Category Archives: Beer
Two Santa Cruz food popups on Friday, Jan 6
A curry dish by HANLOH Thai Food (photo is from an event in December)
Santa Cruz’s popup food scene is deliciously thriving; here are two events occurring this Friday, Jan. 6.
HANLOH will be at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing from 6:45-10 p.m. The menu for “Ultimate Thai Beer Snack” will include Moo bing (charcoal grilled pork), Pla mug yang (charcoal grilled Monterey squid), and Khao rad geng (rice and spicy red curry bowl with two options–vegan or with chicken). The curry will be made from homemade curry paste; some of the ingredients are lemongrass, galangal, bird eye chili, dried shrimp, shallot, and garlic. Owner/chef Lalita Kaewsawang, a Santa Cruz resident, recently started her Thai popup/catering business. As she proclaims on her web site (hanloh.com), her mission is to “bring justice back to Thai food by staying away from canned curry paste and super sweet stir-fry. We focus on the comfort and vibrancy of Thai street food.”
Location: Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing, 402 Ingalls St.
La Sofrita is doing a “Dia de los Reyes Puerto Rican Popup” from 5:30-9 p.m., at POPUP next to Assembly. Chef Anna says she will be serving traditional Puerto Rican holiday fare like “mouth-watering pernil, or Puerto Rican succulent, skin-on, bone-in, roasted pork shoulder stuffed with garlic mojo. The pernil, made with pasture-raised pork from local Fogline Farm, will be accompanied by avocado-tomato salad over mixed greens plus arroz con gandules (Anna says the latter is “the quintessential rice dish that is served on every Puerto Rican table on Christmas Day and on Dia de los Reyes”). A selection of La Sofrita empanadas will also be available; I tasted one of these for the first time a few weeks back and it was absolutely delectable! The variety I had was veggie (kabocha squash, spinach, and leeks with goat cheese) but I’ve heard that the beef picadillo, chicken and shrimp ones are fantastic too.
Here’s a bit of background on Dia de los Reyes from La Sofrita’s Facebook event page: “in Puerto Rico, January 6th is Dia de los Reyes Magos, or Three Kings Day. It marks the culmination of the Christmas season. In Puerto Rico, this is a bigger celebration than Christmas Day itself; gifts are traditionally exchanged on this day rather than Christmas. The night before, children put shoeboxes of hay under their beds for the camels to eat after their long journey, and are rewarded with a gift left under their bed. The day is filled with festivities that include traditional foods and drinks.
Location: POPUP, 1108 Pacific Ave.
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Santa Cruz food event highlights for Friday, October 7
Gluten-free Cocomojo’s by Makse Bar, one of several vendors at the Choose Santa Cruz pop-up market Oct. 7
Photo credit: Makse
If you’re lucky enough to be in Santa Cruz on Friday, Oct 7, you have an incredible array of one-night-only food choices. Here are details for three events.
Ocean2Table will be at the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center selling dinner from 5 to 8 p.m. The Pescatarian Popup will showcase three items: wild morel mushroom soup ($8), fresh sablefish tacos ($12) and fresh sablefish cakes ($8, similar to crabcakes but made with Monterey Canyon sablefish). Ocean2Table is participating in honor of an event at the Center which celebrates the Leatherback Sea Turtle.
Location: Exploration Center, 35 Pacific Ave. (across from the Wharf)
Efi’s Dutch-Indo will be at POPUP for dinner from 5:30-9 p.m. The menu will include Indonesian-style Satay (with yellow rice, Indonesian style peanut sauce, and a side of picked cucumber); Gato Gato (vegetarian) with steamed and fresh veggies, rice and Indonesian-style peanut sauce; and Resoles (ground beef and green onion mix rolled in hand made crepes, breaded and deep fried). Creator Michelle McKay says, “Inspired by my mother, Efi’s (pronounced Afee’s) will be a Dutch-Indo culinary delight. The Netherland once ruled the spice trade in the 17th century. Indonesia with its wealth of spices was once the colonial crown of the spice trade. The Dutch wholeheartedly embraced Indonesian food, not only in the colony, but back home too. I plan on cooking the Dutch-Indo foods that I grew up with.”
Location: POPUP, 1108 Pacific Ave.
