Santa Cruz County vineyards are getting into the heart of harvesting season — beginning with pinot noir. Despite a delayed start to this fall’s harvest, local winemakers say it’s a shaping up to be a great year.
Food & Drink
Posted inFood & Drink
SC Bread Boy + French bistro = smash burgers cranked up to 11
Lance Ebert, the chef and larger-than-life personality behind SC Bread Boy, began by selling cannolis and focaccia off the back of his Vespa on East Cliff Drive. Now, he pops up three times a week to offer extravagant and skillfully prepared smash burgers inspired by French bistro classics.
Posted inFood & Drink
After Boardwalk lease shock, Hot Dog on a Stick’s Allison Twisselman talks reaction, next moves
News broke this week that the Santa Cruz Seaside Company would not renew Twisselman Enterprises’ lease for Hot Dog on a Stick or its three other food booths. The local, family-run business had been a tenant at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for 90 years. Fourth-generation Allison Twisselman says the outpouring of community support from former employees and customers is “bittersweet.”
Posted inFood & Drink
‘Very much a shock’: Twisselman Enterprises booted from Boardwalk after 90 years in business
After 90 years in business, Twisselman Enterprises is ending its operations at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk after its lease was unexpectedly not renewed by the Santa Cruz Seaside Company. Twisselman Enterprises operated four concession stands serving food, including the iconic Hot Dog On A Stick, which opened in 1934.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
This week in Santa Cruz County business: Watsonville downtown planning, Onewheel recall & small biz resources
In her weekly roundup of news and notes from the Santa Cruz County business community, Jessica M. Pasko details Watsonville’s Downtown Specific Plan ahead of a city council vote and notes a recall affecting Santa Cruz-made electric skateboards, plus milestones for local businesses, dates to save and more.
Posted inFood & Drink
Laurie Love on Wine: Pinot noir harvest in full swing, Madson fall releases & wine in a paper bottle?
With harvest underway for Santa Cruz County-area wineries, Laurie Love finds growers of pinot noir enthused about what they’re seeing so far. She also scopes out Madson Wines’ fall releases, spotlights a company putting wine in paper bottles, reveals her wine of the week and more.
Posted inFood & Drink
Lily Belli on Food: Alderwood Pacific closes, gains for local crops and a weirdly delicious coffee hack
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 […]
Posted inFood & Drink
‘Temporarily closed’: Alderwood Pacific shutters suddenly
Alderwood Pacific, the sister restaurant to Michelin-mentioned Alderwood Santa Cruz, closed suddenly at the end of September after a highly anticipated opening in downtown Santa Cruz earlier this year. The reason for and length of the closure are unclear.
Posted inFood & Drink
Zen Musubi’s rice balls aim to bring good karma to downtown Santa Cruz kiosk
Zen Musubi opened earlier this month in the kiosk on Pacific Avenue formerly occupied by Café Campesino. Owner Lisa Koda’s menu of Japanese rice balls with fillings like wild-caught salmon, tofu and Spam is made with organic ingredients — and good karma.
Posted inFood & Drink
Wine grapes, cut flowers return to pre-pandemic values according to 2022 crop report
The 2022 crop report for Santa Cruz County shows modest gains across most of the local agriculture industry. Notably, the value of wine grapes has swung drastically over the past four years, and the value of cut flowers continues to bounce back to nearly pre-pandemic levels after dropping sharply in 2020.