Today I am providing details on a few holiday shopping possibilities at Companion Bakeshop. For more foodie gift suggestions, see Part 1 and Part 2.
A few weeks ago, beloved bakery Companion Bakeshop opened an expanded retail shop—Companion Market—which is connected to its 2341 Mission St. location in Santa Cruz (Companion also has a bakery in Aptos at 7486 Soquel Dr., 831-612-6655). This is a fabulous place to find holiday gifts for your foodie friends. There are some vintage items plus mugs, kitchen towels, aprons, cookbooks, baking supplies, wooden utensils, Chemex brewing items, coffee mills, and greeting cards. They have a variety of fun candles (like one with toast and a pat of butter) and carry Chanukah candles. Additional whimsical selections include food-themed post it notes (I’d personally love to find this in my stocking!).
Also, they have helpful signs highlighting local artisans if that’s important to you. For example, there are Big Sur Salts jars, Happy Girl Kitchen jam, Santa Cruz Bee Company honey, and Fifth Crow Farm heirloom beans just to name a few.
Want to purchase something yummy for your own holiday meal or as a hostess gift for wherever you’re headed for the holidays? Signs describing these two caught my eye during a recent visit: Holiday Cookie Tins (cookies, candies, and more, $48) and a giant Cranberry Blondie ($28). The blondie, filled with cranberries and chocolate chips, is topped with cream cheese icing, pistachios, chocolate palmiers, candied cocoa nibs, and candied orange peel. See picture above for what’s inside the tin. Happy Holidays!
Contact info for Mission St. bakery & retail shop: 831-471-8378. For both locations, visit companionbakeshop.com, Instagram @companionbakeshop.
Hope you enjoyed Part 1 of the guide a couple days ago. Here is the next installment with more last-minute gift ideas; these are restaurant gift cards currently discounted for holiday shopping.
Poke salad at Pono Hawaiian Kitchen & Tap (ordered with “no tomatoes or wontons”) photo by Tara Fatemi Walker
Downtown Santa Cruz’s Kianti’s Pizza & Pasta Bar is offering $50 of gift cards for $40. The offer ends Dec. 24. Customers need to purchase in person at the restaurant, not online. Gift cards cannot be used the same day they are purchased. I always enjoy dining at Kianti’s; they celebrated their 20th anniversary this year and continue to offer consistently delicious food. Contact info: 1100 Pacific Ave., 831-469-4400, kiantis.com, Instagram @kiantis.
Wonderful seafood restaurantJohnny’s Harborsidehas the following promotion: Buy a $50 gift card for a friend, you get a $10 card for yourself. Buy one at $100 for a friend, you get a $20 card for yourself. Call or stop by the restaurant. The offer is valid through Christmas. Contact info: 493 Lake Ave., 831-479-3430, johnnysharborside.com, IG @johnnysharborside.
I have been a fan of Pono for many years; these days I go to the newer of the two locations, Pono Hawaiian Kitchen & Tap in Capitola, because that’s closer to my home. I love having poke bowls or poke salads, and the menu is so broad there is something for everyone, like Hawaiian-style tacos, burgers, coconut shrimp, and teriyaki tofu. For the Pono gift card deal, you need to visit Costco. Our local warehouse (220 Sylvania Ave.) currently has Pono gift cards at a huge discount: only $69.99 for two $50 cards. The regular Costco price is $74.99, but there is a $5 manufacturer’s instant rebate (the rebate portion expires Dec. 22). Cards are valid at both locations. Contact info:Pono Hawaiian Kitchen & Tap, 3744 Capitola Rd., 831-476-7458. Pono Hawaiian Grill, 120 Union St., 831-621-7448, ponohawaiiangrill.com, IG @ponokitchenandtap and @ogponohawaiian.
Fantastic local business Living Swell Kombucha is offering a 10% discount on gift cards through the end of December. You can find them at these farmers markets: Saturday Westside Santa Cruz (Dec. 21), Saturday Cabrillo (Dec. 21 and Dec. 28) and Sunday Live Oak (Dec. 22 and Dec. 29). I always love tasting their new seasonal flavors before deciding which ones to buy; the staff are friendly and generous when handing out samples to customers. Contact info: livingswellkombucha.com, IG @livingswellkombucha.
Spontaneous Confections Mini Tart Trio (apricot pistachio, fudge brownie, lemon meringue) purchased at a June popup photo by Tara Fatemi Walker
It’s the official week-until-Christmas warning; if you’re like me, you are behind in shopping! Here is my first of a few “last-minute gift suggestion” posts.
