LETTERS

WOMEN ARE NOT MEAT

Too bad Good Times has missed the fact that women are tired of being used as sex objects—why would the hamburger on your cover have bare legs and high heels? It’s 2025 and that is not how many (dare I say, most) women want to be represented—we are not meat for your consumption. Please think twice next time.

Kate Clark | Santa Cruz


BURGER WEEKS

First of all I am very pleased that burger week is now more than a week. Went to Santa Cruz Diner for the Monte Cristo burger. They didn’t have the tater tots, but the substitute onion rings was fine. And I have a lot of perimeters. I want a side, and hand formed, 1/2 pound, angus beef are important.  My brother and I will partake of more burger week with the added days, yum.

Thank you

Summer Goodwin | Santa Cruz


BURGER LOVE

My favorite is the double cheeseburger at East End gastropub.

The beef has a great flavor. All the condiments are well balanced.

I substitute cheddar because I personally like that better than American cheese.

For me, it is the closest thing to a Zip burger from Zip’s cafe, which is a famous burger from my hometown in Cincinnati.

Thomas Wenstrup


BURGER HATE

It was jaw-dropping to see the 2-21-24 issue of the Good Times weekly featuring “Santa Cruz Burger Week”! Are we living in the past or has no one heard the world’s leading scientists warning we are moving toward extinction of life on Earth?

This extinction disaster is due to global warming, climate change, pollution, deforestation, lessening water resources and accelerating species extinction, all largely attributable to raising beef and other flesh products to consume.

One burger requires nearly 2,000 gallons of water to produce. In the U.S., 55% of all water consumption is used by animal agriculture. It accounts for 91% of Brazilian Amazon Rainforest Destruction (136 million acres destroyed yearly). Animal agriculture produces more greenhouse gases than all transportation put together.

Livestock consumes 50% of all grains grown, increasing world hunger and using 45% of the entire Earth’s ice-free land. It’s a leading cause of species extinction; USDA is killing 2.7 million wild animals yearly to protect land for livestock grazing.

Additionally, livestock production is a leading cause of freshwater pollution; resulting in ocean dead zones and the Great Barrier Reef die-off.

What can we do about it? We can rapidly move toward a plant-based diet and thereby each and every person will daily save 1,300 gallons of water; 30 sq. ft. of forested land; 45 pounds of grain and 20 lbs. of polluting CO2 equivalent gases per day.

Human behavior is consuming and destroying our Earth. Shifting our harmful behaviors to ecologically sustainable ways is a solution. Promoting Burger Week is not.

Bill Meade | Associate Producer “What The Health” on Netflix | Watsonville

The Editor’s Desk

Santa Cruz California editor of good times news media print and web
Brad Kava | Good Times Editor

At a time when the strength of labor unions and protests have been devalued by a federal administration that extols dictators, it’s never been more important to ponder the moments when, in Patti Smith’s words, “people have the power.”

Four decades ago in Watsonville 2,000 workers—mostly women and mostly immigrants from Mexico—walked off their jobs for 18 months to protest low wages, a daring move for people who were already struggling and trying to make a better life for their families.

Todd Guild’s cover story previews two documentaries about these events, Daughters of the Strike (2024) and Watsonville on Strike (1990), both by director Jon Silver, who brings the struggle and its aftereffects to life. The first film looks at the children of the strikers, the ones who suffered during their parents’ struggles.

They will be shown March 8 as part of the Watsonville Film Festival, the area’s largest film festival, which runs March 6–25. This important festival has grown significantly under the leadership of Consuelo Alba and her team and it proudly puts Watsonville on the international map.

 It features 50 films in 11 venues, a diverse aggregation with local and worldwide interest.

Making its California premiere is “The Long Valley,” a short film about the people and sights of Salinas Valley’s agricultural region. That film is fresh off successful showings at the Sundance and SXSW festivals.

Featuring local residents Mas and Marcia Hashimoto, “The Vanishing Japantown” focuses on Watsonville’s historic Japantown and the closure of its last Japanese-owned business.

For all the listings, go to watsonvillefilmfest.org.

On the food front, we’re happy to see Andrew Steingrube’s Foodie File about Panda Inn in Aptos. We stumbled onto that place with its new owners and were delighted to taste authentic Szechuan spices and recipes, comparable to the area’s other great newer restaurant, Special Noodle. So nice to have Asian cuisine with zing.

One of the best meals I’ve ever eaten was my first one in the city of Shenzhen at a cheap noodle house where my mouth exploded with new flavors. I’ve been looking to repeat that experience ever since and am so glad to have found it here.

We’ve got plenty more treats inside this issue.

Thanks for reading.

Brad Kava | Editor

PHOTO CONTEST

BUGS R US “It looks like St. Joseph Church has new colors. God must have loved bugs. He made so many of them.” Photograph by Russ Levoy

GOOD IDEA

Cabrillo Gallery presents Our Earth, Our Future, an exhibition of artists sharing a common interest in promoting environmental sustainability and stewardship.

In this exhibition you can immerse yourself in a room-sized deep blue cyanotype printed on fabric by Tanja Geis that depicts future ocean life adapting to life amongst a sea of garbage; encounter a human-scale nest of kelp; and witness a conversation between a pelican and an Ohlone woman about dying kelp forests in a short film, among other exhibits.

The exhibit runs March 17 to April 18. It will be closed for Spring Break March 31 to April 4.

GOOD WORK

California State Parks and Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks, in partnership with the Monterey Bay Living Shoreline Program and Groundswell Coastal Ecology, will be hosting a community planting day at Rio del Mar State Beach to support the Rio del Mar Living Shoreline Pilot Project.

