Good Times Food & Drink Magazine 2015

Food&Drink GOOD TIMES

MAGAZINE 2015

GTWEEKLY.COM GTW GTWE G TWE WE W EE EK EKL EKLY KL KLY KLY LY.C .COM .CO COM C O | SANTACRUZ.COM OM SA S SAN ANTACR AN RU RUZ RUZ. UZ. U Z CO CO COM OM M | 55+ 55 5 5+ | 5+

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New Menu in Linwood’s Bar & Grill • Fresh NEW Menu in Linwood’s Bar & Grill - Taste our new menu which introduces a fresh new flavor featuring local, artisan and seasonal ingredients.

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CONTENTS

KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL P8 Ty Pearce’s personal and professional transformations

GRAND OPENINGS P14 Big changes in Santa Cruz’s dining scene

FARMHOUSE BREWS P19 Sante Adairius brewery is Capitola’s best-kept secret

ANCIENT CULTURES P23 Santa Cruz taps into the new fermentation market

RETHINKING DIET P26 The healthiest cooking class in town

C’EST LA VIE P29 La Vie to open Capitola space for juices and vegan cuisine

CRUSH COMPASS P31 A guide to the Santa Cruz Mountains’ wine trails

FOODIE FINDS P35 A calendar of Santa Cruz County food and drink events

LOVE BITES P42 From the farm to the bedroom with local edibles

EDITOR’S NOTE

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MEET A PITA Hummus appetizer plate and fresh pita bread at Santa Cruz’s new Mediterranean restaurant, Mozaic. PHOTO: KEANA PARKER

ollowing hard economic times, the seeds of recovery usually take root in the restaurant landscape before they can be seen in other sectors. When people have money to spend again, their hunger for interesting tastes returns as well, and in Santa Cruz, empty spaces are being filled and local favorites are expanding to meet this budding demand. Christina Waters documents these changes in this issue, and local foodies will be happy to see the spaces vacated by Benten and Louie’s Cajun Kitchen opening again with concepts that will add new dimensions to Santa Cruz dining.

An experimental and exciting recent addition to the scene is the Santa Cruz Food Lounge, and AnneMarie Harrison profiles one of the most interesting entrepreneurs driving its growth, Ty Pearce, owner and chef at Ty’s Eatery. The story of his success is paralleled by his personal story of transitioning from Tanya to Ty, and both are fascinating.

There’s also so much happening in the beverage industry in Santa Cruz, and not just in the ongoing beer boom—although Lily Stoicheff does profile the Sante Adairius Rustic Ales Brewery, which is celebrating its third anniversary. Maria Grusauskas surveys how locals are evolving the probiotic soda craze, June Smith leads us through local wine trails, and Josie Cowden writes about the return of La Vie juices and vegan cuisine. Enjoy!

STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR

STAFF PUBLISHER Jeanne Howard EDITOR Steve Palopoli MANAGING EDITOR Maria Grusauskas CONTRIBUTORS Josie Cowden

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Anne-Marie Harrison Roseann Hernandez June Smith Lily Stoicheff Christina Waters

DESIGNERS DiAnna VanEycke Rosie Eckerman

PROOFREADER Josie Cowden

WEBMASTER Roseann Hernandez

ART DIRECTOR Tabi Zarrinnaal

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Debra Whizin

PHOTOGRAPHER Keana Parker

FOOD & DRINK | SANTACRUZ.COM | GTWEEKLY.COM | 2015

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Nadine Kellie Sue Lamothe Ilana Rauch Packer ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES John Bland Molly Farrell ACCOUNTING Katherine Adams

CIRCULATION MANAGER Mick Freeman OFFICE MANAGER Kelli Edwards

CEO Dan Pulcrano VICE PRESIDENT Lee May

A Good Times publication.

Cover design by Tabi Zarrinnaal.

Cover lettering by Rosie Eckerman.

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TRANSFORMATIONAL COOKING Ty Pearce, owner of Ty’s Eatery at the Santa Cruz Food Lounge, transitioned to male while rising through the Bay Area food scene. PHOTOS BY KEANA PARKER

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GAME CHANGER The impact of Ty’s Eatery on the local dining scene has been compelling—and so is the story of the chef’s personal journey from Tanya to Ty

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BY ANNE-MARIE HARRISON

y the time that Ty Pearce started working the front of Sunrise Bistro in Walnut Creek, he was already well known for being soft-spoken but loquacious, with a radiant smile and strikingly athletic build. He’d dazzle customers, who would sometimes ask his name.

“Tanya,” he’d reply.

Pearce, now the owner of Ty’s Eatery in the Santa Cruz Food Lounge, was biologically born a female, but never identified with the gender assigned to him at birth. So, in 2010, Pearce began hormone treatment and a year later got the first of several surgeries.

Shortly before his second transitional surgery, television presenter and journalist Lisa Ling discovered Pearce’s story through his doctor and asked him to be on an episode of Our America with Lisa Ling focusing on transgenders.

“It all happened really fast—it was a really big hit,” says Pearce. “But it was a lot of

change in a short amount of time, which was not really good for where I was at the moment.

I was kind of like Pinocchio, I wanted to be this boy and I finally got to be this boy—and got all this attention and the girls—but when you start taking hormones you basically go through puberty. So I was like a 15-year old boy with an ID to get into bars and nightclubs.”

He quickly spiraled: Pearce lost his job, ended up at his mother’s house, and found himself unable to go three days without a drink.

“I felt like I couldn’t stop and that scared me. I looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize myself,” he says. “When I signed off to do the hormones they said to get a counselor and I thought, ‘I’ve been through so much in my life, this is nothing—but you’re changing sex, you should be talking to someone and have a support group, and I wasn’t.”

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STARTING OVER Growing up, Pearce was never in one place for very long, but he could always return to the family hub, Sunrise Bistro, run by his aunt Cindy Gershen. He’d worked odd jobs around the restaurant since he was 14, and it was his aunt who pushed him to explore new recipes and nutritious options—but to never, ever forget that, “You’re representing yourself in anything that you serve to somebody.”

After a stint studying dance and theater in London, Pearce returned to the states for culinary school and began working at Chez Panisse in Berkeley under Alice Waters— famous for spearheading the organic food movement in the early ’70s.

Between Waters and his aunt, the idea of healthy comfort food stuck.

After the Lisa Ling show, Pearce eventually found his way back to Santa Cruz, where his parents had a house, and with the help of his stepdad and Alcoholics Anonymous, returned to the kitchen.

