The exuberant and eye-popping spread of food at the awards ceremony for the first-ever Santa Cruz Vegan Chef Challenge seemed to shout something.
That something I first heard from Dr. Jason Scorse, a Santa Cruz resident, lifelong vegan and Ph.D. in Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics. He studied and lectured Middlebury College grad students on the crushing environmental and animal welfare impacts for years.
“Eating plant-based food is not deprivation!” he says. “You don’t have to give up anything, you can choose something better!”
The winners sharing their joyful bites at La Posta (538 Seabright Ave., Santa Cruz)—which won Best Vegan Pasta Dish for its housemade orecchiette fagioli—proved that with vivid verve. Meanwhile, the eateries involved read like a who ’s-who of great area restaurants, so I want to pack in as many of them here as room will allow, with two notes.
One, the strong showing by both businesses and community members for an introductory event (which lasted all April and included nearly 30 spots) bodes well for the challenge going forward.
Two, as event organizer Allison Garcia noted, while Surf City outclasses many communities in this category, an upgrade opportunity awaits.
“Why here? And why in this moment?” she asked before announcing the winners. “Isn’t [Santa Cruz] already ‘vegan friendly’? Well, yes. We have a lot of vegans, and we’re quite friendly. But there’s still a lot of room for improvement.”
Circle & Square Bistro (2904 Freedom Blvd., Watsonville) took top honors as People’s Choice for Menu Excellence and Most Popular Destination.
Vim Dining & Desserts (2238 Mission St., Santa Cruz) slotted second for Overall Excellence in Culinary Artistry and Best Dessert (and crushed it with flaky, gooey, glorious rhubarb galettes at the awards sesh).
Laughing Monk Brewing (262 Mount Hermon Road Unit 103, Scotts Valley) claimed third and Best Vegan Comfort Food, and threw down a tasty slate of loaded “nacho bites” with barbecue seitan and cashew cream.
V&V Delicious Crepes (1855 41st Ave., Capitola) earned Best Hidden Gem and Vegan Chef Challenge Spirit. Trestles Restaurant (316 Capitola Ave., Capitola) took Best Entree for its butter beans and cashew ricotta squash blossoms. The Buzz Sushi (1005 Cedar St., Santa Cruz) corralled Best Vegan Creative Fusion and Most Beautiful Presentation.
The View Restaurant and Bar at Chaminade (1 Chaminade Lane, Santa Cruz) pulled down Best Vegan Appetizers for a habit-forming smoked vegan cream cheese on gluten-free crostini with local apricot syrup and aged balsamic. Lúpulo (233 Cathcart St., Santa Cruz) snagged Best Vegan Pub Food. Chocolate (1522 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz) drew love for Most Diverse New Vegan Menu. Pharaoh’s Plate (10200 Love Creek Road, Ben Lomond) scooped up Best Vegan Street Food. Bookie’s Pizza (1315 Water St., Santa Cruz) won People’s Choice while detonating minds and tastebuds with its “beeteroni” pies.
And that’s just a partial list of winners. Get the full-figured rundown via @veganchefchallengewest on Instagram and Facebook and scroll for Santa Cruz.
LESS IS MORE
While we’re at it, Santa Cruz VegFest is coming on quickly, and happens June 6 at Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds (2601 E. Lake Ave., Watsonville), with 100+ exhibitors and a ton of animal-free food, drink, products and more, vegfestsantacruz.org…At Live Oak Refillery (1135 17th Ave. #103, Santa Cruz) you can refill your own containers with everyday home, body and cleaning products, reducing waste and supporting an environmentally conscious community, in a beautiful and welcoming space, lorefillery.com…Where are your favorite places—food-focused and beyond—to take guests for authentic Santa Cruz experiences? DM me @MontereyMCA on Instagram with your ideas, as I’ll get into that next week…Formula One racer Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton: “Every person I have met who has gone vegan says it is the best decision they have ever made.”
