Good Times Food & Wine

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Best Hawaiian Restaurant 2013

beautiful TROPICAL PATIo in downtown santa cruz Restaurant of the Year Best Lunch • Best Kid Friendly Restaurant Best Small Plates • Best Meal for a Deal

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We also offer fresh poke by “THE POUND.” Upon availability and at Market Price! All made fresh right here! Inquire with our staff!

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Free Membership • Exclusive Events

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05,06 Table of Contents

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Food Forward

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Eats & Treats

Liquid Therapy

Teen Spirit 8

Must-Have Meals 24

All Aboard 42

Teen Kitchen Project makes a difference

Five decadent local dishes

Tour company shows off local wine

Awesome Awe Sum 12

Healing Cups 32

10 to Try 46

The world of organic fruit selling

A local bone broth company takes off

GT’s top 10 wines list

In the Bag 14

We All Scream ... 36

The Craft 48

Local effort promotes reusable bags

Local ice cream flavors on our radar

Venus Spirits brings artisan liquor to town

Media Mavens 18

Conscious Chocolate 38

Buzz Worthy 52

A food photographer, blogger, and beyond

Giving back with ‘food of the heart’

Tidbits from the local beer scene

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editor’s note pring is the season of the new: freshness, growth‚ and the revitalization of earth and life.

The essence of the season is certainly apparent in the current local food landscape. New craft beer hubs are cropping up left and right (see page 54 for more details) alongside much-anticipated eateries like Assembly on Pacific Avenue. Meanwhile, alluring new endeavors like the Japanese tapas and ramen restaurant KAITO breathe new life into old locations (in this case, the former home of Pink Godzilla). New technologies are even finding their way into our eateries, such as at The Quail and Thistle Tea Room in Capitola, which recently began accepting Bitcoin as currency. My favorite new thing as of late? It’s hard to choose, but a dirty soy chai from Midtown Cafe is very high on the list.

In the spirit of spring, we invite you to find a sunny spot or order up a refreshing cocktail (our suggestions are on page 40) and unwind with the stories of local food artisans, innovators, and maestros. The people and places featured on the following pages are a testament to the ways in which food is used locally to make a difference. Take, for instance, the inspiring youth at Teen Kitchen Project (page 8), who gather each week to cook nutritious, delicious food for strangers struggling with life-threatening illness. We could all take a page out of their book.

Dig in, and enjoy.

S

Elizabeth Limbach Editor

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Publisher Ron Slack Editor Elizabeth Limbach Contributors Ryan Boysen Josie Cowden Joel Hersch Aric Sleeper Editorial Director Greg Archer Proofreader Josie Cowden Art Director Joshua Becker

Senior Designers Ian Webb Carly Gunther Designer Julie Rovegno Photographers Keana Parker Advertising Director Stephanie Lutz x204 Senior Account Executive Kate Kauffman x208 Account Executives Suzanne Welles x211 Chelsey Mosgrove x218 Rose Frates-Castiglione x219

food & wine is published by Good Times at 1205 Pacific Ave., | Suite 301 | Santa Cruz, CA 95060 831.458.1100 | fax 831.458.1295 | www.gtweekly.com

On the Cover: Design by Ian David Webb.

Photo by Angela Aurelio.

Julia Cunningham x213

Web Manager Jeffrey Hotchkiss Accounts Receivable Alix Crimbchin x202 Circulation Manager Pamela Pollard x203 Drivers Frederick Cannon Harold Dick Guy Gosset Carole Sanchez Carolyn Stallings

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KEANA PARKER

FOOD FORWARD

Teen Kitchen Project volunteers have served more than 10,000 meals since September 2012.

After-School Special At Teen Kitchen Project, local youth learn to create healthy meals for clients with life-threatening illnesses By Elizabeth Limbach n a recent Tuesday evening, in a small commercial kitchen in Soquel, a group of around 10 teenagers are hard at work.

Spread out around various stations that correspond to different dishes, the apronclad teens quietly mince, measure, chop and stir. A young woman forms lentil burger patties between gloved hands across from a duo of girls pouring agave nectar into a mixing bowl. Hip-hop wafts softly from a small VANS brand speaker.

The young cooks are among 50 participants in Teen Kitchen Project, a local nonprofit that started in September 2012. The

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program gives youth an opportunity to learn to cook healthily, while providing all of the resulting food to gravely ill locals and their families.

Founder Angela Farley was inspired to launch the project from her own experience. In 2011, her then-4-year-old son was diagnosed with a rare type of lung cancer. Shuttling him back and forth to UC San Francisco, where he received treatments including two lung surgeries and months of chemotherapy, was hard for the family. Farley left her job as a teacher at the Santa Cruz Montessori school. Although her son is now doing well, and she is teaching again, she

remembers how much the family appreciated a hot meal from friends after a long day at the hospital.

“There is a lot of driving back and forth,” says Farley.

“Treatments during the day, then we’d come home at night and were really thankful to have friends bring by food and help support us.”

Once things were looking up for the family, Farley decided to give back by providing meals to other patients and their families.

She trained with the Ceres Community Project, in Sebastopol, and found a Santa Cruz nonprofit, the Boomerang Foundation, to act

as her umbrella organization as she set about starting Teen Kitchen Project.

“My idea was just to serve people food, but the secret sauce is the teens,” says Farley, adding that Teen Kitchen Project based this, and other aspects, on the Ceres Community Project’s model.

“Once I saw what Ceres did and how it served multiple groups of people, I knew Santa Cruz was a community that would support that.”

Every Tuesday, teens gather at the kitchen to make three main dishes, a soup, a side dish, and a dessert from whole, seasonal, and organic ingredients. (Ingredients are donated

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Above, Carmen Palacios works on a vegetable gratin.

KEANA PARKER

from places including Live Earth Farm, Route 1 Farms, Whole Foods and New Leaf Community Markets.) Adult volunteers known as “delivery angels” bring the meals—totaling 250 to 300 per week—to clients on Wednesday. On Mondays, youth interested in joining the program can attend a class to learn food handling and knife skills.

On this particular Tuesday evening, a menu by the front door dictates that the week’s dishes will include lentil burgers with roasted vegetables, buttermilk chicken with quinoa and roasted beets, a winter vegetable gratin, pasta salad, spinach basmati rice soup, and apple cake.

While measuring out cups of organic milk for the gratin, 17-year-old Carmen Palacios explains that she does most of the cooking at home because her mother suffers from a back injury that makes it hard for her to stand for long periods of time. Palacios, herself, grapples with several food allergies. “This [program] has taught me that you can change a recipe to make it your own,” says the Delta Charter High School junior. “I’m allergic to gluten and rice and I can’t have dairy or sugar, so I have to be really careful with what I eat. Coming here showed me so many more healthier options that I could make at home.”

Sophia Gonzales, a 16-year-old Delta Charter sophomore, saw how much Teen Kitchen Project helped a friend of hers during a battle with bone cancer. Now, with her sights set on working with cancer patients as a nurse someday, she is absorbing all the program has to teach about nutrition, healthy cooking, and which foods people with certain illnesses can or cannot have.

“It’s been really great working here,” she says. “It’s a new passion. You just totally fall in love with it.”

Although the teens don’t meet the clients, themselves, Gonzales says they feel connected. “We hear how our clients are doing or our clients’ families come down and we get to connect more,” she says, pausing over a cutting board of minced garlic. “We’ll write them little notes to cheer them up and put them in the delivery bags.”

“We get a lot of positive feedback,” adds Stephanie Forbes, a certified nutrition consultant and one of the three adult supervisors of the weekly cook-a-thon. In addition to Farley, Forbes and Kimber

Ashley have been program organizers since the beginning and pour hours into developing recipes and planning menus each week. “It’s very rewarding to know that this food is going into their homes,” Forbes continues. “It’s so powerful and healing on so many levels.”

Teens are asked to commit to coming at least twice a month for three months, although some come more often. Palacios and Gonzales have been volunteering since last fall and are the most experienced of the group on the Tuesday in question. “A teen with more experience will take the recipe and work with a teen with less experience,” says Farley. “We like giving them some freedom to be in charge of the kitchen.”

The trio of adults appear like conductors of an elaborate symphony, making sure each piece of the puzzle is done in the proper sequence, amount, and method. Standing back to talk about the project, Forbes’ eyes dart around the kitchen, monitoring the operation. She’s peppered with questions from the teens—“Where’s the olive oil?” “What should I do next?”—and churns out speedy replies (“It’s over here” and “There are lemons in the fridge—zest two of them”).

Nearby, Ashley, a lifelong cook who knew Farley through the Montessori school where they both taught, bathes chicken breasts in a buttermilk mixture and places them on a cooking sheet.

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BREAKFAST

LUNCH Lunch

Breakfast… served all day The Basic Breakfast The Basic Tofu Creative Omelettes Multi Grain Cereals French Toast

$6.95 Our Burgers are the Greatest! 1/3 pound, char-broiled and served on a grilled homemade $7.75 sour roll, with mayo, lettuce, tomato and onion; choice of home-fries, fresh fruit or potato salad Starting at $8.75 $8.95 Pepper Bacon & Cheese Burger $10.75 $3.95 Gourmet Burger $10.95 $6.50 Patty Melt $9.75 1/2 order $3.95 Catalina Veggie Burger $8.95

Pancake Breakfast 1/2 stack pancakes, two Sandwiches

eggs any style, and bacon, sausage (link or *turkey • *BLT • *ham • *avocado patty), or ham $9.50 grill any of these & add cheese *grilled cheese Fruit Pancakes 1/2 stack $6.95, full stack $9.50

Sourdough Pancakes Sourdough Waffles

1/2 order (3) $4.75, full order (5) $6.50 $5.25

Ahi Tuna Melt

$8.95 $0.75 $7.25 $9.50

Chowders & Chilis Cup $2.85, Bowl $4.35

Brunch Specialties Mike’s Mess Three eggs, mix it up with bacon, Fresh Salads mushrooms & our famous home-fries; top it off with Imperial Chicken sour cream, tomatoes & green onions. Served with your choice of homemade breads, toasted. $11.25 Greek Salad “Junior Mike’s Mess” (smaller version) $9.25 (Sub. any omelette ingredient for bacon–$0.75) Spinach Salad

$7.50 $7.25 $7.50

Tofu Mess $11.25 “Junior Tofu Mess” (smaller version) $9.25 Zach’s “Bennie” Three poached eggs served on an herb roll, topped with cream sauce & crumbled bacon; our home-fries on the side. Or try Traditional Creamed Eggs, served with the eggs boiled & sliced. $10.25

Artichoke Frittata

$9.25

Corned Beef Hash & Eggs

$9.95

Chili & Eggs

$10.25

Spicy Italian Scramble

$10.95

$

2

Off

Basic Burger or Basic Breakfast Tues–Fri Only (exp. 5/30/14) valid with coupon

Voted Best Breakfast in Santa Cruz for over 20 years!