Planting will be March 15, 9am to noon. Space is limited and volunteers are encouraged to preregister on Eventbrite.

They will be planting native dune plants in an area of the beach adjacent to the Rio del Mar Esplanade. The plants selected are well-suited to the local coast, helping to stabilize loose sand and trap more sand over time to keep the dunes intact.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government.” —Thomas Jefferson

Choc It Up

Here comes history, not so much repeating itself, but improving itself, in a decidedly sweet way.

Three years back Stephen Beaumier and Katy Oursler shuttered Mutari Chocolate House on Front Street. Now Beaumier has hatched The Chocolate Studio (912 Cedar St., Santa Cruz), a three-month pop-up in the former Flower Bar space—ICYMI: Flower Bar closed in November—with hopes of making things permanent.

Four highlights to prioritize on premises: 1) Oursler’s Mutari craft chocolate (like dark sipping chocolate, truffles and bottled hot chocolate mix); 2) coffee and espresso from Ikon Roastery; 3) Beaumier’s White Label Chocolate Co. bars (including the 58% salted brown butter milk); and 4) sumptuous baked goods from adored Dani O Bakeshop (home base: Capitola Mall, 1855 41st Ave.), like day-fresh breads, pastries and croissants with White Label chocolate tucked within.

Chef/owner Beaumier aims to expand offerings soon, with more savory selections, cheese, charcuterie, beer, wine and a variety of nonalcoholic drinks on the horizon.

“The vision is to create a space similar to a Parisian café,” he says.

Hours unfold 9am–6pm, Wednesday through Sunday. Updates appear via Instagram @thechocolatestudiosantacruz.

And (!) Mutari will be launching weekly Friday pickups at the café ASAP for its popular brownies and cookies, with pre-orders advised at mutarichocolate.com.

GRAB AND GRUB

Community-supported-fishmonger Ocean2Table (427 Swift St., Unit C, Santa Cruz) has intro’d new pickup options for customers in Felton, Santa Cruz, Live Oak, Soquel and Silicon Valley. Subscribers can order fresh catch at their website, collect away at seven sites without delivery costs, and with the option for foraged mushrooms, produce and pantry stuffs too. The inventory available arrives rich with partner producers, so on top of local catch (as this goes to press there is black cod and Dungeness crab whole, cleaned or all meat) or fresh frozen (including albacore, halibut and black cod), there are also items like Pajaro Pastures eggs, Lavandine lavender mists and Belle Farms extra virgin olive oil, getocean2table.com.

TRIPLE PLAY

A three-pack of good news from Watsonville: 1) As of 6am yesterday (March 4), Silver Spur #2 is now officially open and slinging hot coffee, nine-grain pancakes and three-egg omelets (1040 E. Lake Ave.); 2) Slice Project continues to dish a sublime slice of cupping pepperoni downtown (300 Main St.) and staffers tell me SP #2 opens mid-month in the former ScoopDog (45 Aviation Way #6); and 3) A recent visit reveals Watsonville Public House (625 Main St.) continues to be a welcoming space with great house beers, Santa Cruz Cider Company sippers, shiny solid wood bar and My Mom’s Mole doing items like emoladas and roasted vegetable nachos.

KEEP IT COMING

Burger Week rumbles on through March 9, and if you can look over the lineup of creations featured and not be consumed with craving, you’re stronger than me, santacruzburgerweek.com….Aspiring foodie fermentation fans: Noma Projects, from the same team behind the late great Copenhagen restaurant often ranked #1 in the world, now does innovative products, such as sauces and pantry staples, that bring its legendary Nordic creativity into home cooking, nomaprojects.com…The 19th annual California Artisan Cheese Festival layers flavor all over Sonoma later this month, March 21-23, tickets and volunteer slots remain for everything from cheesemaking demos to immersive sensory experiences to the 100-vendor Artisan Cheese Tasting & Marketplace, artisancheesefestival.com…American author Beth Harbison, see us on our way: “Age is of no importance unless you’re a cheese.”

Things to do in Santa Cruz

THURSDAY 3/6

SOUL

JASON JOSHUA

Someone must be something special to have a nickname as cool as La Voz De Oro (The Golden Voice)—someone like Miami’s Jason Joshua. With Puerto Rico-born, Chicago-raised parents, the golden-voiced one grew up with diverse influences from which to spin his sweet takes on Latin soul, adding flavors of pop, funk and salsa. On his latest bilingual album, also called La Voz De Oro (because why wouldn’t it be?), Joshua plays multiple instruments and produces, lest anyone think he’s just another pretty voice. KEITH LOWELL JENSEN

INFO: 8pm, Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $25/adv, $30/door. 479-1854.

FILM FESTIVAL

WATSONVILLE FILM FESTIVAL

The Watsonville Film Festival, back for its 13th year, continues to promote underrepresented voices in media, focusing on the Latine and Indigenous experience. See page 14 for more. Runs March 6–8. ISABELLA MARIE SANGALINE

INFO: CineLux Green Valley Cinema, 1125 S. Green Valley Rd., Watsonville. $75/all access.

THEATER

EDGAR ALLAN POE SPEAKEASY

Drink in the chilling genius of Poe’s twisted tales along with icy dark potions in the historic Palomar Ballroom, made into a moody speakeasy to celebrate four classic stories—“The Telltale Heart,” “The Black Cat,” “The Raven” and “The Masque of the Red Death.” Admission includes four crafted cocktails: Pale Blue Eye, Edgar’s Twisted Brandy Milk Punch, The Nevermore and The Red Death. Additional shows on Friday and Saturday. JOHN KOENIG

INFO: 10pm, Palomar Ballroom, 1344 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $48-$55 at feverup.com. 426-1221.

