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.
… Two weeks ago, Jake Mann, a fifth-generation apple farmer, called me to say that, like other longstanding apple farmers in the Pajaro Valley, he is losing his only client.
For decades, almost every grower in the area sold their apples to a single, behemoth buyer: S. Martinelli & Co., an internationally distributed 158-year-old apple cider company known for its round, apple-shaped bottles. This winter, Martinelli’s told Mann and other apple growers in the valley that, within the next few years, it would stop renewing their contracts.
In May, with no substantial buyers in the state, fourth-generation farmer Peter Knego decided to uproot his trees and lease the newly flattened land to berry growers. As he ripped up an orchard on Freedom Boulevard, he was aware that it would be a sign to the community that a seismic change had arrived. “When that orchard goes, that’s when everyone’s going to know we’re done. That orchard was the first one you see when you enter Watsonville, and it’s been there since the late 1920s,” Knego told me.
… Attention foodies! I’m hosting a private tasting tour this Saturday at 10 a.m. at Santa Cruz VegFest, a vegan food and cultural festival that promotes a plant-based lifestyle, held at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville. Before the festival starts, I’ll lead 12 Lookout members to at least four participating vendors – The Buzz Sushi & Market, Hole Foods Vegan Donuts, Areperia831 and more – to learn more about their businesses and enjoy some special bites.
Tickets are $20 per person and exclusive to Lookout members. Hurry – these events fill up fast! Get your ticket here – and if you’re not a member, you can join here.
… After seven years, Full Steam Dumpling, a ramen and dumpling shop inside the Santa Cruz Art Center in downtown Santa Cruz, is closing on July 18. One of the first stories I wrote for Lookout was about chef Andy Huynh’s dynamic approach to Asian street food, and over the past five years he and his team have continued to challenge themselves, offering some of the most fresh and fun ramen, sandwiches, dumplings and noodles in the county.
Hopefully this isn’t the goodbye: “This is the end of our chapter at the Santa Cruz Art Center. But in no way an end to our creative & culinary endeavors,” wrote Huynh in a post on Instagram announcing the closure. Fingers crossed we’ll be slurping that good-good out of huge bowls again soon.
… Aptos restaurant Mentone is expanding over the hill. Owner David Kinch is opening a second location for the French Riviera-inspired eatery in the new commercial development in Los Gatos known as The Junction, alongside Manresa Bread, a bakery that he co-owns with head baker Avery Ruzicka.
Kinch and Ruzicka both live in Santa Cruz, but are not strangers to Los Gatos. Kinch operated his three-Michelin-starred restaurant, Manresa, in the city for 20 years before closing it in 2023, and Manresa Bread has four locations in the South Bay, plus one on the Westside of Santa Cruz.
But what about the new, much larger Manresa Bread bakery and adjacent French restaurant planned for the former West End Tap & Kitchen? In November, Ruzicka told me they were hoping for an early spring opening. That timeline is clearly getting pushed back, as is often the case for food and drink businesses in the city. When I asked, the team could not provide any updates.
ON THE MENU
It’s a new month, which means it’s time for my wrap-up of the best things I ate the month before. Keep an eye out for my May picks later this week.
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
The first of two brunch pop-ups at the Santa Cruz Community Farmers’ Markets is coming up on June 13. Chef Diego Felix – owner of empanada shop Fonda Felix and Argentinian pop-up Colectivo Felix – is preparing a seasonal South American feast using ingredients from nearby farms. Of course there’s an empanada on the menu – stuffed with cheese, summer squash and cherry tomatoes – with tamales with ossobuco and mole as the main, alongside several seasonal summery salads and sweet treats. Tickets are on a sliding scale from $80 to $150.
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
With those challenging toddler years in the rearview, my husband, Mike, is once again tapping into his love of gardening and putting tremendous effort into our garden boxes. After realizing that the soil he purchased a few years ago just wasn’t going to give him the results he wanted, he replaced and supplemented the dirt in three large veggie boxes – a huge undertaking, so thank you, husband!
This year, he’s trying to see how close he can plant his vegetables and still get high production, and has thoughtfully co-planted a variety of peppers, tomatoes, basil and marigolds in one box, with eggplants, cucumbers, fennel and lettuce in another. The third is home to the rest of the herbs and even more types of lettuce.
A month after planting, the effects of the new soil are clear: Everything looks so healthy. Marco, 5, and Cecilia, 3, help with daily watering.
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ American protein consumption is causing a shortage of whey protein, a milk protein often used as a powdered supplement. Once a byproduct of the dairy industry, whey protein is in high demand, and manufacturers can’t keep up. (USA Today)
➤ If you’re thinking about just switching over to the real thing, I’ve got more bad news. The number of U.S. cattle is dropping, and beef and dairy prices are surging. The total domestic herd has reached a 75-year low, with high prices and industry changes discouraging ranchers from purchasing more cows. (NPR)