Lily Belli on Food: Soquel’s Buzzo Pizza, Midtown’s Gilman Brewing near opening, plus a mushroom jackpot
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Buzzo’s wood-fired pizzas on horizon in Soquel
The folks behind Carpo’s aim to open Buzzo Pizza in mid-January just a couple doors down, next to Beer Thirty and Sunnyside Produce. Read more here.
‘Very, very soon’: That’s the word on Gilman Brewing’s Midtown spot
Finishing touches remain for the former Tony & Alba’s space on Soquel Avenue in Santa Cruz, but Berkeley-based Gilman Brewing promises to be slinging its suds in Midtown in the near future. Read more here.
Watsonville farm patriarch Frank Prevedelli honored with scholarship
The fund aims to support students who attend a high school in Santa Cruz County and plan to major in agriculture or a field related to agriculture in college. Read more here.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
If you were planning on enjoying locally caught crab over the holidays, it’s time to start making other plans. The opening of Dungeness crab season has been delayed on the Central Coast through at least Dec. 30. However, crabs from farther north, where the season is already open, might be available in Santa Cruz County. Check with your local fisherman and read Friday’s Eaters Digest for more information.
NOTED
5,000,001 — Number of meals Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County hopes to fundraise for this holiday season in its Holiday Food & Fund Drive. Second Harvest can provide four meals for every $1 donated and 100% of the funds raised during the drive go to providing food to distribute to its 160 partner agencies and programs. Donate here.
“If you can make a good sandwich, that means you’ve been around the block. It means you’ve cooked everything else.” — Chef Anthony Kresge, on why he decided to apply his knowledge gleaned from his 30-year restaurant career to create gourmet sandwiches at Reef Dog Deli, his restaurant in Capitola Village. Watch for the full story Wednesday.
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
My husband, Mike, and I inherited most of our mushroom foraging spots from his father, Val, an Italian immigrant who has gathered wild mushrooms in the Santa Cruz Mountains since the 1960s. Unfortunately, most of the time when we go we don’t find much, and I was beginning to doubt that these spots were still fruiting at all. Maybe they were too picked over now that mushroom foraging’s popularity had increased. Maybe the weather and environment had changed too much. So last Sunday, even though I was the one who pointed out how prosperous the local mushroom season has been — photos of porcini and chanterelles have been coloring my Instagram feed for weeks — I decided to stay home and put my feet up instead of joining Val and Mike on a spontaneous hunt.
Three hours later, they returned with several pounds of red-hued and tan-colored boletes — a bonanza of manzanita boletes and prized porcini. Of course, the one time I skip it, I miss out on all the fun! But I can’t be too disappointed — there’s plenty to feast on for the next few days and dehydrate for later. My husband and father-in-law’s proud faces cleanly wiped away any jealousy that I might have felt from missing out on the action.
THIS WEEK, I’M SHOCKED …
… at the final episode of the second season of HBO’s “White Lotus.” Truly, I didn’t not see that ending coming! But what surprised me most about this season was, despite being set in Sicily, we saw next to no Sicilian food. Portia and Jack eat (and steal) an arancini in Palermo, but aside from an unending parade of tangerine-colored Aperol spritzes, the characters seem to subside mostly on tropical fruit and coffee from the breakfast buffet and whatever boring menu the resort restaurant served. Where was the granita, the pasta con le sarde, the caponata?! Turns out I’m not the only one who noticed. If you’re equally annoyed, check out this story in Vanity Fair, where the writer reveals how the food — or lack of it — is an intentional part of character development.
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ Businesses across California brace for minimum wage increase Jan. 1 (California Globe)
➤ Is Bay Area ‘tripledemic’ bad enough to rethink indoor dining? Here’s what the experts say (San Francisco Chronicle)
➤ Matt Lucas’ time on ‘Great British Bake Off’ is cooked (Eater)
Thanks for reading! Eat well, my friends.
