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.
… Last Thursday, a crowd of more than 100 supporters cheered after city planning commissioners unanimously voted to expand Woodhouse Blending & Brewing’s use permit to allow live entertainment outdoors. Until a little over a year ago, the Santa Cruz craft brewery had live music several times a week at its location in an industrial area off of River Street, but the city ordered it to stop last October after an anonymous complaint revealed that Woodhouse was not permitted to host the events.
Woodhouse owner Will Moxham admits he knew he was out of compliance, but supporters and several commissioners alike praised the events at the hearing, citing Woodhouse’s multicultural, family-friendly and community-driven ethos. City workers said they were pleased that they were able to figure out a way for Woodhouse to host the events once more while working within a “clunky” – according to planning commissioner Pete Kennedy – system of ordinances.
Other Santa Cruz breweries, wineries and bar owners could try to follow in Woodhouse’s footsteps – many have said that live entertainment has become crucial for attracting customers in the wake of the pandemic. However, many, like Woodhouse, are hosting these live events in ad hoc outdoor spaces under temporary permits granted during 2020 and 2021, which the city has struggled to codify. Woodhouse is the first brewery post-pandemic to successfully navigate city regulations to become a legal entertainment venue. Read the full story here.
… New Capitola restaurant Pete’s Fish House, which opened in August, offers something this coastal community doesn’t have nearly enough of: beautiful, sustainable seafood dining with breathtaking views of the water. From the restaurant’s second-story vantage point at the end of the Esplanade, Pete’s offers unobstructed views of Soquel Creek as it enters Capitola Beach, the candy-colored historic beach bungalows, the (newly reopened) Capitola Wharf and Monterey Bay.
Consulting chef Anthony Kresge and executive chef Desmond Schneider are both known for their commitment to sourcing ingredients seasonally from nearby farms, and for elevating beloved comfort foods – such as sandwiches and pizza – with high-quality ingredients and craftsmanship. This style was expressed across Pete’s tight but impactful seafood-focused menu, which manages to be both approachable and surprisingly elegant. The chilled scallop verde ($22) and pasta and clams ($36) were standouts. Read my review here.
… The 2023 crop report was released last week, and showed that the severe storms and flooding that hit the region in 2023 had a significant impact on the production of berries and other crops in Santa Cruz County. Between 2022 and 2023, the total estimated gross production value decreased by 1.8%. Vegetable production fell 10%, and production of strawberries, the county’s most lucrative crop, decreased by more than $35 million, both due to weather-related issues.
It wasn’t all bad: Nursery crops increased by 12%, and both wine crops and apples remained steady. More info here.
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ON THE MENU
Open Farm Tours – think Open Studios but for farms – returns on Saturday, Oct. 12, and Sunday, Oct. 13. Over that weekend, 13 participating farms throughout Santa Cruz County welcome visitors for u-picks, demonstrations, farm-grown treats and family-friendly activities. The purpose of the event, now in its 11th year, is to create connections between people, especially kids, and the process of growing food. All of the farms practice sustainable agriculture and are family-owned. Watch for a story later this week.
NOTED
Downtown Santa Cruz hub 11th Hour Coffee will reopen this Saturday. The multi-use space contains a coffee shop, multiple pop-up restaurants in a shared kitchen, the After Hours bar and a workspace popular with students and downtown workers, and has been closed for three months for an extensive interior renovation.
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
Save the date – on Saturday, Oct. 5, downtown Santa Cruz will host its first Harvest Festival on Lincoln Street, together with Santa Cruz Community Farmers’ Markets and Santa Cruz Community Credit Union. Celebrate the simple joys of the season with local performers, farm stands, classic carnival games, food vendors and crafts.
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
If I’m being honest, I’ll give my family’s summer garden box efforts a solid C. While I’m proud that we actually filled the boxes with dirt and put in plants, as summer activities got underway and evening bike rides around the neighborhood became the preferred evening activity of Marco, 3, and Cecilia, 1, our poor tomatoes, eggplants and peppers were neglected. We still managed to harvest some delicious vegetables, but whether the dry-farming was intentional or due to forgetfulness is hard to say.
Nevertheless, I’m ready to give fall and winter gardening a go. Lettuces and leafy greens are definitely going in, but I’m not sure what else to plant. What else grows well in winter here, particularly kid-friendly vegetables? What do I need to know about cool weather gardening in our area? Local gardeners, help me out!
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ America, where four of the 10 fastest-growing restaurant chains are coffee shops, is obsessed with customizable drinks. Companies like CosMc’s, a new beverage chain from McDonald’s, offer a growing menu of add-ons, encouraging customers to create personalized beverages with nearly endless possibilities. But those modifications and beverage runs can add up. (The New York Times)
➤ Just in case you were thinking about trying the viral TikTok trend of washing your fruits and vegetables in the dishwasher, don’t, say food safety experts. Aside from hot water and detergent damaging produce on a regular cycle, even running food through a cool rinse-only cycle could contaminate it with residual soap and food particles. (I mean, duh?). (Washington Post)