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.
… On Saturday, I attended Homeless Garden Project’s Sustain Supper, the local nonprofit’s big annual fundraiser held at Natural Bridges Farm on the western edge of Santa Cruz’s Westside. This year, HGP, which for 35 years has provided job training, transitional employment and support services to people experiencing homelessness, drew attention to several upcoming projects: the creation of a manual for communities that want to start a similar organization; launching a Finding Flatmates initiative to match trainees looking for housing with community members with rooms to rent; and securing agricultural zoning for an adjacent 4 acres so that the organization can expand.
Despite strong gusts that whipped across the 1.5-acre organic farm from the coastal bluffs, the conversation and vibe radiated warmth – helped by a large tent that blocked most of the wind but kept views of rows of strawberries, fields of kale and so many flowers. Guests were treated to live music by Quail Hollow Drifters while we sipped Kathryn Kennedy Winery chardonnay or Living Swell kombucha, and snacked on crostini swiped with herbaceous green goddess hummus and burrata with luscious cherry compote.
Chef Katie Reicher, visiting from landmark vegetarian restaurant Greens in San Francisco, created a three-course, produce-focused feast using ingredients harvested from the farm. The meal started with a large salad of tender lettuces and lemon balm richly dressed in macerated strawberries and plenty of goat cheese. For the next course, my dinnermates and I lunged – as politely as we could – toward a pile of early summer tomatoes over herby salsa verde and aioli. This was followed by grilled tofu skewered with summer squash and mushrooms brushed in a zingy chipotle marinade, and grilled new potatoes, blackened and deeply scented with cinders. The meal finished with a generous slice of olive oil cake crowned with more strawberries, Chantilly cream and little blue borage blossoms.
After an introduction by novelist Jonathan Franzen, author Manjula Martin – the daughter of legendary orchardist Orin Martin – gave a moving speech about the healing power of gardens. She spoke from her own experience of having to say goodbye to her garden in Sonoma as she prepared to flee from the lightning-sparked fires that also swept through the Santa Cruz Mountains in 2020, and read a vibrant passage from her memoir, “The Last Fire Season: A Personal and Pyronatural History.” Brava to Reicher, Martin and Homeless Garden Project on their work – I left that evening full, happy, craving new connections and itching to get dirt under my fingernails.
… Santa Cruz County’s location on the coast is a big reason why it’s so special, and sometimes, both locals and tourists want to soak up as much of that oceanic influence as possible by eating a meal that’s of the sea while looking out over the sea. Plus, it’s one of the only dining scenarios where it’s not weird to whip out a pair of binoculars at the dinner table to get a closer look at a whale spout or kelp bed.
The county is scattered with seafood restaurants – including some great inland ones, like Hook & Line in Santa Cruz and La Perla Del Pacifico in Watsonville – but my new guide showcases the ones that also boast ocean views, from across a beach, from a wharf, over the Santa Cruz Harbor or above a cliff.
Prices and menu styles vary greatly from casual, takeout-only spots to upscale bistros and Mexican restaurants, showing that there are as many ways to enjoy a waterfront meal as there are fish in the sea. Among 15 restaurants, I’ve noted my particular favorites with a 🐟 emoji. Check out Lookout’s guide to seafood restaurants with a view.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
After five turbulent years marked by the pandemic, wildfire evacuations and storm damage, Christopher and Vanessa Chamberlain have stepped away from the Davenport Roadhouse, passing ownership to undisclosed new buyers last week. Despite the challenges, the Chamberlains say the experience brought unforgettable memories and a deep appreciation for the Davenport community. Read more here.
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
Local event company Collective Santa Cruz’s next stop on its Extra Tasty Tour is coming to the parking lot in front of Venus Spirits’ tasting room on Santa Cruz’s Westside this Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. The Sour Jam Summer Slam – say that five times fast! – brings together food vendors, artists, musicians and craftspeople to celebrate all things citrusy, tangy and acidic, from cocktails and sourdough bread to fermented foods and pickles. The event is free to enter, and includes a sourdough bread baking contest and an all-ages Santa Cruz Skateboard jam.
The Lookout member-exclusive mini-tasting tour at the Summer Slam, hosted by me, is sold out. Twelve Lookout members and I will visit Venus Spirits, Sour Sammy, Twins Kitchen, Fruition Brewing and more for a behind-the-scenes sample and chat with business owners. This is the third event we’ve done on the Extra Tasty Tour – keep your eyes peeled for two more before summer comes to an end.
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
I have reached a level of anti-cooking that, at first consideration, could have been brought about by a monthlong home renovation project that, although wonderful, sapped a lot of my mental energy. But really, I think I get this way every summer.
Even though my Instagram feed and the magazines stacking up on my coffee table are brimming with sensational seasonal ideas for grilling and family-style feasts, my summer cooking looks more like … not cooking at all. Meals that aren’t dinner have become a collection of snacks: Greek yogurt and berries for breakfast, followed by cut-up vegetables drizzled with olive oil and sea salt and whatever meat and cheese are in the fridge, plus a couple of hard-boiled eggs. For dinner, my husband and I prepare, as simply as possible, whatever we have in the garden – right now that’s lettuce, herbs, cucumbers, chard and a few sweet cherry tomatoes – with some kind of protein, ideally a rotisserie chicken I picked up at the grocery store. The kids get something equally easy, or, if I’m lucky, a hot dog or a slice of pizza I purchased somewhere while we were out having fun with friends.
That’s the real motivation behind this philosophy – I’m not lazy, I’m just prioritizing fun: late nights at the Boardwalk, days at the beach or the pool, evening bike rides and afternoons at the brewery. Once the days get cooler and shorter, I’ll be back in the kitchen for the ultimate culinary season: fall.
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ Egg prices might have finally leveled out, but the price of another commodity is quickly rising. Beef prices are up 9-12% since the beginning of the year, due to decreasing herd sizes throughout the industry and the high price of feed due to sustained drought in large portions of U.S. ranchland. Meanwhile, Americans’ desire for beef remains strong. (CNN)
➤ In-N-Out’s owner, Lynsi Snyder, is moving to Tennessee, and fans of the California-based fast-food chain are mad. Once an unofficial culinary mascot of the Golden State, In-N-Out has expanded throughout the West Coast and has set its sights on a larger presence in the South, launching a new headquarters outside of Nashville. (SF Gate)