He kept to himself, focusing on staying sober and starting at a catering job: “I’d been in the industry for 22 years, but I didn’t want to let anyone know about that—I wanted to start over.”

Now the 37 year old has fully completed the surgical and hormonal transition to male, and after working his way up through the local catering world, he’s found a new level of success as the owner of Ty’s Eatery.

Still in its fledgling stages, Ty’s has already become known for its cinnamon rolls, but Pearce is adamant: they’re all made with good, clean ingredients—never any high fructose corn syrup—and they’re a way to get people through the door to try other healthier options.

“This is what America’s become: they’re taking packaged products, pouring them into pans and then putting sauce on top of the packaged stuff, heating it, putting foil on top, and putting it in the food trucks going out.

Food is bad out there,” he says. “I want to be part of the solution.”

That’s why every Wednesday, Pearce shops the downtown farmers market, picking the freshest ingredients for the Ty’s Eatery pop-up meals he puts on at the Food Lounge that night and on Sunday mornings: it’s polenta, wholesome grains, organic eggs for breakfast and for dinner, barbecue smoked meats with sugar-free rubs, salads, slaw and potato salad.

Pearce likes to let the ingredients inspire him, so the market dictates that day’s menu.

IDENTITY: CHEF In the kitchen, Pearce’s gender never mattered.

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kitchen and were like ‘Wow, this dude’s a hard worker,” he says—despite confusion about his given name, which, before his 2011 gender reassignment surgery and changing his name to Ty, stood in stark contrast to the masculine physique.

While Pearce remembers feeling attracted to girls as early as age five, by 15, he felt like an interloper in Tanya’s skin.

“When I envisioned a transgender, I always pictured a man in women’s clothing with a beard,” says Pearce. “That’s kind of what society thought and I didn’t want to be seen as that.”

Pearce didn’t have much time to dwell on his inner turmoil, bouncing from house to house around the Bay Area and both parents struggling with addiction—his father with alcohol and his mother with harder drugs.

“If you’ve ever seen the movie American Hustle, that was my parents: they were entrepreneurs, they’d start new businesses and we’d move into these big beautiful houses and then after six months the electricity would go off,” says Pearce.

With three younger siblings, preserving the family took precedent.

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Of those tumultuous adolescent years, Pearce’s happiest memory is of starting a new school in Concord as a male. After two weeks, he got caught.

“My mother told me, ‘I don’t care what you do in your life, you’re not a liar, don’t ever lie to people.’ After that, I never lied about who I was because she was right,” says Pearce. “It felt so good to be who I was, but then it felt so terrible to not tell the truth, that’s not the way I was raised—that’s not who I wanted to be.”

MENU PLANNING In Santa Cruz, not everyone knows that Ty was once Tanya, and although he’s open to sharing his transition, it doesn’t really matter because after everything, he’s doing what he loves.

“I love cooking, creating, going to the farmers market, smelling all the produce.

Looking at it all in the basket and running back being like ‘what am I going to make?’”

Pearce says, practically giddy as he outlines his goals: “I want a community space, a place where people can take classes, get healthy comfort food, where people can eat one to

two times a day and not break the pocket book.”

Pearce cooks healthy food and he’s exceptionally active (one glance at his T-shirted torso and anyone can see he frequents the CrossFit gym), but, even for him, avoiding sugar is a struggle.

He understands the pull of the cookie jar, which is why within the next few months he plans on teaching easy, hands-on cooking and meal preparation classes. Further down the line he wants to sell pre-packaged, reasonably priced healthy meals for the people who need that quick bite, but still want to avoid the bag of chips.

At some point, Pearce also wants to find a more permanent home than the Food Lounge can offer. But for now, just being back behind the stove is an adrenaline rush.

“Sometimes we’re in there 18 hours,” says Pearce. “But there’s something about feeding others and seeing other peoples’ satisfaction. That’s what is so great about the food industry, you get a daily gratification of giving back—there’s nothing that feels better than that.”

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Setting the Table What’s new on the Santa Cruz dining scene

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etween the new restaurants opening and already-established spots expanding and renovating, there’s an abundance of new dining energy downtown.

On the heels of Soif Restaurant and Wine Bar’s renovation this summer, nearby craft beer pub Lúpulo plans to expand as a new tapas restaurant with full bar opens, and the former Louie’s Cajun Kitchen gets a complete makeover.

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LÚPULO GROWS Come fall, the tasty little handcraft beer pub Lúpulo will be much larger. Grabbing success with both hands, craft beer entrepreneurs Stuyvie and Noelle Bearns have broken through to the corner of Cathcart and Cedar streets, taking over the space of the former Cedar Street Video. More beers, some food surprises, and mainly expanded seating. “That was the one comment we kept getting,” says Stuyvie Bearns. “We needed more seating.”

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The new space will offer two rooms, “a back one with TV for soccer from all the leagues,” says Bearns. “But for people who love that we don’t have TV, there will be the other room,” with windows opening onto the street. Bearns says he knew the video store might be moving someday, but it happened earlier than he thought. The expansion is coming just as fast as the contractors and code inspectors will allow.

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MEDITTERANEAN MOOD Left to right: Benjamin Khader and Faisal Nimri, co-owners of Santa Cruz’s new restaurant Mozaic (where Louie’s Cajun Kitchen used to be), along with Jalal Dib and Jeress Rohana.

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MEDITERRANEAN MOZAIC Restaurateur Ben Khadar, along with chef/ colleague Faisal Nimri, has long been looking forward to bringing a Mediterranean menu to Santa Cruz.

“Our goal is always warm service and a friendly, homey feel,” says the co-owner of Carmel’s popular Yafa and Dametra Cafe. “We will be offering a combination of flavors and cuisine, Turkish, Greek, Arabic, since we [the partners] are from Jordan, Palestine, and Lebanon.” A combination, hence the name— Mozaic.

One look at the menus of Khadar’s other restaurants had my mouth began watering.

Moroccan chicken, grilled octopus with oregano, Greek salads, vibrant variations on lamb kabobs, seafoods, and spice-inflected pastas offer patrons the culinary treasures of ancient Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cultures. It’s “a whole new feel, a new space,” Khadar says. “The former walls and interior

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are completely redone—it has a very classy, warm feeling.”

Khadar looks forward to spreading the Mediterranean magic farther along the coast.

“We love Santa Cruz, the feel of Santa Cruz,” he confesses. In addition to the full bar—a welcome legacy of the former Louie’s Cajun Kitchen—the new restaurant will introduce patrons to that irresistible Greek tradition of spicing up dinner with some music, singing and dancing—“we love playing music.” So we can probably expect live piano and guitar to add even more atmosphere.