OPEN TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY • 7AM–2:30PM 819 PACIFIC AVE., SANTA CRUZ • 427-0646 * Thank you Santa Cruz for over 25 years of patronage!

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“I think there are a lot of misconceptions about teens—that they are lazy or those sort of stereotypes,” she says.

“That’s totally possible. But there is also the aspect that gets overlooked—that given an opportunity, they will rise to it.

When we started we had a wait list. It’s full every week. We have teens who want to come in. Given an opportunity to be creative, they blow our minds.”

Smiling, she gestures to the work before her and adds, “Now I need to get this in the oven,” and scuttles off.

Many of the participants walk through the kitchen doors never having eaten kale or seen things like fresh turmeric. “Some teens don’t have much exposure to eating healthy foods and we’ve watched their tastes change,” says Farley. “Also, a lot of them might not know how to cook for themselves and this helps them to learn how to prepare healthy food for themselves when they go to college.”

For the clients, most of whom have cancer but some of whom are facing AIDS, MS and other life-threatening illnesses, they have been comforted with meals designed to support the body while it fights for life. The recipients are those who fall through the cracks of other food services, most of which are reserved for seniors or require cooking the donated food oneself. The project has doled out 10,000 meals and 1,200 service hours since beginning in September 2012. In the early days, Farley carried out many aspects of the operation herself, including delivery. She recalls the sadness of having clients she delivered to every week disappear from the delivery list. While the clients and their families are thankful for the service, Farley says the greatest reward is the gratitude she feels for being able to help them.

“We delivered to a man, a hospice patient, who lived in a shack with no heater on a slough in Watsonville,” says Farley. “He was a former fieldworker who moved here 40 years ago and got really sick. He had no family, lived alone, and couldn’t eat the food his friends and neighbors were giving him because it was too spicy and fatty. I spoke very little Spanish, and he spoke no English. Once he asked me, ‘como se dice gracias en Ingles?’ I was so overcome, because he wanted to thank me, but I wanted to thank him. I was so grateful to him, to be able to help someone who needed the help.”

Learn more at teenkitchenproject.org.

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12 Awe Sum

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KEANA PARKER

FOOD FORWARD

Elizabeth and David Posner, Awe Sum Organics’ director of marketing and president, respectively.

Awe Sum in the Off Season Tracing the rise of local organic produce importer Awe Sum Organics back to its roots By Ryan Boysen hese days it can be easy to forget that something as mainstream as the organic food industry sprang from such humble beginnings.

But David Posner, president of Santa Cruz-based Awe Sum Organics, the largest importer of organic apples and kiwi in North America, is a living reminder of how much the industry has changed in just a few short decades.

For Posner, the seed was planted when he was suspended from high school in the early ’70s for reciting Bob Dylan lyrics that were critical of the Vietnam War. “He went against the norm from the beginning,” says Elizabeth Posner, David’s wife and Awe Sum’s director of marketing. “He always felt very strongly about things.”

Posner received a scholarship to attend the experimental Pacific High School.

There, nestled in the Santa

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Cruz Mountains, students lived in small communal housing units, built geodesic domes as part of the curriculum and were encouraged to come to class only if they really wanted to.

Sitting at her desk in Awe Sum’s Downtown Santa Cruz headquarters—which underwent a state-of-the-art green makeover last year by Seacliff Construction—Elizabeth holds up a picture of almost a dozen naked bodies crammed into a tiny handmade hot tub.

“That’s them,” she says with a laugh. “Those are the students from Pacific High.”

Posner quickly fell in love with his organic gardening classes. When most of the teachers left the school after it voted to do away with tuition and salaries, Posner himself became the gardening teacher.

To make ends meet, Posner started selling the school’s produce to markets in Santa

Cruz and surrounding areas in 1973.

Over the next few years he made connections with other local growers and expanded his route, as well as his ambitions.

“In the beginning we really had very few organic items,” says Posner, chiming in via the speakerphone in Elizabeth’s office from Toronto, where he is on a business trip. “It was only local and only what was in season.”

That got Posner thinking.

Ever since reading about the devastating effects of pesticides in “Silent Spring,” a 1962 book

by Rachel Carson, he had been convinced that organic agriculture was a cause worth fighting for. He wondered if, instead of just distributing organic produce locally, he could find a way to expand the entire domestic market for it.

In 1985, as the organic movement was picking up steam, he set out to do just that. His newly

created business Farmer’s Fruit Express began importing organic fruits from the Southern Hemisphere, allowing stores in North America to keep it on shelves year-round. Now, 29 years and a name change later, Awe Sum Organics is one of the largest importers of organic fruit in both Canada and the United States.

Even so, until a few years ago Awe Sum remained relatively unknown to those not directly involved in the organics industry. That changed when Posner’s wife Elizabeth took over the post of director of marketing in 2011.

“It was ridiculous,” Elizabeth says. “He had no website. He had no marketing materials. So I’ve really tried to get the name out there, and build the business into a brand.”

Elizabeth worked in advertising and sales her whole professional life before coming on board at Awe Sum. “It’s wonderful for me because I’m able to put all [of my] experience to work for a great cause,” Elizabeth says. “I get to work on all the stuff he’s not focused on, so I think we complement each other very well.”

Now, Elizabeth, Posner and Awe Sum’s 13 other employees are looking to the future.

Elizabeth has become involved in spreading awareness about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) by hosting online educational seminars. She recently helped draft a letter asking that GMO apples be banned from entering New Zealand, where Awe Sum’s organic apples are grown.

Meanwhile, Posner is perfecting a patented process that allows organic South American grapes to hit North American shelves in the winter.

Coincidentally, the grower he is working with on that project is the same person who introduced Posner to Elizabeth eight years ago.

123 Locust St., Santa Cruz, 462-2244, awesumorganics.com.

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Paradise Beach Grille Specials Happy Hour

Monday Gary’s Rib Night Join us for a FULL rack of “fall off the Bone” Baby Back Ribs

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1/2 off Special Bar Menu $3 Draft Beers • $4 Well Drinks • $4.50 House Wine

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Lunch & Dinner served 7 days/week 215 Esplanade, Capitola-by-the-Sea 476-4900 • www.paradisebeachgrille.com gtweekly.com l food & wine l 13

14 bagito

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Pocket-Sized Environmentalism Local company raises environmental awareness one bag at a time By Aric Sleeper ith a flushed face and eyes darting back and forth, the shopper at the head of the line realizes that they have forgotten one of the most important components of their trip to the grocery store. The cashier sighs and offers paper bags at an additional charge, but everyone involved, even those waiting in line, are noticeably disappointed. In the grocery stores of Santa Cruz County, there is no

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greater faux pas than leaving a reusable shopping bag at home.

“As a guy, I don’t carry a purse, and I don’t really carry a backpack,” says Mitch Barlas, founder of Bagito, which sells versatile reusable shopping bags. “A Bagito slides right into my front pocket, no problem, and it’s designed to hang on a key ring. That’s the idea—when you go into a store you’ll at least have one bag with you.”

Created by Barlas, a former teacher and principal in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, the nonprofit Bagito is actually an arm of a larger nonprofit organization called Bagspeak, which seeks to educate K-12 students about environmental literacy through the utilization of an integrated curriculum.

“Around 2008, myself and a small group of teachers began to notice that there was very little environmental education happening in schools,” says Barlas.

“Kids were not learning anything about environmental studies and we felt that this was a crisis waiting to happen.”

The Bagspeak program that resulted incorporates environmental literacy lessons into math, English language arts, social studies, and science using grade-level Common Core standards and real-life environmental examples.

“That’s the crux of this,” says Barlas.

“Kids relate to what’s going on in the world around them.”

After realizing that grant money for nonprofits is sparse, Barlas put his mind to work devising a way to fund his program. Since each student that participates in the Bagspeak program already received a customizable, reusable shopping bag, the former educator sat down at his sewing machine and came up with the prototype for Bagito.

“It ties in with our mission and our passion,” says Barlas.

With a current ban on plastic bags and an extra fee for paper bags throughout most of Santa Cruz County, the Bagito bags were a no-brainer for Barlas.

All of the profits from each Bagito sold go directly back to the Bagspeak program’s environmental stewardship and sustainability education. The bags themselves are composed of 100 percent rPet, a recycled material, and are doublestitched, gusseted, and bacteria resistant.

“You can pack it full with two six packs or put rocks in it and it will stand up,” says Barlas.

In the future, Barlas hopes to extend his product line beyond shopping bags to reusable packaging of all shapes and sizes, and is already experimenting with reusable garbage and garment bags.

Despite his excitement for new sustainable products, Barlas’ primary goal has not changed since he started Bagspeak as an educator.

“My hope is that more teachers will find out about this free program and take advantage of it and utilize it, so that kids get the environmental literacy that they deserve,” says Barlas. “That’s my dream.”

Learn more at bagito.co.

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16 Food News blurbs

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CALIFORNIA IS NOW IN ITS THIRD YEAR OF SEVERE DROUGHT, with water supply conditions so dire Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency in January. Residents statewide are charged with doing their part to cut down on water use, and the kitchen is a great place to start. Believe it or not, dishwashers typically use less water than washing dishes by hand. Water- and energyefficient dishwashers can save three to eight gallons per load. But the best bet when washing by hand involves using two basins—one filled with wash water and another with rinse water—rather than running the tap.

Learn more water-saving tips for the kitchen at saveourh2o.org.

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55,000 The number of people served per month by Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County.

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Source: The 2013 Santa Cruz County Community Assessment Project Report

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// UC Santa Cruz dining halls take turns hosting “Beefless Thursdays” in an effort to reduce the school’s overall beef consumption by 10 percent, thereby reducing its environmental footprint.

The amount of California farmers who report a shortage in farmworkers, according to a 2012 survey by the California Farm Bureau.

Following his push for a tax on sugary beverages in 2013, Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel) has now introduced first-ofits-kind legislation that would require a warning label on sugary drinks sold in California. It would read: STATE OF CALIFORNIA SAFETY WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay.

17 Family Gardening

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Three Things to Know About Family Gardening

By Kate Purcell of Kate’s Kitchen Gardens It is more important than ever to make good use of space and resources and to teach your loved ones about the rewards of nature. Home landscapes are becoming more thoughtful and purposeful.

Santa Cruz families are leading the way, designing home gardens that teach, feed, inspire and soothe.

1

When planning a family garden, select plants for “snack-ability" and “share-ability.” Gardens can teach the pride of harvest and sharing. A row of pea plants will feed more mouths over time than two heads of broccoli grown in the same space. A row of Cosmos flowers will yield more happy gift bundles than a row of petunias.

2

Remember that family gardening is about the experience of doing, not the outcome. Don't be discouraged by setbacks— the creative problemsolving is part of the fun.

