Santa Cruz and nearby restaurant news highlights, Part 2 of 2

Jamaican food from The Jerk House

Jamaican food from The Jerk House

Here is some restaurant news for Santa Cruz and other local areas. I published Part 1 of this two-part series a few days ago.

Openings

Perfectly Pressed Juice Bar opened a Pleasure Point location in October at 3617B Portola Dr. next to Coffeetopia. The store sells many cold-pressed organic juices made with fruits and/or vegetables. I recently had the opportunity to sample three varieties. They were all delicious and refreshing, but my favorite was Green Dream with cucumber, spinach, kale, romaine, celery, apple, lemon and ginger. Green Dream happens to be one of their top sellers. Perfectly Pressed has locations in Salinas, Seaside, Marina and Prunedale and will open a Watsonville location next month. Santa Cruz hours are M-F 6-6, Sat 8-2, and Sun 10-2. Call (831) 331-4041.

The Jerk House opened in Santa Cruz in October. The restaurant serves Jamaican cuisine. Read my preview article to learn more about food and drink selections. I haven’t had the opportunity to dine there yet, but I look forward to it. The Jerk House is at 2525 Soquel Drive, (831) 316-7575. Hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tues-Thurs and 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri-Sun.

Ruyi Dim Sum opened in Capitola in July. The restaurant, which is in the same 41st Ave. complex as New Leaf, serves Chinese food and dim sum. Selections include shrimp dumplings, steamed buns (BBQ pork, chicken, and more), Mongolian beef or chicken, mu shu with meat, fish, or veggies, chow mein, and fried rice. Ruyi Dim Sum is at 1200 41st Ave. Suite C, (831) 475-3688. Hours are approximately 11 a.m.- 9 p.m. daily.

Opening in the Future

El Salchichero and Uncommon Brewers are collaborating to create a very large (2,700 square foot!) bar and restaurant on River Street near the Old Sash Mill. They plan to open sometime in 2016, hopefully by April or May. The bar/lounge will be called The Oasis and will serve six to eight Uncommon Brewers draft beer plus cider and local wines. Food selections will include sausage sandwiches and cheese and charcuterie plates. There will also be a salumi-curing room for el Salchichero and space for Uncommon to expand its oak barrel-aging program. The location will be 415A River St.

East End Gastropub is opening in Capitola in late January or early February, in the former location of Tony and Alba’s next to the Cinelux Theater. The folks behind West End Tap & Kitchen are opening the pub on 41st Avenue adjacent to Cinelux Theater in late January or early February. The restaurant will feature a menu similar to West End, with wood-fired pizzas, appetizers, sharing plates, and craft beer and keg wine. East End Gastropub will be at 1501 41st Ave.

Cafe Brasil announced in November that they are going to open a location at UC Santa Cruz. They will take over management of the Global Village Cafe (formerly managed by Hoffman’s) in the lobby of McHenry Library. The menu will be based on Cafe Brasil’s Capitola offshoot, Amazon Juices, which includes juices, smoothies, acai bowls, sandwiches, egg burritos, salads and rice bowls. Cafe Brasil will also serve Brazilian coffee and Kelly’s French Bakery pastries. They hope to open later this month with a limited menu and expand to a full menu in January.

Juicy Sweet, a juice bar that will also feature smoothies, Straus organic soft serve ice cream, and frozen yogurt, will open in Aptos in the future. The location will be in the Aptos Center at 7500 Soquel Drive.

Closings
Camellia Tea House in Capitola has closed.

Changes
Lillian’s no longer serves lunch. Also, it’s expanding into a much larger space just a few doors down from the current location at 1116 Soquel Ave. They hope to begin serving food in this new spot (the former site of Jerry’s Sports) in March.

Back Porch in Soquel Village is now open on Saturdays. In September they started selling their food out of a mobile food trailer Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. In late November, they added Saturdays, same hours. Their menu includes tacos, banh mi, and lamb sliders. The trailer is located at the corner of Soquel & Daubenbiss, at the Christmas tree lot.  Call (831) 332-3401.

Follow me on Twitter @santacruzfoodie.

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