Pastry and confections business Spontaneous Confections has gift certificates available in $20 increments. Contact them via email at baked@spontaneousconfections.com or via DM on Instagram (@spontaneousconfections). They are also accepting holiday pre-orders for custom tarts, Dubai chocolate bars, and more until Dec. 22. I highly recommend this business; my family and I have bought and enjoyed their tasty treats at popups including the Live Oak Sunday farmers’ market.
Santa Cruz residents Justin and Stephanie Lenorovitz launched Spontaneous Confections in 2023 and quickly gained a large following. Signature items available year-round include Chocolate Chunk Cardamom Cookie, and Fudge Brownie with a honey lavender ganache and real 24K gold garnish. Learn more at spontaneousconfections.com. Justin, a military veteran, is the pastry chef. His education includes attending the Institut Culinaire de France, a Bordeaux pastry school. Justin’s wife Stephanie’s roles include event planning, operations, and graphic design.
Local baker TspVanilla has created a special Holiday Cookie Box. Varieties include espresso chocolate chunk, miso churro, gingerbread and orange pecan rosemary shortbread. You receive eight cookies for $18, 12 for $26, or 16 for $34. Order at shop.castiron.me/tspvanilla-1/shop and pick up in Soquel or arrange delivery. Another festive selection is Holiday Cake. The seven-inch single layer treat has a choice of three flavors: vanilla and spiced apple compote, brown butter gingerbread, and bourbon pecan. TspVanilla, also known as Shelby Aszklar, regularly offers custom orders of cookies, cupcakes, and cakes. She also often makes sourdough bagels, and this is what I have personally enjoyed from her—they are fabulous! I look forward to trying her sweets one day soon; I’m sure they are also fantastic. Follow TspVanilla on Instagram at tspvanilla.ca.
I recently had the opportunity to taste a wonderful vegetarian appetizer, Eggplant Basil, prepared by Avanti. I wasn’t at the actual Westside Santa Cruz restaurant, but the version I enjoyed—at a Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County benefit—is the same one served at the restaurant.
The dish includes layers of roasted eggplant, fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil. The flavors, and the texture of layers, come together beautifully. It can be challenging to cook eggplant to the right texture without losing its flavor and quality, and Avanti is successful!
I do plan to check out the actual restaurant someday soon; it’s been a while since I dined there. Glancing at the menu online, I am enticed by many dishes including appetizers like spice-roasted cauliflower (with dates, arugula and pickled onions) and lamb meatballs (with grilled polenta, red bell peppers and sweet onions).
Find Avanti at 1917 Mission St., 831-427-0135. Follow the restaurant on Instagram @avanti_santacruz.
How could I forget about this restaurant? Shame on me: I hadn’t been to Westside Santa Cruz’s Bantam in a long time, and I went last weekend. Wow, what I’ve been missing! The fried chicken was out of this world. When I ordered it, the server said “just so you know the chili butter is very spicy tonight” and as I told her, that is a-ok by me (and it was yummy). I highly recommend you get this the next time you dine at Bantam.
Also, I shared a small piece of the chicken (with accompaniments of course) with one of my dining companions, and she kindly shared a small piece of her Margherita-with-added-rocket-and Calabrian chiles with me. This wood-fired concoction was delightful.
My husband ordered the Little Gems salad and gave me a few bites — I will definitely eat one of these in the future. Very fresh ingredients, including local radishes, all enhanced by a delicious vinaigrette.
Find Bantam at 1010 Fair Ave., 831-420-0101. Follow the restaurant on Instagram @bantam1010.
Salatim at Laser Wolf, photo by Tara Fatemi Walker
My friend Amy, who lives in Philadelphia, has been telling me for years that as a fellow foodie I need to come visit her and partake in the city’s many amazing restaurants. In late February, I finally took that trip, and it lived up to my expectations and beyond. Here is a recap of my wonderful meal at Michael Solomonov’s restaurant, Laser Wolf.
I arrived on a Thursday evening, and after unpacking my bag and changing my clothes, we headed out to the first of many gourmet outings that would transpire over the next 48 hours. Amy had tried to get us a table at Solomonov’s flagship restaurant Zahav. Even though she was ready at her computer the exact second that reservations opened up, she wasn’t successful. As she puts it, “I swear bots hover over Zahav’s website.” Reservations are released “8 weeks to-the-day, at 11 am ET, in advance of the reservation date and opening one day at a time in a rolling fashion.”
