likely caught the colorful display of Le Creuset cookware gleaming in the front of the store. The expanded collection is the result of a new partnership with the iconic French brand. It’s not the first collaboration Toque Blanche has had with a distinguished brand, owner Charles Nelson told me. Learn how this independent cooking store sets itself apart.
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
Latin American chef Diego Felix will be at Beauregard Vineyards’ Bonny Doon tasting room this Saturday with four seasonally inspired tapas to pair with four of Beauregard’s terroir-driven wines. The menu includes a halibut crudo in a jicama taco paired with a chardonnay, and Mayan-style pulled pork served alongside a blend of pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon. Tickets are $45 for food, with an additional fee for the wines. Tickets at colectivofelix.com.
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
As you’re reading this, I’ll be wrapping up my family’s first camping trip in Big Sur. Mike and I haven’t been camping since we had kids, but the group camping trip our friends planned with several other families sounded like the perfect first experience. I can’t wait to enjoy coffee and a big plate of bacon and eggs in the morning, followed by all of our favorite snacks at the beach across the street from the campsite. And, it occurred to me that my 3-year-old son, Marco, and 1-year-old daughter, Cecilia, have never had s’mores before. I’m excited but oddly nervous about creating this first childhood memory. I’ll let you know how it goes when I get back.
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, known for his vicious takedowns of would-be chefs in reality shows like “Hell’s Kitchen,” got real on his Instagram page after a traumatic bike accident. In a video, he lifts his chef’s coat to show a deep purple bruise along the entire length of his torso, and begs viewers to wear a helmet, saying doing so saved his life. (Instagram)