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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… A new seafood restaurant is coming to one of the most picturesque dining spaces in Capitola Village. In mid-August, Pete’s Fish House will open in the second-story restaurant above the Esplanade next to the Stockton Bridge — former home to Capitola Bar & Grill, Sotola Bar & Grill and Stockton Bridge Grill — and overlooking Capitola Beach and the historic beach bungalows.
Pete’s Fish House is the latest project from restaurateur Sarah Orr, who also owns downstairs neighbor Margaritaville and Stokes Adobe in Monterey. She’s working with chef Anthony Kresge as a consultant and chef Desmond Schneider, who will lead the kitchen. Together, they’re crafting a seafood-focused menu with Hog Island oysters from the San Francisco Bay Area, crudo, other chilled seafood and coastal dishes including a soft-shell crab sandwich, fritto misto and clam linguini.
When it opens on Aug. 19, Pete’s Fish House will join a new wave of seasonal and sustainable seafood restaurants opening in Santa Cruz County that includes Hook & Line in Santa Cruz, Dos Pescados in Seascape Village and Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen Beachside in Rio Del Mar. Read my preview for more information.
… The wine harvest is still weeks away, but local viticulturist Ken Swegles – owner of Rhizos Viticulture and a partner with Madson Wines in Santa Cruz – told Lookout wine correspondent Laurie Love that 2024 is shaping up to be a great vintage. The unusually warm and sunny summer has helped the fruit ripen and lowered the threat of diseases caused by mildew. “Compared to last year, when there was a lot more mildew because it was so cold and wet, this year the disease pressure is much lower. So most of our vineyards, especially pinot noir, have set a fantastic crop,” Swegles told Love.
Love also enjoyed a fabulous wine pairing dinner at Persephone in Aptos, where chef Cori Goudge-Ayer skillfully paired six Madson wines with custom dishes. Have you been to one of these monthly dinners yet?
Get the latest on the local wine scene here.
… This month, Jack O’Neill Restaurant & Lounge at the Dream Inn in Santa Cruz is offering a four-course, plant-forward tasting menu created in honor of the Olympics. What do plant-based foods have to do with the Olympic Games? More than you might think. The Paris Olympics organizers focused on offering more vegetarian dishes in order to decrease the event’s carbon footprint, and launched a 100% vegetarian menu at one of the arenas. An increasing number of athletes are choosing vegan and plant-based diets, and some even attribute their performance to forgoing animal products.
The Olympian Menu at Jack O’Neill isn’t vegan, but it does put plants at the forefront. Chef Gus Trejo is using French cooking techniques to prepare a menu that focuses on sustainability and local ingredients, including cauliflower meunière with shallot and abalone, and a guinea hen entree with carrot confit and chickpeas. View the menu at jackoneillrestaurant.com.
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ON THE MENU
On Friday, I sat down with staff members from kitchens at five different local school districts at Del Mar Elementary School in Live Oak, after they completed a weeklong training on how to incorporate more from-scratch foods into their menus. Since California’s Universal Meals Program – which guarantees a nutritious breakfast and lunch to every child in kindergarten through 12th grade regardless of family financial situation – launched during the pandemic, local schools have seen a surge in students getting at least one meal per day on campus.
New funding is making it easier for schools to pursue more healthy options for kids, but school representatives told me that their biggest challenges are logistical, including time for training and preparation, and having adequate staff. Watch for a story later this week.
NOTED
Congratulations to Aubergine restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea, which recently earned its second Michelin star. There are only 13 restaurants with two Michelin stars in the state, with three stars being the highest honor a restaurant can achieve from the mysterious restaurant-critic arm of the French tire company. The announcement came Monday at a ceremony in Half Moon Bay. Aubergine earned its first Michelin star in 2019, in the first Michelin Guide California.
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
One of my sorta toxic traits is that if you invite me to a potluck, I will try to “win” the potluck by bringing the best dish. I might be serving my kids frozen Trader Joe’s meatballs and buttered noodles most nights of the week, but invite me to a party and I will bring my A-game. So that’s where I found myself on Sunday, eagerly bringing the Italian bean salad with shaved fennel and roasted red peppers that I’ve been perfecting for months to my friend’s casual backyard barbecue, ready to whip off the cover, soak in the compliments and gleefully hand out the recipe to anyone who asked (email me at lily@lookoutlocal.com if you want it!).
The salad made a stir, but not for the reason I thought it would. People did love it – I knew they would – but more than one asked me about the cover I used on the bowl. “Is that a shower cap?” my friend asked. Yes, it was. Back during my breadmaking days, I bought a set of shower caps to cover the bread while it proofed so I wouldn’t go through spools of plastic wrap, and I’ve also discovered that they make great reusable covers for transporting food to and from parties. They’re moldable, easy to wash, and if you do lose it, who cares?
I already have an apron, but maybe I should add a Lily Belli potluck shower cap to my branded Lookout swag. What do you think? (This is a joke, Ken.)
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ The Olympics have launched many internet moments, but perhaps none so tempting as the TikTok craze over the chocolate muffins served in the Olympic Village. Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen popularized the decadent-looking muffins and a wave of curious fans tracked down the recipe from French producer Coup de Pates. (Eater)
➤ Recent inflation has made prices jump everywhere, including restaurants. A new report shows just how much. MoneyGeek took a look at the 50 largest cities in the U.S. and found that between 2022 and 2024, the price of a burger, fries and a soda jumped 24% on average. Two of the top three most expensive cities – San Diego and San Francisco – are in California. (MoneyGeek)