3

Kate’s Kitchen Gardens is pioneering the idea that gardens connect loved ones to the rewards of the outdoors.

Learn more at mykitchengardens.blogspot.com.

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FOOD IN FOCUS Behind the scenes with a professional food shutterbug.

Plus: a documentary, cookbook and blog that reflect the local food movement.

By Elizabeth Limbach

PHOTOGRAPHER: Angela Aurelio Number of years as professional photographer:

What is the most challenging food to photograph?

Two. Although I had worked with photography for a while, I had yet to take the leap of faith to go into business full time until moving to the Bay Area two years ago.

Food in general is challenging to shoot, as fresh ingredients like herbs and salad greens tend to wilt quickly and meats can look a little dry and unappetizing after only a few minutes on set.

Sandwiches, for me, are the most challenging, as they like to tilt and almost collapse after a few minutes. It takes a trained eye and, at times, a great stylist to keep ingredients looking their best.

Why food?

I am just so passionate about creating an image that literally makes your mouth water. I love high-fashion photography too, but it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t create the same sensory reaction as when you are looking at a slice of cheesecake dripping with lush red cherries and rich whipped cream. While in college studying a course in food photography and styling, I knew immediately I had found my niche.

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What is your favorite thing about working with food?

Beyond being surrounded by delicious foods for a living, I really enjoy getting to know the people and the stories behind the scenes. Getting to try the food is an extra bonus.

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One of Angela Aurelioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tasty images.

What are your three most essential pieces of gear?

If I have my Nikon D800 with macro lens, my tripod and a reflector, I can shoot almost anything.

Your photos are drool inducing.

Do you ever get hungry while working?

Photographing food takes a lot concentration and attention to detail and I go into this hyper-focus mode until the shoot is done. Then I am starving!

Favorite meal in Santa Cruz: The best meal and experience I have had lately in Santa Cruz was at La Posta. Their bread and pizza is divine, the staff is attentive and very knowledgeable, and the atmosphere reminds me of one of my favorite little Italian places in Los Angeles. I can honestly say I have never had so much fun eating out.

Tease your tastebuds further at angelaaurelio.com.

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DOC: The Farmer and the Chef

Homemade Mondays affordable comfort food MONDAYS

BBQ Heaven WEDNESDAYS Steak & Jazz Thursdays THURSDAYS

Sounds of Brazil featuring Trio Passarim (“The Bird Trio”) SATURDAYS

175 WEST CLIFF DRIVE, SANTA CRUZ 831.460.5012 | JDVHOTELS.COM/AQUARIUS FREE VALIDATED PARKING 20 l food & wine

In this hourlong documentary, filmmaker Michael Whalen connects the dots between farm and fork with an intriguing behind-the-scenes look at two of the most notable figures from the local food scene. The chef in this story is world-famous food wizard David Kinch of the two-Michelin-star restaurant Manresa in Los Gatos. (He was crowned “best chef in the Pacific” in 2010 by the James Beard Foundation.) The farmer we follow is Cynthia Sandberg, homestead maestro behind Love Apple Farms in the Santa Cruz Mountains. “It’s about the passion two people have for farming and cooking in a way that respects and pays homage to their local environment,” according to the website, thefarmerandthechefmovie.com. The film premiered March 9 in San Jose.

BOOK: The Paleo Foodie Cookbook by Arsy Vartanian Creamy bacon-wrapped dates, beef brisket with espresso bean barbecue sauce, fried padrón peppers … Eating like a huntergatherer never sounded as appetizing as it does in Santa Cruz blogger Arsy Vartanian’s new cookbook, “The Paleo Foodie Cookbook: 120 Food Lover’s Recipes for Healthy, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free and Delicious Meals.” The tome, which hit bookstore shelves March 25 and is also available on Amazon and as an ebook, is a hefty and beautifully designed achievement centered around one of today’s most buzz-worthy and controversial dietary trends. The Paleo diet encourages people to shun modern-day food contrivances (artificial ingredients, processed foods, et al) and things like wheat and dairy in favor of foods our cave-dwelling ancestors would have eaten. “If it lives, grows, rots and dies, or if it had eyes and a face, it’s ‘fare’ game,” writes contributor to the book Amy Kubal, RD, in the introduction. Striking full-page photos lend visual flavor to the recipes, which span appetizers and entrees to salads, soups, side dishes, sauces, and more. Notably, for those interested in Paleo cuisine but unfamiliar with its parameters, the book starts off with a helpful breakdown on the diet, as well as more general tips on saving money while shopping and cooking efficiently. Despite the book’s niche focus, there are recipes for everyone to be found within its pages, from the simple (homemade coconut milk) to more advanced (macadamia-crusted duck breast with spicy ginger sauce) and even vegetarian options (chunky gazpacho, for instance). Learn more by visiting Vartanian’s blog, Rubies and Radishes, at rubiesandradishes.com.

See a recipe for “Slow-Cooked Macadamia Rosemary Salmon” on page 66.

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FOOD FORWARD <20

BLOG: Honey, Ghee & Me In March 2012, Santa Cruz resident Natalie Burns mixed her love of cooking and her knack for photography into a winning recipe: Honey, Ghee & Me (honeygheeandme.com), a chic, simple, and mouthwatering online portal that showcases her culinary endeavors. (Recent recipes, illustrated with an array of impressive photographs, include Greek-style potatoes with string beans, and curry chicken lettuce wraps known as “endive boats.” Most everything has a local and seasonal focus.) The positive response was unanticipated. “I honestly didn’t think more than my mom and sister would read the thing,” says Burns. “It’s taken off in a very surprising way.” The project now has the local school employee cramming her nights and weekends with food blogger duties, from developing and testing recipes to writing and photographing, to responding to readers’ questions and keeping up with social media. Her first cookbook, an ebook with 30 gluten-free spring recipes, is set to be released on Amazon on March 28.

It’s the first in a series of seasonally focused ebooks that are sure to keep Burns’ busy well into the future. “I would love to have this hobby I started turn into something more,” she says. “What a fun career it could be. For now though, it’s all fantasies, and I’m just happy to be where I am now.”

See a recipe for “Spring Citrus Salad” on page 66.

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24,25 Five Meals

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FIVE TO TRY

Stout-Braised Angus Short Rib, rapini, smoked polenta and braising sauce Looking for a melt-in-the-mouth meat fix? West End Tap & Kitchen has you covered. The restaurant’s Stout-Braised Angus Short Rib is a deliciously succulent piece of beef that has gone through long, slow moist-heat cooking to tenderize it—and it falls off the bone when you stick your fork into it. Braising the beef with stout not only makes the most delicious sauce, but it also imbues the meat with subtle flavors of hops and dark-roasted barley. Smoked polenta is a perfect partner for the meat, and rapini, also known as broccoli rabe, adds a soupçon of pungent bitterness to pair with this rich flavorful food. Executive chef Geoff Hargrave has created a menu of many tasty dishes, especially the Angus Short Rib. It’s traditional pub food with a California twist that’s not to be missed. ($17) West End Tap & Kitchen, 334D Ingalls St., Santa Cruz, 471-8115, westendtap.com.

KEANA PARKER

Indulgent fare worth springing for this season By Josie Cowden

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West End Tap & Kitchen:

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Tortilla Flats: Flatland

Tyrolean Inn: Kassler Rippchen

A spicy high-protein vegetarian nut patty of almonds, sesame, sunflower seeds, peanuts, garlic and tomato served on tostada, taco, enchilada or burrito. ($5.50$10.95) 4616 Soquel Drive, Soquel, 476-1754, tortillaflatsdining.com.

Two smoked pork chops with sauerkraut and potatoes. ($17) 9600 Hwy. 9, Ben Lomond, 336-5188, tyroleaninn.com.

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Lago di Como Ristorante: Scallopine de Pollo alla Modo Mio

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26,28 Tannery

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Art Bar & Café co-owner Kevin Devaney.

One of a Kind The world’s first ‘arts-education philanthro-pub’ opens at The Tannery Arts Center By Aric Sleeper midst the stacked typewriters, art-laden walls, and artisanal libations lining the bar, the raucous chatter of the packed house fades. A perceptible silence falls over the crowd as an artfully clad woman approaches the microphone. The only judgmental eyes are those of a giant

A

bovine effigy, staring down from on high—an eerie reminder of The Tannery’s past.

While the woman spins her mournful tale with melodic verse, the dim lighting seems to fixate on the performer.

Patrons close their eyes as they bring her spoken imagery to life in their own minds. When

the last line leaves the woman’s lips, the crowd’s applause comes loudly and abruptly like the crack of thunder during a calm rain.

In December 2013, the Art Bar & Café opened its doors within the compound of The Tannery Arts Center in the City of Santa Cruz. The Art Bar & 28>

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<26 Cafe is a one-of-a-kind “artseducation philanthro-pub” and boasts the only poetry open mic night in town.

“The poetry community really is what rallied around and in a lot of ways got the doors open on this place,” says Kevin Devaney, co-owner of the Art Bar & Café.

A philanthro-pub is an establishment that donates a portion of its profits to a charitable cause, which, in the case of the Art Bar & Café, is arts education in Santa Cruz County Schools.

“The idea behind the philanthro-pub model is that you no longer need to be an organization that is competing for grants that we are seeing fewer and fewer of,” says Devaney. “Literally we just have to convince people that they want to have their coffee and pints here.”

The Art Bar & Café features rotating taps of local microbrews from Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing and others. The wine selection is also ever alternating and focused on local wineries.

“I’m a huge craft beer nerd, so our drafts are never the same,” says Devaney.

As far as its selection of fare, the Art Bar & Café focuses on filling dishes that not only cater to the discriminating palate, but also to the sometimes meager incomes of local artists.

“One of our biggest goals was to provide food that we could be serving to artists who are living and working here that is healthy and delicious, but still at that price point where they can afford to come back,” says Devaney.

Although the Art Bar & Café makes many of its dishes onsite, it also utilizes the services of local caterer Foodsmith, led by Chef Jamie Smith. Foodsmith provides the Art Bar & Café with wholesome gourmet dishes like the highly 28 l food & wine

popular enchiladas, ginger peanut noodles, and vegetarian chili topped with cheese, green onions, and house-made cumin-yogurt sauce.

“It’s a big, hearty vegetarian meal that you can eat for five bucks, feel good about, and walk home full,” says Devaney.

The Art Bar & Café’s most popular weekly event is without a doubt the poetry open mic held every Monday, but it is just one of many that the establishment offers. Fridays are devoted to offbeat art events like an “Internet cat film festival.” Saturdays bring live music, and each Sunday the Art Bar & Café holds a jazz brunch with music provided by the Alex Raymond Band.

Devaney and events coordinator Alyssa Young hope to launch “arts and drafts” on Wednesdays evenings.

“It’s a crafting night with beer,” says Devaney.