“We like the bohemian feel of Santa Cruz, and our attitude will go well with that emphasis on healthy foods,” he says. “Lots of gluten-free, organic of course, healthy dishes, and some new signature cocktails.”

My fork is poised. Check it out at 110 Church St., just off Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz.

A BITE OF BARCELONA Elan and Brett Emerson, food entrepreneurs

and owners of Noe Valley’s popular tapas eatery Contigo, are bringing their concept to Santa Cruz where they are currently involved in a major remodel of the old Benten Japanese restaurant space at 1541 Pacific Ave. The Emersons project the opening of their new restaurant—to be called Barceloneta—for winter of 2015. The name comes from the popular beach near Barcelona, which means that we’ll be able to enjoy Spanish seafoods along with a new full bar.

“There will be paella, tapas, cocktail, and, for dessert, chocolate with churros,” Elan Emerson says. “It’s going to be a really fun place for families as well as a great place to sit and enjoy tapas with a drink.”

The owners look forward to being able to have a dining room located “so close to some of our favorite farmers. Expect to see us at the farmers market, picking up beautiful local produce for the restaurant.” It will be hard to wait for authentic paella and tapas downtown, but while you do, you can savor the Barceloneta website at eatbarceloneta.com.

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SARA

As Sante Adairius Rustic Ales celebrates its third anniversary, beer geeks have fallen hard BY LILY STOICHEFF

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oogle Maps doesn’t really know how to take you to Sante Adairius Rustic Ales. Visitors should be prepared to question the validity of their directions as they drive slowly through a residential neighborhood and down a worn frontage road along Highway 1 in Capitola. If they persevere, however, they’ll find themselves in front of an unassuming-looking brewery in an industrial park.

Inside, an eclectic crosscut of beer geeks cluster around barrels and polished-wood benches, clutching tulip glasses filled with what they would call some of the best farmhouse ales in the country. The day’s offerings are written in chalk behind the bar, ranging from robust, roasty porters to bracingly hoppy IPAs and funky, bright saisons.

SARA, as the brewery is familiarly known,

was opened on Memorial Day weekend of 2012 by longtime homebrewers Tim Clifford and Adair Paterno. Their brewing system was built on a shoestring, cobbled together from used dairy and Lipton tea equipment and Blichmann homebrew fermenters.

In order to create a variety of beers, Clifford, Paterno and head brewer Jason Hansen turned to splitting batches into wine

barrels and “doing various things to them.”

“It was out of necessity. We only had one fermenter. If we hadn’t split batches, we would have only had one beer on tap. But we also really wanted to create variety,” says Paterno.

Inspired by traditional farmhouse brewing, where farmers brewed beer and then let it age in the open air, allowing wild airborne yeasts to ferment their brew over several months, they embraced their low-tech approach, fermenting their beers entirely in barrels and allowing their carefully cultivated house microbial yeast cultures to work their magic.

If it doesn’t always turn out exactly as they had anticipated, great.

According to Clifford, he doesn’t care if the beers taste “clean” or true to style—he just wants them to taste good. “There is over 100 years brewing philosophy that said ‘we 20 >

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HOPPY HOUR A barista at Capitola’s Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, informally known as SARA, pours one of their handcrafted brews. <19

must keep things clean.’ We go against that,” Clifford says. “Each barrel is its own universe for our yeasts, and has its own personality.

There’s something about the nuances of tannins and vanillans in wood that lend an unidentifiable characteristic to our beers.

From a brewing standpoint, it’s a lot of fun.”

Beer geeks have fallen hard for SARA. Chef David Kinch asked them to create a special blend for in-house consumption at his Michelin-starred restaurant Manresa in Los Gatos. Their collaboration with Brooklyn brewery Evil Twin—Joey Pepper—can be found in beer bars across the country. Last month, Esquire magazine listed their West Ashley saison as one of the “Top 10 Beers You Will Never Drink,” due to its high desirability and limited release. Case in point: At one release for West Ashley during the first year, some 600 people from all over the state came to try to get their hands on a few bottles at $18 a pop.

“Previous to that we were selling it by the

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case,” says Clifford. “We couldn’t give it away.

And then we had this release. People had had it and liked it. We were just inundated. From there, it just seemed like, whoa, it was just crazy. We had to set bottle limits. We were running out of beer.”

Over the past three years, the brewery has slowly expanded to hundreds of barrels, three fermenters and almost daily brewing. Last year, they added four 90-barrel oak foeders, three from Bonny Doon Vineyard and one from France. It’s hardly enough to keep up with their fans’ voracious demand for their dynamic brews. Their bottles are snapped up almost instantly. Paterno explains, “We don’t try and create an exclusive type of vibe. That’s just how much beer we make, and that’s how much we can put out.”

Clifford and Paterno are thrilled that their beers have been so well received, but they’re exceedingly humble.

“I think the beer community here that’s

really supported us for a long time have been our biggest cheerleaders,” says Paterno.

“They have helped create this reputation. I think we’ve earned it, but I feel like our beer community feels like this brewery is theirs and they’ve helped create that excitement.”

Both feel comfortable with their current output, and don’t see any huge growth in the near future. “People are always asking us about expansion, but man, we’ve been expanding every day since we opened,” says Clifford.

One thing beer enthusiasts can look forward to? Tasting the solera-style beers that have been fermenting in those oak foeders for months.

“It took us all summer to fill them,” says Paterno. “Those beers are just starting to come out now, and we’re kegging a lot of it too, which is allowing us to have more sour and tart stuff on tap.”

For more information, visit rusticales.com.

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BOTTLED BUBBLY Santa Cruz-based companies Obi and Creative Cultures make ground-breaking probiotic sodas and old-world fermented drinks, like beet kvass, respectively. PHOTOS BY MARIA GRUSAUSKAS

Effervescent Entrepreneurs Small probiotic beverage companies work to get off the ground in Santa Cruz BY MARIA GRUSAUSKAS

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or a culture that not too long ago feared all things bacterial, I think it’s safe to say we’ve reached a tipping point of microbial acceptance. Of course, science’s awakening to the importance of intestinal flora in our health and vitality has come with a massive market response, encompassing everything from fermented vegetables to kefir to kombucha—industry

experts predict the global probiotic market to be anywhere from $42 to $96 billion in 2020.

“Probiotic drinks are huge right now,” says Steve Smith, a distributor whose delivery circuit runs Santa Cruz-made food and drink products—from small-batch hummus and nut butters to tamales and tea—to health-food stores in the Bay Area, “where the larger accounts are,” every Tuesday and Wednesday.

