Richard Perez doesn’t mind getting a bit of a ribbing for his restaurant’s Internet-trend-derived name.
YOLO customers are all over the Internet already, raving about the new restaurant’s food, and making fun of its name. Richard Perez opened the restaurant in September on the corner of Water Street and May Avenue.
SANTA CRUZ WEEKLY: So this is named after the county where Davis is, right?
RICHARD PEREZ: I learned that after! I just got the acronym. My nephew told me when I went to visit him in North Africa two years ago, and that was his word of the day, YOLO: “You only live once.” I thought that was a great name for this restaurant. Actually, I think it invokes a lot of my spirit. Enjoy. You only have today.
What’s in a kitchen sink salad?
A little bit of everything. Basically I do some grilled vegetables—grilled asparagus, green beans, carrots and red bell pepper. And I make my own blackberry vinaigrette. It’s really healthy and a little different than everyone else does it. Also I’ll put it with fried feta.
How did you come up with fried pickles?
Just following trends. I saw it three years ago, and I know it’s up and coming. On the East Coast or Southeast, it’s an everyday thing for them.
How do you season your burgers?
First I mix in a little garlic and onions. Then I just salt and pepper. And I have an eight ounce patty, and I just like to cook it the way people like it—medium rare, medium well. That’s all you really need. Keep it simple, and you can garnish it with extra stuff—bacon, cheese, avocado.
Do you take dessert seriously?
I try. That’s where I started in the kitchen—with baking. I really want to involve that and invoke that over here. I make my own caramel apples, and I make my own caramel, and I put a coconut crisp around it. And then I make my own chocolate cakes, my own toffee cookies. I use Marianne’s Ice Cream to complement my little toffee ice cream sandwiches. Then I do my own little pumpkin muffins.
Are cats forbidden from eating here because they have nine lives?
No, anyone’s welcome here. That’s the point of YOLO. Just come here, enjoy, have a great time.
No, seriously, what are you going to call this place in five years?
Hopefully it stays YOLO because I want it to be successful, because this is such a neighborhood place.
