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.
… All of La Bahia Hotel & Spa’s publicly accessible dining areas are officially open as of last weekend: Pearl, a Champagne bar with small snacks in the lobby; Low Tide Bar & Grill, a lunch and dinner spot with a bar open seven days a week; and High Tide, an elegant dinner-only restaurant on the second floor.
Each one is beautifully designed with excellent service, but at both Low Tide and High Tide I was disappointed with the menus. It wasn’t that the food was bland (for the most part), but the concepts are unimaginative and disappointingly tame. As I said in my review last week, at a business that aims to transform and elevate Santa Cruz’s tourism industry, I expected more innovation – and a little more fun. It’s the kind of place where I want to splurge on caviar service and seafood platters, or a burger loaded with ostentatious toppings.
At High Tide, everything was prepared well, and the service was great. Here, familiar dishes like poke, crab cakes, Caesar salad, steak and salmon filet are jazzed up with Pacific Rim flavors ranging from Japanese to Hawaiian. But the menu lacked any evidence of the seasonal abundance available in our region, and in turn felt a little stiff and lacking in personality. Read my review here.
… Workers at three Verve Coffee Roasters’ cafés, on Pacific Avenue and Fair Avenue in Santa Cruz and in San Francisco, will vote Sept. 30 on whether to unionize. If most workers vote to unionize, the negotiation process will begin with Verve owners Colby Barr and Ryan O’Donovan. Employees at these coffeehouses are seeking stable hours, wage increases and greater respect from management, among other benefits. Read my past coverage here.
… Obló Cocktails & Kitchen in downtown Santa Cruz has closed, the restaurant announced on Instagram over the weekend. Located in the former Café Mare spot on Front Street, the post said that the past year “has been a very difficult one.” But, something new may come to the space soon. “We’ve decided to take a little break to breathe, recharge, and put together new ideas for the future,” it said.
… Gooder Foods, the Santa Cruz-based maker of boxed mac & cheese Goodles, issued a recall for two of its products due to undeclared allergens. Five lots of Vegan Is Believin’ – Plant Based White Cheddar with Spirals may contain milk, which is not listed on the label, and three lots of Here Comes Truffle – Creamy Truffle Flavored Cheddar and Shells may contain cashew, also not listed on the label. More info here.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
What makes a great apple pie? As a first-time judge at the 48th annual Apple Pie Contest at the Santa Cruz County Fair, I gained a new appreciation for the complexity and craftsmanship behind a perfect apple pie after scoring more than 30 entries. The experience highlighted how much nuance, technique and personal history go into every crust and filling — especially in Janice Weaver’s buttery, croissant-like Best in Show winner. Read my behind-the-scenes experience as a judge, and find Weaver’s recipe here.
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
Grab your dirndls and lederhosen, it’s that time of year again. The Messiah Lutheran Church in Santa Cruz is hosting Oktoberfest Santa Cruz, a celebration of German-Bavarian culture, on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. This family-friendly event includes live polka music, homemade German food, German beers and wines, and activities for kids, including a bounce house. It’s free to enter. Adult meals are $20, and children 12 and under can eat for free.
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
With joy, I want to share that, after 2½ years on the waitlist, my friend and Lookout’s business reporter, Jess Pasko, is officially a member of the Rancho Gordo Bean Club. Half of you reading this are now cheering for her, and the other half are wondering if a “bean club” is really a thing. Members of this elite group receive quarterly shipments of six bags of Rancho Gordo heirloom beans and a grain, plus other treats like seasonings. I’m going to brag here and say that I’ve been using Rancho Gordo beans since before they became the It Bean during the pandemic, because their creamy texture and rich flavor surpass all other beans. They’re so delicious that they’ve created a rabid fan base – and a Bean Club.
Jess shared her genuine excitement at her acceptance last night with me and two other friends, one of whom is still on the wait list and admitted she was equally jealous as she was happy for her. Jess promised to share her newfound bean wealth with us, and to her credit, did not flaunt it nearly as much as I would have if it were me.
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ A prominent Bay Area chef went on a bank-robbing spree last week. Valentino Luchin allegedly robbed three San Francisco banks in a single day before he was taken into custody. Before his legal troubles, Luchin was the executive chef at Italian restaurant Rose Pistola. (ABC News)
➤ If you were confused, as I was, about the intense backlash over Cracker Barrel’s logo change, host Dan Pashman of The Sporkful breaks down the controversy with the help of historian Anthony Stanonis. It turns out it’s not the first time the Southern restaurant chain has been at the center of a political storm. (The Sporkful)