Being an art-themed cafe in the middle of an art colony gives the Art Bar & Cafe a bizarre charm that is nearly impossible to find anywhere else.

“You’ll come in in the morning and someone’s playing the trumpet. You come in the afternoon and people are shooting a film. Come in the evening and people are doing a live reading of Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It.’ It’s really an interesting kind of artistic space because people can come in, eat, and work on their projects,” says Young.

In the future, Devaney hopes to replicate the arts-education philanthro-pub model in other areas of the county.

“I am foolish enough to dream big,” says Devaney. “It seems to be serving me well thus far, so I don’t intend to stop.”

Open every day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. 1060 River St., #112, Santa Cruz, 428-8989, scartbar.com.

Photos by Keana Parker.

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30,31 Lotus Asian

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Capitola’s Blooming Lotus Thai Basil’s sister store, Lotus Asian Market, blossoms By Ryan Boysen hai basil and kaffir lime leaves. Fresh galangal root, Thai chilies and lemongrass. These are the ingredients that give Thai cuisine its rich complexity and aromatic blend of spicy, sweet, sour and salty. And that’s exactly what husband-andwife-duo Sarika and Vincent Vongsana were hoping to bring to the residents of Santa Cruz County when they opened Lotus Asian Market in Capitola two years ago.

Sarika and Vincent moved from Thailand to San Diego

T

eight years ago, then to Santa Cruz County three years ago to take over the operation of Thai Basil restaurant in the Capitola Village from Vincent’s mother.

Once they had settled in, they noticed that it was hard to find a lot of the ingredients needed for authentic Asian cuisine without going over the hill to San Jose.

“We were already ordering Thai ingredients from our suppliers, so we thought we’d try opening a market,” Sarika says, sitting behind the register at Lotus. “A lot of people in

Santa Cruz like cooking Asian food and now it’s a little easier for them.”

Lotus started off stocking its shelves with mostly traditional Thai ingredients, like the staples mentioned above, and canned Thai-style curry paste. But as customers came in requesting ingredients used in the cuisine of other Asian countries, their selection increased accordingly.

Now Lotus boasts a wide variety of Japanese ingredients, from red bean paste to frozen nattÿ, a dish made from fermented soybeans. Sarika

says sushi ingredients, like dried seaweed and tobiko, are also a favorite among many customers.

Although Lotus struggled in the beginning, Sarika says things have started looking up in the past year or so.

“It’s good, but it’s not like ‘boom!’” Sarika says with a laugh. “Since we never advertised, all of our customers just came from word of mouth, so it took some time.”

Sarika and Vincent owned two Thai restaurants in San Diego before moving to Santa

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Cruz. Partly because of the recession and partly because Vincent wanted his mother, who had run Thai Basil with only one employee since 1995, to be able to retire, the couple sold one of their San Diego restaurants and took over Thai Basil.

Vincent had always worked as a manager in San Diego. The plan was to have his brother, a chef, take over for their mother in Thai Basil’s kitchen.

When that fell through, Vincent had no choice but to teach himself to cook— and fast. Then and now the couple has run Thai Basil and Lotus almost entirely by themselves, with a little help from Vincent’s mother and their oldest son.

“It was very hard right after we moved here,” Sarika says. “The economy, dealing with family—everything. We had to work hard because it was just us.”

Sarika says an unexpected benefit of opening Lotus is the cross-pollination that has occurred between the market and the restaurant. She says now that both businesses are more secure financially, they are looking into expanding in the near future.

But, for both Sarika and Vincent, the basic premise of Lotus remains the same.

“I just love it when people come in and I can help them cook,” Sarika says. “Sometimes they don’t know which ingredients

they need for a dish, so I walk them through it.

That’s the best part.”

1200 41st Ave., Capitola, 477-1987, capitolathai.vpweb.com/Lotus-AsianMarket.html.

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Other local Asian markets worth a visit:

Oriental Store & Food To Go 205 E. Lake Ave., Watsonville, 722-4784.

Yamashita Market 114 Union St., Watsonville, 724-3219.

Sushi Market Sprouts 300 7th Ave., Santa Cruz, 465-1177, sushimarketsprouts.com.

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11am–11pm | 7 Days | 426-5664 | charliehongkong.com | 1141 Soquel Ave @ Seabright gtweekly.com l food & wine l 31

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CLAY RYON, CLAYTONMICHAEL.COM.

EATS AND TREATS

A Brew of Bones Local student combines Traditional Chinese Medicine with a nutritional staple in new venture, Kitchen Witch Bone Broth By Elizabeth Limbach e understand that broth comforts and soothes. That it can nourish us when we are unwell and thaw us when we are chilled. But why is that?

The answers to that question have driven Rhiannon Henry, a third-year student at Five Branches University in Santa Cruz, into the kitchen to whip up batch after batch of

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bone broth for others. What began as an offhand hobby two years ago recently turned into a business—called Kitchen Witch Bone Broth—as a result of continual demand for jars of the nutritious soup stock from her Five Branches peers. Living up to the idea of “food as medicine,” three of the five “branches” of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)—

herbology, energetics and Chinese dietary medicine—are worked into each serving of Henry’s broth. She consults customers on when and how often they should eat the broth, and also works with acupuncturists and naturopathic doctors to formulate batches for their clients.

Offered in chicken (the customer favorite), lamb (her

favorite), beef and vegan varieties, Henry’s broth is made with organic ingredients and meat from New Leaf Community Markets and el Salchichero butchers and goes for $15 per 24-ounce jar (or $12 with a recycled canning jar and fresh canning lid). Below, we pick her brain about the simple-but-powerful brew.

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In my first year [at Five Branches], I was I was dating a chef whose speciality was soups and sauces. We cooked together often and he taught me how to make a really great soup stock.

A friend of mine at school was having [health] problems and her diet was really restricted.

For her birthday, my boyfriend at the time and I made her a giant pot of bone broth-based soup, with only things she could eat. I did a whole meditation for her healing on the potâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the qi gong side of TCM. She has told me several times since then that it was the turning point in her disease. She started recovering and has been in remission since. That really showed me the power of healing food.

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What makes bone broth so nutritious?

It has really easily accessible nutrients. When you boil the bones and break them apart, like I do, it breaks open and makes available all of the nutrients and all of the white and red blood cells that are in the marrow. Marrow is the most nutrient-rich part of any animal.

CLAY RYON, CLAYTONMICHAEL.COM.

What was the inspiration behind Kitchen Witch Bone Broth?

What is the significance of bone broth in TCM? In TCM, the bones and the bone marrow are related to the kidneys. The kidneys, as we know from the Western medical perspective, act as filters for waste, and their good buddies the adrenal glands help provide the appropriate proportion of stress hormones in our bodies.

Western science has also shown us that stress increases inflammation, stress affects our sleep

Rhiannon Henry of Kitchen Witch Bone Broth.

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patterns, which are also hormone related, and stress is a major contributor to myriad heart diseases that plague our country.

Bone marrow, quality blood, healthy kidneys, low stress levels and a healthy gut result in lower inflammation, lower stress and a lower occurrence of illness. In TCM, the organs are divided into two categories, Yin Organs and Yang Organs. The kidneys are the most Yin of all the Yin organs. They are associated with water, stillness, deep introspection and the most core aspect of who we are. Keep in mind that it is in the bone marrow—the deepest core of our bones—that the blood is actually made. So, then, to tonify and make healthy this deepest aspect, we should consume that which we want to improve, using our food as medicine in the highest way possible.

[This broth] also ties into the herbology of TCM. I put in eight or nine Chinese herbs—although I can do it without herbs, too. They are pretty familiar to most Western people. Licorice root, for example.

Is bone broth best used at certain times?

Each of the seasons have an element and each of the elements have an organ. In the wintertime, the organ is the kidneys and the element is water. That is the deepest aspect of who we are: the jing, or essence, which we’re accessing with the bone marrow. To tonify the deepest aspect of your body at the time of the deepest, most hibernating time of the year is the time to do it. But [it is helpful for] anyone who is blood deficient, who has any sort of blood irreg-

ularities or menstrual issues, and especially for nursing or pregnant moms or women who have had multiple pregnancies.

Anyone with blood deficiency, anemia, or who are diabetic or deal with blood sugar level issues can benefit from this throughout the year.

What is your process for making it?

If I’m making a chicken batch, I buy the whole chicken from New Leaf and I pull all of the meat off of it. That meat goes into making barbecue chicken sandwiches that I hand out to the homeless here in town.

Once I’ve taken the meat off of the bones and cleaned them, I roast the bones—it makes it taste really good and also opens up the cellular structure of the bones to be more broken down.

I get my pliers out and break them apart so the marrow is

exposed, then soak the bones overnight in a vinegar-water mixture to soften them up. I put all my veggies in, fill [the pot] up to the top, let that sit on low heat for at least eight hours— usually overnight. I then add reishi mushroom, a direct kidney tonic. They are really hard so it takes awhile to soften up and get in, so that boils for another eight hours at least. I add the other herbs and boil that for less than an hour, add goji berries at the very end, then strain it and jar it. It’s a threeday process. Then they sit around a Buddha in my backyard garden to cool. While they are out there on my altar, that’s where I charge them up and do a Taoist meditation for the person who will be receiving it.

Learn more about Kitchen Witch Bone Broth at facebook.com/kitchenwitchbonebroth.

Noodle Soup, Noodle Bowl, Rice Bowl and Noodle Salad Vegetarian/Vegan Options Gluten-Free Menu Wok-Fried/Freshly Made 920 Pacific Ave #12, Santa Cruz 831-426-2328 Tues - Sun 11am-9pm www.bettysnoodlehouse.com

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36 Ice Cream

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1. Blackflower Chai from Polar Bear Ice Cream Indulge in Polar Bear Ice Cream’s Blackflower Chai flavor and your tastebuds may tingle with memories of a small coffee shop in Felton. The White Raven Coffee Shop has boasted a beloved and much-raved about chai tea for decades thanks to shop founder Larry McNeill. Known far and wide as “Larry’s Famous Chai,” the sweet-and-spicy blend became Blackflower Signature Chai when local company Blackflower & Company purchased the recipe in 2011. New owners Tom Adams and Nick Seaton worked with Polar Bear owner Mary Young to formulate a luscious ice cream from the popular tea. “I don't think you will find that flavor anywhere else,” says Young. “We are very proud of it.” Try it plain or as a “paw” ($3.50), the ice cream shop’s flagship ice cream sandwich made with two crunchy oatmeal cookies and hand dipped in chocolate.

Blackflower chai is just one of many local ingredients used by the ice cream company, which has been in business since 1975.

(Young took it over in 2006 and opened its retail location in the Harvey West neighborhood in 2010.) Others include olive oil from The True Olive Connection, honey from Soquel, and fruit from Watsonville farms.