Incidentally, I ran into Smith for the first time at Aptos Natural Foods, where I was buying two locally produced Obi probiotic sodas ($2.99 at Aptos Natural Foods, $2.49 at New Leaf, and $1.99 at Staff of Life), also for the first time.

Smith, a wiry, enthusiastic, land-line-only type, remembers a time five or six years ago when he could barely keep up with the

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Friday Wild game specials Bounce House for the kids! (open daily) Pet Friendly

Sept. 19-20

Oktoberfest Live Bands & Dance Floor

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“kombucha craze,” and shelves would be consistently sold out when he came back to re-stock. According to Smith, the kombucha trend seems to have peaked, and a baffling array of probiotic and “functional drinks” are edging their way into the ring.

The beverage industry is not an easy one to crack into: along with the high cost of shipping liquid comes a huge amount of overhead, and the challenge of finding a product that can’t be copied.

“I keep seeing manufacturers putting out these amazing products, and doing all the work, and then the store makes the largest clump of money in the whole process,” says Smith, who entered the Santa Cruz food distribution scene while working for a local sauerkraut producer in 1990.

Unless you’re selling millions of units, like Synergy, the now ubiquitous LA-based kombucha company that dominates the kombucha market, then you won’t get over the hump and start seeing profits, he says.

“That’s the challenge of small businesses,” says Smith. “But staying small, that’s where you find the integrity.”

Santa Cruz does have its beverage-success stories (including Odwalla, which was bought

by Coca Cola; Kevita, which was purchased

by Pepsi; and Dr. Kefir which was bought by Verve Coffee Roasters, to name a few from the past), as well as two probiotic-drink entrepreneurs to watch—one that pretty much just got over the hump, and one that just needs a little (OK, big) push.

NOT SO SOFT DRINK After six years working out of shared industrial kitchens in Santa Cruz, Ben Goodwin, 29, is opening a 5,000-square-foot production facility in Watsonville for his probiotic soda line, Obi, which now has 400 accounts on both coasts.

Safeway will carry Obi sodas by the end of the year, followed by Walmart—a testament to Goodwin’s hard work, research, and development, but also a promising step toward curbing the world’s diabetes epidemic—estimated to reach 366 million people by 2030, according to the World Health Organization.

In addition to carrying 20 strains of clinically validated probiotics (as compared to kombucha’s 4-8), Obi sodas are low in calories and sugar— five grams or less, compared to the obscene 44 grams of sugar in 16-ounce bottle of cola.

“That’s why I created this product, so that it’s something that would be compelling for health-conscious consumers, but simultaneously compelling to people more part of the conventional consumer category,” says Goodwin, who has hit on exactly what the U.S. soft drink industry’s key players are beginning to realize, too—in order for the market (which was around $867.4 billion in 2014) to grow, it will need to invest in

PRO BIOTICS Shelves of probiotic drinks at New Leaf Market in downtown Santa Cruz illustrate why they are expected to be a $96 billion industry in 2020, by some estimates.

the frontier markets of tomorrow.

“Beverages is a very hard business proposition, which I didn’t know in the beginning,” says Goodwin, who notes that the industry success rate is around .03 percent.

Differentiation, or developing a product that other companies can’t easily copy, and financial capital, are two crucial ingredients for a successful beverage company—and Goodwin has them both.

With the help of investors, Obi has raised over a million dollars, “largely driven by the innovation behind the product, great people and great luck,” he says. Teaming up with beverage sales and operations company L.A. Libations has also helped with sell-ins.

Obi’s many flavors are made with a stevia sweetener, a water kefir ferment, and clinically approved probiotic strains, which have been mapped out with genetic tagging technology. They also work with a probiotic supplier that has done $25-million dollars worth of FDA-approved research, which allows them to put health claims on their label. An unprecedented shelf life (six months) and a low unit cost are also in Obi’s favor. Check out obisoda.com for more info.

RETURNING TO THE ROOTS Kelly Dearie, 40, was a school teacher before she began making fermented beverages, which she learned how to make in order to help (and eventually cure) her husband, Charlie, who, at 33 was suffering from a life-threatening autoimmune disorder. After consulting local herbalist and nutritionist Craig Lane of Health Alkemy, Dearie threw herself into making various fermentations in order to tackle his illness by healing the gut. It worked.

Dearie’s probiotic drink line, Creative Cultures, shared a kitchen with Obi for five years. Among her best-selling drinks is a Beet Kvass ($4.99 at Staff of Life), known in slavic nations as a “cure all.” In California lingo, it’s a nutritional powerhouse, which in this case cleanses the liver, builds blood, reduces

hypertension and aids digestion. It’s also an effective hangover reducer.

Rich in betalains, an antioxidant responsible for beet juice’s beautiful magenta color, the antioxidant levels in Dearie’s Beet Kvass were analyzed by the biochemistry department at UCSC and found to be seven times higher than that of raw or cooked beet juice. The fermentation process, in addition to boosting the free-radical-busting power, also breaks down beet’s naturally occurring oxalates, which can cause inflammation.

“The betalains are some of the more powerful antioxidants as far as their ability to sponge up free radicals, so they’re really great for anti-cancer,” says Dearie.

Though she’s in 10 Whole Foods stores and several local stores, including Staff of Life and New Leaf, Creative Cultures still hasn’t gotten over that financial hump. “We’ve been approached by major grocery stores, but we don’t have the funding right now to fill those orders,” says Dearie. “I’ve been meeting with investors, and it’s been a really long roller-coaster ride of high hopes and crushed dreams. I think America is ripe for this, I really want to see these drinks go nationwide.”

She’s also been approached by investors who want her to add sugar to her recipes.

“But I won’t call them back. If I have to sacrifice the integrity then I won’t be able to help people,” says Dearie.

Made with vegan cultures, the Beet Kvass has just 2 grams of naturally occurring sugar, along with several live and active probiotic strains, including lactobacillus plantarum, which has been proven to crowd out yeast and pathogens in an unhealthy gut (and which you can’t get from kombucha).

In the fall, Creative Cultures plans on launching a subscription fund for a directto-consumer program. “This will allow us to basically produce a sustainable income while we’re waiting for an investor,” says Dearie.

For more information on fermentation classes, mailing list, and the full line of products, visit creaiveculturesfoods.com.

2015 | GTWEEKLY.COM | SANTACRUZ.COM | FOOD & DRINK

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FOOD & DRINK | SANTACRUZ.COM | GTWEEKLY.COM | 2015

FOOD FOR LIFE Local nutritional consultant Sandi Rechenmacher believes the key to preventing and healing cancer lies in our diet BY JUNE SMITH

A

nyone who attends a healthy-eating cooking demo and educational lecture by nutritional consultant Sandi Rechenmacher will come away with valuable tools for preparing food for a healthier life.

