A sleek new pizza cafe at the corner of Ingalls and Fair avenues is just about finished. On a recent drive-by, I spotted workers swarming all over the long counters, putting finishing details on the pizzeria-in-progress owned by chef Benjamin Simsand his wife Sarah Knight.
Articles by Christina Waters
Q&A: Austin Kaye
“The bacon breakfast taco is our most popular Saturday market item. With regards to our English-style pies, which we sell at the downtown and Scotts Valley farmers’ markets, the most popular item is the pulled pork pie with apple barbecue sauce,” says Kaye.
A Great Year for Grapes
Winemaker Jeff Emery of Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard is thrilled with his grapes this year. “Twice as much pinot noir as last year,” he revealed, in the midst of forklifting grapes into his cellar.
Q&A: Orin Martin
What gets me up and into the garden daily is I am a creature of habit, creature of doses—doing the same thing in the same way day after day after day. I’m afraid I’m locked in to being a servant of the seasons and the morning’s early light. Actually it’s a privilege. I/we teach people to grow plants organically, the applications are many and varied. It’s powerful.
New Menu at Aquarius Restaurant
Priced well within the comfort zone of most inquiring foodies, the seasonally evolving menu—which includes a choice tapas menu for enjoyment in the lounge—is loaded with seasonal ideas, local organic ingredients and tons of vibrant flavor. And when you’re sipping that mojito in the lounge, don’t forget to look up and admire the surfboard-lined ceiling.
Q&A: Erin Justus Lampel of Companion Bakers
The most intriguing thing about bread baking, according to Erin Justus Lampel, is the fact that bread making requires the skill of paying attention to detail, and relaxing into the repetition of the process.
Local Chefs Source From Their Own Gardens
In celebration of Santa Cruz Restaurant Week 2012, we took a closer look at four restaurants around the area whose chefs are helping to bring the dining scene into the brave new hyperlocal world with their own kitchen gardens.
Kitchen Gardens: Le Cigare Volant
Last week, Le Cigare Volant chef Ryan Shelton drew from the restaurant’s bio-dynamic gardens in San Juan Bautista to create dish after dazzling dish of seasonal creativity. Dry-farmed green and crimson tomatoes, honeydew melon and shell beans converged in Shelton’s sparkling salad course. Grilled corn and squashes adorned a platter piled high with roasted suckling pig. And into vast platters of paella, perfumed by smoked paprika and local shellfish, came more of the fresh herbs and vegetables from the chef’s in-house garden.
Q&A: Leslie Fellows
The winemaker learned everything in the business from scratch. Now her hard work is paying off big time.
Kendra Baker Offers Ice Cream Course
Lots of events erupting at this busy wine store in downtown Santa Cruz. A Wargin Wines pouring on Sept. 29 for example. Mikael Wargin is a Soquel native who majored in biochemistry at UCSC.