FRIDAY 3/7

PUNK

THE EXPLOITED

Few punk musicians have lived the life and are still around to talk about it at 67 years old. But Wattie Buchan—the mohawked lead singer for Scottish punk legends the Exploited—isn’t an average human. Despite his brother Terry as the band’s original founding singer, Wattie soon took over and made a name for the band during the second wave of British punk with tracks like “Fuck the Mods,” “Exploited Barmy Army” and “I Believe in Anarchy.” Their debut album, Punks Not Dead, continues to be a trusted building block in any punk’s musical evolution. And thankfully, Wattie is still pressing on with the boys for future generations of growing punk youth. MAT WEIR

INFO: 8pm, Vets Hall, 846 Front St., Santa Cruz. $29/adv, $36/door. 454-0478.

DRUM ’N’ BASS

THE GARDEN

Combining jungle and drum ’n’ bass, Southern California twins Wyatt and Fletcher Shears are the Garden. While their painted-face aesthetic might suggest KISS (or Insane Clown Posse), the duo makes music that owes a stylistic debt to more adventurous styles. The Garden’s debut album, 2013’s The Life and Times of A Paperclip, is as much a punk album as anything else. The duo’s speedy tunes showcase a sound that’s all their own. Their devil-may-care attitude shines through even in album titles like Kiss My Super Bowl Ring (2020) and 2022’s Horseshit on Route 66. Iceage opens. BILL KOPP

INFO: 9pm, Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $48. 713-5492.

SATURDAY 3/8

BLUES

DISCRETION BREWERY 12TH ANNIVERSARY

Important things come in packs of 12. Eggs are purchased by the dozen. A trial needs 12 jurors. And let’s not forget the most important thing to come in packs of 12: beer! If anyone needs more reason to drink beer, Discretion Brewery’s 12th Anniversary Party is just the occasion. Come rain or shine; they’ll have the Back Porch Boys playing, followed by the Marin County Breakdown, a family band that plays traditional bluegrass, jazz and rock. Kick back with their 2025 Anniversary West Coast Pils or a Submarine Canyon (Meyer lemon and sea salt IPA) in a celebratory pint glass that can also be purchased. Top it off with some catered food from Sugo and a game of cornhole for a right proper party. MW

INFO: Noon, Discretion Brewery, 2703 41st Ave. Ste. A, Soquel. Free. 316-0662.

OUTSIDER FOLK

DAN AND PEGGY REEDER

The father-daughter team of Dan and Peggy Reeder are wonderfully quirky. Born in Louisiana and raised in California, Reed Senior resides in Nuremberg, Germany. After an absence of 15 years, he’s back stateside touring with his visual art and music played on homemade instruments like steel-string guitars, banjos and PVC trombones. He was signed by Oh Boy Records when label founder John Prine himself first discovered his demo in the early aughts. Reeder is one of a kind, following his own whims, and he currently feels like harmonizing with his daughter and sharing joy with others. KLJ

INFO: 8pm, Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy 9, Felton, $35. 704-7113.

THEATER

THE PANZA MONOLOGUES

The Barnstorm Theatre is bringing The Panza Monologues to life. Originally written and compiled in 2004 by Virginia Grise and Irma Mayorga, Maddie Farias directs this collection of stories of women and their panzas, “[the] roll of belly we all try to hide!” In line with Barnstorm’s mission to integrate different political, social, cultural and academic perspectives through the theatrical process, the show highlights Chicana thought and reflects on how the panza offers insight into a range of topics. SHELLY NOVO

INFO: 7:30pm, B100 Studio Theater, 453 Kerr Rd., Santa Cruz. $0-$20. 459-2974.

MONDAY 3/10

JAZZ

BRANFORD MARSALIS

Three-time Grammy winner Branford Marsalis is a saxophonist, band leader, Broadway composer, classical soloist and a giant in 21st-century jazz. One of his recent and high-profile projects was scoring for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Amid his myriad projects, the group he launched in 1986, the Branford Marsalis Quartet, remains his chief means of artistic expression. The Quartet’s latest release, 2019’s The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul, has predictably earned plaudits, but it’s onstage with the Quartet (featuring pianist Joey Calderazzo, Eric Revis on bass and drummer Justin Faulkner) where Marsalis does his best work. BK

INFO: 8:30pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $84. 427-2227.

WEDNESDAY 3/12

AUTHOR EVENT

DR. NIA IMARA

Dr. Nia Imara discusses her new book, Painting the Cosmos: How Art and Science Intersect to Reveal the Secrets of the Universe, an immersive and educational work. Dr. Imara, an artist and astrophysicist, received her PhD in astrophysics at UC Berkeley and now holds a professorship in astronomy at UC Santa Cruz. With the Distinguished Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics Raja GuhaThakurta, Dr. Imara will explore evolving views of the natural world and ask questions about how principles of art and science can combine to shape our views of reality. SN

INFO: 7pm, Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Free. 423-0900.

Swept Away

Rock-shock percussion, ferocious sonic complexity, luminous vocals. The third concert in the New Music Works season, with Caroline Shaw’s Narrow Sea as the finale, stunned the large audience at UCSC’s Music Center Recital Hall on Feb. 22.