Several food/drink vendors are participating in the “Choose Santa Cruz” pop-up market at design agency Cosmic from 5-9 p.m. Food and drink vendors include Coffeeville, Makse Bar, Farmer Freed Culinary Salt Blends, Companion Bakeshop, Santa Cruz Winegrowers Association, and Lupulo Craft Beer House. Other participating local businesses include Childish Santa Cruz, Agency, Hive & Hum, A’zaht Designs, and Glow Candle Lounge (soon to open on Pacific, candle-making studio Glow is an offshoot of Petroglyph ceramics studio). The City of Santa Cruz Economic Development Office is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Choose Santa Cruz brand and web site. They are also launching the Choose Santa Cruz coloring book, a collection of drawings from local artists of their favorite sights and scenes around Santa Cruz. The books will be available for sale at the event and online afterwards, and there will be space available, along with colored pencils (supplied by Palace Art), for people to color in books they buy.
Location: Design by Cosmic, 115 Cooper St.
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Food, wine and beer at 2016 Grazing on the Green benefiting cancer research
The 13th annual Gourmet Grazing on the Green—Saturday, Sept. 24 at Aptos Village Park, features 70-plus vendors including local restaurants and caterers, other food businesses, and local wineries, breweries, and spirits distilleries. Proceeds benefit the Santa Cruz Cancer Benefit Group (SCCBG).
The event is from noon to 4 p.m. Buy $65 tickets at New Leaf Community Markets (downtown, Westside or Capitola locations) or online http://sccbg.org or it will be $70 at the door if it’s not sold out. If you have a group of 10, you can get tickets for $60 each. Adult admission includes food, drinks and a souvenir wineglass. Kids 10 and under are free; kids ages 10-20 are $35.
Participating restaurants, farms, and food vendors for 2016 include The Crow’s Nest, Café Cruz, Café Rio, Real Good Fish, Niman Ranch, SunRidge Farms, Ashby Confections, Zameen Mediterranean Cuisine, Cremer House, Ella’s at the Airport, Surf City Sandwich, Hula’s, Hollins House and Sid’s Smokehouse.
Participating wineries, breweries and distilleries include Alfaro Family Vineyards and Winery, Beauregard Vineyards, Hallcrest Vineyards, Kathryn Kennedy Winery, Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, Sones Cellars, Wargin Wines, Wrights Station Winery, Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing, Discretion Brewing, Seabright Brewery, New Bohemia Brewing Co. and Venus Spirits.
Proceeds from SCCBG’s events benefit these local cancer support and research organizations: Hospice of Santa Cruz County, Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Association, Katz Cancer Resource Center, researchers from UC Santa Cruz, the Teen Kitchen Project, and WomenCARE Cancer Advocacy.
For more information on the event, see www.sccbg.org.
There is free shuttle service every 15 minutes from Cabrillo College; parking is also free.
Aptos Village Park: 100 Aptos Creek Road, Aptos
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Oktoberfest celebration at Nubo with beer garden-inspired food by Tanglewood
NUBO Oktoberfest steins will be available at the 2nd annual Oktoberfest
Photo credit: Nubo Facebook page
It’s not yet October but Oktoberfest is on many people’s minds–it can soon be in many people’s mouths as well, thanks to Nubo’s Oktoberfest celebration Thursday, Sept. 22.
The second annual Oktoberfest party at New Bohemia Brewing Co., from 5 to 10 p.m., features a fabulous German beer garden menu by Tanglewood Catering (more food details below) plus live German/polka music.
But first, the beer: Nubo specializes in traditional European-style lagers. On Thursday, Nubo will be tapping its “Festbier” which will be served in special liter-size Oktoberfest steins. Customers can also purchase souvenir steins to take home starting Sept. 22.
Tanglewood chef Rachel Hughes, special guest for the night, is serving food from 6 to 9 p.m. I’ve had a couple dishes of hers and highly recommend her cooking.
Here is the Oktoberfest menu:
Pretzel
Homemade Pretzel + Sea Salt
$5
With Radi (thin sliced Daikon + Salt + Chives)
$7
Cucumber Salad
Cucumber + Greek Yogurt + fresh Dill
$3.50
Bavarian Potato Salad
Yukon Gold Potatoes + Cucumber + sweet Onions
$4.50
Cheese Plate
Obatzda- Traditional Bavarian cheese spread
Cambozola- Soft ripened cheese
Emmentaler cheese
Companion Bread
Radi- (thin sliced Daikon + Salt + Chives)
$12
Schnitzel
2 Pork Loin + herbed Panko +fried
$8
Schnitzel Full Plate
2 Pork Loin + Potato Salad + Cucumber Salad
$15
Bockwurst Full Plate
2 Pork and Veal Sausages + Potato Salad + Cucumber Salad
$15
For more info call (831) 350-0253 or visit nubobrew.com
Location: New Bohemia Brewing Co., 1030 41st Ave., Santa Cruz
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Tequila & taco festival in Santa Cruz this weekend
The third annual Tequila & Taco Music Festival is this weekend
The third annual Tequila & Taco Music Festival happens this weekend in Santa Cruz: Saturday, Aug. 27 and Sunday, Aug. 28 at San Lorenzo Park.
