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.
… Autumn is upon us – the seasons officially change this Sunday – and there are at least three food and drink businesses preparing to open this fall.
In Capitola, Dani O Bakeshop, a bakery focused on organic, naturally leavened baked goods, is coming to the food court at the Capitola Mall on Sept. 24. This November, Portland, Oregon-based Nico’s Real Fruit Ice Cream will open its fourth location on the West Coast, on Locust Street in Santa Cruz, bringing vanilla ice cream blended with fruits such as strawberries and blackberries to the northern end of downtown.
Also in Santa Cruz, Watsonville-based grocery store La Reina Fresh Market is going into the former Twice As Nice Discount Store – and former La Esperanza Market before that – on the corner of Mission Street and Laurel Street. Find out more in this story, out Tuesday.
… For eight years, Santa Cruz-based Adorable French Bakery has focused on serving 5,000 customers at 22 farmers markets throughout the Bay Area, including three in Santa Cruz County. It recently opened brick-and-mortar locations in Scotts Valley and Soquel, inside the former Malone’s Grille space on Scotts Valley Drive (Malone’s closed earlier this summer after more than 40 years in business), and at Vinocruz on Soquel Drive.
Both locations currently serve savory and sweet pastries, grab-n-go meals, bread and coffee from 7 a.m to 7 p.m. every day. Nicolas Lossky, who co-owns the bakery with his wife, pastry chef Muriel D’Agostino, told me that sit-down lunch and dinner service at both locations with beer and wine will start within a month. Read more here.
… This Friday afternoon, the Penny Ice Creamery is closing down Cedar Street in front of its downtown Santa Cruz location from 2 to 7 p.m. for Hoops and Scoops, a playful hula-hooping event for all ages. Shake and shimmy to a live DJ and bring your own hoop for free marshmallow fluff (the Penny also has some hoops to share). So, why hula hoops? “We feel that hula hooping is very much in alignment with the joy we seek to create with our ice cream,” director of operations Rahul Bhambhani told me.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Last week, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved a local ordinance that will allow home cooks to certify their kitchens for commercial food service and to sell meals at their residences. A law permitting these microenterprise home kitchen operations, or MEHKOs, was passed statewide in 2018, and local supporters say it could create opportunities for caregivers, immigrants and people of color. County residents will be able to apply for a permit starting Jan. 1. Read the story here.
NOTED
Congratulations to Aptos resident Julie Titus, who brought home a large blue ribbon for her apple pie last week at the Santa Cruz County Fair. Titus’ pie earned “Best in Show” at the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau’s 47th annual Apple Pie Baking Contest out of more than 50 entries. London Johnson of Santa Cruz and Laura Ortiz Spiegel of La Selva Beach finished second and third, respectively. Titus shared her recipe with Lookout – find it here.
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
On Saturday, the Bonny Doon Art, Wine & Brew Festival returns to the Santa Cruz Mountains with expanded offerings. This year the event will be held at the scenic Crest Ranch, and features tastings from local breweries and wineries – some from as far as Sonoma – along with food trucks, vendors, games and a robust silent auction and raffle. Funk band Space Heater will play two one-hour sets, with intermissions filled in by DJ travel’r. New this year, artists will lead live craft classes, and a VIP area will have tableside tastings, swag bags and other treats. This event is a fundraiser for Bonny Doon Elementary School’s art and science programs. General admission is $65 in advance, $75 at the door. VIP tickets are $125.
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
Over the past three years, my friend Amanda and I have created a late-summer tradition. Every year, we meet up at the Capitola Art & Wine Festival on Sunday morning at 10 a.m., right when it opens. We bring our little kiddos – her daughter is 4 years old and my daughter, Cecilia, is 1½ – and get pumpkin spice lattes at Mr. Toots Coffeehouse, then enjoy the fantastic art before the crowds start to get thick. No offense to the many wonderful wineries, but my focus is on the food, especially the area I’ve internally nicknamed “food alley” behind the Mercantile. This year, standout treats included a sourdough sticky pecan maple bun from Dani O Bakeshop, a strawberry and mint popsicle infused with lion’s mane mushroom from Santa Cruz Fungi, and large salted chocolate chip cookies from La Marea Cafe & Pizzeria on Capitola Avenue.
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ Artificial intelligence is quickly infiltrating the food industry, especially the agricultural supply chain. Using AI to get products from Point A to Point B is a growing solution to logistical challenges, prompting one industry leader to predict that 90% of the food we eat will be touched by AI within three years. (Fortune)
➤ After decades of cooking apart due to a dramatic but funny “spoon incident” early in their marriage, comedian and late-night talk-show host Steven Colbert and his wife, Evie McGee Colbert, finally began cooking together during the pandemic – and discovered that they really liked it. So much so that the duo has released a cookbook in which they explore married life and find common ground while sharing family recipes. (The New York Times)