< Blame it on the Food » Santa Cruz
 

Santa Cruz

...now browsing by category

Dining Options in Santa Cruz

 

Drinks @ the PARADOX HOTEL in Santa Cruz

Thursday, May 23rd, 2013

I know there aren’t many of you looking for non-alcoholic drinks to sip on when your friends go out for cocktails but this is a great NA drink featured at the Paradox Hotel (Solaire Poolside Bar) in Santa Cruz.  I am not exactly sure of the name of this drink but twice now I’ve just asked the bartender to make me a good NA drink and the photograph above shows off what they make!

For your drinking friends, they do offer some local beers on draft (Santa Cruz Ale Works i.p.a. and amber ale) and wine too of course.  At the moment they only have Soju cocktails but they are inline for a liquor license beyond beer and wine.  We like munch on their Marcona almonds.

You can order drinks and sit outside by their pool and sip away!

Cocktail Bar Menu

The Solaire does have a happy hour too:

Solaire Happy Hour

$5 Apps & Drinks
Sunday – Thursday
4:00PM – 7:00PM

Restaurant Hours-

Open Daily

Breakfast 7:00AM-11:30AM

Lunch 11:30AM-5:00PM

Dinner 5:00PM -10:00PM

Happy Hour- 4:00PM- 7:00PM, SUN-THURS

For reservations, please call (831) 600-4545.

Linked Photos of the Pool

Posted in Drinks, Eating Out, Santa Cruz | No Comments »
Tags: , ,

Aptos BBQ • Best BBQ Around

Wednesday, May 8th, 2013

This winter our friends from San Francisco drove down twice just to eat at Aptos BBQ with us.  These same friends have tried lots of BBQ in San Francisco and say they love the smokey flavor at Aptos BBQ.  They even claim that they haven’t found anywhere else in the Bay Area that can get that smokey taste in their meats.  Their favorite … the smoked tri-tip sandwich. Both times when we finished our meals our friends bought more meat to take back for lunch-time sandwiches for the next week.

At Aptos BBQ you order at the counter and take a seat in the southern style dining room (with live music each night from what I hear). They do have sides such as the potato salad, baked beans, and coleslaw that are also tasty. One of the best things about their sandwiches is that they serve them on garlic toast!  In addition they have craft brews on draft with lots of tasty choices.

8059 Aptos St  Aptos, CA 95003

http://www.aptosstbbq.com/

Posted in Eating Out, Santa Cruz | No Comments »
Tags: , , , ,

Laili • Tasty Afghan Restaurant in Santa Cruz

Sunday, October 14th, 2012

If you want a great local, seasonal harvest treat, seriously, try the Pumpkin Bolani (Afghan vegan flatbread with a vegetable filling) at Laili Restaurant in Santa Cruz.  You won’t be disappointed in the Bolani (pumpkin or spinach) as an appetizer (sort of like an empanada or samosa) or part of the “Pick 2 Lunch Special.” See the photo above for a visual description and evidence of the three great dipping sauces the Bolani comes with.

Laili is a downtown, upscale Mediterranean restaurant right across the street from the MAH (Museum of Art & History). It was our first time eating Afghan food and it was delicious Mediterranean style cuisine.  We have only eaten at Laili for lunch so far but we were blown away with the flavor-packed bites of everything we tried.  The garden patio is lovely as is the decor and ambiance for a special lunch.  We also recommend the Silk Road Plate and the Maush-awa soup: lentils, shelling beans, braised lamb, qurut  yogurt (also a vegetarian option).  The server suggested the lamb wrap, which we’ll try next time.  The lunch prices were reasonable and we were absolutely stuffed when we left.

I suggest Laili restaurant if you have friends or family visitors in town who are either vegetarian, vegan, and/or meat eaters as there are options for everyone.