“There are plenty of cooking classes that teach you how to make tasty recipes, yet most fall short of actually helping people get healthy. Mine is not one of them,” Rechenmacher says. “The Standard American Diet (SAD) is made up of only 4 percent plant foods, and has made for a nation replete with disease epidemics that never needed to happen.”

In comparison, the Japanese diet is lower in animal fat than the typical Western diet, and international comparisons show that Asian countries have low rates of breast cancer.

Rechenmacher feels it’s vital to share the why about the foods that we “choose to chew.” Her class, named the Cancer Project, is one of a series conducted in the demonstration kitchen at New Leaf Community Markets’ Westside location.

Rechenmacher began her presentation by focusing on the worldwide epidemic of cancer, showing a video of the link between cancer and

diet featuring Dr. Neal Barnard, who initiated the Food for Life program on cancer prevention. As founder of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), Barnard was responsible for changing the standard Food Pyramid in 2009. Taking its place is the Power Plate, consisting of equal portions of fruits, vegetables legumes and grains.

American Institute for Cancer Research reviews show that as much as 40 percent of cancer risk can be related to diet. Studies show that a diet built from plant foods offers the most cancer-fighting protection.

After the lecture, attendees enjoyed a food-prep demonstration and meal, offering practical culinary tips using ingredients supported in the research. The menu of lemon quinoa, caramelized onions, and a fresh vegetable medley of cabbage, carrots, corn, and broccoli, was cooked in Saladmaster stainless steel cookware at 187 degrees, without water or oil, to preserve nutrients.

“When we eat the same things, we get bored, and this makes it harder to stick with the plan,” says Santa Cruz chiropractor and nutritionist Danette L. Sutton, DC, who

was diagnosed with breast cancer in April and attended the class for recipe ideas. “I was intrigued with the stainless steel titanium cookware. The vegetables retained flavor and didn’t have the nutrients cooked out of them.”

The 316Ti technology combines stainless steel with titanium, and the low cooking temperatures support a healthier body, since carcinogenic compounds, known as HCAs, form when meat is cooked at high temperatures by grilling, frying and broiling. These DNA-damaging compounds are associated with increased risk of breast and colon cancer.

Also included was the Food for Life Easy Bean Salad recipe and fermented vegetables from New Leaf.

Rechenmacher not only believes becoming healthier directly relates to growing a healthier planet, but she also shouts her message from the rooftops: “Health and peace are in every bite!”

For Sandi Rechenmacher’s class details, email simplynutritious@ gmail.com. For information on New Leaf Community Markets’ full class schedule, visit newleaf.com/events.

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Wellness in a Bottle La Vie’s Yeyen Gunawan to open Capitola store this fall for her popular juices and vegan cuisine BY JOSIE COWDEN

Y

eyen Gunawan opened Café La Vie 10 years ago in downtown Santa Cruz. The restaurant focused on organic raw food, and there she also blended delicious juices made from fresh fruits and vegetables. When the café closed in January 2009, mainly because of the struggling economy at the time and because she was starting a family, Gunawan turned her attention to the production of the nutritious juices that her customers at the café had loved so much, and kept the name La Vie for her new company.

Her juices sold extremely well at local farmers markets, and Gunawan gradually increased her range to cover markets in outlying areas and fitness hubs such as yoga studios. She also expanded La Vie’s line of juices to include cleanse packages, probiotic tonics, tonics, and almond milks. Because they’re packed with nutrients and vitamins, many of her products are particularly aimed at people with medical issues, including cancer patients.

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FOOD & DRINK | SANTACRUZ.COM | GTWEEKLY.COM | 2015

Gunawan’s next step is to Gunawan was a national open a store in Capitola in the swimmer in her hometown of fall—La Vie To-Go—which will Jakarta, Indonesia, and came carry La Vie’s complete line of to the U.S. on a scholarship to juices, plus an assortment of swim and to study. “And that’s healthy food prepared in the how I got here, and then I just onsite kitchen, which can be stayed,” she laughs. picked up to go.

Now, she and her partner, “The food will be raw, vegan music promoter Michael Horne, and wholesome,” says Gunawan. have a 6-year-old daughter “And I’m entertaining the idea together called Kiko, and share that people who want to do busy lives. “We’re a close family pop-up can rent the kitchen and we hang together and try RAW IN THE FAMILY La Vie’s and serve customers.” With a to raise our child with love and Yeyen Gunawan with partner brewery and a winery right next care,” Gunawan says. “It’s really Michael Horne and daughter Kiko. challenging to balance everydoor to her store, she is more than happy with the location. thing.”

“La Vie To-Go will serve food on Saturday Gunawan says she has worked hard to build and Sunday in the beginning, but people can her business and is proud of her quality prodsample and pick up our drinks every day ucts. “And if I can’t give them to my daughter, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,” she says. “When the I won’t give them to anybody else,” she says. demand rises, we will provide food weekdays La Vie’s new store will be opening in as well, but for now they can get it on weekmid-September at 101 Kennedy Drive, Capitola, ends and stash up for the week.”

831-316-0875. drinklavie.com.

Charlie Hong Kong Organic Noodles & Rice Bowls CAROLYN RUDOLPH & DARRYL “RUDY” RUDOLPH

What’s on Your Plate?

An interesting question! Charlie Hong Kong cares about what’s on your plate.

Our food is free from poisons/pesticides and GMO’s, sustainably grown and harvested, offered at affordable prices. Combining spices, herbs, daily made sauces, organic vegetables, free range chicken, antibiotic/hormone free meats, organic/sustainable salmon–using the elements of earth, water, sky, that nourish. Charlie Hong Kong believes, to eat healthy Real Food, is our birthright.

SANDWICHES, SALADS, SOUPS, PASTA, BEER & WINE, OUTDOOR SEATING

1534 Pacific Ave. Downtown Santa Cruz 831.423.1711 | zoccolis.com Open Mon - Sat 8-6, Sun 10-6 30

FOOD & DRINK | SANTACRUZ.COM | GTWEEKLY.COM | 2015

To be in our morning kitchen is a feast for all the senses; the sounds of chopping, the smells of aromas rising, the plethora of vibrant colors. It’s like playing among the fields, in our kitchen. Charlie Hong Kong takes this wild abundance and creates Spicy Dan, Pad Thai, Chow Mein, Vietnamese Chicken Noodle soup and much more.

