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.
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… Last Wednesday, Nicole Zahm, the communications and programs manager for Santa Cruz Community Farmers’ Markets, traveled to Sacramento to support the California Nutrition Incentive Program, which is in danger of being eliminated due to proposed cuts to the governor’s 2024-25 budget.
The CNIP supports Market Match, a critical food safety net program that’s used at almost 300 farmers markets throughout the state, including those in Santa Cruz County. Every week, thousands of people receiving California’s Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – the modern equivalent of food stamps – have their benefits matched by the program up to a certain dollar amount. Currently, for every $15, the person receives an additional $15 to spend on fresh fruits and vegetables.
Zahm, local Market Match user Rebecca Nolazco and Watsonville farmer Roberto Rodriguez joined more than 90 people to rally in support of the program. While there, they spoke with Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas’ staffer Kelsy Castillo.
Rodriguez said that the program is also critical for small farmers like himself. “Market Match is an important part of our income. I know many farmers in Watsonville whose business is being helped by the Market Match program so we really want to keep it,” he said in a media release. “Growing organic food is not cheap. We want people with low income to afford fresh, organic food.”
Read more about the threat to Market Match in my story from earlier this month.
… Mentone restaurant in Aptos has a new head chef. Jason Grubbs joined the team earlier this month after relocating from Missouri, where he most recently headed Twain: Missouri BBQ and Taproom. I plan on chatting with Grubbs, Mentone general manager Sean Fyock and owner David Kinch to get to know the new chef and what kind of experience he’ll bring to the upscale Italian-meets-French Riviera pizza and pasta joint, currently the only restaurant in the county with a Bib Gourmand designation from the Michelin Guide. Stay tuned.
… The local fishing industry is struggling after two years of delays and cancellations to its most lucrative catches: Dungeness crab and salmon. Now, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is considering canceling the salmon season for the second year in a row. At the very least, the take will be severely limited to the point where it might not be financially viable for commercial fishers, local fisher Tim Obert told Lookout.
The reason: Federal managers are forecasting low salmon stocks at California’s two biggest sources, the Sacramento and Klamath rivers. Fishers won’t be the only ones affected; harbors, gear providers, bait shops and fish sellers will also feel the pinch.
The CDFW is expected to announce its decision Thursday. Read the full story by Lookout’s business correspondent, Jessica M. Pasko.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
I was on vacation last week, so Lookout’s wine writer, Laurie Love, subbed in on my Friday Eaters Digest column. Love recommended a honeysuckle-colored orange muscat by Ser Winery as her wine of the week, which she describes as “spring in a glass.” Check it out here.
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
On April 27, Cabrillo College’s culinary arts department is teaming up with Wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains for a tasting event, The Perfect Pair, at the Sesnon House. The event is a reprisal and reenvisioning of the Dare to Pair event, which went on hiatus starting in 2020 due to the pandemic. At this all-day shindig, 11 teams of culinary students are matched with 11 Santa Cruz Mountains wines and compete to create the best food and wine pairing. Tickets are $90. More info here.
THIS WEEK I’M JUDGING …
… the UC Santa Cruz Dining Culinary Competition. On Wednesday, five members of the UCSC Dining staff will compete to create the best original dish featuring a specific ingredient. This year, it’s locally caught and sustainable lingcod, a fish native to Monterey Bay. More than 200 dining hall staff will be in attendance, along with several other judges. I’m looking forward to seeing the competitors highlight this delicious local ingredient and seeing what they cook up.
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
Last week, I shared that I scored the exact propane grill that I was looking for – a Weber Genesis – for $130 from a secondhand seller. This grill retails for $900, so I was thrilled, despite the fact that it was missing a door and needed a new starter. Thankfully, my handy husband, Mike, was able to install a new starter in about 10 minutes, and the grill works perfectly! I’ve already cooked on it twice and love everything about it. Backyard parties, here we come!
But before I was able to cook on it, I spent more than two hours scrubbing its blackened, crusted, soot-covered interior. I’m no stranger to cleaning grills, but I couldn’t believe how disgusting it was. It looked like it had never been cleaned, and a few corroded spots on the inside of the column told me that its previous owner wasn’t diligent about covering it to protect it from the moist sea air, either. It annoys me that someone would treat a great grill so poorly, and I did my best to return it to a dignified state.
So, this is your PSA: If you are lucky enough to own a grill, please clean it regularly. The weather is warming up, so spend an hour this weekend with a good grill cleaner and some steel wool so it’s ready for a spontaneous dinner. You’ll have to do it again after a big batch of greasy burgers, but you – and your grill – are worth it.
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ Tierras Milperas, a network of seven community gardens in Watsonville, offered farmworkers a vision of self-government and food sovereignty. But over the past two years, the organization has been in a bitter dispute with two churches from which it leases land, a dispute that has raised issues of classism, racism and political ideology.
➤ Planning a trip to the southern side of Monterey Bay? Eater released a guide to restaurants worth a visit in Monterey and Carmel, and includes a mix of high-end restaurants like Chez Noir and Maligne, as well as excellent low-key spots like Alta Bakery and Other Brother Beer Co.