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 Christmas Eve, a Santa Cruz holiday tradition is coming to an end. After 40 years, Mackenzies Chocolates will stop production of its handmade chocolates and close its production facility and shop on the corner of Soquel Avenue and Frederick Street.
Inside the distinct, Old English-style building is a dizzying array of whimsical chocolate shapes. So many molded chocolates, from baby carriages and ballerinas to tools and trucks, line the shelves that it’s hard to know where to look. All of the chocolates are handmade by Ian and Mary Rose Mackenzie and Juan Carlos Garcia, their only employee. Thelma and Colin Mackenzie – Ian’s parents – founded the shop in 1984, and Ian and Mary Rose met while working there. After four decades, the couple is ready to retire.
Read the full story here. The shop is open through Dec. 24.
… There is still an abundance of migrating whales off of the coast of California, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has postponed the start of the commercial Dungeness crab season in the state for the second time this year, until at least Dec. 15.
But if you’re craving fresh crab, you can still find it in the Santa Cruz Harbor at H&H Fresh Fish Co. The sustainable seafood supplier brought in live Dungeness crabs from Washington state, where the season is already open. Crabs are $18 per pound, and $24 per pound for cooked crab. Don’t forget your cooler.
… This holiday season, Pacific Cookie Company has released four new designs for its popular cookie towers – which, if you’re unfamiliar, are a tall cylindrical box filled with a dozen fresh cookies of your choice. Each new outer cover was created by Santa Cruz County-based artists Tessa Hope Hasty, Jimbo Philips and Lynn Piquett.
Cookie towers are $21.95 each, and can be purchased at the downtown Santa Cruz bakery at 1203 Pacific Ave., or ordered online at pacificcookie.com and shipped via FedEx anywhere in the U.S. (Truly, these are my go-to gifts for a hostess, as a thank you, and whenever I’m in a “what do I get them?” pinch. Who doesn’t love cookies?)
… Flower Bar, the downtown Santa Cruz flower shop and café, closed suddenly earlier this month. The Cedar Street shop opened in March 2021, and offered floral arrangements, high-end chocolates and an espresso bar with pastries, treats and sandwiches.
“It is with a heavy heart that I announce the closure of the Flower Bar Cafe. However, I am excited to share that I will continue to create beautiful floral designs for our community,” founder Sharon Schneider told me in an email. She did not give a reason for the closure, and is continuing to offer her floral services through flowerbarsantacruz.com.
… Congratulations to winemaker Ryan Alfaro of Farm Cottage Wines! The Corralitos winery’s 2022 Trout Gulch Vineyard pinot noir ($54) was listed as one of Wine Enthusiast magazine’s Top 100 wines of 2024 out of 23,000 wines tasted by reviewers over the course of the year. It was listed as No. 18 with a score of 97 points out of 100.
Ryan is the son of Richard and Mary Kay Alfaro of Alfaro Family Vineyards, and launched his own Farm Cottage label in 2019. Reviewer Matt Kettmann said the 2022 pinot, made entirely from dry-farmed grapes from Trout Gulch Vineyard above Aptos, has “a tremendous purity of fruit” with a “jubilant and joyous” palate. Check out the review at wineenthusiast.com.
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
Last week, the Santa Cruz City Council voted unanimously to deny an appeal by a local business owner that would have blocked Woodhouse Brewing from having consistent outdoor entertainment. “The bottom line is, for our purposes today, they are following the rules set forth by the city, and the conditions of approval demonstrate that there will be accountability if that were to not be the case,” said Councilmember Sandy Brown in a closing statement.
After the council meeting, Woodhouse owners Will Moxham and Tug Newett and complainants Guy and Stacey Mitchell met briefly outside the chambers to discuss ways they could work together in the future. Guy Mitchell said he’s optimistic that, now that the two groups are talking to each other directly, there will be a good outcome.
“We’re going to try to work with the city to come up with a realistic method to enforce and see what that bears,” Mitchell added, “and hopefully continue to work with these people collaboratively so that we don’t have to get the city involved.” Here’s the full story.
NOTED
No Eaters Digest this week! I’m taking a brief hiatus from my Friday newsletter to celebrate the holiday weekend. I’ll be back with a fresh Lily Belli on Food newsletter on Tuesday. (P.S. Make sure you are subscribed to both newsletters here.)
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
Prepping for Thanksgiving is no small feat. My inner control freak has happily been making meal plans, researching recipes and making the grocery lists – because yes, I went to more than one store. It’s a ton of work, but the payoff is worth it: Today is Tuesday, and I’m confident that I will not have to go to the store again between now and Saturday. The last thing I want to do during my holiday is wade through a hectic market packed with stressed-out people, only to find out that they’re out of canned pumpkin, or potatoes, or whatever.
But as I was standing in line at the store this morning picking up my last handful of holiday items, I took a moment to remind myself to exhale, drop my shoulders, relax my jaw and coax my control freak back into her cage. Holidays are not about getting gold stars for perfect grocery store lists. If I forgot something, we are just going to wing it. If something burns, we will laugh about it and scrape off the cinders. If one of my children wants to help in the kitchen, I will welcome them and not rush them out for the sake of some final aesthetic. I feel ready to enjoy my holiday, cook and have some fun.
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ Costco store grand openings in the Bay Area are drawing crowds waiting for a chance to score big on rare bottles of booze. Coveted bottles of bourbon such as Pappy Van Winkle, which goes for thousands of dollars a bottle online, have been present at other Costco grand openings at the chain’s trademark low prices. (San Francisco Chronicle)
➤ Just for fun, take a moment to ogle the incredible designs from the Los Angeles County Fair’s annual tablescaping competition. Some tables are more Salvador Dali than Martha Stewart, but all of them are set precisely and seriously. Maybe you’ll get some ideas for your own holiday tables? (The New York Times)