389 Coral St., Santa Cruz, 425-1108, santacruzpolarbear.com.

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2. Mascarpone Kumquat from The Penny Ice Creamery “Mascarpone, a sweet Italian cheese, lends itself to create a satiny smooth and luxurious ice cream, which we have punctuated with bursts of candied kumquats from Brokaw Farms,” says co-owner Zachary Davis. // $3.75 for a scoop in a bowl or cone.

Visit thepennyicecreamery.com for addresses of the three locations.

3. California 17 from Marianne’s Ice Cream A take on rocky road made with cashews and marshmallow swirls in chocolate ice cream. // Marianne’s Ice Cream // $4.90 for a double scoop in a waffle cone.

1020 Ocean St., Santa Cruz, 458-1447, lovemariannes.com.

4. Salted Caramel from Mission Hill Creamery Made with organic Straus milk and organic unrefined cane sugar. // Mission Hill Creamery // $5.50 for a double scoop in a hand-made whole wheat and cinnamon waffle cone.

1101B Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 216-6421, missionhillcreamery.com.

5. French Vanilla from Kelly’s Ice Cream A rich and creamy classic. // $3 for a scoop.

402 Ingalls St., Santa Cruz, 423-9059, kellysfrenchbakery.com.

—Elizabeth Limbach

A Blackflower chai "paw" from Polar Bear Ice Cream.

KEANA PARKER

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Food of the Heart Shaman Organic Chocolates works to preserve the Huichol people By Aric Sleeper fter leaving his hometown on the East Coast to find his life’s purpose at the age of 18, Brant Secunda, founder of Shaman Organic Chocolates, found himself on an odyssey he could never have anticipated.

“I left my parents’ house and began my journey to Mexico,” says Secunda.

First traveling to Colorado, and then to California, Secunda made his way to the Mexican

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town of Ixtlan in search of his goal: the Huichol people.

“I met a Huichol Indian schoolteacher there,” says Secunda. “I was befriended by this teacher, and he told me he would write me a letter of introduction, which would serve as a passport.”

The Huichol people live in an isolated area in Mexico’s Sierra Madres. The tribe doesn’t welcome tourists, so the serendipitous encounter

proved key to his progress.

“He said ‘there’s only one catch: it’s a five day walk through the mountains,’” says Secunda.

Growing up in New York and New Jersey, the young Secunda thought himself resilient enough to survive the trek, but on the third day, his body gave in to exhaustion, and he fell unconscious.

“I was suddenly awakened

by Indians standing over me,

sprinkling water on my face.

They asked me why I was lying there like a drunkard, which gives you an idea of the Huichol sense of humor,” says Secunda.

“Humor is such an important part of their culture.”

The Huichol explained that their shaman had dreamt of Secunda’s arrival two days prior, and the small band had been sent out to rescue him. Secunda was led to their remote village, and was soon adopted by their

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shaman, Don Jose Matsuwa. He then began a 12-year shamanism apprenticeship.

Years after he was fully initiated, Secunda became concerned for his adopted family as he feared their land and way of life would be assimilated into mainstream culture.

Secunda wanted to help the Huichol people, but was unsure how he could do so until he had a prophetic dream of his own.

“I had a dream that people were eating chocolate. They were being more in love, and it brought more peace to the world,” says Secunda.

Combining his concern for the Huichol with his vision, Secunda founded Santa Cruzbased Shaman Organic Chocolates 12 years ago in order to preserve the tribe’s

livelihood and raise public awareness about their spiritual ways and culture.

“It’s my way of giving something back to the tribe,” says Secunda.

All of the profits from sales of Shaman Organic Chocolates go to support the Huichol people. Since the nonprofit began, proceeds have helped send one of the Huichol to law school, so that she too can help her people, and Secunda hopes to open a shaman school in their village in the near future.

Chocolate has been an integral part of Huichol culture for thousands of years, and is known to them as “the heart food of the gods.” The Huichol often take pilgrimages to sacred sites where they leave chocolate as an offering

to the spirit of the land.

Strengthening the bond between man and nature is paramount to the Huichol.

They believe that merely holding chocolate in their hands increases their feelings of wellbeing and fondness for their environment.

“Chocolate is very much connected to the heart and love for the Huichols,” says Secunda.

“They believe it helps us to be more loving.”

The Costa Rica-grown cocoa beans used by Shaman Organic Chocolates are fair trade and certified organic. The bars come in a variety of flavors such as dark chocolate with green tea and ginger, dark chocolate with ruby raspberries, or extra dark (82 percent) chocolate, and can be found locally at stores

including New Leaf Community Markets and Whole Foods, among others.

“When you eat chocolate you feel good,” says Secunda.

“You feel like you’re in love— like everything is OK. I often joke that it will cut off years of therapy. I am joking of course, but it couldn’t hurt.”

As for the future of the Huichol, Secunda hopes that as time passes, their unique way of life remains intact.

“Our governments change and policies change,” says Secunda. “That’s the concern— that the government and the people keep supporting the Huichol, and help to keep their ancient culture alive.”

For more information about Shaman Organic Chocolates, visit shamanchocolates.com.

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Distinctly cool and a bit spicy, ginger makes cocktails pop.

Local mixologists prove it with these eight gingery drinks.

Sweet Spicy

GALLOW GLASS STINGER Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey mixed with Domaine de Canton ginger liquor and topped off with Magner’s Irish cider. ROSIE MCCANN’S: $8

ANDY KAUFMAN House-infused cucumber vodka with muddled mint and lime juice.

Finished with ginger beer, ginger simple syrup and a splash of soda water. KAUBOI BAR & GRILL: $7

GINGER THAI House-infused ginger vodka with a splash of ginger simple syrup and a twist of lime. RED RESTAURANT AND BAR: $6

CAPTAIN HOOK Papa’s Pillar dark rum with Domaine de Canton ginger liquor and Peychaud’s and Angostura bitters.

Finished with a touch of pineapple juice. JACK O’NEIL LOUNGE AT AQUARIUS RESTAURANT: $12

COUNTRY ROAD Your choice of liquor with muddled fresh ginger, mint and lemon juice finished with simple syrup and a splash of ginger beer. MOTIV: $8

GOLD N’ STORMY Bulleit Rye whiskey mixed with FeverTree ginger beer and finished with a dash of bitters and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. CAFÉ CRUZ: $8.50

MCLOVIN Bulleit whiskey with Stirrings ginger liquor, fresh lemon juice and a splash of soda water.

CREPE PLACE: $8

KEANA PARKER

FRENCH MULE

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Tru Organic Vodka with muddled fresh ginger, brown sugar and lime juice, topped off with ginger beer and Chandon Brut. SUDA: $9 —Ryan Boysen

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Austin Twohig, Noah Milich, and Phil D'Andrea pictured at Vino Tabi on Swift Street.

Wine Tasting Made Easy The Santa Cruz Experience knowledgeably shuttles wine lovers between local wineries By Josie Cowden s the Santa Cruz area becomes increasingly popular as a winetasting destination, there is also a greater need for wine tour guides and transportation.

When Austin Twohig returned from two months of traveling Europe—backpacking around Spain, Italy, Greece, Germany, England and Ireland— he realized there was a shortage of wine tour companies in the Santa Cruz Mountains and surrounding areas. Along with business partner Dave Soloman, he founded The Santa Cruz Experience (SCE) in 2007. Now, after buying out his original partner, Twohig and co-owners Phil D'Andrea and Noah Milich are constantly busy as the operators of SCE. As well as wine tours, SCE offers transportation of all kinds. “Wedding shuttles, airport shuttles, and really anything to do with transporta-

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tion—we’ll do it,” Twohig says.

Twohig’s initial interest in wine started in San Francisco when he just happened to walk into a wine shop. “I knew nothing about wine,” Twohig says, “but they gave me a job as a delivery guy and it just kind of snowballed from there.” The wine shop also had a wine bar, serving about 25 different wines a day, and as Twohig eventually began tasting them, his appreciation of all the different nuances and varietals piqued.“I really started to get into it,” Twohig says of his involvement with wine. But it was only after his return from Europe that he decided to go into the wine business.

“One thing led to another,” Twohig says, “and I bought a wine tour shuttle—a Chevy Express—holding 15 people. I started advertising and business was coming in right off the bat.”

He eventually started buying

more vehicles and now has a flotilla of 10.

Twohig, who used to write a wine column in a local newspaper, is much busier in the spring, summer and fall months when tourists, visitors and locals love to see vineyards in all their leafy glory, or check out a tucked-away-in-the-mountains tasting room. He then employs about 10 people to help him with wine tours and various shuttles.

“I believe SCE stands out because of our main core group of wine guys. We really have good wine knowledge and we give groups a good experience,” Twohig says, adding that some wine tour companies offer just a limo and a driver, but that SCE offers a more “hands-on” approach.

Most of the company’s wine tours are customized and typically cost around $50

a person, depending on whether a catered lunch is needed—in which case SCE provides healthy food through a local caterer.

Twohig gives corporate as well as private tours, picking up groups all over the Bay Area, including at company headquarters, hotels or homes. “The idea is that they’re not going to have to drive,” says Twohig.

Some people customize their own wine tours, choosing favorite wineries to visit. But most prefer suggestions from Twohig—taking advantage of his knowledge of at least 50 wineries in the Bay Area. “We know every winery very well, and we’ll certainly show everybody a good time,” says Twohig.

“I just want people to be as happy as possible.”

The Santa Cruz Experience, P.O. Box 7127, Santa Cruz, 421-9883, info@SCEXP.com, thesantacruzexperience.com.

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Going Pro The ascent of Villa del Monte winery

By Josie Cowden ocated in the beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains, Villa del Monte is now an established winery, but winemakers Neil Perrelli and John Overstreet first started out as amateurs around a decade ago.

After getting good receptions from donating wine to charitable organizations, and also submitting their varietals in competitions and winning awards, they began “getting everything under control and working right,” says Perrelli.

When they transitioned from amateur winemakers to pros, opening a commercial tasting room in 2010, their business took off “like crazy,” says Perrelli, whose wife Joyce Perrelli helps with marketing. “In 2011 we started our wine club,” he continues, “and that’s been growing very rapidly and we’ve got a lot of loyal customers.”

Perrelli and Overstreet, who share winemaking duties equally, also participate in the Passport Day program run by the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association (visit scmwa.com to learn more), and have expanded the number of varietals they produce, including Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Malbec, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Nebbiolo.

The duo also produces more unusual wine such as a late-harvest Zinfandel and a Port-style Merlot, and are experimenting with fruit-based meads. An orange-peach Chardonnay blend in the works will be called The Front Porch—reminiscent of sitting on your porch in an afternoon, says Perrelli.

