Laid-back Santa Cruz goes from blasé to gourmet with restaurants well worth a trip to the beach. Santa Cruz. This classic California beach town, famously progressive and proudly quirky—“Keep Santa Cruz weird” is its unofficial motto—has recently added a bustling food scene to attractions like the Boardwalk, surfing and redwoods-filled state parks. ¶ Given the city’s longtime standing as a center of organic agriculture, the spate of exciting new eateries appearing in the last few years might be overdue. “We recognized that Santa Cruz was ripe for businesses like ours,” said the founder of one popular new restaurant, with this realization attracting other food entrepreneurs to Surf City of late. For locals and visitors, the eating choices have never been better. ¶ While ’Cruz has long harbored a few dining options focused on fresh, local ingredients like Gabriella Cafe, Ristorante Avanti and Theo’s (it’s now Main Street Garden & Cafe) in nearby Soquel, the town in earlier years was better known for the saltwater taffy sold at the Boardwalk or goofy tourist attractions like the Mystery Spot and Felton’s Bigfoot Discovery Museum. Big-deal dining was thought to be places like Shadowbrook in Capitola, beloved for its cable car and gardens more than its cutting-edge cuisine. » February/March 2015 83 BY SUSAN HATHAWAY | PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS SCHMAUCH
South Bay Accent - Feb/Mar 2015
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