Tag Archives: Soquel
Teen Kitchen Project: two brunch dates remain in series, plus new kids’ classes

A scene from TKP’s brunch benefit Sunday, March 25, in Aptos
Teen Kitchen Project has been running a brunch fundraiser series since March. There were two Sundays in March, then they skipped Easter, and now two Sundays remain — April 8 and 15. Entrees rotate each time and have included Huevos Rancheros with rice and beans; orange-zested thick cut French toast with spiced maple syrup; and broccoli cheddar quiche with country style sausage and home fries. There are two seatings each day, 9:30 & 11:30 a.m., and brunch takes place at TKP’s newly renovated teaching kitchen and café at 8061 Aptos St. Cost is $35 for adults and $15 for kids under 12. The TKP teens do the cooking and serving. Entrees include a basket of freshly baked goods at each table, plus coffee, tea and juice. My family and I dined with TKP on March 25, and thoroughly enjoyed the meal–from the delectable scones to scrumptious sausage, Chilaquiles and more! View menus and purchase online at teenkitchenproject.org/brunch.One hundred percent of proceeds benefit TKP.
TKP recently began offering cooking classes for kids ages 8 and up, for $35 each, and they are now expanding to offer a few for kids 5-8. At the first one for “littles” on Monday, April 30, kids will make pizza. “Teen Kitchen Project is excited to open our doors to aspiring chefs ages 5 and up who are interested in learning more about developing their culinary skills,” says founder Angela Farley. “We believe empowering young people with the knowledge and skills to prepare food from scratch is essential to accomplish our goal of building a healthier Santa Cruz County, one meal at a time.”
Topics for the older kids have included burgers, tacos and dumplings. During the 2-hour classes, kids work with other students in groups of two to four. There are also adult chefs and a teen helper present. At the end of class, participants get to eat the food they prepare. Monday and Wednesday classes are at the Aptos location (8061 Aptos St.), and Friday classes are at the Soquel location (2880 Research Park Dr.). Enrollment is limited. Visit the registration page at crm.fundly.com//6708/Pages/Events/#/.
For those unfamiliar with Teen Kitchen Project, executive director Angela Farley launched TKP in 2012 after her son was diagnosed with cancer. Farley decided she wanted to help other families affected by cancer, to at least attempt to decrease some of the pressure and feelings of being overwhelmed. Today, the organization regularly delivers 600-700 free, healthy meals for clients throughout Santa Cruz County who are in crisis due to illness. Teen volunteers ages 13-18 prepare meals with the assistance of adult volunteers. The teens gain valuable skills as they volunteer. For more info, visit the web site teenkitchenproject.org.
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Tickets available for Saturday’s Colectivo Felix farm dinner with Garden Variety Cheese and Beauregard Vineyards

Baby beet and carrot escabeche with seared sweetbreads and fried garbanzos from a May 13, 2017 Colectivo Felix dinner in Soquel. Photo credit: Tara Walker
Colectivo Felix, led by chef Diego Felix and his wife Sanra Ritten, is doing an on-farm dinner this Saturday, June 24, at Monkeyflower Ranch in Royal Oaks (near Watsonville). The meal will feature dairy and meat from Garden Variety Cheese and Monkeyflower Ranch, plus produce from Tomatero Farms and wine from Beauregard Vineyards. See menu below.
It’s part of a farm dinner series featuring local organic farms and pairings with local ciders and wines. Online tickets are $75 for food only and $100 with wine.
Diego, Sanra and their kids moved to Santa Cruz County last fall to help with the opening of HOME. Sanra’s sister is Linda Ritten, Home chef Brad Briske’s wife. Colectivo Felix utilizes HOME’s kitchen and garden for some of their events. Diego is originally from Argentina. Occasionally, HOME’s menu selections reflect South American influences (including a beef tongue empanada with green tomato chimichurri and plum chutney that I enjoyed during a December visit).
In May Colectivo Felix began a four-month dining tour (unique dinner parties in Washington, D.C., New York, SF and Santa Cruz/Soquel). I had the pleasure of attending a Colectivo Felix pop-up dinner at Soquel’s HOME Restaurant in May and meeting Diego and Sanra, who are gracious, humble and warm. The prix fixe meal was exquisite; chef Diego really knows his flavors. Highlights included goat cheese and peach filled torta fritas; baby beet and carrot escabeche with seared sweetbreads and fried garbanzos (an indescribably wonderful combination); and lamb empanadas with chimichurri aioli.