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46 ten local wines

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The

Wine Club

GT’s resident wine expert picks 10 wines to try this season

Reds TROUT GULCH VINEYARDS: 2011 GRENACHE Served slightly chilled, this easy-drinking Grenache can be enjoyed as an aperitif with appetizers, or paired with sardines, olives, grilled sausages and barbecue. Aromas of dark fruit, fennel and cracked peppercorns, along with cherry flavors and spiciness, round out this lovely wine. Winemaker Gerry Turgeon gives his wines French names and this one is le vent sauvage qui soufflé. It’s reasonably priced, to boot. ($16) 427 Swift St., Santa Cruz, 471-2705, troutgulchvineyards.com.

HOUSE FAMILY WINERY: 2010 MERLOT This is a winner with its delicate aromas of mint and berries with plum and spicy overtones of cinnamon and nutmeg. A touch of semi-sweet chocolate, fig and licorice make this a voluptuous wine to come home to and a good way to start the weekend. ($44) 13330 Old Oak Way, Saratoga, (408) 501-8892, housefamilywinery.com.

BIG BASIN VINEYARDS: 2009 RATTLESNAKE ROCK SYRAH The stunning “bite” from this rattlesnake will make you swoon with delight. It’s a big, bold wine with lots of dark fruit and black pepper. Winemaker Bradley Brown makes a truly great Rattlesnake Rock Syrah and if the 2009 is sold out, we can look forward to the 2010 release in April. Make sure you get some. ($55) Big Basin Vineyards, 14598 Big Basin Way, Ste. B, Saratoga, (408) 564-7346, bigbasinvineyards.com.

CLOS LA CHANCE: 2011 MERITAGE Cassis, cranberry, tobacco and a touch of rosemary on the nose is the sensuous bouquet emanating from this lovely Reserve Meritage. Some tart cherry on the palate, with hints of vanilla and bright fruits, round out the delicious experience of this four-varietal blend.

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Clos la Chance is one of the most beautiful wineries to visit in the San Martin region. ($28) One Hummingbird Lane (off Watsonville Road), San Martin, (408) 686-1050, clos.com.

CINNABAR WINERY: 2011 MERCURY RISING Most of the world’s mercury is obtained from its main ore, cinnabar—hence the connection with the wine’s name, Mercury Rising. And winemaker George Troquato’s Mercury Rising is one of the most known and popular wines around. This robust nectar, with its dense aromas of blackberry and underlying layer of blueberry, has rich flavors of black cherry, raspberry and chicory. It is balanced, rich and simply delightful—a lovely wine to open on any occasion. ($22) 14612 Big Basin Way, Saratoga, (408) 867-1012, cinnabarwine.com.

By Josie Cowden

QUINTA CRUZ: 2012 VERDELHO I love all the wines made by Jeff Emery, of Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, under his Quinta Cruz label, and one of my favorites is the Verdelho. This Portuguese/Spanish variety grown in California has aromas and flavors of white nectarine, melon and citrus with a lingering fruity finish. Dry, crisp and aromatic, it can be enjoyed as an aperitif or with food. ($20) 334-A Ingalls St., Santa Cruz, 426-6209, scmountainvineyard.com.

NICHOLSON VINEYARDS: 2012 VIOGNIER

Whites

Marguerite and Brian Nicholson’s Viognier exhibits the lovely qualities of a classic Viognier—a heady perfumed wine with notes of peaches, baking spices and flowers—with tropical fruit flavors and creamy mouthfeel. Because it’s not the easiest wine to pair with food, I prefer to drink it on its own. ($24) 2800 Pleasant Valley Road, Aptos, 724-7071, nicholsonvineyards.com.

SERENE CELLARS: 2012 SAUVIGNON BLANC

DANCING CREEK WINERY: 2010 CHARDONNAY

Marin Artukovich is turning out some fabulous wines under his MJA Vineyards’ Serene Cellars and Davine Cellars labels. This wellbalanced 2012 Sauvignon Blanc will brighten your day with its delicious lime zest, honeysuckle and lychee flavors. The winemaker suggests you drink it with ceviche, or enjoy this “sexy summer wine” in the hot tub. ($22) 328-A Ingalls St., Santa Cruz, 421-9380.

Jim and Robin Boyle’s hand-crafted wines are made with great care. Their 2010 quality Chardonnay is aged in French oak, and is a delightful wine to pour any time. Like most Chardonnay, it goes well with food, especially with fish, pasta and chicken. But it’s very flexible so if you like Chardonnay, then go ahead and pair it with anything. ($27) 4363 Branciforte Drive, Santa Cruz, (408) 497-7753, dancingcreekwinery.com.

MARTIN RANCH WINERY: 2012 MUSCAT Thérèse and Dan Martin are producing some fabulous wines, and this fun and fruity Muscat is one of them.

Muscat is a beautifully perfumed white grape that turns into a simply divine-flavored wine that smells of oranges and honey. It’s a rather sensual sweet wine—and just perfect on a hot summer’s night. ($20) 6675 Redwood Retreat Road, Gilroy, (408) 842-9197, martinranchwinery.com.

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Venus Spirits founder Sean Venus.

Crafting Spirit Sean Venus revives artisanal spirits on the Westside of Santa Cruz By Aric Sleeper ith an arsenal of charred oak barrels, a 600-liter handpounded alembic still imported from Spain, and an ideal location on the Westside of Santa Cruz, Sean Venus is finally equipped to unleash his handcrafted line of liquors, Venus Spirits, on the public this spring.

“I want to bring what craft brewing has done for the beer market to spirits,” says Venus.

“I take a fair amount of my inspiration from craft brewers,

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people like Stone and Ninkasi who have really grown their business over the last couple of years.”

Venus’ love for craft beverages reaches back to his time in college, when he began brewing concoctions of barley and hops on his own time. Venus then found a home in the breweries of Eugene, Ore., where he served as an assistant brewer. After taking a technical class in brewing and graduating from the University of Oregon, Venus worked as a production

manager for Gordon Biersch Brewing Company in San Jose.

Venus then steered away from the beer world and moved into organic food. Most recently he worked with a company called Mamma Chia developing chia seed beverages, but felt that the budding market of artisanal spirits was ready to blossom. Venus Spirits joins Osocalis Distillery as one of the only liquor distilleries in Santa Cruz County.

“I saw the opportunity in the craft spirits base about a year

ago,” says Venus. “I thought it would be the prime time to get back into the alcohol industry.”

After quitting his job at Mamma Chia last fall, Venus devoted himself entirely to starting a distillery of his own.

He found a location on Swift Street in Santa Cruz near to an already-popular hub of wine and beer-tasting, which was also the home to a previous distillery, Sarticious Spirits.

Venus purchased all the equipment necessary for distillation, acquired the 50>

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“I want to bring what craft brewing has done for the beer market to spirits. I take a fair amount of my inspiration from craft brewers, people like Stone and Ninkasi who have really grown their business over the last couple of years.”

—Sean Venus

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permits required to run his business, and created partnerships with local distributors.

“I’ve got a lot of people who are interested in the products,” says Venus. “Everyone is really excited about organic craft spirits in Santa Cruz.”

Venus Spirits is currently set to offer a signature gin—accented with an ever-changing blend of herbs, fruits and botanicals—blue agave spirits (under the name El Ladron, or “The Thief”), and single-malt, bourbon, and rye whiskeys, which Venus is the most excited about.

Venus Spirits opened in midMarch, and will offer the gin and blue agave spirits sometime in April, but Venus’ whiskey will not be available until sometime this fall. Venus also hopes to start construction on a tasting room, but, as of press time, was waiting on approval from the city.

If all goes well, the tasting room will open this summer.

“The reason I started this is I was a big fan of whiskey, and whiskey itself

is going through a renaissance right now,” says Venus.

Venus’ double-distilled whiskey will be aged using full-sized 53gallon barrels, which takes about two years, and smaller 10-gallon barrels that produce a finished product much quicker.

“The smaller the barrel, the higher surface area-to-alcohol ratio there is, which speeds up the aging process,” says Venus.

All of the ingredients utilized by Venus Spirits will be organic and as local as possible, save for the blue agave nectar, which is found only in Mexico. Armed with choice ingredients, Venus’ goal is to create liquors with a taste that is unique and unattainable by larger distilleries.

“We’ll be promoting different flavors and ultimately the consumers will drive us in the direction that they want to see us in,” says Venus.

427A Swift St., Santa Cruz, 427-9673, venusspirits.com.

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Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing Heads for the Hills For the past three years, Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing owner Emily Thomas and Bob Locatelli, owner of the Felton and Boulder Creek New Leaf Markets, have been working on a joint venture to open a new SCMB alehouse and restaurant in Felton's historic Cremer Hotel.

The yet-to-be named alehouse will not be a brewing facility but will showcase all of the SCMB's brews as well as 20 other locally brewed beers on tap. Thomas and Locatelli aim to recapture the building's persona as a small mining town hotel, Thomas says. With building permits acquired in early February, construction is now under way.

Beer Lovers' Disc Golf Tournament In Santa Cruz County's brewing and beer-loving community, disc golf on a sunny day is an especially popular activity. “Disc golfers are a central group in Santa Cruz’s beer culture,” says Patrick Grube, an organizer of the annual Hop-N’-Barley beer festival in Scotts Valley. “Most of us frequent our neighborhood breweries and pubs, and our tastebuds are always on the lookout for what’s new.” So, on the morning of Sunday, June 29—the day after the fifth Hop N' Barley— festival organizers will hold an inaugural disc golf tournament on the DeLaveaga course entitled “The Beer Master’s Cup.” The event’s victor will take home a special beer stein trophy and a portion of the tournament buy-in, which is $55 a person. Winnings will be in the ballpark of $500.

Winning Brew at 99 Bottles The Great American Beer Festival, held annually in Denver, Colo., is one of the largest brewers’ events in the world, featuring thousands of beers from all over the country. Last October, brewer and 99 Bottles co-owner Dave Bossie entered his creation the “Loose Lucy Scotch Ale” into the festival and took home a Silver award for the Scotch Ale category. The beer, which Bossie brewed with Jason Chavez of Seabright Brewery, is 9.4 percent alcohol and lightly hopped with notes of caramel and a touch of peated malt.

Brewers Grains Discretion Brewing, Santa Cruz Ale Works, Uncommon Brewers, and Seabright Brewery collectively produce many tons of spent barley grains after brewing cycles. Caleb Barron, co-owner of Fogline Farms in Soquel, is more than happy to take it all off of their hands. “I learned that finding supplemental feed was key to success in organic livestock, so I quickly formed relationships with all the breweries in town,” he says. Barron occasionally gives the breweries' staff people free chicken and pork, saves them a trip to the dump, and feeds the grains to the animals and tills the leftovers into the fields and compost. “It’s a win-win,” he says, adding that the inspiration came from Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Ore., where the brewery’s operation is closely intertwined with their restaurant’s menu.