There will be gourmet street tacos, craft beer, and margaritas for sale, plus tequila sampling (for a separate fee) Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Advance tickets for the tequila tasting have sold out and a limited number will be sold at the event on a first-come first-served basis.
Participating vendors include Dirty Tequila; Tequila Los Tres tonos; Venus Spirits; 3 Crowns; Casa San Matias; Mezcal Mala Noche; 1933 Spirits LLC; Suerte Tequila; THE Bloody Cure; Patron; and Saville.
Food vendors include Garcia’s Fish Tacos, Tacos Moreno, Conscious Creations, La Olla, Burt’s Chicken Fingers & Garlic Fries, Jardines Restaurant, Tacos Don Beto and The Vegetarian Blog. There will also be arts and craft vendors and music.
All ticket holders both days will have access to food vendors, craft Beer, margarita booths, and live music, but there is no tequila sampling Sunday.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day. Alcohol sales end at 5 p.m.
Cost: Adult $10 general admission, $40 Saturday tequila tasting, Kids 12 and under are free.
Live music:
Saturday — Third Sol (12:30pm-1:45pm); Extra Large (2:15pm-3:45pm); and Patron Latin Rhythms (4:15pm-5:30pm)
Sunday — Patron Latin Rhythms (12 noon-1:30pm); Metalachi (1:45pm-3:00pm); and SambaDá (3:30pm-5:10pm)
Location: San Lorenzo Park, 137 Dakota St., Santa Cruz
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Event Watsonville hosts enticing evening with local entrepreneurs, food and beer
Katie Raquel from Katie’s Coldpress is part of Event Watsonville’s Entrepreneurs Taking their Businesses to New Heights
Event Watsonville presents “Entrepreneurs Taking their Businesses to New Heights” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 24, and there will be a few food/drink/farm-related speakers in the mix plus delicious food and drink for sale. Representatives from different local businesses will talk about how they started their business and what drives them to do what they do.
This is the second “Event Watsonville” evening; the first was in February. Matthew Swinnerton, who founded the popular Event Santa Cruz series a few years ago, decided to expand to South County to showcase even more of our local community.
“I am super excited to come back to Watsonville,” says Swinnerton. “It’s been far too long since we did the last one back in February and I definitely won’t let that happen again. I love the energy and excitement coming out of the Watsonville entrepreneur community. Events like this really show that off.”
As always, the evening begins with time to mingle and buy food and beverages starting at 6 p.m. Selections for sale will include tacos from My Mom’s Mole and beer from Elkhorn Slough Brewing Co. In addition, food samples will be available from a variety of area vendors.
The setting is Specialized Helicopters in Watsonville. There will also be helicopter rides available for purchase.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online.
Speakers begin at about 7, after the hour of mingling is over. Katie Raquel from fresh, organic juice business Katie’s Coldpress says she is participating as a presenter because she has found these types of events to be “a huge source of inspiration. It’s a total joy hearing from other entrepreneurs and connecting deeper with the community.”
Katie’s Coldpress is family-owned and operated. “We infuse every part of the business with love and attention,” shares Raquel. “I started KCP two years ago out of a desire to make the highest quality raw juice more accessible to people with busy lives—all of us, right?!—and to make products that are truly delicious, with a focus on excellent and personal customer service.” Her business is committed to staying 100% plant-based, and it’s in the process of being CCOF certified organic, after two years of being certified organic through the state of California.
Jessica Ridgeway from Farm Discovery at Live Earth is also a speaker. She’s excited to speak about the farm-based nonprofit she co-founded a few years ago, which works to empower youth and families to build and sustain healthy food, farming, social and natural systems. Farm Discovery offers “educational programs that inspire youth and families to transform their relationship to food, farming and nature.” She adds, “We steward our working farm and its wild spaces as an environmentally and economically viable piece of the food system and a learning space.”
She says it’s a perfect time to share the vision and programs with community members who may not be aware of the nonprofit. “Farm Discovery is reaching a new level or organizational maturity,” says Ridgeway. “We are in a place where we now have the capacity to actively create new partnerships in our local community. Participating in events like this helps Farm Discovery to build important relationships with other local businesses, individuals, and organizations in order to transform personal and community health and improve our impact on earth by building and sustaining collaborative agricultural, ecological and social systems.”