The piece explores folk song themes with a widely dispersed soundscape that included ceramic bowls, hammered piano strings, tin toy buckets, bass drums and vibraphone. All that startling sound encircled a central singer, a poor wayfaring stranger, singing of the promised land.

Each movement of Narrow Sea began a new melody with text from the Sacred Harp, a collection of shape note hymns first published in the 19th century, referring to water, the river Jordan, floods, narrow seas and the ecstasy of looking to heaven.

The yearning lyrics seemed to float thanks to soprano Sheila Willey’s performance. Gorgeous, mesmerizing, even shocking—as when five musicians hammered away at the concert grand piano strings, treating it as a giant dulcimer. This piece drew in every single person in the audience and held them tight. The direct simplicity of Willey’s tone wove strands of silver through the piano’s stride and the percussion’s epic journey.

This concert was breathtaking from start to finish. First came Kenji Bunch’s lilting reinventions of American vernacular tropes showcased by four inspired musicians: Shannon D’Antonio and Samantha Bounkeua on violins, Rebecca Dualtre-Corbin on viola, and Irene Herrmann on cello. Next came a poignant Kaddish Canon by the late Larry Polansky. With his partner, pianist Amy Beal, leading the series of piano variations begun by a trumpet elegy, the piece ached with the playful authenticity Polansky mastered in his too-short composing life.

A&E New Music Works 2
NARROW New Music Works rehearses for an evening that ‘was breathtaking from start to finish.’ PHOTO: Amy Beal

In the second half of the concert, more Polansky shook the stage. His Ensembles of Note was written for “any instrumentation,” guaranteeing that the texture and color of the piece would always be unique. A rhythmically insistent ostinoto pattern was repeated and varied by each of the ten players. On electric guitar Giacomo Fiore burned and sizzled, as did Samantha Bounkeua on electrified violin. Lars Johannesson and Alissa Roedig on flutes intensified the topnotes. Polansky championed canons, rounds and dancing soundscapes that could be reinvented with each performance—neither entirely freeform nor rigidly notated.

The power of the vocal performances lingers. The numinous spell cast by soprano Sheila Willey’s rendering of Errollyn Wallen’s Daedalus, with string quartet, had many of us in tears. Leaning into the lyrics, Willey unfurled her voice from a hypnotic state.

But the thunder of the final piece, directed by Michael McGushin’s authoritative keyboard, seemed to transform the Recital Hall Mainstage into the bow of a mythic ship on the high seas, bound for a better world, a possible home. Perfect message for these times.

Shoto Otaguro provided percussion in the New Music Works presentation of ‘Narrow Sea.’

More music lies ahead this month. Always a feast for purists, the Distinguished Artists Series wraps up its 2025 season at 4pm on March 9 at Peace United Church, with a “Rite of Spring” concert for duo pianists, Audrey Vardanega and Eric Zivian. Keyboard fans will be in heaven. The afternoon includes a Schubert Rondo for Four Hands, some Schumann, a touch of Debussy, and absolutely some Stravinsky. distinguishedartists.org

A world premiere from composer Chris Pratorius Gómez comes mid-March when he directs the new Santa Cruz Chamber Players concert “Among the Fuchsias: Nostalgic Musings for Tenor, Viola, and Piano.” The program ranges from Debussy to Beethoven (Piano Sonata in E major Op. 109), plus songs by African-American composer H.T. Burleigh. Also a Ralph Vaughan Williams setting of poems by William Blake. Lending expert interpretation to a program exploring nostalgia will be tenor Andrew Scott Carter, who was a charming and adroit performer in last month’s Santa Cruz Baroque Festival performance of Bach’s Coffee Cantata. Locally renowned violist Polly Malan and pianist Kiko Torres Velasco will lend their expertise to the eclectic program. Composer/concert director Gómez will also showcase his keyboard chops in the premiere of his music to accompany texts by poet Laurence Hope. Those who recall recent performances of Gómez’s sensuous operas won’t want to miss this concert. It takes place March 15 at 7:30pm and March 16 at 3pm at Christ Lutheran Church in Aptos. scchamberplayers.org

Ensemble Monterey hosts soprano Lori Schulman as soloist in The Pieces That Fall to Earth, by Pulitzer Prize-winner Christopher Cerrone. The program includes the elite vocal ensemble Cantiamo! performing Jocelyn Hagen’s multimedia work The Notebooks of Leonardo de Vinci, conducted by Maestra Cheryl Anderson. March 22, 7pm at First Presbyterian Church in Monterey. March 23, 7pm, at Peace United Church in Santa Cruz. ensemblemonterey.org

Catch Santa Cruz Symphony’s dreamy Symphonic Shakespeare concert at the end of the month. Santa Cruz Shakespeare Artistic Director Charles Pasternak brings his dramatic vocal gifts to a concert of Tchaikovsky’s Romeo & Juliet Overture, Felix Mendelssohn’s Overture for A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a contemporary exploration, Sound and Fury (another Shakespeare allusion), by composer Anna Clyne. Should be a bewitching combination of powerful vocal text and music inspired by the tales of William Shakespeare on March 29, 7:30pm, at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium and March 30, 2pm, at Henry J. Mello Center. santacruzsymphony.org

This article marks the first installment of Performance, my new monthly column on Santa Cruz’s performing arts scene. Talk to me! Let me know what you’ve got in the works: xt***@****io.com.