Universal Growlers As of Jan. 1, 2014, beer lovers can now refill growlers—large glass beer jugs—at any brewery, regardless of where the growler was purchased. The new law, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in October of last year, does require, however, that the label of a brewery other than the one filling the jug be covered up. Emily Thomas, owner of Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing, says the law is a step in the right direction for California, though having to cover other breweries’ labels is an added hassle. She would ultimately like to see a law similar to Oregon’s, which allows any growler to be filled at any brewery. “The point of the growler is to be economical as well as ecological,” Thomas says. “If you have to buy a growler for every brewery, it defeats the purpose.” Thomas recently designed the 54>

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new “Santa Cruz Growler,” which has a decal of the Santa Cruz coastline and map of five local breweries. The new growler will go on sale soon.

<52

Growing Hops A hop rhizome is not much to look at; at first glance it appears to be a small, brown scraggly stick. But that little piece of plant shoot, with healthy soil and enough sunlight, will yield one of a home brewer’s most key ingredients. Hop cultivation is a hobby within a hobby—a sub-category of home brewing— that makes the whole process much more satisfying in the end, says James Hosner, assistant manager at Seven Bridges Cooperative, where hop rhizomes are sold. A hop plant's yield increases exponentially over time, and by year two, one

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plant should provide enough hops for a five-gallon batch of home brew, he says. Seven Bridges Cooperative offers a variety of hop rhizomes including “Magnum,” “Brewer's Gold” and “Nugget.” Prices range between $6 and $10.

Boulder Creek Brewery Revs Up Since joining the Boulder Creek Brewery in October of last year, resident brewer Winslow Sawyer increased the number of beers the establishment has on tap from just three or four at a time to 16. While still working with the same four fermenters that the brewery has had since its inception 25 years ago, BCB is now brewing at full capacity, selling more beers than they previously did, and experimenting with a wider range of styles, Sawyer says, rarely

brewing repeats, except for their flagship beers. In an effort to put something on tap that appeals to every kind of beer lover, Sawyer is working more with farmhouse styles, Belgian beers, barrel-aged concoctions, sour beers, fruit mixes, and old-time styles that are rarely found on tap, such as the Kentucky Common, an undistilled bourbon sour mash, tart brown ale made from corn and rye—a popular type of brew during the pre-Prohibition era.

Big Sur Sister Pub The Parish Publick House is a popular Irish-themed tavern among the members of Santa Cruz's Westside neighborhood.

But it is less common knowledge that just over 70 miles south along Highway 1, tucked into the coastal forest of Big Sur, is the Parish Publick House's

sister bar, The Maiden Publick House. The Maiden, located at the Big Sur River Inn—just out of sight from the highway—has 12 taps, 70 bottled beers on site, and serves as the stomping ground for an ever-changing variety of tourists, wanderers and Big Sur residents.

New Brews Santa Cruz County will be graced with even more establishments dedicated to the deliciousness of craft beer in 2014.

As of press time, Lupulo Craft Beer House was soon to open on Cathcart Street in Downtown Santa Cruz; Beer Thirty Bottle Shop and Pour House had recently opened its doors on Main Street in Soquel; and a new brewery, New Bohemia Brewing Co., is slated to open up in Pleasure Point later this year.

—Joel Hersch

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Food&Wine Events

Cooking for Solutions What does saving endangered marine wildlife and habitat have to do with gourmet cooking? By Ryan Boysen or 13 years, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has connected the dots between the two with its annual Cooking for Solutions event. The answer, according to Ken Peterson, communications director at the Aquarium, is simple. Peterson says the threeday event—which features a glitzy gala, food prepared by world-famous chefs, and cooking classes, among other things—tries to get across two main points.

First, it aims to remind consumers that the way food is produced on land directly affects the ocean, through pesticide runoff from industrial farming and other means. Second, it demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that sustainable cuisine— seafood or otherwise—is incredibly delicious.

“It’s an indulgence because all of the food is really, really good, but it’s also food you can feel good about,” Peterson says. “And it’s also a heck of a lot of fun.”

The first night, Friday, May 16, is all about the Cooking for Solutions gala. Here attendees

COURTESY OF THE MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM

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will tour the Aquarium’s exhibits while snacking on world-class hors d’oeuvres and beverages and bidding at a silent auction of exquisite wines. This event is the most glamorous and the priciest.

Saturday features back-toback events hosted by famous chefs and television personalities. First, the Street Food Extravaganza hosted by Carla Hall followed by The Party hosted by Alton Brown.

Sunday features a variety of smaller demonstrations throughout the Aquarium that are free with admission.

The weekend also features several smaller demonstrations and salons led by top chefs from around the world. All proceeds benefit the Seafood Watch Program, which provides suggestions for sustainably sourced seafood to more than 100,000 businesses across North America.

“Cooking for Solutions” takes place Friday, May 16 to Sunday, May 18. Prices vary based on event. Monterey Bay Aquarium, 886 Cannery Row, Monterey, 648-4800, cookingforsolutions.org.

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Food&Wine Events PINOT PARADISE Explore the rich history and unique flavors of Pinot Noir grown in the Santa Cruz Mountains. From a panel discussion of winemaking in the mountains to wine tasting and tours of local wineries, this three-day annual event has it all. Tickets range from $25 to $100 depending on the event. Friday, April 11 through Sunday, April 13. The Mountain Winery, 14831 Pierce Road, Saratoga, 685-8463, scmwa.com.

7TH ANNUAL ART &

CHOCOLATE TOUR

Make it a Mother’s Day to remember by attending this annual celebration of local art and delicious chocolate.

Twelve Pleasure Point art studios welcome the public to gaze upon works of everything from fine art to sculpture,

with unique chocolates offered at every venue. May 10 and 11, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

462-9337, maggiehellmann.com.

JAPANESE

CULTURAL FAIR

Get a taste of Japan without leaving Santa Cruz. The main stages will feature everything from martial arts demonstrations to traditional tea ceremonies, while food vendors will be serving up sushi, teriyaki chicken dishes, green tea ice cream, and more.

Saturday, June 7, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mission Plaza, 103 Emmett St., Santa Cruz, 462-4589, jcfsantacruz.org.

5TH ANNUAL

FESTIVAL DEL NOPAL

The prickly pear cactus might look dangerous, but it’s actually delicious. Come celebrate the rich cultural heritage of this traditional Mexican staple with live music and dance, a “Festival Queen” and recipe contests, and a huge variety of cactus cuisine.

Saturday, July 27, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 176 Lincoln St., Santa Cruz, 295-2518, festivaldelnopal.com.

WATSONVILLE

STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL

This annual delight is something the whole family can sink their teeth into. Taking place in historic Downtown Watsonville, this year’s festival features a wide variety of

strawberry-themed food and drink as well as carnival rides, live entertainment, and—for the first time ever—wine tasting. Aug. 2 and 3, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Watsonville City Plaza on Main, Peck and Union streets, 768-3240, cityofwatsonville.org.

SCOTTS VALLEY ART

& WINE FESTIVAL

Relax in the redwoods and take in the best of what local artists, microbreweries and wineries have to offer. The event showcases the work of more than 100 local artists in a variety of mediums and also features live music, children’s activities and a wide variety of delectable food and drink.

Saturday, Aug. 9 and Sunday, Aug. 10, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

SkyPark, 361 Kings Village Road, Scotts Valley, 438-1010, scottsvalleychamber.com.

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231 Esplanade, Capitola Village • 476-2263 margaritavillecapitola.com 58 l food & wine

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Simply Sustainable

Tired of eating at the same old place?

Our quaint chalet is surrounded by beautiful redwoods and filled with Bavarian folk music, a warm fire, and friendly service.

19 entrees for $19 or less!

HAPPY HOUR Fridays 4–6pm & Tuesday–Thursday 5–7pm

Why not visit a magical piece of the California Coast and compliment the visit with a meal to match? Surrounded by farms and ag land, sourcing locally and sustainably.

Cascade Restaurant at Costanoa

⁄ off all appetizers & $4 German Beers

1 2

Wienerschnitzel Wednesdays Your favorite dish at only $12

Friday Wild game specials Pet Friendly • Bounce House for the kids!

May 17th

Maifest!

Everything you love about Oktoberfest!

Located 22 miles north of Santa Cruz on Hwy 1

Costanoa Lodge and Resort (877) 262-7848 2001 Rossi Road, Pescadero, Ca Like us on Facebook

www.costanoa.com

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Food&Wine Events <58

CALIFORNIA BEER

FESTIVAL

Dozens of craft beers to sample, good eats, and live music. Those are the ingredients that have made the California Beer Festival, coming to Aptos for the fourth year this August, a smashing success.

This year, the festival will be over two days at the end of Santa Cruz County Beer Week, which will take place Aug. 4 through 8. The first day’s theme is Craft Beer Heaven, complete with more than 70 craft brews on tap, food and music. The second day, dubbed Hamburger & Hops, will pair craft beer with stand-out burgers, is kidfriendly, and also features live music. Craft Beer Heaven takes place from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9 ($45 for Saturday only); Hamburger & Hops takes place from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 10

($10 general admission; $30 “slider and suds package” presale; kids 12 and under free).

Two-day passes $50. Both are held at the Aptos Village Park, Aptos. Californiabeerfestival.com, santacruzcountybeerweek.com.

6TH ANNUAL YOUNG

FARMERS AND RANCHERS TESTICLE FESTIVAL

This summer is rocky mountain oyster season, so take a walk on the wild side with allyou-can-eat mountain oysters and a barbecue dinner. This fundraiser also features a silent auction, horseshoe tournament, live music and dancing, and the “It’s All in the Sauce” homemade dipping sauce contest. Yeehaw! $50 adults, $20 ages 5 to 12, under age 5 free.

Saturday, Aug. 16, 3-7 p.m.

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A Santa Cruz Community Farmers' Market pop-up breakfast in August 2012.

Photo copyright @ Pascale Wowak Photography.

• Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Daily • Happy Hour 5-7 Daily • Specialty Cocktails • Lounge Open Every Day at Noon

Hilton Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley 6001 La Madrona Drive, Hwy. 17 at the Mt. Hermon exit 831.440.1000 santacruzscottsvalley.hilton.com 60 l food & wine

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Food&Wine Events <60 Estrada Deer Camp, 500 Mount Madonna Road, Watsonville, 722-6622, agri-culture.us.

THIRD ANNUAL

EDIBLE GARDEN TOUR

Dust off your work gloves and get ready to garden. Slow Food Santa Cruz hosts this informative romp through local gardens of every shape, size and variety. Featuring children’s activities and workshops on cooking with edible flowers, participants will come away with a better sense of how to plan and maintain a sustainable garden. Free admission, Saturday, Aug. 23.

Slow Food Santa Cruz, 425-1541, slowfoodsantacruz.com/events.

TEQUILA & TACO

SANTA CRUZ GREEK

Brought to you by the same folks behind the California Beer Festival, this inaugural bash will feature craft tequila tasting, local craft beer, specialty margaritas, wine, mouthwatering street tacos, and live music to boot.

