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.
… On Monday, workers at three Verve Coffee Roasters locations in Santa Cruz and San Francisco launched a unionization effort, demanding better wages, benefits and more decision-making power from the Santa Cruz-based artisanal coffee company.
Workers at cafés in Santa Cruz on Pacific Avenue and Fair Avenue, and in San Francisco, notified their managers Monday morning that they intend to unionize. Employees said they deliberately timed their unionization announcement for Labor Day, a federal holiday honoring the American labor movement.
The intent to unionize came to light in mid-August while I was interviewing Verve workers about tensions around a 5% service fee that Verve introduced at all 11 of its California coffeehouses earlier this summer. Read the story here.
… My colleagues and I have a big announcement: Lookout Santa Cruz has launched the Lookout List: Santa Cruz County Favorites. We’re starting a new annual tradition to celebrate the people, places and businesses that make this community thrive. Nominate your favorite farmers market vendor, bike shop, neighborhood real estate agent, dog-friendly restaurant – and dozens of other county favorites.
Here’s how it works: Through Sept. 21, write in your favorites for each category. Once nominations close, we’ll tally the top nominations and launch the official ballot. Final voting on a curated list of nominees runs Oct. 6-21. We’ll reveal the official winners and runners-up for each category on Nov. 3. More info here, and vote here.
… The Santa Cruz County Fair is coming up Sept. 10-14, and I’m thrilled to be participating in a decadeslong tradition: the 48th Annual Apple Pie Baking Contest, sponsored by the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau. I will be a judge this year for the first time, joining Kyle Theriot, apple grower and director of vineyard operations at Ridge Vineyards; Maria Vasquez, retail sales representative at Driscoll’s; and Marcus Mendiola, a water conservation specialist at Pajaro Valley Water.
I’m excited to taste countless pies, but I’m also honored to participate in a time-honored tradition in a renowned apple-growing area. Winners will be announced on Sept. 10, and the winner typically shares the recipes, which of course I’ll share here.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Death Box, a punk-inspired pop-up in downtown Santa Cruz, is bringing smoke-kissed sandwiches, ramen, sourdough loaves and cannoli to the former Alderwood location. Chefs Lance Ebert and Mikey Adams, both rooted in Santa Cruz’s food scene, are using the weekly pop-up to experiment, build community and lay the groundwork for a future full-service restaurant. Read the story here.
ON THE MENU
Last week, I took a tour of the nearly-complete La Bahia Hotel & Spa, Santa Cruz’s first luxury accommodation – click through to see lots of photos by Lookout photographer Kevin Painchaud. I tried to hold on to some degree of journalistic cynicism, but that was largely swept away by the gorgeous design of the building, inside and out, and clear drive to offer a special experience in Santa Cruz County.
Most of the facilities, including the pool, are exclusive to guests, but the public can access La Bahia at three dining and drinking spaces: Pearl, an elegant Champagne bar in the lobby, Low Tide, a first-floor restaurant open throughout the day, and High Tide, a dinner-only restaurant on the upper floor. All three open on Monday, and I plan to be one of the first to explore all of these areas and report back.
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
The Bonny Doon Art, Wine & Brew Festival is this Saturday at Crest Ranch in the Santa Cruz Mountains from 2 to 7 p.m. This event fundraises for Bonny Doon Elementary School art and science programs, and has a killer lineup of local vendors, including plenty for foodies. Sleight of Hand Pizza, River Dogs of Boulder Creek, The Buzz Sushi, Trout Farm Inn and Parker’s Picks will be there serving everything from Chicago hot dogs to fresh oysters, plus area wineries, breweries and cideries. Nonalcoholic general admission tickets are $39.19, and unlimited tasting tickets are $71.21.
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
I wish I had a juicy end-of-summer dining story to share with you after the long Labor Day weekend, but, sadly, it wasn’t a fun holiday for my family. We had to suddenly say goodbye to our beloved Labrador, Tony, who passed away on Sunday morning from a heart tumor. He was only 7, and otherwise appeared totally healthy, so it has been a real shock. Anyone who has experienced a loss knows grief can appear in weird ways. For me, a fresh wave hit as I was clearing the table after dinner last night. Normally, I would scrape all the good stuff – mostly from my children’s plates – right into his bowl, where he would be ready. Instead, I stared at the remains of a chicken dinner – his favorite – for a long while, before scooping it into the garbage. Give your four-legged friends extra pets and snuggles today for Tony. He was a good boy, and he is missed.
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ “For a while, it looked like Red Lobster was dead in the water,” writes The New York Times, but the seafood chain restaurant has bounced back from bankruptcy by focusing on appealing to Black diners. Chief executive Damola Adamolekun, a Nigerian American, said the goal is to bring back the “celebratory experience” that members of the Black community associate with Red Lobster through dishes like hush puppies, popcorn shrimp and tableside-made seafood boil bags. (The New York Times)
➤ At La Cigale, a highly anticipated French restaurant set to open in San Francisco this month, what customers see is what they’ll get. Namely, gratuity, taxes and all fees will be included in the menu price, a model that is nearly unheard of in the U.S. (San Francisco Chronicle)