Charlie Hong Kong has deep respect and gratitude, to those responsible for this bounty: the many unseen faces, doing the difficult job of harvesting, the organic farmers, packers, truckers, cooks, restaurant staff, all vital for the food we serve you.

Charlie Hong Kong 1141 Soquel Ave, SC | charliehongkong.com

navigating the

Wine Trails of the Santa Cruz Mountains From downtown Santa Cruz to the Summit, local wine trails offer views, vineyards and top-quality varietals

BY JUNE SMITH

A

new map heralding the wineries and vineyards of the Santa Cruz Mountains, known as “America’s Premier Mountain Appellation,” has been released by the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association.

The map proclaims that in 1981, ours was the first wine-growing region in the nation to be defined by a mountain range.

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2015 | GTWEEKLY.COM | SANTACRUZ.COM | FOOD & DRINK

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FARM-TO-TABLE American Comfort Food

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503 Water Street Santa Cruz, CA 95060

831-332-6122 www.thewaterstreetgrill.com 32

FOOD & DRINK | SANTACRUZ.COM | GTWEEKLY.COM | 2015

Heated Dog Friendly Patio Sunset Views of Monterey Bay

Sawasdee by the Sea 101 Main St, Santa Cruz | 831.466.9009 Sun-Thurs 11a-9:30p | Fri-Sat 11a-10p

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Sawasdee Soquel 5050 Soquel Dr, Soquel | 831.462.5051 Sun-Thurs 11a-9:30p | Fri-Sat 11a-10p

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“Due to the size of the region and its geographic make-up, it is healthy for wineries to work together so that consumers can begin to understand that the region is not designed like Napa or Sonoma,” says Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association Executive Director Megan Metz. “The Santa Cruz Mountains AVA [American Viticultural Area] encompasses more than 850 square miles along the Peninsula between San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean, down to the Monterey Bay.” Due to the vastness of the region, it is useful for visitors to plan their visits by winery group locations, often known as wine trails. Currently, there are six designated groups in the Santa Cruz Mountains, outlined below. Contact individual wineries for visiting hours and leave the driving to The Santa Cruz Experience at 831-421-9883 or Blue Water Sedans & Limousines at 831-477-0170.

THE CORRALITOS WINE TRAIL is located in sunny Corralitos, at the southern coastal end of the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation.

It is comprised of Alfaro Family Vineyards, Nicholson Vineyards, Pleasant Valley Vineyards and Windy Oaks Estate Vineyards & Winery. Tasting hours are on Saturday from 12-5 p.m., with some open on Sundays during the summer. Storrs Winery will join the trail when inspections are complete on their new building, and Pamela and Steve Storrs also plan to keep the tasting room at the Old Sash Mill. corralitoswinetrail.com.

THE SARATOGA WINE TRAIL debuted in June with eight wineries; Big Basin Vineyards, Cinnabar Winery, Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards, House Family Vineyards, Michael Martella Wines, Ridge Vineyards, SavannahChanelle Vineyards and The Mountain Winery.

Visit some of the oldest, most historic wineries in California, as well as stunning vistas. saratogawinetrail.com.

THE SUMMIT WINERIES are located between Los Gatos and Santa Cruz in the Summit Road area. Included are Burrell School, MJA Vineyards, Silver Mountain Vineyards, Villa del Monte and Wrights Station. Muns Vineyard offers wine tasting at the Summit Store. Radonich Brothers plans to open a tasting room in time for the group’s Harvest Festival on Oct. 3 and 4. thesummitwineries.com.

THE SURF CITY VINTNERS are a collective of micro-boutique wineries in close proximity on Ingalls and Swift streets on the Westside of Santa Cruz, and at the Old Sash Mill on Potrero Street. Meet with the winemakers of Silver Mountain Vineyards, Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard/Quinta Cruz, Sones Cellars, MJA

Vineyards, Rexford Winery, Equinox/Bartolo, Trout Gulch, Ser, Stockwell Cellars, Odonata Wines, and Storrs Winery in the Old Sash Mill.

Many of the tasting rooms are located alongside fermentation tanks, allowing for first-hand views of the wine process. Some of the oldest and newest wineries in the Santa Cruz Mountains make their wines here. surfcityvintners.com.

WATSONVILLE WINEMAKER’S STUDIO is located at 18 Hangar Way, near the Airport Boulevard exit on Highway 1. The idea was conceived as a vehicle to allow small wineries to develop more economically by sharing equipment, space and winemaking knowledge in a cooperative way. As businesses grow and leave, the studio can attract new winemaking operations needing the incubator space.

Currently, the facility houses five major operations and some custom crush clients.

Wineries include Myka Cellars, Roudon-Smith Winery, Bunter Spring Winery, Kissed By An Angel Winery and Wargin Wines, who also operate a tasting room in Soquel Village.

TRAILS OF THE FUTURE Metz notes that Aptos and Live Oak redevelopment plans encourage live-work spaces and wine tasting, with two tasting rooms thriving in Aptos. Now open for a year are Jason McKay’s Cantine Wine Pub, and also Armitage Wines, operated by Brandon Armitage. In the next few years, Metz foresees an increase in more geographic wine group districts within Santa Cruz County—including one, for example, in the Bear Creek area.

For information on visits to the wineries visit the SCMWA website at scmwa.com.

2015 | GTWEEKLY.COM | SANTACRUZ.COM | FOOD & DRINK

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2800 Pleasant Valley Rd., Aptos www.nicholsonvineyards.com

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Grab your friends and come try our new Craft Cocktail Menu, created by Cocktail Program Director Lindsay Eshleman. Fresh new libations like the Castroville Collins and Hibiscus Fields Forever are sure to tantalize the palate. And join us for Happy Hour* from â&#x20AC;&#x201C; pm, Sundayâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; Thursday. Enjoy % oďŹ&#x20AC; select appetizers, and $ dra beers, select wines, and well drinks.

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- â&#x20AC;˘ One Seascape Resort Drive, Aptos (Across from Seascape Village on Seascape Blvd.)

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FOOD & DRINK | SANTACRUZ.COM | GTWEEKLY.COM | 2015

Dining Days A calendar of the most enticing local food events and festivals

LIVE LIKE A GREEK FESTIVAL

FOODSHED FARMERS MARKETS POP-UPS Every month on the second Wednesday between June and September, the Foodshed Project joins forces with local vendors and farmers to present their stories through activities, and, of course, edible treats. Indulge in pesto samplings and honeyed pastries as you learn about the many various agricultural practices in the area.