Other participants, in alphabetical order:
- Chris Gularte – Specialized Helicopters
- Sindy Hernandez de Cornejo – Queen’s shoes & more
- Jacob Martinez and Gabriel Jesse Medina – Digital NEST
- Luke Taylor – Corralitos Brewing Co.
Details
Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016: 6 p.m. doors open/food & drinks begin, 7 p.m. speakers begin
Cost: $10
Location: Specialized Helicopters, 150 Aviation Way, Watsonville
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Venus spirits event, winemaker dinner and more at Santa Cruz Food Lounge this week
There is an MJA Vineyards winemaker dinner at the Food Lounge Aug. 19
Attention fine wine, spirit and beer lovers: the Santa Cruz Food Lounge is hosting events you can enjoy on Thursday, Friday and Saturday Aug. 18-20, 2016.
Thursday: Venus Spirits Meet the Maker & Tasting
The event is from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. with local spirit maker Sean Venus of Venus Spirits. At 5:30, doors open and the kitchen begins serving food; there is a limited selection that night (cheese plate and/or chicken entrée) and people can pre-purchase online to receive a discount and ensure the food doesn’t sell out. At 6:30 p.m., guests will learn the story behind the local distillery and the craft of making spirits as Venus leads attendees through six tastings of his award-winning agave, gin, and whiskey. A special crafted cocktail by Venus mixologist Andrew Hansen will conclude the evening. Cost for the spirit tasting and talk is $25; buy tickets at eventbrite.com.
Friday: MJA Winemaker’s Dinner
Chef Rachel Hughes of Tanglewood Catering is collaborating with MJA Vineyards for a multi-course dinner with wine pairings beginning at 6:30 p.m. Kristy Dawn Silveira and winemaker Marin Artukovich of MJA Vineyards will be present. Wines served will be Sauvignon Blanc (paired with watermelon/feta skewers), Chardonnay (with Burrata, beet and pancetta salad), Pinot Noir (pork medallions with smoked cherries and apple/potato mash), Merlot (“Forest Floor” savory nut crumble, roasted wild mushrooms, micro scallions and braised short ribs). The dessert course is Cabernet Sauvignon with bittersweet chocolate pot de crème with chocolate-covered coffee beans. Tickets are $75 with wine and $65 without. Buy online at eventbrite.com.
Saturday: Biergarten
The Food Lounge debuted a summer beer garden series in June, and it continues today from noon to 7 p.m. There will be many beers available plus German-style food. There is lots of patio seating and a relaxing atmosphere. Free admission; attendees pay separately for food and drinks. The event is pet- and family-friendly.
Location: Santa Cruz Food Lounge, 1001 Center St., Santa Cruz
Contact Info: www.scfoodlounge.com, info@scfoodlounge.com
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The 2016 California Beer Festival: Santa Cruz Beer Week finale
Last year’s California Beer Festival at Aptos Village Park
Photo credit: California Beer Festival
The 2016 California Beer Festival (CBF), at Aptos Village Park from Friday, Aug. 12 through Sunday, Aug. 14, is the final celebration to cap off Santa Cruz Beer Week (Aug. 7-14). See the Santa Cruz Waves Beer Week site for details on lots of activities including a collaboration between burger and Elkhorn Slough Brewing Co. at burger’s Aptos location on Thursday.
California Beer Festival details
Tickets range from $10 on Sunday to $99 for a three-day VIP pass that includes lots of benefits. Live music includes Sambada (Friday night) and Prince tribute band The Purple Ones (Sunday).
Location: Aptos Village Park, 100 Aptos Creek
More info or advance tickets: (805) 628-9588 or californiabeerfestival.com/santacruz
- Friday, Aug. 12: “Food & Beer Pairing” (5:30-8:30 p.m.) plus live music. Several Brew Masters are pairing up with gourmet chefs. Each is competing for attendees to vote for them for “best food and beer pairing.” A $50 a la carte ticket includes food samples, beer, live music and one CBF souvenir pint glass. Must be 21 years of age or older to attend. Pairings:
- The Jerk House & Brews of Santa Cruz
- Pour Tap Room & 101 North
- Hollins House & Seabright
- Ulterior & Leopold 7
- Peter B’s & Peter B’s
- Burt’s & Burt’s
- Saturday, Aug. 13: “Craft Beer Heaven” (Gates open at 12:30 p.m. and beer sampling is 1-4:30 p.m.). There will be more than 85 craft beers available plus live music, food, and bocce ball. You must be 21 years of age or older to attend. General admission is $50 and VIP tickets are $75. Designated driver tickets are $25.