101 Cooper St
Ste B
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

(831) 423-4545

Posted in Eating Out, Santa Cruz | No Comments »
Tags: , , , ,

Garden Deli • Grab a Good Sandwich in Santa Cruz

Tuesday, September 18th, 2012

Garden Deli in Santa Cruz is a locals spot. If no one had ever mentioned Garden Deli to you, you would never find this hole-in-the-wall location. Stop-in for sandwiches, liquor, beer, or snacks. The line can get long, but it moves quickly.

Stop by Garden Deli before you go:

  • To the Beach
  • Camping
  • On a Picnic

Garden Deli is located in a Liquor Store in Santa Cruz off of Soquel Avenue. They have a custom deli in the back or already made up sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, macaroni potato salad in a case. This is not a gourmet, arugula and microgreens place (think classic) so if you know what kind of sandwich you like, order that but we listed some of our favorites below.

We like the Smoked Turkey Sandwich on Sliced Sourdough or a roll with everything. Others mentioned liking the Italian and the Hot Pastrami or a Reuben made with Pastrami (as recommended by the Sentinel “Garden Deli is a Hidden Eden”).

1815 Soquel Dr
Santa Cruz, CA 95065

(831) 475-9191

Posted in Eating Out, Santa Cruz | No Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Main Street Garden & Cafe: Soquel/Santa Cruz

Friday, May 11th, 2012

Main Street Garden & Cafe in Soquel, sorry Santa Cruz folks I know Soquel is SO far from Santa Cruz that you just can’t call it Santa Cruz, is a hidden spot with very creative Northern Italian, California-influenced cuisine (local, seasonal, organic and much of it from their own garden out back).  The idea that many folks in SC don’t mingle over into different areas than where they live (I picture it to all be Santa Cruz) was something that took me a while to figure out. It was finally explained to me when I had  two brothers move to Santa Cruz who said, you can’t call that Santa Cruz, that’s Aptos, Soquel, Capitola, Live Oak, The Flats, West Side, East Side …

Enough about Santa Cruz, let’s talk about Main Street Garden & Cafe in SOQUEL.  Sometimes my husband’s Aunt and Uncle take us out for good food that they have been wanting to try in the area. We are thankful for that because his Aunt knows and appreciates creative cuisine and that is what caught our eye when we looked up Main Street’s menu online.  For their Starters and Salads menu the dishes featured were Wood-fired cauliflower, curry cream, caramelized onion, chile and Salami, garden kiwi mostarda, flat bread (add copa & loin, add burrata). Doesn’t that sounds good? The dishes that lured us in ended up not being what we ordered because they change their menu frequently with what is fresh in their garden (really awesome) but we did get a fantastic cold salad with shaved Asparagus, Strawberries, Chevre, and a Sherry Vinaigrette. It was excellent and I am actually attempting to make it tonight for an impromptu dinner party at a friend’s house. Then we had the two different wood fired pizzas and two different pastas.  When I go out to a restaurant I like to have things that I can’t make at home or that would take me such a huge amount of time to make them, that I would never attempt it.  Main Street did this with their homemade black squid pasta and their great wood fired pizza crust (we particularly like the potato pizza with pork belly).

The atmosphere was quiet on the Wednesday evening we dined but call for a reservation just in case, it is that kind of place.  They did seem to be having a couple of dinner parties or corporate dinners in the back if you are interested in that.  It is a bit more expensive. We haven’t tried the Saturday or Sunday outdoor lunch in the garden but that is what we intend try next.

If you aren’t sure what to do for Mother’s Day, when I just looked at their website they listed a Mother’s Day special dinner that looks really good.  Some of these menu items really caught my eye:

  • Heirloom lettuces, pistachio, chevre, strawberry-prosecco vinaigrette
  • Salami, apricot mostarda, pickled radicchio, flat bread
  • Garden borage pappardelle, pork ragu, tomato sauce, garden chard, grana
  • Buttermilk waffle, poached garden egg, roasted asparagus, fennel cream, pecorino

Check out their menu, if you can use some of their starters for inspiration and design some good recipes, let me know!