Fresh Start

An Aptos locals’ favorite since it originally opened in 1981, Panda Inn changed ownership five months ago and is now in the hands of Yanna Tan-Smith. Born and raised in Southern China, she is friends with the previous owners, who asked her to move from Oregon to Santa Cruz and take over the restaurant. She agreed, exuding apparently genuine warmth and passion for both her new business and hospitality.. Another motivation: Her son Ming wanted to become a cook, so she thought owning a restaurant would be a perfect platform for him to hone his craft.

The menu features traditional recipes created and improved by Yanna’s uncle Yung. Egg rolls, potstickers and hot and sour soup make for great beginnings. The Chinese chicken salad, served in an edible won ton bowl, is both a brilliant idea and a culinary standout, pairing tender white meat chicken against lettuce with a sweet and tangy housemade dressing. Main dish highlights include spicy Szechuan beef and chicken, deep-fried walnut shrimp with vegetables and chow mein. Some new and revamped menu options, spiced authentically, are also in the works to recapture local loyalty.

How is taking over ownership going?

YANNA TAN-SMITH: It’s been really challenging; we underwent construction and renovation for a couple months. Running a restaurant during construction is very difficult, but now it’s over and the place looks and feels very nice. For the first couple months, business was slow, but word-of-mouth has picked up and when people heard we were under new ownership, they came back, really embraced us and have been giving positive feedback.

What’s been the response to the food?

The neighborhood has really been liking and enjoying our cuisine; they always finish their plates and have recommended us to their friends. The big difference with the food has been receiving fresh shipments every day, the vegetables and meats are of much higher quality and are more flavorful. And that’s not me saying that, it’s what our customers have been saying. My uncle and son have both done a great job of improving the menu.

783 Rio Del Mar Blvd., Suite 5, Aptos, 831-688-8620; pandainntogo.com

Liquid Passion

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As an impressive swell pounds the shores of the Monterey Bay just before sunset, Enrico Zampieri is in the Santa Cruz Mountains, near the laboratory for Bent Dime Winery in Scotts Valley.

He sports baby blue Nikes, a watch with an orange face and a black Mizuono JPN zip-up with a vertical red stripe, as a chill descends on the land. It’s been a year since he teamed up with Les Wright, of 37th Parallel Wines, to create their “Lemoncello” product, a chardonnay-and-lemon-based drink.

“It tastes like real lemons, because we only use real lemons to make it,” says Zampieri, speaking less like a salesman and more like a true aficionado. “It tastes natural. It’s very smooth. It’s very enjoyable.”

Zampieri, 41, grew up in Padua, Italy, and studied political science in Bologna. In 2016, Zampieri took a sommelier course from the Associazione Italiana Sommelier. But his love of fermented grapes and music stretched back much further.

“I always liked wine. It’s a big part of the culture in Italy, especially in Padova,” he says, using the Italian name for Padua, a locale in the Veneto region.

He’s done many things over the years, from studying acupuncture to shuttle driving, but the one constant has been his attachment to the beverage landscape. The seeds of Lemoncello sprouted while he was working as a waiter at an Italian restaurant in midtown Santa Cruz.

“When I was working there, I had the idea to create a line of products for mixers, for alcoholic products to create cocktails for restaurants without a liquor license,” he says, referring to how the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has separate permits for distilled spirits versus for beer and wine sales. “But then I never did anything. I didn’t follow up on the idea.”

But he couldn’t shake the idea.

It was when he shifted to a job at Lago di Como, on East Cliff Drive, that the concept began to blossom.

“It came out pretty good,” he says, “—well, really good actually.”

He found the wine provided a rich flavor profile. “I realized it could have a bright future on the market,” he says. “And so, I proposed this idea to Les Wright.”

Wright, who’s been making wines here since 2009, just happened to be a Lago di Como customer. “I served him a few times in the restaurant,” Zampieri says. “Incidentally, he invited me to his place to taste some wine, not long before I decided to present the idea to him.”

And, when he returned to pitch him on the business idea, he had Wright do a blind tasting.

“We liked the results,” Zampieri says.

By January, production had begun.

Traditional limoncello is a liqueur with an ABV around 28-32%. Bent Dime’s wine-based product comes in at 23.5%.

“For the restaurant, it gives the opportunity to sell limoncello—which they couldn’t before,” Zampieri says, describing how he shifted into sales mode at that point. “For me it was a new job. I’ve never done that kind of job.”

He estimates he’d visit around 10-15 restaurants a week.

“We had a very positive response from the first day,” he says. “In July, I had over 50 restaurants—56 restaurants—that bought at least once from us.”

And now, one year on, what better way to mark the milestone than with a musical evening.

On March 15, at Woodhouse Brewery, Bent Dime will host a free “Disco Limone” party, from 3pm until close.

Zampieri has been arranging for DJs to play modern Italo disco, Afro-Caribbean funk and house music “inspired by the golden era of the ’70s and ’80s.”

The Disco Limone event, at 119 Madrone St., in Santa Cruz, will feature DJ Jimmy Jagua, live art by Kays & Polpok, a reptile show from Pet Shop Santa Cruz, Izzy’s Ice Cream Cart, DJ David (LaLoveItalo) and DJ Franky Scrumble.

“If you love American funk, you’re going to love Italian funk, Italian disco,” says Zampieri, adding, “It has been an incredible year of personal growth and challenges. It hasn’t been easy, but I’m just very grateful to be on this path and to have this opportunity.”

Free Will Astrology

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ARIES March 21-April 19

The world’s darkest material is Vantablack. This super-black coating absorbs 99.96% of visible light, creating a visual void. It has many practical applications, like improving the operation of telescopes, infrared cameras and solar panels. I propose we make Vantablack your symbol of power in the coming weeks. It will signify that an apparent void or absence in your life might actually be a fertile opportunity. An ostensible emptiness may be full of potential.