- Sunday, Aug. 14: “Sunday Funday in the Park” (11 a.m.-6 p.m.) There is no beer sampling on Sunday but there is beer and food for sale. That day, kids 12 and under are free. Anyone over 12 pays $10. Families are encouraged to attend and people can bring lawn chairs and blankets.
Festival profits benefit the Gen Giammanco Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides financial support to student athletes in Santa Cruz County.
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Love Mondays at Discretion Brewing: drink beer to benefit many causes
Beer at Discretion Brewing in Soquel
Discretion Brewing in Soquel hosts Love Mondays, where drinking beer equals money for local nonprofits. How it works: On selected Mondays, for the entire time the taproom is open (11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.), twenty percent of beer sales are donated to a variety of organizations that have applied for this privilege. This coming Monday, with Farm Discovery at Live Earth as the beneficiary, there is a twist: Discretion Brewing will still donate 20% of beer sales to Farm Discovery AND The Kitchen at Discretion will donate 20% of sales from two unique dishes made with Live Earth Farm produce: salad with smoked potatoes and baby carrots, radishes, Little Gem lettuce and Meyer lemon honey vinaigrette ($10); and Thai basil ice cream with macerated Albion strawberries and broken oatmeal cookies ($8).
Funds raised at Love Monday will help Farm Discovery provide ongoing opportunities for youth to visit Live Earth Farm to learn about organic farming, local food systems, and nutrition. Through Farm Discovery’s programs, local youth—including underserved ones—build confidence in learning to be active caretakers of themselves, their community and their environment.
Family-owned Discretion is committed to producing high-quality handcrafted organic beer. They serve food from The Kitchen at Discretion which chef Santos Majano creates to be shared and paired with the beers. Majano was executive chef at Soif for many years before becoming chef/owner at The Kitchen a couple years ago.
There won’t be a Love Monday on July 4 due to Independence Day (the taproom is open, but for limited hours – 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.). But Discretion is having a big party to celebrate the holiday a couple days early: Saturday, July 2 there is an outdoor BBQ, live music and an IPA release.
Here are the beneficiaries for Love Mondays in July; each gets 20% of beer sales that day (this excludes growlers, bottles, & kegs):
• July 11: Haven of Hope, which helps young women including foster youth aged 12 to 21
• July 18: Young at Heart (with music, Young at Heart has entertained over 100,000 seniors since 1985 00 in senior and day care centers and skilled nursing, convalescent, memory disorder, Alzheimer’s, and residential community facilities throughout Santa Clara, Monterey, San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties)
• July 25: PAMF Santa Cruz
Location: 2703 41st Ave., Soquel (831) 316-0662
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Hop N’ Barley Beer Festival and Strawberry Festival slated for Saturday
Coming soon: Strawberry Festival in Santa Cruz
There are many food, beer, and wine-related events this weekend: here are details on two happening Saturday, June 25: the Hop N’ Barley beer festival and the Women’s Center strawberry festival. If you missed my article on the Pleasure Point Street Fair the same day, click here.
Scotts Valley: Hop N’ Barley Beer Festival
There will be 60 craft breweries and 10 ciders pouring, plus food for sale, beer games, two stages of live music, and more. It takes place from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Skypark (361 Kings Village Road). Breweries, which will each serve two three styles, include Ballast Point, Discretion, Alvarado Street Brewing, New Bohemia, Peter B’s Brewpub and Humble Sea Brewing Co. See full list here. This is the second year for craft cider tastings. The gates open at 10 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. and beer starts flowing at noon. The festival offers live music occurring on two stages.
General admission is $20 and this includes beer and a commemorative glass; buy tickets here. Kids under 10 are free, and adults who are not drinking beer get in for a reduced price of $5. The Hop N’ Barley beer and BBQ festival benefits non-profit Community Housing Land Trust of Santa Cruz County.
Santa Cruz: Strawberry Festival
The annual Walnut Avenue Women’s Center (WAWC) Strawberry Festival, a benefit, takes place from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. outside of the center (303 Walnut). WAWC has provided support and services for women, children, and families for more than 80 years. Read more at the WAWC web site. The Strawberry Festival raises funds for programs including youth development, parenting, advocacy and domestic violence awareness and prevention.
Admission is free, and there will be food for sale from food trucks plus fresh strawberries and strawberry-related items like shortcake, strawberry lemonade and. There will also be a homemade jam contest, a plant sale, kids’ games, a bounce house and arts and crafts. Live music will include Coffee Zombie Collective and Dan P. and the Bricks. For more information on the festival, call (831) 426-3062.
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