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.
… There are signs of life in the former Alderwood Pacific, which went dark after just six months back in September 2023. A San Jose-based restaurant called The Breakfast Club at Midtown plastered signs in the windows at 1108 Pacific Ave. downtown featuring pictures of colorful and creative takes on brunch. According to its website, the 10-year-old chain has locations in San Jose, Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Castro Valley, Morgan Hill, Livermore and San Mateo, with new spots in Mountain View, Campbell and Santa Cruz coming soon.
I’m working on getting more information about the restaurant, but I think the elephant in the room is the brand’s name. Santa Cruz already has a Midtown – although I know many die-hard Eastsiders don’t agree (please don’t email me) – and it is an area distinct from downtown. I would bet they’re not going to change the restaurant’s name just for us, but I hope they’re prepared for some snickering.
… Gluten-free café Switch Bakery is getting ready to open in downtown Santa Cruz in early January. In October, owners Amanda Fraser and Joshua Bradley shared with me that they’re transforming the former Café Limelight on Cedar Street into the bakery’s first brick-and-mortar location, while still maintaining weekly stands at the downtown Santa Cruz and Westside farmers markets.
The doors will be open on Monday and Tuesday next week for customers to pick up holiday orders placed this week at the farmers market and online, and the café will have a soft opening the first week of January with a limited menu. Follow Switch Bakery on Instagram for updates on the café’s hours in the new year.
… A new food and drink business is coming to the Tannery Arts Center. Suzanne Stillwachs, a chef and farmer at Love Apple Farms in the Santa Cruz Mountains, has plans to revive the ailing café space at the center of the arts facility on River Street in Santa Cruz with a restaurant called Olio’s.
According to a vision outlined on Kickstarter, Stillwachs plans to build out the space with a fully functional kitchen and purchase equipment and furnishings to create a community hub that will offer seasonal dishes featuring ingredients from local farms. As of Tuesday morning, she had surpassed her $40,000 funding goal needed for the updates. Watch for a story in the coming weeks.
… A decision on whether the commercial crab season will open on Jan. 1 will likely come by the end of the week. Last week, state wildlife officials flew along the California coast, counting humpback and blue whales, which can become entangled in crab fishing lines. Early data shows that entanglements declined this year, possibly thanks to industry-backed restrictions. This week, representatives from the fishing industry will meet with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to decide if gear limits will be necessary, based on the number of whales.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Home Away, the new daytime offshoot of Soquel’s Home restaurant, offers a more casual, affordable space where chef Brad Briske showcases seasonal dishes, whole-animal cooking and products from longtime friends and collaborators. With counter service, grab-and-go items and an open kitchen that lets diners watch Briske work, the spot revives early Home favorites while introducing new seafood, snacks and rotating specials. Here’s the story.
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
For the first time in eight years, the doors of the former Logos Books & Records will open. Event company Collective Santa Cruz is hosting back-to-back Holiday Mega Markets this Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The events are free, and feature Santa Cruz-area artists, craftspeople, holiday treats, mocktails, coffee, a silent disco, face painting, pizza, photo booth, beer and wine from Humble Sea Brewing Co. and “a huge multi-level snowglobe,” if the post on Instagram can be believed.
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
My husband, Mike, and I spent three nights in New York City last week, and it was the perfect little getaway. We spent the entire time walking around the freezing city from restaurant to restaurant, enjoying the sights and holiday spirit. Highlights include: slices of pizza from L’Industrie followed by a towering slice of 12-layer lasagne at I Sodi in the West Village on Saturday night; bagels with lox so thin and buttery it melted on our tongues at Russ & Daughters (we went back twice); an elegant Manhattan cocktail at Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle after a chilly stroll through Central Park; a dinosaur-sized prime rib at Keens Steakhouse, followed by cheeky cocktails at Paradise Lost, an over-the-top tiki bar.
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ Last week, Italy’s national cuisine became the first to receive a designation by UNESCO, the United Nations’ cultural body. Typically, UNESCO designates more tangible cultural landmarks, like cities and historic sites. The decision marks a successful end to a three-year campaign by Italy’s government, which seeks to protect its food traditions from imitators. (CNN)
➤ The inventory of cattle is at its lowest level in 70 years, causing the price of beef to surge 20% over the past year. Steakhouses are feeling the heat, and while high-end restaurants might be able to raise prices without turning off customers, budget-friendly chains like Outback Steakhouse saw sales plummet. (The New York Times/$)