When Diego talks about how much he loves creating good food, his whole face lights up and his passion is contagious, making the dining experience even better. I hope to enjoy another Colectivo Felix meal in the not-too-distant future!
June 24 Farm Dinner Menu (Garden Variety Cheese/Colectivo Felix at Monkeyflower Ranch)
Welcome Drink
Yerba mate infused cachaça with citrus and muddled herbs
Passed appetizer
Ricotta + carrot & peach escabeche over quinoa bread
First
Aguachile (cold soup): lettuce + pinapple + cilantro + tomatillo + fish crudo + yam + California seaweed + cancha
Pinot Gris, Beauregard Vineyards 2014
Second
Tomatero spring greens + smoked hard goat cheese + aguaribay & strawberry vinaigrette + cauliflower and brazil nuts
Rose of Pinot Noir, Coast Grade Vineyard Estate 2015
Main
Monkeyflower Ranch goat + red chimichurri + roasted roots + kale salsa verde
The Lost Weekend, Beauregard Vineyards
Dessert
Panqueques: Baked strawberry + pistachios + lavender yogurt helado
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Food Trucks A Go Go expands with weekly Westside Santa Cruz, Soquel & Scotts Valley offerings

An example of a poke dish from Pono Hawaiian Grill, whose food truck Holopono will be at local events July 26 and July 29. Photo credit: Pono Facebook page
Great news for local food truck fans: starting this week, Food Trucks A Go Go is going to operate weekly events in Westside Santa Cruz, Soquel and Scotts Valley.
First, the Westside SC details:
Starting July 26, there will be food truck lunch service every Tuesday and Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., at the Delaware Addition parking lot. This week, G’s Tacos and Zameen Mediterranean Food Truck will be featured.
Location: 2120 Delaware Ave.
Next, Soquel details:
Taco Tuesdays at Blue Ball Park (the nickname for Soquel’s Anna Jean Cummings Park) start July 26. Every Tuesday from 5:30-7:30 p.m., customers can buy special taco selections from local food trucks in addition to each truck’s signature dishes from their regular menus. This Tuesday, G’s Tacos and Holopono are confirmed. Pono Hawaiian Grill operates Holopono; there will be Hawaiian-style tacos plus nachos, salads, poke and more.
Location: 461 Soquel-San Jose Rd.
Finally, Scotts Valley:
Starting July 25, there will be lunches for sale on Mondays and Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., at the Boys & Girls Club parking lot. This week, G’s Tacos and Zameen Mediterranean will appear.
Location: 5060 Scotts Valley Drive
After LaLi Kates of Aunt LaLi’s Mobile Cafe formed the business Food Trucks A Go Go last year, she launched a monthly food truck event at Scotts Valley’s Skypark. The community response was even better than she had imagined, and she was soon organizing a variety of events, sometimes on Friday nights and sometimes during Sunday brunch.
“We are so excited to be launching these new locations and present the unique and delicious food from our local food trucks,” shared Kates. “The food trucks will rotate to offer a variety of food options at each of the locations.”
At the end of this week, on Friday July 29, Food Trucks A Go Go is partnering with Event Santa Cruz for “Summer Nights & Edible Delights” 5-9 p.m. at the Delaware Addition. Admission is $3. The line-up includes: Holopono, Ate3One, G’s Tacos, Saucey’z, Conscious Creations, Humble Sea Brewing Company and Stockwell Cellars.
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Love Mondays at Discretion Brewing: drink beer to benefit many causes
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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Pop-up dinner at Everett Family Farm in Soquel with chef Uncie Ro

Padrons stuffed with local cheese and pasture raised pork, accompanied by house made mozzarella & organic heirloom tomatoes
It’s the third season of the Soquel Supper Club, a pop-up eatery at Everett Family Farm with food by chef Roland Konicke of Uncie Ro’s, and the next event is Sunday, Sept. 21. The goal of these dinners is to bring the local community together for a delicious meal that nourishes not only the participants, but also chefs, organic food producers, and small businesses.
Konicke really enjoys these events. “What I love most about supper club is that I can really showcase all the local ingredients from the area and prepare them right in front of everyone at the supper in our wood fired oven,” he says. The oven method enables him to get very creative with the food.
A farm tour led by Rich Everett starts at 5:30 p.m. and a multi-course dinner begins at 6 p.m. – see menu below. Tickets are $75 (dinner only) or $100 (with wine pairings from Odonata Winery). Buy tickets online for the Sept. 21 event at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/725726.
