No one can eat 34 burgers in one week, can they? I gave it a run last year and didn’t come close. Maybe we should have a contest, like the Nathan’s Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, where we ask readers to scarf down all of our Burger Week entries and review each.
Maybe next year…ha.
Meanwhile, I LOVED sampling a bunch of burgers last year and plan to make a good run at it this year. My biggest surprise last time was that some of the best burgers were at places I didn’t think of as burger spots, including some of the seafood specialty places.
Last year I loved the burgers at Ideal Fish Market so much that I went back twice and tried to go back to the kitchen and thank the chef…until a manager grabbed me and told me kitchen visits were forbidden.
Anyway, every burger I tried last year was really great, like over-the-top great, and I wished the restaurants would serve their Burger Week specials all year long. I’d love to hear about your favorites this year. You can email them to ed****@*****ys.com
One of my goals this time is to try to find the best non-beef burgers. You’ll see them all in our pullout Burger Week section. The great irony here is that burgers started out as a simple, run-of-the-mill food, a pocketable, no-frills takeout, but this week, like something out of one of those TV cooking contests, chefs try to outdo themselves and come up with unusual, gourmet patties, and it’s fun to sample their answers to the challenge.
With so many restaurants in the hunt, we definitely need your reviews and suggestions. It would be a real community service.
Some other focuses for the week ahead: I’m really excited about Matthew Swinnerton’s new program, bringing in major stars and having them backed by Santa Cruz bands. The current one is Lol Tolhurst, of the Cure and David J of Bauhaus and Love & Rockets, mixing it up with our Santa Cruz band, Trestles and singer/songwriter Swan Porter. You won’t find something like this anywhere else. It’s a great idea and a real audience pleaser. Amazing that it’s happening in our relatively small town.
We’ve also got internationally-known jazz artists Omar Sosa and Yilian Cañizares playing on Monday at Kuumbwa Jazz Center. Again, we are so lucky to be between SF and LA where famous artists can do a gig in between weekend big-city shows. John Malkin’s interview with them delves deeper than music and into Cuban and U.S. politics. I learned a lot from it in this time when we are bombing ships and embargoing boats into their homeland.
There’s a lot more in this issue for you to discover, including a new downtown storefront, some restaurants you may not know about and a speed limit rule you need to know about.
We’ve also got so many national concerns coming to roost, not the least of which is administration’s threats to start drilling in Monterey Bay, something we have fought against for decades. Our local congressman, Jimmy Panetta in a story in the news section, has vowed to fight the drill. That’s something I think we can all agree on, right?
Enjoy the week and have a burger for me.
Brad Kava | Editor
PHOTO CONTEST
RISING TIDESE Watching the wind and clouds come in at Sea Harvest Restaurant in Moss Landing. Photograph by Sherry Yokim
GOOD IDEA
Congressman Jimmy Panetta has announced $3.15 million in federal funding for the Wharf’s Resilience and Rehabilitation Project. “Repairing and bolstering the Santa Cruz Wharf is crucial for our local culture, livelihoods, and public safety,” Panetta said. “One in 10 jobs in Santa Cruz is generated by the Wharf, so this $3.15 million in federal funding I’ve secured for our community is about more than just rebuilding our past; it’s about creating an economy that is resilient to climate change.”
This latest federal funding for the Wharf reflects Rep. Panetta’s continued staunch advocacy for the iconic structure. After the 2024 Winter Storms, he toured the damage in the immediate aftermath and has continuously supported efforts to unlock federal funding and support.
GOOD WORK
Santa Cruz Public Libraries have received a $20,000 gift from Carnegie Corporation of New York, the foundation established by Andrew Carnegie.
The award is part of Carnegie Libraries 250, a special initiative celebrating the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and honoring the roughly 1,280 Carnegie Libraries still serving their communities across the United States.
Scottish immigrant Carnegie funded 1,681 free public libraries nationwide between 1886 and 1917. Approximately 750 of them continue to use their original buildings.
“Santa Cruz took advantage of the offer and originally built four ‘Carnegie’ branches, of which only Garfield Park remains as a library,” said Christopher Platt, Director of Libraries. Patrons are invited to share their Garfield Park Branch Library photos, stories and community celebrations at carnegielibraries.org.
