… Downtown Felton is brimming with local businesses, but one building remains notably vacant. The historic Cremer House has been empty since Humble Sea Tavern suddenly closed in August, and now Humble Sea Brewing Co. is seeking a new tenant for the restaurant. Read more on Lookout.
… If you’re looking for a special holiday craft to share with the kiddos in your life – or friends who are young at heart – Penny Ice Creamery created gingerbread house kits that are entirely edible and look absolutely adorable. Each handmade kit includes gingerbread cookie tiles that fit around a gabled box structure – no tears over crumbled houses here – and plenty of decorations, including royal frosting, holiday gumdrops, jelly wreaths, tree and snowman candies, and marshmallows. The kits are $30 and available at all Penny locations. Order for pickup at thepennyicecreamery.com.
… Cabrillo College will launch a new wine studies program for the 2024-25 school year. The Wine Studies Associate in Science (A.S.) degree will be available to students in fall semester 2024 and will include two companion certifications: a Certificate of Achievement in Wine Studies, a seven-course program that aims to offer a strong foundation for those seeking employment in the wine industry; and a noncredit Global Wine Certification of Completion, available tuition-free for those who want to pursue an interest in wine.
The degree and certificates were developed over three years by instructor Deborah Parker Wong, in conjunction with an industry advisory board drawn from wine professionals in Santa Cruz County. In a media release, Wong says, “Cabrillo College is based in the Santa Cruz Mountains American Viticultural Area, a historic, world-class winegrowing region, and an ideal place to study wine. In reenvisioning the wine program, I wanted our students to have a pathway to higher education and to leapfrog into four-year programs with skills that ensure their success.” More on this to come.
… Chef Jozseph Schultz of India Joze fame has teamed up with the Homeless Garden Project to create an exclusive new product just in time for holiday feasting – a green tomato chutney made with unripe tomatoes from the legendary nonprofit’s farm near Natural Bridges State Beach. The chutney ($25 for a 12-ounce jar) uses the same spices that Schultz uses in his famous chai mix, including Sri Lankan cinnamon, cardamon, organic Peruvian ginger and organic honey. This is one of those “goes with everything” condiments that you can just leave out on the table – it will excite and amplify all the other flavors.
Limited quantities are available at the Homeless Garden Project store in downtown Santa Cruz at 1338 Pacific Ave., so run down if you want to grab a jar. The shop also stocks lots of other baking mixes, chutneys, spices, teas and other goodies that make fantastic gifts for the foodie in your life.
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.
Call for Back-of-the-House Nominations
It’s time for a second helping of one of my favorite annual projects — celebrating front- and back-of-house workers. Last year, I launched this project to highlight stellar staff members at Santa Cruz County restaurants. Check out these two incredible stories about Michael Hanson, purchasing manager at Gayle’s Bakery & Rosticceria in Capitola, and Cesar Chagolla, cook at Achilles Restaurant in Santa Cruz.
Most often, my reporting focuses on restaurateurs and chefs, but as the end of the year approaches I want to honor the workers who keep our favorite culinary businesses open. Do you have a dishwasher on your staff who shows up for every shift? Or an all-star line cook who executes every dish with precision and care? Do you know an unflappable server who never fails to make even the most difficult customers feel at ease? If these valuable members of the hospitality industry didn’t show up, our restaurant world would crumble, and I’d like to share their stories.
Do you have someone in mind? Email me at lily@lookoutlocal.com, put “Industry Nomination” in the subject and – most importantly – share why they deserve to step into the spotlight. Nominations close Friday.
Life with the Bellis
I go to restaurants often for work, but my family rarely goes out to eat. That’s because my 2½-year-old son, Marco, is one of those toddlers who cannot be contained by four walls, and has a really hard time sitting at a table for any length of time. We will rotate through coloring books, small toys, games and episodes of “Blippi” before the food even arrives, which means either my husband or I end up exploring the restaurant with an antsy little boy while our food gets cold on the table.
But we recently started going out more to attend fundraisers for his preschool. A couple of weeks ago, we went to Woodstock’s Pizza in downtown Santa Cruz. At 5:30 p.m., the place was in utter chaos: The line to order was out the door and kids were running around everywhere, and clustered around the video games. We threw our stuff down on the first table we saw and one of us wrangled our two kids while the other ordered dinner.
I thought it would be stressful, but it was actually the most relaxing dinner experience I’ve had as a mom. Because everyone’s kids were running around, no one was looking at mine. Marco discovered the pinball machine and loved pulling the lever back to launch the ball. I also found two quarters in one of the arcade games! None of the plates or cups were breakable, and he ate all of the sausage off of an entire pizza before going right back to bang on buttons. I felt like I had cracked a parenting code, but really I think I’m just the last mom on the planet to figure out that this is exactly why families go to pizza parlors.
This Week I’m Listening …
… to “The Sporkful” podcast’s episode “Rise of the Foodie Bro (The Year in Food 2023).” Host Dan Pashman sits down with Eater correspondent Jaya Saxena and Zach Stafford, co-host of the podcast “Vibe Check,” to talk about the food trends of 2023. Remember when Starbucks launched olive oil coffee? Or when bartenders revealed that men often send their drinks back if the glassware isn’t manly enough? When Taylor Swift ate at some restaurants and people went nuts? The episode is an insightful and entertaining look back at the weird, delicious and weirdly delicious year we had.
Food News Worth Reading
➤ Carmel’s Chez Noir earned a spot in Esquire magazine’s list of the 50 New Best Restaurants in America, 2023. The husband-and-wife-owned restaurant opened in October 2022 and earned a Michelin star earlier this year. (Esquire)
➤ Lookout’s wine correspondent, Laurie Love, runs down three Santa Cruz wines that made Wine Enthusiast magazine’s Top 100 list, shares upcoming wine events and dishes on an exceptional local cabernet in her biweekly wine column. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. (Lookout)