3101 N. Main St. in downtown Soquel

http://mainstreetgardencafe.com/

Dinner:  Wednesday – Sunday starts at 5:00 pm

Lunch:  Saturday & Sunday starts at 12 noon

Reservations (831) 477-9265

Posted in Eating Out, Santa Cruz | 3 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , ,

Best Chick Happy Hour in Santa Cruz

Sunday, April 8th, 2012

*Photos taken with Camera + App (99 cents).  If you don’t have it, it’s great because you can focus on one thing and get the exposure (lightness/darkness) from another spot. Then you can add a filter effect, borders, and text.

515 Kitchen & Cocktails offers a great happy hour 4pm until 7 PM – everyday.

I get the le pamplemousse cocktail for $5 (finlandia grapefruit vodka, aperol liqueur, lemon juice, orange juice, and grapefruit juice, pictured above). The hubs gets a beer on special.  I will try to post more of their happy hour menu soon. Then we eat Truffle Fries (with minced rosemary, parmesan cheese and truffle oil)!  If you get there when they aren’t too busy, it’s great.  But depending on your scene it can get very busy in the later evenings.

Our favorite non-happy hour items are the 515 cocktail ($7.75 it’s a pomegranate margarita style drink cazadores tequila, la pinta tequila, lime, pama liqueur, patron citronge liqueur, sugar rim) and the burger ($11 bleu cheese, shallot confit, sauteed radicchio, and pomme frites).

Downtown Santa Cruz:

515 Cedar Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.

Posted in Drinks, Eating Out, Santa Cruz | 1 Response »
Tags: , , ,

Sushi in Santa Cruz is in Scotts Valley: Rumble Fish

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

As weird as it sounds (further from the ocean than Santa Cruz), good sushi in Santa Cruz can be found at Rumble Fish in Scotts Valley.  Just when we think we’ve tried it all, we have found some new spots to share with you over the next month!

People ask us a lot about where to get good sushi.  We don’t eat tons of sushi as John just can’t get full enough (it’s a hard life, I know).  We do like sushi and Japanese food and we found a really great place for you to check out.

For a birthday celebration we landed at Rumble Fish and as soon as we sat down, we spotted an old friend up at the bar.  This friend used to live near downtown Santa Cruz and frequented Shogun Sushi weekly.  Just seeing him in Rumble Fish gave the restaurant an immediate boost in our book.  He told us, “Order the Monkey’s Brain, it’s great!”   The Monkey’s Brain (something like Avocado filled with Tuna or other Sashimi and lightly deep-fried)?  Fried Green Tea Ice Cream is a good choice for the birthday boys and girls!

  • Nice portions (I order the pick two dinner and it was a huge amount of food)
  • Good variety, something for everyone, even non-sushi lovers
  • Sushi on the house when you sit down (tasty touch! we were treated to this at dinner, don’t know if it is all the time)
  • Creative food (Monkey Brain, TNT roll, Lion King roll, Rocky roll …)
  • Warm welcome, family friendly
4727 Scotts Valley Dr
Scotts Valley, CA 95066

(831) 440-9240

Posted in Eating Out, Santa Cruz | 1 Response »
Tags: , ,

Carnitas @ Taqueria Los Pericos: Santa Cruz

Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
  • Carnitas and the Chips and Salsa bar.

There is really not much more to say here.

But, I will say more … with so many taquerias in the area, each being good for different reasons, we never had a reason to stop in to Los Pericos.  LP is an unassuming spot often filled with college students, young families, and sometimes a random homeless person. We now frequent Pericos to eat their tasty carnitas on nachos, in burritos, on salads, you name it.   We also appreciate their chips bar with tasty salsa varieties (see photos).  I don’t fill up the tiny cups,  I put the salsas all together in the paper chips basket.

  • $3.25 bottles of beer
  • Large, long tables for groups, we’ve eaten at LP with ten before

Give the chef a nod and he just might hook you up with extra meat, for real!

139 Water St
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

(831) 469-7685

Posted in Eating Out, Santa Cruz | 2 Comments »
Tags: , , ,

« Older Entries