The Foodshed Project is an education and outreach program which strives to engage the community with food artisans, farmers and local partners. Their final project for September will be “We’ve Got the Beet” with Live Earth Farm and Farmhouse Culture presenting everything you’ve ever wanted to know about beet history, cultivation and preservation. Info: 3 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 9, Downtown Farmers Market, Center and Lincoln streets, Santa Cruz. Free.

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FOOD & DRINK | SANTACRUZ.COM | GTWEEKLY.COM | 2015

LIVE LIKE A GREEK FESTIVAL Even if you can’t have a big fat Greek wedding—which, c’mon, ever since that movie came out, we all want—you can still live like a Greek for three days out of the year. Follow your nose to tables and tables of Greek delicacies, like souvlaki, gyro, moussaka, calamari, pastitsio, and vegetarian options. And that’s only to fill your belly.

Once you’ve indulged in the Greek eats (and toasted with Greek spirits and wine such as ouzo, brandy and retsina), shop at the Greek agora and dance off the calories to live Greek music and traditional folk dancing that will have you saying Opa! Info: FridaySunday, Sept. 11-13, Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church, Santa Cruz. livelikeagreek.com. Free.

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DINING DAYS FOOD EVENTS <35

33RD ANNUAL CAPITOLA ART & WINE FESTIVAL This annual wine event has become a Capitola staple—don’t miss out on more than 160 fine artists and 23 wineries from all over the Santa Cruz Mountains participating in this year’s festival, including Zayante Vineyards, Storrs Winery, Hunter Hill and many more.

This year will host a local food artisans marketplace in addition to local street artists like the Great Morgani, dancers from Te Hau Nui Dance and Dancenter, performers with Santa Cruz Pipes & Drums, and live music from local favorites Extra Large, who will set the scene for a family-friendly celebration of all things art and wine.

Full schedule available online. Info: Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 12-13, Capitola Village, Capitola. capitolaartandwine.com. Free.

WESTSIDE MARKET POP-UP BREAKFAST There’s something so summery about the Westside Farmers Market in September—which makes the opportunity to sit down, lean back and enjoy a multi-course meal all the more delightful. Local chefs create sensational medleys of simple cuisine with seasonal ingredients from farms represented at the market—so if you like what you eat, you can recreate it all on your own. The Sept. 12 menu, served up by restaurant Chocolate’s own chef David Jackman, will feature a mouthwatering lineup of ceviche on crostini, huevos rancheros, chicken mole sausage, flan toast and more. Diners should bring their own plate and silverware. Info: 9:30 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 12, Westside Farmers Market, Western Drive and Mission Street, Santa Cruz. $36.

12TH ANNUAL GOURMET GRAZING ON THE GREEN A day of fine wine, gourmet grub from local restaurants and live music with beneficiaries from the Santa Cruz Cancer Benefit Group.

All proceeds benefit local organizations that help individuals with cancer, including Hospice of Santa Cruz County and Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services, in addition to many other much-needed services. Info: Noon-4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 19, Aptos Village Park, 100 Aptos Creek Road, Aptos. $70.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY FAIR Let’s be honest, county fairs are just as much about the corn dogs, deep-fried artichokes and funnel cakes as they are about the petting zoos, carnival rides and concerts. There’s no better way to watch the adorable All-Alaskan Racing Pigs than with an ice-cold slushie! One of the few yearly events that truly offers a selection of eats and events attractive to everyone, Santa Cruz County’s fair is a feast for all senses, for the whole family. Info: Sept. 16-20, Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 E Lake Ave., Watsonville. santacruzcountyfair.com. $5-$10.

MOLE & MARIACHI FESTIVAL Tucked away on the Santa Cruz Mission Adobe State Historic Park’s grounds, the festival is a battle among the best in local mole—and it’s stiff competition. Nine competitors—past years included everyone from El Jardín to The Kitchen at Discretion Brewing to Viva’s, and many more—prepare tasty mole samplings for attendees to vote on (some with chocolate, some without). The all-day event is a benefit for nonprofit Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks, in support of the mission, and additionally boasts a colorful array of dancing, music, and mojigangas (giant puppets). Info: Saturday, Sept. 20, Santa Cruz Mission Adobe State Historic Park, 144 School St., Santa Cruz. Tasting kits $10.

CHAMINADE 8TH ANNUAL FARM TO TABLE WINE DINNER SERIES From June through October, Chaminade Resort & Spa hosts fivecourse dinners with local, farm-fresh ingredients prepared by their executive chef, Kirsten Ponza. Ponza highlights local vintners and farmers, many of whom attend the dinners and are available for questions, in menus inspired by the seasonal harvest of the Central Coast. On Friday, Sept. 25, Chaminade will feature Summit to Sea Wineries and Everett Family Farm. The al fresco dinner offers sweeping views of the Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey Bay. Overnight packages are also available. Info: Sept. 25 Chaminade Resort & Spa, 1 Chaminade Lane, Santa Cruz. 831-475-5600. $110.

BURRITO BASH The search is never ending: where, oh, where, is the best burrito of them all? Finally, there is an event that might present the answer.

Burrito vendors from up and down the Central Coast will duel for votes in the Burrito Bash Best Burrito Championship. Chow down on burritos and other eats, spend the afternoon grooving to local bands, enjoying activities, arts and crafts booths and putting your taste buds to the test with the jalapeño-eating contest. Info: Saturday, Oct. 3, Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 E Lake Ave., Watsonville. burritobash.com.

32ND ANNUAL HOSPICE OKTOBERFEST There are plenty of reasons to celebrate the arrival of October—but Oktoberfest is probably the biggest one (right?). The Friends of Hospice present their 32nd annual Oktoberfest with lots of Germaninspired grub, music, cash prizes, silent and live auctions—which include vacations and weekend getaways, fine local wines, local artisans’ artwork, sports events tickets and more. A family-friendly event for a good cause, Hospice of Santa Cruz County provides compassionate care to individuals and families. Info: Noon-4p.m., Sunday, Oct. 4, Scotts Valley Community Center, 360 Kings Village Road, Scotts Valley. Free.

21ST ANNUAL LOBSTER FEED Think lobster dinners are an East-Coast-only thing? Think again— the Mountain Parks Foundation brings the clawing critters right to our doorstep with whole fresh 1.5-pound Maine lobsters cooked and served with all the trimmings under a redwood canopy. There will be live bluegrass, steaming corn-on-the-cob, warm garlic bread, crisp salads, coffee and desserts for this evening benefit event. Proceeds support the environmental and cultural education programs at Henry Cowell Redwoods and Big Basin Redwoods state parks. Info: 4:30-8 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10. Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Picnic Area 1, 101 North Big Trees Road, Felton. 831-335-3174. mountainparks.org. $75-$100.