TAURUS April 20-May 20

Among their many sensational qualities, rivers have the power to create through demolition and revision. Over the centuries, they erode rock and earth, making canyons and valleys. Their slow and steady transformative energy can be an inspiration to you in the coming months, Taurus. You, too, will be able to accomplish wonders through the strength of your relentless persistence—and through your resolute insistence that some old approaches will need to be eliminated to make way for new dispensations.

GEMINI May 21-June 20

Centuries before European sailors ventured across the seas, Polynesians were making wide-ranging voyages around the South Pacific. Their navigations didn’t use compasses or sextants, but relied on analyzing ocean swells, star configurations, cloud formations, bird movements and wind patterns. I bring their genius to your attention, Gemini, because I believe you are gaining access to new ways to read and understand your environment. Subtleties that weren’t previously clear to you are becoming so. Your perceptual powers seem to be growing, and so is your sensitivity to clues from below the visible surface of things. Your intuition is synergizing with your logical mind.

CANCER June 21-July 22

The Maeslant Barrier is a gigantic, movable barricade designed to prevent the flooding of the Dutch port of Rotterdam. It’s deployed when storms generate surges that need to be repelled. I think we all need metaphorical versions of this protective fortification, with its balance of unstinting vigilance and timely flexibility. Do you have such psychic structures in place, Cancerian? Now would be a good time to ensure that you have them and they’re working properly. A key factor, as you mull over the prospect I’m suggesting, is knowing that you don’t need to keep all your defenses raised to the max at all times. Rather, you need to sense when it’s crucial to assert limits and boundaries—and when it’s safe and right to allow the flow of connection and opportunity.

LEO July 23-Aug. 22

The authentic alchemists of medieval times were not foolishly hoping to transmute literal lead and other cheap metals into literal gold. In fact, their goal was to change the wounded, ignorant, unripe qualities of their psyches into beautiful, radiant aspects. The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to do such magic. Life will provide you with help and inspiration as you try to brighten your shadows. We all need to do this challenging work, Leo! Now is one of your periodic chances to do it really well.

VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept. 22

Cosmic rhythms are authorizing you to be extra demanding in the coming days—as long as you are not frivolous, rude or unreasonable. You have permission to ask for bigger and better privileges that you have previously felt were beyond your grasp. You should assume you have finally earned rights you had not fully earned before now. My advice is to be discerning about how you wield this extra power. Don’t waste it on trivial or petty matters. Use it to generate significant adjustments that will change your life for the better.

LIBRA Sept. 23-Oct. 22

In North America, starlings are an invasive species introduced from Europe in the 19th century. They are problematic, competing with native species for resources. They can damage crops and spread diseases that affect livestock. Yet starlings also create the breathtakingly beautiful marvel known as a murmuration. They make mesmerizing, ever-shifting patterns in the sky while moving as one cohesive unit. We all have starling-like phenomena in our lives—people, situations and experiences that arouse deeply paradoxical responses, that we both enjoy and disapprove of. According to my analysis, the coming weeks will be prime time to transform and evolve your relationships with these things. It’s unwise to sustain the status quo. I’m not necessarily advising you to banish them—simply to change your connection.

SCORPIO Oct. 23-Nov. 21

Buildings and walls in the old Incan city of Machu Picchu feature monumental stone blocks that fit together precisely. You can’t slip a piece of paper between them. Most are irregularly shaped and weigh many tons. Whoever constructed these prodigious structures benefited from massive amounts of ingenuity and patience. I invite you to summon some of the same blend of diligence and brilliance as you work on your growing masterpiece in the coming weeks and months. My prediction: What you create in 2025 will last a very long time.

SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22-Dec. 21

Bioluminescence is light emitted from living creatures. They don’t reflect the light of the sun or moon, but produce it themselves. Fireflies do it, and so do glow-worms and certain fungi. If you go to Puerto Rico’s Mosquito Bay, you may also spy the glimmer of marine plankton known as dinoflagellates. The best time to see them show what they can do is on a cloudy night during a new moon, when the deep murk reveals their full power. I believe their glory is a good metaphor for you in the coming days. Your beauty will be most visible and your illumination most valuable when the darkness is at a peak.

CAPRICORN Dec. 22-Jan. 19

Capricorn-born Shah Jahan I was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 to 1658. During his reign, he commissioned the Taj Mahal, a magnificent garden and building complex to honor his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. This spectacular “jewel of Islamic art” is still a major tourist attraction. In the spirit of Shah Jahan’s adoration, I invite you to dream and scheme about expressing your devotion to what you love. What stirs your heart and nourishes your soul? Find tangible ways to celebrate and fortify your deepest passions.

AQUARIUS Jan. 20-Feb. 18

Over 2,100 years ago, Greek scientists created an analog computer that could track astronomical movements and events decades in advance. Referred to now as the Antikythera mechanism, it was a unique, groundbreaking invention. Similar machines didn’t appear again until Europe in the 14th century. If it’s OK with you, I will compare you with the Antikythera mechanism. Why? You are often ahead of your time with your innovative approaches. People may regard you as complex, inscrutable or unusual, when in fact you are simply alert for and homing in on future developments. These qualities of yours will be especially needed in the coming weeks and months.

