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.
… After seven months at the former Humble Sea Tavern in Felton, chef Lance Ebert of SC Bread Boy and Humble Sea Brewing Co. have renamed the business Emerald Mallard to reflect the restaurant’s new focus on French cuisine. If that sounds like a pivot from the baseball glove-sized smash burgers that earned him a devoted following – don’t worry, they’re still on the menu – Ebert points out that whether it’s cannoli or burgers or ramen or French cuisine, he’s drawn to highly technical foods. The process of creating them is meditative, he told me.
Having access to his own kitchen and a growing staff – he now employs eight people – allowed Ebert to incorporate more and more French dishes on the menu at the restaurant, eventually creating the bistro that had been lurking in the back of his mind for years.
“It was always in my mind, wanting to do a bistro and French food. I love smash burgers and, for a while, I only had time to do smashies, but now we’re merging both with our own space,” he told me. Learn more about the transition here.
… Venus Spirits is partnering with event company Collective Santa Cruz to throw a block party to celebrate the Westside distillery’s 10th anniversary on Saturday. The bash will take place in the parking lot outside of the distillery on High Road, with a lineup of Olympic-themed entertainment by Collective, including a fun run with Sante Adairius Rustic Ales’ Pint Chaser running club, a skate jam with Santa Cruz Skateboards and group cycling.
The team at Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen Westside is creating a special menu of that staff’s favorite dishes, including smash burgers, lobster rolls and an oyster bar, plus signature craft cocktails and local wine, beer and cider. The afternoon rounds off with live music curated by downtown Santa Cruz’s Redwood Records. This event is family-friendly and free to enter. More info on BOLO.
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
The craft beer industry has changed a lot over the past 10 years. It has plateaued since the boom years of the 2010s, but despite brewery closures making national and local headlines, the industry is still growing slowly in Santa Cruz County and beyond. As consumer preferences have changed and expanded to include non-beer beverages and entertainment, meeting those demands while staying true to each brewery’s ethos is the key to succeeding in today’s market.
I spoke with established breweries, and one that’s new to the scene. Here’s what they had to say.
ON THE MENU
In early July, Dos Pescados, a new Mexican seafood restaurant, opened in the former Palapas in Seascape Village. The restaurant is a collaboration between restaurateur Brandon Smittcamp and chef Trent Lidgey, whose restaurant One Fish Raw Bar in Campbell is known for its fish-focused tasting menu. Lidgey carries some of that craftsmanship to Dos Pescados, with beautifully plated and richly flavored ceviches, tacos, Mexican-inspired seafood and killer margaritas – all with an ocean view. Watch for a story later this week.
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
Head to the farm at UC Santa Cruz on Sept. 8 for a special fundraising dinner, followed by dancing in the Hay Barn. Enjoy local wine and appetizers while touring the educational farm at the base of campus, followed by dinner at the Hay Barn prepared by Ty Pearce of Busy Bee Cafe and Catering, prepared with ingredients from the nearby Chadwick Garden. Tickets are $200 per person – or you can skip dinner and join for just dancing and dessert for $25 per person. More info here.
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
The neighborhood I live in was built in the early 1960s, and some of my neighbors have lived here since the beginning. This week, I discovered that my family and I have been sharing space on our block with another longtime resident: a beautiful, gnarled mulberry tree. My children and I have walked past it for years without realizing what it was, but we were hanging out with friends who live across the street last week, and they pointed it out to us.
Once I saw it, I couldn’t believe I’d overlooked it. It was brimming with fruit – long, intensely sweet and slightly musky berries, fuzzier than raspberries and not as tart. We plucked them greedily, the delicate skins breaking easily and leaking juice on our skin. We joked that if anyone cared that we were picking their fruit, we could have literally been caught red-handed.
But these are free for the taking, my friend told me. Another neighbor, who grew up down the street from the mulberry tree and is now a grandmother, lives there still, and told him that she remembers picking them when she was a girl. Knowing that, I couldn’t help but look at the tree with a new kind of respect, and cherish the delicious fruit with a bit more awe.
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ If the news has you considering moving into an underground bunker, Costco has you covered. The chain that sells everything released the Readywise Emergency Food Bucket, an emergency dinner kit. Dubbed “the apocalypse bucket,” the kit includes 120 meals and 40 drink servings and is available for $79.99. (NBC News)
➤ Come to Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics, stay for the food. As part of hosting the premier athletic competition in the world, France created an elaborate culinary infrastructure of pop-ups and dining experiences, with 80 temporary restaurants in Paris and other locales around the country. Visitors will also have the opportunity to experience the Olympics as a dinner theater. (The New York Times)