Anyways, no matter—Laser Wolf was fantastic! The friendly service, the attention to detail, the exquisite food…everything. When the staff found out it was our first time there, they were quick to explain the unique way the menu and ordering work. Each customer picks one selection from “The Grill” section. There are meat choices like Chicken Shishlik and Koobideh, fish, and vegetables like Eggplant, each priced differently.
Appetizers and dessert are included with the meal. With the appetizers, you don’t do any choosing: it’s an assortment called “Salatim.” It’s a beautiful, large variety of dips and salads; served in small containers with homemade pita bread, these rotate but always include signature homemade hummus which is creamy and delightful. My favorites that night were Kale Babaganoush (so unique and wonderful), Braised Fennel with Orange, and Mushrooms with Swiss Chard & Sour Cherry (who would think to put all of those together? Unusual and brilliant). My friend and I both loved the Gigante Beans with Castelvetrano Olives. Oh, I almost forgot about the Smoked Beets, which had a wonderful depth of flavor. And the best part? As we ate these delectable snacks, our server came over and said, “Just let me know which ones are your favorites and we will bring you more of those.” Uh, YES PLEASE.
On to the entrees: my friend chose the Chicken Shishlik and gave me a bite—it was tender and well-seasoned, would definitely order again. With all the marvelous-sounding grilled options, I was indecisive. When I asked the server for advice, she recommended the Whole Dorade from the fish section. The idea of “whole fish” didn’t sound appealing, but she explained it was served as butterflied filets and that it was excellent. To say I am glad I went with her suggestion is an understatement: I was in food heaven. This amazing dish featured butterflied Dorade filets atop a base of black grape tzatziki. The sauce that covered the fish included grape molasses and “schug” which is a “Serrano chile salsa verde.” The layers of flavors, the textures, in a word: Wow.
Amy and I each chose a drink from the “Zero-Proof” menu: mine was Laser Lemonade with lemon, cardamom, orange blossom and Butterfly Pea flower. The verdict? Refreshing and delicious—not to mention beautiful. Amy was equally satisfied with her Passion Fruit Cooler. Laser Wolf offers a nice selection of wine (includes sparkling & white, rose & orange, and red, with vintages from France, Italy, Lebanon, Israel, and more) plus beer (mostly local) and Arak. The latter is a distilled spirit made from grapes and anise seed.
There is a small a la carte section on the menu, where you can pick things to add to your dinner. The menu always includes French Fries with Tehina Ketchup and usually includes a version of Tuna Tartare. Amy ordered the French Fries, and they were crisp and tasty.
For dessert we had a choice of Brown Sugar Soft Serve and Lime Coconut Sorbet (the menu rotates and always has one soft serve and one sorbet). Amy asked me, what do you think, one of each? I replied, “Of course!” We shared these sweet treats with smiles on our faces.
When we received the bill, I was surprised at how reasonable the total was—especially considering we even had some leftovers. Laser Wolf will definitely be a stop when I return to Philly one day.
Attention all Santa Cruz foodies: There are a couple promotions going on, and they are both time-sensitive.
Barceloneta: The popular tapas and paella restaurant in downtown Santa Cruz is currently offering a deal on E-gift cards. Shoppers receive a 15% discount through Nov. 28. You have to use the code THANKS23 at checkout. You can buy a $50 gift card for $42.50, a $100 gift card for $85, etc. This holiday season, your gift card recipient (or maybe yourself?) will undoubtedly enjoy some Jamón Croquetas, Patatas Bravas, signature Ibiza Hippie Salad, and/or seafood paella, and don’t forget the scrumptious churros with hot TCHO chocolate for dipping! Plus, the restaurant has a renowned cocktail and wine selection. Visit Barceloneta’s site and click on gift cards.
Pizza My Heart: Go to this special Pizza My Heart link to order gift cards and receive a bonus. If you buy $50 in cards, you get a free $10 gift card; if you spend $100 you get a free $25 card. These sound like great stocking stuffers. Who doesn’t love a giant, savory slice of Big Sur or Little Sur, or the pizzeria’s always-satisfying salads and fresh-baked Kook-ies? This promotion was originally supposed to last until Dec. 15 (which, according to a staff member, gives PMH enough time to process and mail orders so people have them by Christmas). However, they have gotten more orders than anticipated, so there’s a chance it could end sooner. Better get some now if you’re interested! Note: this promotion is only valid online. Although you can buy gift cards at brick-and-mortar PMH locations, you won’t get the free bonus cards.
If you missed my recent post about other local promotions, check it out here.
This Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, it’s Small Business Saturday. At Kianti’s Pizza & Pasta Bar, customers can pay $20 and receive $25 worth of gift cards. You can call 831-469-4400 or stop in to purchase these cards.
Starting this Saturday, and going through the following Saturday (Dec. 2), there is a fun promotion/contest through the Downtown Association of Santa Cruz: The Golden Envelope. And there are lots of retailers participating including several related to food or drink.
There are 500 Golden Envelopes scattered throughout various downtown businesses, so if you do some holiday shopping or enjoy some pizza, wine, cookies, or ice cream, you have the chance to win a prize. Each envelope contains something different: it could be a $10 gift card to one of the businesses, or a voucher for a free hot chocolate, or even $100 in Downtown Dollars. The Association has gathered thousands of dollars of prizes.
Here are the current retailers participating, as of 11/21:
As I mentioned last month, I truly appreciate living in a place that has several farmers’ markets to choose from. With rare exceptions, I shop at the Live Oak farmers’ market—only a mile away from my home—every week. It’s open Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. all year round. The location is the parking lot of the East Cliff Village Shopping Center (the one with a Dollar Tree).
Santa Cruz Community Farmers Markets (SCCFM) runs the Live Oak market, in addition to the Tuesday Felton, Wednesday downtown, and Saturday Scotts Valley and westside locations. They operate an information table where you can use your credit card to purchase tokens if you didn’t bring cash (there’s a small fee for this). This table is also where you can redeem EBT/SNAP funds for tokens.
During a recent visit, I got quite a bounty of fresh food. I stopped at Happy Boy Farms and bought a delicious lettuce mix (it comes in pre-bagged bunches) and zucchini. By the way, this farm accepts Venmo for payment in addition to cash or tokens.
Next, I stopped at Dirty Girl Produce for some fresh, tasty carrots. I enjoyed these all week long—sometimes raw (either on their own or with hummus) and sometimes cooked (in a stir-fry with other vegetables, garlic and ginger, and chicken).
After that, I bought some sweet strawberries. I decided to buy one basket from Windmill Farms and one from JCG. I like supporting as many farms as I can, and these both have tasty berries! Plus, Windmill is only going to be there for the rest of this season; owner Ronald and his partner Cate are retiring and moving to Spain. JCG is run by Jose and Berenice Garcia; they also run a food business, Tia Beré, right next to their berry booth. Tia Beré offers ready-to-eat Mexican food. I’ve heard great things about the food but haven’t sampled it yet. The Garcias are unique in that they are the only ones in the entire SCCFM organization that offer products from both their farm and food business at one market.
I stopped at New Natives for some of their wonderful pea shoots—I use these on sandwiches and as a salad topping. They have so many great micro greens to choose from, including sunflower greens, wheatgrass, and micro kale.
After that, I visited the Blossom’s Farm booth which has lots of herbal health and skincare products (tinctures, salves, etc.) plus teas, salts, and fermented products like kvass and sauerkraut. Carin Fortin, who owns and runs the farm with Delmar McComb, is a wealth of knowledge and always very friendly. This time, I bought “Gobolicious” sauerkraut which I have been thoroughly enjoying. With green and red cabbage, burdock root and sesame seeds among its ingredients, it’s got a great taste and I love the purple color. I know eating fermented foods is good for me (and my gut health) and Blossom’s makes it easy.
I sometimes buy ready-to-eat hot food or drinks; during this visit I did not buy food, but I did purchase Kombucha from Living Swell, who is at the market each week. It was my first time; after sampling a few flavors I selected Mojito which includes lime, mint, ginger, and more. It’s refreshing with a very nice kick.
Food-wise, I can heartily recommend Dos Hermanos Pupuseria (they appear occasionally at the market—they also rotate in and out of the westside and downtown markets). The pupusas are delectable; I’ve had ones with spinach and cheese, and beans & cheese. Other vendors I’ve tried, and love, are The Midway (chef Katherine Stern, formerly of La Posta and Bad Animal, does wonders with seasonal farmers market produce and other local products: think chanterelle-potato-cheese sandwich like the one I had earlier this year, pictured above, or Green Gage plum crumble with almond, blackberries & maple yogurt) and Adorable French Bakery (run by a France native, and you’ll love whatever you choose—my family’s favorites include chocolate eclairs and vegetable-quinoa tarts). The Midway and AFB are at the market every Sunday.
I’ve been told that Pleasure Point Bakery makes a unique variety of gluten-free breads that are “high quality and seed heavy” but I haven’t had the chance to try them yet. Looking forward to doing that soon!
