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.
Stay in touch with me by text throughout the week – I send text alerts every time I publish a story. And you can text me back! Share your thoughts, send tips and give feedback. Sign up for texts from me here. Thanks to those of you who’ve already subscribed! Check out all of my food and drink coverage here.
… The Santa Cruz mushroom community has a saying: “When it rains, it spores.” This year, wild mushrooms are flourishing throughout the region thanks to abundant rainfall and cool temperatures. When it comes to seasonal foods, few elicit the fandom of wild mushrooms. In this story, take a peek at the local mushroom culinary community through the eyes of chef Chad Hyatt, forager Freddy Menge and Far West Fungi’s Naomi Wolf.
… Good news for the local fishing community and those in need of food assistance in Santa Cruz County: Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust has partnered with Second Harvest Food Bank as part of its Community Seafood Program. Through the program, MBFT works with local fishermen and seafood businesses to purchase locally caught seafood at a fair market price. Then, it distributes the fish to its partners throughout Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, including Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes, Ocean2Table, Real Good Fish and H&H Fresh Fish.
Now, Second Harvest Food Bank can distribute this nutritious, sustainable protein to those who need it most. The benefit to local fishers should be underscored as well; the seafood industry is struggling after two years of a heavily delayed crab season and the cancellation of the salmon season last year. Learn more about the Community Seafood Program at montereybayfisheriestrust.org.
… Vegetarian restaurant Pretty Good Advice opened a second location on Pacific Avenue on Feb. 1, bringing its meat-free menu of breakfast sandwiches, black bean burgers, sides, salads, soft serve and drinks to downtown Santa Cruz. Chef Matt McNamara opened the first Soquel location in 2018 after leaving Sons & Daughters, his Michelin-starred San Francisco restaurant, which he founded in 2010. At Pretty Good Advice, McNamara weaves seasonal produce and eggs from his 83-acre farm in the Santa Cruz Mountains into his menu. A farm-to-table fast-food experience, with all items less than $12? Yes, please. Read the full story here.
… Some sweet news: Downtown Santa Cruz restaurant Chocolate is now open every afternoon for “café service” from noon to 4:30. Hot chocolate, desserts, boxed truffles and more will be available via counter service before sit-down dinner service begins at 5 p.m. Anyone else planning on taking their work meetings here from now on?
TEXT ME
Want to stay on top of the latest local food news? I send text alerts every time I publish a story. And you can text me back! Share your thoughts, send tips and give feedback. Sign up here.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Local winemakers won big at the 2024 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, according to Lookout wine correspondent Laurie Love’s newest column. At the prestigious event, 18 awards were given out to Santa Cruz Mountains wineries, including Bargetto Winery, El Vaquero Winery and Nicholson Vineyards. Plus, see a list of special Valentine’s Day events at local wineries, check out a glowing story about our wine region in the national media and a lot more. Read it here.
NEW MERCH!
Yes, that’s me. The hottest new kitchen essential is available free to new annual members, signing up at our special Valentine’s (or Galentine’s) price – $114 for the first year of Lookout – and offered to all our current members for $30. Existing members, go here to purchase yours.
I’m not sure I’m allowed to call something with my likeness on it “cool.” But if you’ve read my food and drink coverage over the past 2½ years at Lookout, clearly we have something in common: We love good food. The idea that some part of me is there with you in your kitchen while you prepare a meal for family and friends warms my apron — I mean, heart — strings.
You’ll be able to pick up your apron at Lookout HQ, our new office right across the street from Bookshop Santa Cruz and above Toque Blanche on Pacific Avenue. We’re setting our first pickup date for this Thursday, and I’ll be there to greet you. Need to pick it up sooner? Email membership@lookoutlocal.com to set up a time.
Happy cooking, and thank you to Lookout’s members – new and continuing – for your support!
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
My 2-year-old son, Marco, knows how to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I didn’t even know he liked peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But the other day I grabbed the bread to make him some toast, and he yanked it from my hand, saying, “I do it!” I watched as he got the peanut butter from the fridge, then the jam. Then he opened the drawer and grabbed a butter knife. Any attempts at interference on my part were forcibly rejected. I stared in disbelief as he carefully spread peanut butter, bit by bit, across the bread. Then the jam, taking a nibble here and there but overall doing a very good job.
Then – then! – he cut the crusts off! Reader, I have never cut the crusts off this child’s bread in his life, but there he was, slicing them off right in front of me. He cut it in four pieces, and then asked me for a plate. I gave it to him, a bit dumbstruck, as this new teenager took his snack into the living room to watch cartoons, a mixture of emotions swimming through me that I still haven’t quite untangled.
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ Bob Moore, the founder of whole grain food company Bob’s Red Mill, died peacefully last Saturday in his home in Oregon. He was 94 years old. The trailblazer revived stone-ground wheat products, invested in a gluten-free product line, and transferred ownership of the international company to his employees in 2010. (Eater Portland)
➤ Yes, chef! The award-winning series “The Bear” will return in June for its third season. The series follows a young chef, played by Jeremy Allen White, who leaves the high-end dining world to run his late brother’s sandwich shop in Chicago, their hometown. When the first season aired in 2022, it caused a tidal wave through the culinary landscape for its realistic depictions of life working in kitchens. (Variety)