PISCES Feb. 19-March 20

No cars drove through London’s streets in 1868. That invention was still years away. But the roads were crammed with pedestrians and horses. To improve safety amidst the heavy traffic, a mechanical traffic light was installed—the first in the world. But it had a breakdown a month later, injured a police officer and was discontinued. Traffic lights didn’t become common for 50 years after that. I believe your imminent innovations will have better luck and good timing, Pisces. Unlike the premature traffic signal, your creations and improvements will have the right context to succeed. Don’t be shy about pushing your good ideas! They could revamp the daily routine.

Homework: What’s a need you have that you shouldn’t be embarrassed about but are? Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com

© Copyright 2025 Rob Brezsny

Back to Basics

7

Hard rock and heavy metal has gone through many phases. It has gone in and out of fashion, and endured the so-called “hair metal” era of the ’80s. But for true believers, the style has never lost its appeal. Launched in Oakland in 1974 and still going strong more than a half century later, Y&T carried the banner of hard rock and heavy metal. Lead guitarist and vocalist Dave Meniketti has been with Y&T since its start, and today he leads a lineup that has been together for nearly a decade. Just ahead of a tour that takes the band to Germany and Austria, Y&T comes to the Catalyst on March 8.

When Y&T first got together, Meniketti and his band mates already had a sense of the collective musical character upon which they wanted to build. The group quickly landed high-profile gigs opening for major acts like Queen. “All four of us had different musical backgrounds,” Meniketti says, “but we had a similar feeling of what we wanted to do, the kind of material we wanted to write.” He says that even then, Y&T’s style was varied: “very fast and heavy rock to mid-tempo to ballads, and everything in between.”

The band signed with London Records, but its executives didn’t seem to know what to do with a hard rock band like Y&T (then known as Yesterday & Today). As a result, the group’s first two albums weren’t promoted effectively; despite good reviews, they didn’t sell. London soon made the decision to get out of the rock business, leaving the band without a label.

But on the strength of Y&T’s heavy touring and growing fan base, the band soon landed at A&M Records. During an era when record labels allowed artists time to cultivate a following, the group continued to release well-regarded albums. Things truly took off with the success of 1984’s In Rock We Trust; the record reached a respectable #45 on the U.S. album chart, leading to touring spots in support of Rush and Dio.

Yet due in part to the success of MTV, rock tastes had changed. So as creatively successful as Y&T’s mid ’80s output was, compromises were made. The group included a studio track on its 1985 live album Open Fire; “Summertime Girls” was a Top 40 hit. But the sound might have confused fans of the band’s earlier sound: uncharacteristically, keyboards would be very prominent in the mix. “That was a ‘producer thing,’” Meniketti says. “I can guarantee you that the band wasn’t interested in putting keyboards [on our recordings].”

But Meniketti was (and remains) good-natured and philosophical about the decision. “For what it’s worth, our producer did a really good job; it worked out well.” Still, Meniketti emphasizes that when listeners hear “Summertime Girls” in the band’s set—“every freaking time we play a show for the last 40-plus years”—they’ll hear it the way the band originally played it: heavy guitars, bass, drums, vocals … but no keyboards.

Another ’80s trend was the widespread use of “song doctors.” Always in search of the next mega-hit, record companies foisted collaborative writers upon established acts. Aerosmith, Cheap Trick and many others were forced to co-write with pop songwriters. The same thing happened to Y&T.

Meniketti says that when A&M brought in an outside co-writer, the band was wary. “As far as we were concerned, we were an all-encompassing band; we could write good—and great—songs.” But the writer assigned to the band proved his worth, and won over the trust of Y&T. “It was weird at first, having this fifth guy,” Meniketti recalls. “But it was a good thing for us.”

Meniketti says that he learned a lot about songwriting thanks to that experience. One important thing he learned was how to write songs that made the best use of his voice. “On previous records, I was just a singer,” he says. “In Rock We Trust is when I started to become a really good singer.”

In those days, Y&T was swept up in the hair-metal movement as well. Meniketti says that from the beginning, he and his band mates had taken a casual approach to how they dressed onstage. “We would just buy our clothes locally and then just figure something out,” he says. “But then when MTV came along, the record company was onto us, saying, ‘Hey, we need to get you a stylist and wardrobe person.’” And, he admits, “even bigger hair came out of all that.” Meniketti looks back on that era as a time when everybody had to do it. “But we were still a band that really only cared about having [musical] chops and kicking ass live,” he says.

Along the way, the band has placed six of its singles on the charts, selling in excess of 4 million records. And in the years since their A&M era, Y&T got back to their core values: the glam hairdos, the flashy outfits and the co-writers have all faded away into the mists of time. What remains is what was there from the start: a hard-rocking foursome cranking out dazzling lead guitar fireworks and memorable songs in a powerful, no-frills heavy metal style.

Y&T’s last studio release of new material was 2010’s aptly named Facemelter. In acknowledgment of industry trends, these days the band focuses more on live shows than record releases. Meniketti says that he and his band mates know what their live audiences want. “No matter how many new records we might come up with, they’re still going to want to hear the classics,” he says. “There are only so many minutes in a set… and we have a lot of classics.”

‘All four of us had different musical backgrounds, but we had a similar feeling of what we wanted to do, the kind of material we wanted to write.’

—Dave Meniketti

Poetic License

Victoria Bañales was the first in her family to attend college, but like many young people she was unsure where her path would take her. 

She changed her major several times before settling on a path. That was after she made a discovery about her life’s passion.

“The only assignment that made me happy was when teachers said, ‘go off and read a novel,’ or ‘go off and read poetry,’” she said. “That was when I was most alive. So I went with that.”

