Santa Cruz Foodie

Salad with sofritas filling, bell peppers, and fresh corn salsa from Santa Cruz restaurant Chipotle

Chipotle Mexican Grill has a couple pieces of news: it recently added sofritas, a tofu filling, as a choice for its burritos, tacos and salads in its Northern California locations, and it’s hosting a San Francisco festival this weekend.

First, let’s discuss the sofritas, which you can see in the image at the top of this article (in that case it was used as a salad topping with Chipotle’s fresh corn salsa). Sofritas has been available at Chipotle’s Northern California locations since mid-April and is made from shredded tofu braised with chipotle chilis, roasted poblanos, and a blend of aromatic spices. Chipotle uses organic, non-GMO tofu from Oakland’s Hodo Soy. As Chipotle has announced, sofritas is available in burritos, tacos, burrito bowls, and salads, and can be combined with other signature ingredients including white or brown cilantro-lime rice, pinto beans or vegetarian black beans, house-made salsas and guacamole, and cheese or sour cream. I have enjoyed the sofritas a couple times now, and highly recommend it for your next Chipotle visit.

Next, the festival: on Saturday, June 8, Chipotle is hosting the free festival “Cultivate San Francisco.” It’s from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Golden Gate Park at Hellman Hollow and includes cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs, live music, local food artisans, regional beer and wines, a special Chipotle festival menu, and other activities emphasizing fresh and affordable food made with sustainable ingredients. Chipotle’s menu for the festival, with items ranging between $5 and $7, will include a grilled flatbread gordita; chicken and sofritas tacos; charred esquites (corn) salad; and a jasmine rice bowl with pork and chicken meatballs or organic tofu from ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen, Chipotle’s Asian concept. Other offerings include an Artisan Hall with lots of Bay Area food vendors selling items (a full list is below) plus a special “Cultivate Farmhouse Ale” created in partnership with SF’s Speakesasy Ales and Lagers.

Chipotle created the Cultivate Festival in 2011 as a way to raise awareness of the impact food has on society. The festival is intended to get people thinking and talking about food and food issues. The first one was in Chicago; in 2012 there were events in Chicago and Denver; this year there are Chicago & Denver events plus SF.

Chefs scheduled to speak and cook at Cultivate San Francisco include Richard Blais (The Spence, HD1, and Flip Burger Boutique in Atlanta); Michael Chiarello (Bottega in Napa Valley and Coqueta in San Francisco); Amanda Freitag (Food Network’s “Chopped” and “The Next Iron Chef”); Sarah and Evan Rich (Rich Table in San Francisco); Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo (Animal, Son of a Gun in Los Angeles) with Ludo Lefebvre (Trois Mec in Los Angeles); Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen (San Francisco); and Nate Appleman and Joel Holland (Chipotle Culinary Team). The musical lineup includes Mayer Hawthorne, The Walkmen, Walk the Moon, LP, and Matt Costa.

Artisan Hall line-up

4505 Meats

·         Smoked Brisket, $10

·         Cheddar Bratwurst, $7

·         Chicharrones, $4

El Porteño Empanadas

·         Carne: Prather Ranch Organic Dry-Aged Grass Fed Beef, Pimiento Stuffed Olives, Raisins, $5

·         Pollo: Mary’s All Natural Chicken, Raisins, Olives, $5

·         Champiñones: Fresh Seasonal Local Organic Mushrooms by Far West Fungi, Shallots, Crème Fraiche, $5

·         Alfajor de Dulce de Leche: Argentine cookies joined together with dulce de leche (Argentine caramel made with organic milk), $2

Handsome Coffee Roasters

·         Espresso, $4

·         Espresso + Milk (3oz & 5oz cups), $5

·         Iced Coffee, $5

Happy Girl Kitchen Co.

·         Pickle On a Stick, $2

·         Mixed Pickle Plate, $5

·         Quinoa Veggie Salad, $6

·         Lavender Lemonade, $4

Hodo Soy

·         Hodo Yuba Fresh Spring Rolls, $6

·         Soy Thai Tea (hot or cold), $3

·         Hodo Silken Tofu with Ginger Syrup, $3

·         Miso Soup with Hodo Tofu, $4

Pop Nation

·         Strawberry Cream, $4

·         Sea Salted Dark Chocolate, $4

·         Bangkok Night Market, $4

·         Strawberry Lemonade, $4

Llano Seco Organic Meats

·         Llano Seco Organic Hot Dog, $7

·         Llano Seco Organic Argentine Sausage, $7

·         Llano Seco Organic Italian Sausage, $7

·         Llano Seco Organic Breakfast Sausage, $7

Marin Gourmet

·         Falafel, 6 for $5 or 12 for $10

·         Tabouli Salad Lunch Pack, $8

·         Hummus, Small: $4  Med. : $6  Lg. :$8

·         Dip, Small: $6  Med. :$10  Lg. :$12

Nana Joes

·         Tony’s Trail Mix (Gluten-Free), $5

·         Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies (Gluten-Free), six-pack for $5 or one for $1

·         Orange Spiced Mixed Nuts (Gluten-Free), $8

Sunbud Bakery Buckwheat Cookies

·         Buckwheat Cookie with Apricots, $1

·         Buckwheat Cookie with Chocolate and Currants, $1

·         Package of $5 Cookies

Cafe Fanny Granola

·         Cafe Fanny Granola Original (12oz Box), $8

·         Cafe Fanny Granola Flaxseeds w/ No Raisins (12oz Box), $8

·         Cafe Fanny Granola Cran-Coconut w/ Quinoa (12oz Box), $8

·         Parfait with Yogurt and Your Choice of Granola, $4

·         Coffee Almond Butter Granola, $4

CC Made

·         Classic Artisanal Caramel Corn, $4 (3 oz) or $8 (8 oz)

·         Pistachio Caramel Corn, $4 (3 oz) or $8 (8 oz)

·         Spiced Almond Caramel Corn, $4 (3 oz) or $8 (8 oz)

·         3-Flavor Caramel Popcorn Cone, $2

Chacewater

·         Chasewater Extra Virgin Olive Oil Pesto on Sour Dough Bread with Tomatoes and Goat Cheese, $6

·         Favolosa Extra Virgin Olive Oil, $20

·         Tuscan Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil, $20

·         Mission Manzanillo Extra Virgin Olive Oil, $18

·         Sevillano Extra Virgin Olive Oil, $18

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