Every time I go to the market, my final stop is usually Hakouya (I included this great business when I wrote about the Sunday market at Cabrillo College, so I won’t go into details this time; their specialties include handmade miso and fermented rice drinks).
Note, there is live music at the market starting at 10 a.m. every Sunday. And be assured, even though it’s not a large market, you can find every type of food there—including meat, pasta, eggs, fish, bread, pie, and produce – plus flowers, plants (including Cavanaugh Color, a nursery run by two generations of the same family), rotating vendors with products such as handmade soap, and more. Happy shopping!
Details
Location — East Cliff Village Shopping Center (East Cliff at 15th)
Vendors: there is a list here of all the SCCFM vendors; you can click a particular farm/vendor to see which locations they appear at each week
Lovers of delicious food—especially fresh produce—are so lucky to live in Santa Cruz County. We have a plethora of farmers’ markets; it would be impossible to go to all of them each week.
Lately, I have been going more frequently and I decided to share what I bought the last time I went to the Aptos Farmers Market at Cabrillo College—which is Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon all year long. I’ll talk about some of the other markets in the future, including the one closest to my home (Live Oak) where I shop most Sundays.
Back to Cabrillo: during this particular visit, I bought more ready-to-eat foods than fresh. The fresh produce I bought included cucumbers from Borba Farms plus spicy sprouts from New Natives (I usually buy pea shoots from NN, so this was trying something new, and they were yummy—my husband enjoyed putting them on his sandwiches for the next few days with hummus—more on that later). Also, I bought delectable yellow peaches from Stackhouse Orchards. Truly some of the best I’ve ever had. One employee was handing out lots of samples: peaches, nectarines, pluots, and more. Can’t wait to return and buy some different things.
We saved the row featuring ready-to-eat and bottled/jarred/etc. products for last. First, I stopped at Wise Goat Organics. A couple months ago I bought one of its scrumptious sauerkrauts (spicy garlic); this time I was there to get a bottle of Golden Kvass fermented probiotic tonic after seeing it on Instagram. It’s a beautiful bright drink with organic baby gold beets, organic carrots, organic ginger, organic turmeric, and sea salt.
Next, I stopped at Hakouya which sells fantastic probiotic miso dressing (I use it on salads, steamed or raw veggies and more), handmade miso (several varieties), sauces, and more. I bought a couple ready-to-drink Amazake, which is a fermented rice drink: miso vanilla (my daughter’s favorite) and Horchata. Some of Hakouya’s products are sold at grocery stores, but you can only find the Amazake at farmers’ markets.
After that, I visited the booth for Bay Living Culinary, a recent addition to the market. Chef Jody Lombardo’s experience includes operating Santa Cruz-based Fresh Prep Kitchens for 18 years. She’s now based in Monterey County, so I was very excited to hear she is now at the Aptos market every Saturday. Her regular offerings at the market are ready-to-bake chicken pot pies (which I haven’t tried yet) and Boston style clam chowder. The chowder is why I was there—I’ve had it a few times in the past and it’s been absolutely amazing—and that night as part of our family’s dinner, it lived up to my memories. The last time I’d eaten it was at last October’s Grazing on the Green, where Jody had her pop-up booth “The Chowder Box” (see photo above). On the Saturday I visited the market, Jody was handing out gazpacho samples, and the soup tasted incredibly fresh, chock full of many veggies and herbs. We took a container home and devoured it the following day.
Last but not least, my husband was looking for hummus and we stumbled on what turned out to be a treasure. Zena Foods & Sprouted Hummus, based in Sacramento, makes exquisite products. They know what they are doing with the samples they hand out; we tried a bunch of different things and ended up buying way more than we planned because they were so good. I don’t regret buying so much; the containers stayed fresh for many days and were great as sandwich fillings and as snacks with cut-up veggies or crackers. We bought three hummus varieties: avocado/cilantro, classic hummus, and sun-dried tomato & basil. We also got a package of fresh pita bread, and containers of harissa chickpea salad and Prince Gabriel spread Fun fact: “Love” is listed as the first ingredient on the labels, and you can taste this! After “love,” Prince G’s other ingredients are caramelized onions, sun-dried tomato, basil, sweet bell pepper, green olives, and olive oil.
I hope everyone reading this goes to a farmers’ market very soon; maybe I’ll even run into you there! It’s so important to support farmers and other small businesses.
Details:
Location — 6500 Soquel Drive, Cabrillo College (right above a spacious, free parking structure)