During the 2014 season, there were dinners in June and August. After this September dinner, there will be one more in October.
For more information, call (831) 419-8191 or email roland@uncie-ros.com
Location:
Everett Family Farm, 2119 Old San Jose Road, Soquel
September 21 Menu
LITTLE GEM & SUMMER SQUASH SALAD
with roasted walnuts & pecorino
…
GAZPACHO
with Everett Family Farm tomatoes
…
BRAISED PORK RIBS
with wood-oven baked beans & organic coleslaw
…
STUFFED PADRON PEPPERS
…
CREAM PUFFS
with mixed summer berries
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Santa Cruz and South Bay restaurants open on New Year’s Eve, Part 1 of 2
Planning to celebrate New Year’s Eve 2013 at a restaurant in Santa Cruz, Los Gatos, or another nearby South Bay city? Here are details and menu highlights for a variety of venues; I’ll publish a few more tomorrow.
Santa Cruz Area
Aquarius
Located at the Santa Cruz Dream Inn overlooking the Wharf, Aquarius is hosting two seatings for dinner on New Year’s Eve: 5-6:30 p.m (three courses, $65) and 9 p.m. (five courses, $85). The second seating includes a DJ and live music, dancing, hats/noisemakers, and a midnight toast. Call 460-5012 for reservations or more information.
175 West Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz
Johnny’s Harborside
On New Year’s Eve, Johnny’s is serving a prix fixe, three-course dinner for $48 that includes a glass of champagne. Call 479-3430 for reservations; the first seating is 5 p.m. and the last is 9:30 p.m. Customers choose one selection from each course. Appetizer options include fresh local crab and citrus bisque. Second course choices include half steamed fresh local dungeness crab with pan-seared crab cake, herb-roasted potatoes, and green bean almondine, and grilled New York strip loin with mashed potatoes, sauteed spinach, provencal stuffed crimini mushrooms, and roasted garlic butter. Dessert selections include Meyer lemon & cranberry bundt cake.
493 Lake Ave, Santa Cruz
Michael’s on Main
The Soquel restaurant is serving a fixed-price $55 four-course dinner with seatings from 5:30 – 9 p.m. Dinner includes a glass of champagne and New Year’s party favors. Call (831) 479-9777 for reservations. Appetizer choices include Corralitos sausage and blue cheese stuffed mushrooms; second course choices include lobster bisque. Entrees include salmon wellington and desserts include cheesecake infused with late harvest moscato.
2591 Main St., Soquel
Hindquarter
The Santa Cruz restaurant is open on New Year’s Eve from 5 p.m. onward. It’s serving the regular dinner menu plus holiday specials. Call (831) 426-7770 for reservations.
303 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz
The Cocoanut Grove
Celebrate New Year’s Eve at the oceanfront Cocoanut Grove from 7 p.m. – 1 a.m. Tickets for dinner and the dance are $84; the dance only is $41 in advance and $46 at the door. Entertainment will be provided by The Alison Sharino Band, The Surfing Magician, and Innisfree Celtic Music. The dinner buffet is from Crown Café Catering and includes a glass of sparkling cider or champagne. A no-host full bar will be available. Call (831) 423-2053 for information or buy tickets at brownpapertickets.com.
Los Gatos Restaurants
The Lexington House
The Lexington House just opened in September 2013, and it’s already gained many fans. The restaurant’s menu features products from local, organic, and sustainable sources skillfully prepared by Chef Philippe Breneman (formerly of Dio Deka and Moana Restaurant and Hotel Group, as well as a stint at Manresa). For its first New Year’s Eve celebration, The Lexington House is offering a five-course $85 menu featuring “the best of the season.” Beginning with a Cauliflower Veloute and a Caviar Cracker, guests will have options including Diver Scallops with parsnips and brown butter; Fettuccine with uni butter and Dungeness crab; Mills Farro with wild mushroom and a slow cooked egg; Rendered Lamb Tenderloin with golden turnips and hedgehog mushrooms, and Textures of Chocolate and Maple Truffles. Call (408) 354-1600 for reservations.