For the next two years, Bañales will serve as Watsonville’s new poet laureate, replacing Bob Gomez in the role.

In his outgoing speech at a ceremony at the Watsonville Pubic Library on Feb. 15, Gomez praised Bañales’s work and the value of poetry.

“A poet is just a conduit for feelings, for ideas, concepts, for principals and values,” Gomez said. “Poetry and song is the way of uniting people.” 

He emphasized that poetry and song have been used throughout the ages to convey messages of power and urgency.

Also at the ceremony, two new Youth Poet Laureates were introduced, Rachel Huerta and Eva Sophia Martinez-Rodriguez, whom Bañales will mentor.

Over the next two years, Bañales will participate in and host public poetry reading events to advance the literary arts in Watsonville.

Bañales said she did not plan on applying, but said that many people in the community encouraged her, and Cabrillo College President Matt Wetstein sent a nomination letter to the committee.

Bañales, who holds a master’s degree from San Francisco State University and a joint master’s and Ph.D. from UC Santa Cruz, teaches Chicanx/Latinx literature, fiction writing and English composition at Cabrillo College’s Watsonville campus, which she calls her “dream job.”

CHOSEN WORDS Watsonville Poet Laureate Victoria Bañales spoke Feb. 15 at the Watsonville Public Library. PHOTO: Tarmo Hannula

“You follow your dreams, you follow your passion and things work out in the long run, and I’m glad I did, because that’s what makes me happy.”

She also coordinates Cabrillo’s Puente program, a statewide program that helps “educationally underrepresented” students obtain four-year college educations. She also serves as the college’s faculty senate president.

“As poet laureate, my vision is to bring poetry to the people,” she said. “Although no one would deny that Santa Cruz County has a thriving poetry culture, the scene continues to be an insular ‘thing’ that ‘those people’ (in Santa Cruz) do.”

Bañales is a member of the Writers of Color–Santa Cruz County, Círculo de Poetas & Writers and founder and editor of Journal X, a social justice literary arts magazine based at Cabrillo’s Watsonville center.

She has a book of poetry waiting in the wings and is working on a novel called Candelaria, which is a blend of memoir, magic realism, and speculative fiction. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, she lives in Watsonville.

County’s Poet Laureate

Santa Cruz County also has a new poet laureate, Nancy Miller Gomez, who took over her duties at the end of January and will serve through 2026.

Gomez is a distinguished poet and writer whose work explores themes of social justice, human connection and the transformative power of poetry. She is the author of Inconsolable Objects and Punishment, and her poetry and essays have been published in numerous literary journals and anthologies.

Gomez has also been actively engaged in community outreach, using poetry as a tool for education and empowerment. She has worked extensively in correctional facilities and co-founded the Poetry in the Jails program to bring poetry workshops to incarcerated women and men in Santa Cruz County.

“Poetry can bring connection to the community even for those who have little experience with poetry,” Gomez said. “If you take it out of the ivory towers and off the academic pedestals, it has the power to unify people and deliver hope, especially for those who have been marginalized. We need poetry now more than ever, and I will use this role to spread poetry throughout the county and into all the places where it is needed most.”

Gomez will appear at Bookshop Santa Cruz on April 14 to share poems and conversation with Farnaz Fatemi, her poet laureate predecessor. She encourages community members to share their ideas and sign up for her newsletter for updates and future poetry events at nancymillergomez.com.

LETTERS

fingers typing on a vintage typewriter
Too bad Good Times has missed the fact that women are tired of being used as sex objects—why would the hamburger on your cover have bare legs and high heels?

The Editor’s Desk

Strike leader Gloria Betancourt
Four decades ago in Watsonville, 2,000 workers walked off their jobs for 18 months to protest low wages, a daring move for people already struggling

Choc It Up

dining photo Chocolate Studio
A new incarnation of Mutari—The Chocolate Studio—has hatched for a three-month pop-up in the former Flower Bar space.

Things to do in Santa Cruz

Calendar photo Branford Marsalis Quartet
Saxophonist Branford Marsalis is a band leader, Broadway composer, and a giant in 21st-century jazz. Coming to Kuumbwa with his Quartet, Monday

Swept Away

A&E New Music Works
Rock-shock percussion, ferocious sonic complexity, luminous vocals. The third concert in the New Music Works season, with Caroline Shaw’s Narrow Sea as the finale, stunned the large audience at UCSC’s Music Center Recital Hall on Feb. 22. The piece explores folk song themes with a widely dispersed soundscape that included ceramic bowls, hammered piano strings, tin toy buckets, bass drums...

Fresh Start

Foodie File Panda Inn photo of Gong Bao
Panda Inn changed ownership five months ago and is now in the hands of Yanna Tan-Smith, born and raised in Southern China.

Liquid Passion

lemoncello maker Enrico Zampieri
The seeds of Lemoncello sprouted while Enrico Zampieri was working as a waiter at an Italian restaurant in midtown Santa Cruz.

Free Will Astrology

Astrology, Horoscope, Stars, Zodiac Signs
Week of March 6, 2025

Back to Basics

Arts and entertainment Y&T in Good Times
Launched in Oakland in 1974 and still going strong more than a half century later, Y&T carried the banner of hard rock and heavy metal.

Poetic License

Portrait photo of a woman
Watsonville Poet Laureate Victoria Bañales spoke Feb. 15 at the Watsonville library. And Santa Cruz County Poet Laureate Nancy Miller Gomez will appear April 14 at Bookshop Santa Cruz.
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