WINE HARVEST DINNER The Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association presents a wine harvest dinner under the stars at Cabrillo College’s Sesnon House with local celebrity wine professionals, including wine writers, master sommeliers and celebrity chefs. Cabrillo College’s Culinary Arts Department prepares the three-course dinner which is brought to life by an array of award-winning wines by local vintners. Ticket proceeds benefit the Culinary Arts and Wine Program at Cabrillo.

Info: 6-9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, Sesnon House Cabrillo College, 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos. 831-685-8463. $94-$900.

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2015 | GTWEEKLY.COM | SANTACRUZ.COM | FOOD & DRINK

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OCTOBER 14-21 THREE-COURSE DINNERS $25 & $35 38

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Reservations!

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DINING DAYS FOOD EVENTS

CHILI COOK-OFF

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6TH ANNUAL SANTA CRUZ BOARDWALK CHILI COOK-OFF The weather is starting to cool down with the advent of fall, and soon the need for cozy comfort food will abound. One of the most locally beloved Boardwalk events, the annual Chili Cook-Off, invites you to devour as much chili as humanly possible—or at least however much you can manage with a tasting kit. Diners are responsible for picking the champion of the competition, which includes professional and amateur chefs in four categories: Amateur Red, Amateur Vegetarian Red, Professional Red, and Professional Vegetarian Red. A portion of the proceeds from this all-day tasting event at Santa Cruz’s most iconic landmark will go to the Walnut Avenue Women’s Center. Info: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 24, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, 400 Beach St., Santa Cruz. beachboardwalk.com/ chili. Tasting kit $9.

NEW LEAF COMMUNITY MARKETS 30TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Has it been 30 years already? It seems like just yesterday that New Leaf first entered our lives, offering the glorious bounty of kale, chia seeds, quinoa and other superfoods we’d never heard of before.

And thank goodness they did, because for three decades New Leaf markets have been forging the path for clean, healthy ingredients, supporting their local communities and providing ways for shoppers to educate themselves on healthy living. Join New Leaf in celebrating their birthday with a downtown block party featuring local vendors, beer, wine, live music, a Kid’s Corner, and a DIY Wellness Education Tent—plus, if you bring a can of food for Second Harvest Food Bank, you’ll get a free raffle ticket. Info: 4-8 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 24, New Leaf Community Market, 1134 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz.

11TH ANNUAL ‘A TASTE OF SANTA CRUZ’ Most mornings it’s difficult to choose a pair of shoes to wear, let alone a place to eat brunch—just think, a massive buffet-style showcase of local restaurants and wineries to allow a sampling of their cuisine—and for a good cause. The annual Taste of Santa Cruz event was started by the Santa Cruz Association of Realtors to bring all the county’s finest eats to the table, but also to raise funds for low-income first-time home buyers through the Housing Foundation’s Closing Cost Assistance Grant Program. Venues like Michael’s on Main, Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing, Goose’s Goodies, and the Point Chophouse and Lounge will participate this year in hopes of getting near the $30,000 proceeds the event has raised each year since it began in 2005.

Info: 5:30-9 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 12, Cocoanut Grove, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, 400 Beach St., Santa Cruz. $40.

WINE PASSPORT DAYS Santa Cruz has quickly become a craft beer haven over the past few years, but that’s not to overshadow the many wine artisans in the area who have long produced a steady and strong selection of winery experiences. For those who are new to wine and want to taste test what our mountain grapes have to offer, or for the seasoned aficionado, the Passport Days have become a beloved tradition. On the third Sunday of November tasters with a passport can explore more than 50 wineries throughout Santa Cruz Mountains, and reconnect with the generations of farmers, vintners and families that serve as the backbone of the local wine scene. Info: Noon-5 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 21. scmwa.com/event/ november-2015-passport. $55.

2015 | GTWEEKLY.COM | SANTACRUZ.COM | FOOD & DRINK

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FOOD & DRINK | SANTACRUZ.COM | GTWEEKLY.COM | 2015

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Farm to Bedroom Adrienne Vick’s Bedroom Desserts brings a foodie’s touch to edible oils and lotions BY ROSEANN HERNANDEZ

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ne of my all-time favorite books and film adaptations is Like Water for Chocolate, the story of a lovelorn heroine who infuses emotion into everything she cooks, causing anyone who eats her food to become overwhelmed with passion and desire.

While the protagonist’s alchemy in the kitchen is unintentional, the sensual effects from the edible erotic products at Bedroom Desserts are completely on purpose.

“I like to say that our products are made for love, with love,” says owner Adrienne Vick, at her Santa Cruz store one hot summer day.

As the world swelters outside, the shop is feminine and cool inside, with a selection of

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FOOD & DRINK | SANTACRUZ.COM | GTWEEKLY.COM | 2015

lingerie to go with Bedroom Dessert’s massage oils, lotions and sexy-time products, which are all made with food-grade ingredients—so not only do they add proverbial spice to the bedroom, they taste good, too.

“The purpose of Bedroom Desserts is to have flavors that are yummy for the bedroom,” says Vick, who works with a chef and chemist to develop her line of products.

While other erotic oils and arousal aids can have a chemical taste, Bedroom Desserts features tasty flavor combinations like pralines and cream, crème brulee and apple pie.

Other Bedroom Dessert products include a warming oil that tastes like strawberries,

and a chocolate body fondue.

All products are made locally and in small batches, says Vick, and are pH balanced and safe for “intimate areas.” Each product comes in a cute bakery-style box.

Founded just two years ago, Bedroom Desserts has two locations—one in Santa Cruz and one in Capitola. Vick runs the business with her daughter and oversees every detail, from developing the flavors to coming up with product names and affixing the labels on containers.

“We put a lot of time, passion and love into our products,” says Vick.

Bedroom Desserts, 1714 Brommer St., Santa Cruz and 224 Esplanade, Capitola. bedroomdesserts.com.

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2015 | GTWEEKLY.COM | SANTACRUZ.COM | FOOD & DRINK

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ROOTED IN THE GREATER GOOD

We co continue to bring you the best of the best from farm to aisle to community, while staying true to our roots and true to the greater good.

Stay tuned on our celebration: www.newleaf.com/30years

Santa Cruz · Capitola • Half Moon Bay • Pleasanton • Felton • Boulder Creek 44

www.newleaf.com

FOOD & DRINK | SANTACRUZ.COM | GTWEEKLY.COM | 2015