General admission (entry into the festival for live music) $10; free for kids 12 and under. $30 for “the Tequila Experience,” from noon to 3:30 p.m. for attendees over 21 years of age, including entry and seven half-ounce tequila samples. 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 23. San Lorenzo Park, Santa Cruz, tequilaandtacomusicfestival.com.

Celebrate Greek culture and savor Greek cuisine at this annual local favorite.

Sponsored by the Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church, the festival features a variety of Greek foods such as barbecue souvlaki, moussaka, gyros, baklava, and much more. Live music, dancing and a plethora of vendors round out the festivities. Friday, Sept.

6 through Sunday, Sept. 8.

Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church, 223 Church St., Santa Cruz, 429-6500, propheteliassantacruz.org.

MUSIC FESTIVAL

FESTIVAL

SANTA CRUZ

COUNTY FAIR

Whether it’s the huge variety of unique food vendors, camel rides, pig races or an expert hypnotist, this year’s “Sew it,

Grow it, Show it” themed county fair is sure to have something for everyone, foodies included.

Ages 13 and up $10 at the gate, $5 at the gate for 6-12 year olds, and free for those under 6. Sept. 9-14. Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 E. Lake Ave., Watsonville, 724-5671, santacruzcountyfair.com.

CAPITOLA ART &

WINE FESTIVAL

More than 200 artists and 20 local wineries converge in the picturesque Capitola Village for this local favorite. The seaside event features live music and performing arts, a children’s art area and plenty of gourmet grub. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 13 and Sunday, Sept. 14. On the Esplanade in Capitola Village, 475-6522, capitolachamber.com.

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American farmer, lecturer, author and featured in documentary films, Food, Inc. and Fresh.

Saturday, March 29, 2014 De Anza College, Campus Center, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino, CA 1:30-4:30 p.m. – Creating a Vibrant Local-Centric Food System 5-6 p.m. – VIP Reception with Joel Salatin (limited tickets available) 6-9 p.m. – Return to a romantic dining partner of culture, agriculture

and food with integrity!

Tickets available at:

www.communitycuisine.com

4.5 STARS ON YELP

LIVE BLUES 7 NIGHTS A WEEK

Best BBQ in Santa Cruz 2 years in a row

3 BBQ Sandwiches & Meals 3 Meat only Plates 3 Little Meals

(831) 662-1721 8059 Aptos St., Aptos, CA

OVER 39 CRAFT BEERS ON TAP!

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Food&Wine Events <62

SANTA CRUZ

FARMERS' MARKET FOODSHED PROJECT & POP-UP BREAKFASTS

Come on downtown and let local chefs share their secrets and choicest cuisines. The Foodshed Project events feature local chefs teaching Wednesday mini-classes on culinary technique along with live music, face painting and other activities. The Pop-Up Breakfasts feature local chefs cooking seasonal favorites in the weekend morning sun.

Foodshed Project events happen every second Wednesday of the month from May to October. PopUp Breakfasts happen at least once a month from May to September.

For more information, visit santacruzfarmersmarket.org, 454-0566.

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The California Beer Festival lands in Aptos this August, at the tail end of Santa Cruz County Beer Week. Photo courtesy of the California Beer Festival.

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Owned and operated by the Zoccoli’s Family since 1948 FRESH HOMEMADE SANDWICHES, SALADS, SOUPS AND PASTA

Voted 2013 Best Deli and Best Sandwich

Outdoor Seating Beer & Wine Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter 1534 Pacific Avenue Downtown Santa Cruz 831-423-1711 • Zoccolis.com Open Mon-Sat 9-6 • Sun 10-6

LUNCH TUE-SUN 11:30-2:30

PATIO DINING

DINNER DAILY STARTING AT 5:00 101B Cooper Street 423.4545 www.lailirestaurant.com gtweekly.com l food & wine l 65

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RECIPES Slow-Cooked Macadamia Rosemary Salmon From The Paleo Foodie Cookbook by Arsy Vartanian (See page 20]

INGREDIENTS: 1 3–lb salmon fillet 2 tbsp macadamia nut oil 1⁄2 tsp sea salt

1⁄4 tsp pepper

3 sprigs fresh rosemary 4 cloves garlic, minced

Spring Citrus Salad From Natalie Burns, of Honey, Ghee & Me. (See page 22)

INGREDIENTS FOR THE SALAD: 1 grapefruit 1 blood orange 2 mandarins

1 kiwi

1 small fennel bulb

INGREDIENTS FOR THE DRESSING: 2 tsp honey 2 tsp fresh lemon juice 1/8 tsp rice vinegar

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper DIRECTIONS: Using a paring knife, cut the peel and pith (the bitter white layer beneath the outer peel) off of each fruit. This is easiest if you first cut the ends off, creating a stable flat surface, and then cut from top to bottom along the sides.

the bulb into thin pieces.

Slice the grapefruit, blood orange, mandarins, and kiwi into thin rounds.

Drizzle the dressing over the salad.

Cut the bottom of the fennel bulb off to remove any tough parts, then slice

Serve chilled or at room temperature.

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To serve, arrange all fruit and fennel on a plate or serving platter.

Whisk the dressing ingredients together, then taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

Garnish with fennel frond (optional).

Preheat oven to 200°F. Place a pan of warm water on the lowest rack to keep the heat moist. Place the salmon in a baking dish. Lightly brush the salmon with macadamia nut oil. Season with salt and pepper, top with rosemary sprigs, garlic and, lastly, slices of lemon.

Cook for one hour. Do not open the oven often, since it is set at such a low heat. Serve.

NATALIE BURNS

ARSY VARTANIAN

1 whole lemon, sliced DIRECTIONS:

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LOCAL TALK

“ What is the most memorable meal you have had in Santa Cruz County recently? ” The most memorable meal in Santa Cruz County recently was at Cafe Gratitude. I had bean and rice tacos with nacho [cashew] cheese, a salad, a kale and ginger juice and a few other things.

Nicolette Abed Felton | Barista

The Cheese Dream at Cafe Limelight. I went with my husband, my two dogs and my parrot. And we had a wonderful time sitting in the sun.

Louisa Smith Santa Cruz | Animal Keeper

I went to Assembly on their second day. It was amazing!

Super yuppy, hipster decor, super generous portions, great prices, great food. Awesome!

JRad Santa Cruz | Media Specialist

—Compiled by Matthew Cole Scott

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Staff of Life. Their tomato bisque is still the best!

Postell Domio Santa Cruz | Marketer

I had shaggy parasol mushrooms that were collected and, within that hour, my friend made creamy mushroom soup with them and it was just spectacularly delicious.

Ruth Caudell Santa Cruz | Yoga Teacher

The most memorable, because I just had it today, was the Seafood Rockefeller at Firefish Grill on the Wharf.

Mike Appley Santa Cruz | Landlord

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Lively & Local • Sustainable Seafood Specials nightly • Heated Patio dining & full bar • Fresh, local & organic produce • Natural source-verified meats Best California Cuisine

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Best Dinner • Best Lunch Best Outdoor Dining Best Restaurant Soquel Best Restaurant Capitola Best Restaurant Ambiance

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BURGERS and SANDWICHES

ALL SERVED WITH YOUR CHOICE OF SWEET POTATO FRIES, HOUSE CUT FRIES, SLAW, GREEN SALAD OR CAESAR Add Bacon, Avocado or Shitakes $2 THE HULA BURGER 10 / 11 add cheddar, blue, jack or jarlsburg 1 CAJUN BURGER 11 / 12 KIMO’S BROKE DA MOUTH BURGER 13 / 14 BLACKENED AHI STEAK SANDWICH 13 / 14 BIG SUR VEGGIE BURGER 11 / 12 TRADER VIC’S FISH SANDWICH 13 / 14 CALAMARI SANDWICH 11 / 12 POLYNESIAN CHICKEN SANDWICH 12 / 13 LUAU PORK SANDWICH 12 / 13 NEW YORK STEAK SANDWICH 13 / 14

SALADS

MANGO CHICKEN CAESAR 13 / 14 CAJUN AHI CHOPPED CAESAR 15 / 16 CAJUN SHRIMP CHOPPED CAESAR 14 / 15 SAMURAI BEEF STICKS SALAD 13 VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS 11 served with a mixed green salad COCONUT SHRIMP ROLLS & SALAD 12

TACO PLATES

SERVED WITH RICE AND BEANS substitute organic brown rice $1 SOUTH SEAS FISH TACOS 13 / 14 SHRIMP TACOS 13 / 15 CUBANO PORK TACOS 12 / 14

SPICY TOFU TACOS 11 / 13 AHI KATSU TACOS 15 / 16 HABANERO LIME CHICKEN TACOS 12 / 14

BOWLS

WITH RICE, BLACK BEANS, AND CABBAGE substitute organic brown rice $1 AHI WASABI 14 / 15 SPICY THAI CHICKEN 13 / 14 JUNGLE TOFU 11 / 13 MONGOLIAN BEEF 14 / 15

PUPUS

BASKET OF SWEET POTATO FRIES 5 / 7 BASKET OF HOUSE CUT FRIES 5 / 7 PORK STUFFED POTSTICKERS 7 CRISPY COCONUT SHRIMP ROLLS 8 GRADE A AHI SASHIMI 10 SEARED AHI WONTONS 11 ISLAND STYLE POKE 10 VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS 7 SPICY EDAMAME 5 NON SPICED EDAMAME 4 HAWAIIAN CEVICHE 9 SAMURAI BEEF STICKS 8 SURFRIDER CHICKEN STICKS 8 ABALONE STYLE CALAMARI 8 TIKI TORCH CHICKEN WINGS 8 SPICY SEAWEED SALAD 5 MAC-N-CHEESE 6 JALA-BAC-MAC 7 HAWAIIAN LOBSTER BISQUE 5 / 7

HULAS FAVORITES

DUKE’S LUAU PORK PLATE 15 JAWAIIAN JERK PORK PLATE 16 JAWAIIAN JERK CHICKEN PLATE 16 COCOJOE’S CHICKEN PLATE 15 BALI HAI BBQ RIBS 14 / 21 HAWAIIAN FISH SOUP 16 SCALLOPS HANA BAY 18 TERIYAKI NEW YORK STEAK 19 ADD SHIITAKES 2 BIG KAHUNA STEAK 23

FRESH FISH

PICK YOUR FAVORITE FISH AND PREPARATION: AHI 18 • ONO 17 • MAHI 17 HAPU 14• TOFU 13 BLACKENED LEMONGRASS ENCRUSTED COCONUT ENCRUSTE JAWAIIAN JERK add 2 MACADAMIA ENCRUSTED add 2 HULA’S PAN-FRIED BLACKENED WASABI FISH SPECIAL add 2

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