40 N. Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos
Dio Deka
Award-winning restaurant Dio Deka is offering its annual New Year’s Eve party with two seatings: the first from 6-8:30 p.m. ($95) and the second from 8:30 p.m. to past midnight ($125). Each features a four-course menu with Greek specialties from Chef Jeff Fitzgerald such as Keftethakia lamb meatballs (I highly recommend these!), Octapothi Scharas – mesquite-grilled octopus, Avgolemono – classic egg-lemon soup with orzo; Lavraki – mesquite-grilled Mediterranean Branzino; Paithakia – Mesquite-grilled double-cut lamb chops; and Brizola – mesquite-grilled prime bone in rib eye. Guests that attend the second seating will receive party favors, a midnight complimentary champagne toast at midnight, and encouragement to ‘dance the night away when the bar opens up onto a dance floor with a live DJ.’ Call (408) 354-7700 for reservations.
210 E. Main St., Los Gatos
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Restaurants for Thanksgiving 2013 in Santa Cruz and San Jose
It’s almost Thanksgiving – time to make your reservations if you’re going out to eat! Want to dine in the Santa Cruz or San Jose area? Here are a few to consider for November 28, 2013. I’ll be publishing more options in the next couple days.
Some local restaurants, including Johnny’s Harborside in Santa Cruz Harbor, will be closed.
Santa Cruz, Aptos, Soquel Restaurants
Chaminade offers a Thanksgiving buffet from noon to 6 p.m. The cost is $49.95 for adults, $16.95 for kids 6-12, and free for kids under 6. Customers are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Cruz County. Toy drive participants will be entered into a drawing to win a 50-minute massage at The Spa, Sunday Brunch for two in the Sunset Restaurant, or an overnight stay for two. Selections include roast Tom Turkey, roast lamb leg, butternut squash ravioli, a seafood assortment, gourmet salads, and pumpkin apple soup.
One Chaminade Lane, Santa Cruz (831) 475-5600
Solaire has a four-course prix fixe Thanksgiving feast from noon – 8 p.m. for $45 (adults), $35 (seniors 65+), and $14 (kids). Children 5 and under are free. Appetizer choices are bacon-wrapped prawns and cheddar grits or wild mushroom risotto; soup/salad choices include roasted butternut soup; entrée choices include Diestel turkey, Kurobuta pork prime rib with herb spaetzle, or artichoke agnolotti. Dessert options include pumpkin pie or triple chocolate cake.
611 Ocean (inside Hotel Paradox), (831) 600-4545
Bittersweet Bistro will have a Thanksgiving buffet. Served from 12:30 – 6 p.m., the price is $53.95, (Adults) $22 (Kids 6-12), or $7 (Kids 5 and Under). Parties that are seated right at 12:30pm receive a 5% discount. The menu includes Roasted Traditional All Natural Turkey with Pan Gravy and Gluten Free Gravy, Slow Roasted Prime Rib with Au Jus and Horseradish crème fraîche, Teriyaki Salmon, Classic Glazed Applewood Smoked Ham, Baked Candied Yams, Persimmon Waldorf Salad, Classic Caesar Salad, Tossed Asian Salad, Maple Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, and a special kids’ buffet table. Desserts include a chocolate fountain and miniature versions of “famous Bittersweet desserts.”
787 Rio Del Mar Boulevard, Aptos (831) 662-9799
Michael’s on Main is serving Thanksgiving dinner from 2-8 p.m. The restaurant will offer a 3-course prix fixe meal for adults ($32) and a special meal for kids 12 and under ($15.95). The adult dinner features choice of soup or salad, entrée choice (four selections are oven-roasted turkey with sides such as garlic mashed potatoes and green beans with caramelized shallots, Osso Bucco, pistachio-crusted salmon, or a vegetarian dish with grilled portobello), and choice of dessert (options include pumpkin cheesecake and cranberry orange bread pudding).
2591 Main Street, Soquel (831) 479-9777
San Jose Restaurants
Maggiano’s on Santana Row is doing a prix fixe Thanksgiving dinner; it’s $36.95 for adults and kids 5-12 are $17.95. The family-style dinner includes bruschetta, salad (families get to choose two of four salads offered), entrée (choose two of three entrees offered, including roast turkey with focaccia sausage stuffing or parmesan-crusted tilapia), side dishes (choose two), and pasta (choose two from selections including four cheese ravioli or gnocchi with Italian sausage). Dessert is also included; choose two from five selections include pumpkin praline cheesecake and tiramisu (I’ve heard the tiramisu is fantastic!). There are also take-out options: choose a $185 full-meal package that serves approximately five people or order a la carte.
3055 Olin Avenue, Ste. 1000 (408) 423-8973
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