Over the last couple of years, I’ve increasingly thought about doing a cleanse, knowing it could do my body good. But a fear of extreme hunger kept me from ever taking the plunge—until last month, when I signed up for one of the monthly cleanse programs offered by local company Kitchen Witch Bone Broth.
For five days, I drank bone broth twice a day, which is said to soothe and coat the digestive tract, and ate their savory soup three times a day. Each morning, the first thing I consumed was fresh lemon juice with two ounces of warm water, and each day I received email support and tips.
Kitchen Witch co-founder and cleanse leader Magali Brecke, LAc., refers to the program as a “genuine hush period for the gut.”
One of the main goals of the cleanse program, which they launched in February, is to reduce inflammation, which can be caused by factors like stress and poor eating. Like a few others in the cleanse, I added “optional foods” when I absolutely needed to, like steamed veggies and salad, and made sure to avoid gluten, dairy, sugar, grains, legumes and nightshades—anything with a possibility of being inflammatory. The cleanse leaders offer simple “infusion ideas” to add if people crave a little more sustenance or variety. After experimenting, I mostly added grass-fed butter and cinnamon. While I was hungry some of the time—especially during the first two days—overall I had a positive experience. I felt much lighter and more energetic afterward.
The Kitchen Witch Bone Broth soups and broths provide macronutrients, protein from bone broth, healthy fat from coconut oil, some carbs in veggies, “and crazy-high antioxidants and minerals,” says Brecke.
Aside from the five jars of organic bone broth—our choice of chicken, pastured ginger pork, beef or “almost veggie”—we received a personalized combination of 15 jars of soup. The soups were satisfying and flavorful, with choices like Healing Greens—which contains cilantro, ginger, Meyer lemon, kale, broccoli and Japanese white sweet potato—and the beautiful orange “Warm Glow,” which includes coconut milk, carrots and turmeric. The varieties rotate, and all are made with organic bone broth, plus fresh organic vegetables from Santa Cruz farmers markets, herbs and spices, and coconut oil. After cooking the soups, Kitchen Witch purees them for easy absorption and easy transport—they travel well in thermoses.
Brecke developed the broth and soup recipes, which she continuously refines, and all three of the Kitchen Witch founders have a background in traditional Chinese medicine.
“The gut reset was born from my practice as a private anti-inflammatory chef, and the desire to give people a true gut-healing space, rather than a sugary juice cleanse,” says Brecke.
As the Reset evolved, she made changes, including adding superfoods (which she calls “soup-er foods”) like reishi, beets, turmeric, and chlorella to each soup. “These ensure a dose of antioxidants and micronutrients in every jar, three times per day,” says Brecke.
During the cleanse, I occasionally felt a bit foggy, which I noticed when driving or doing other activities requiring concentration. I emailed Brecke, and she explained this was likely mild detoxification setting in, and recommended activities like dry brushing, and adding small meals.
I also noticed that my body doesn’t need as much food as I thought it did—I was hungry during the cleanse, but after the cleanse I wasn’t eating as much as I had been prior to it. Also, my body wasn’t craving sweets and sugar, which was a nice surprise. I slept a lot better on the cleanse, and even for a few days after.
I plan to do the Reset again in the future, utilizing more of the suggestions that Kitchen Witch provides for cleanse enhancement, like dry brushing and tongue scraping, and “bulletproof drinks” (a couple tablespoons of coconut milk with ghee/grass-fed butter/coconut oil and a pinch of cinnamon added to teas, since drinking coffee on a cleanse isn’t desirable.).
Sandra Kenzler, a four-time cleanse participant, says this cleanse helped her reset patterns and rhythms, and she was even able to do the program when training for a race.
“I have tried other cleanses, but with this one I didn’t feel so hungry, and had energy to sustain the physical and mental activities that I needed to participate in,” says Kenzler. “I was surprised that I felt so energized in the morning like I could pop right out of bed.”
Kenzler likes the fact that the results last, and that she discovers something new about herself each time. She now knows the impact that foods like dairy and bread have on her body, and doesn’t crave sugar or sweets. Also, her normal eating patterns, exercise, and healthy sleep cycles have returned. This aligns with one of Brecke’s goals— that people will learn that their health is in their own hands.
“When we take a pause from three-square-meals, we nudge our body to reset the barometers for satiation, for sweet, and for nutrient rich foods. That reset can be long-lasting, and the beginning of bigger change,” says Brecke.
When I interviewed horror legend George A. Romero several years ago, he had recently been sent a script about the life of Edgar Allan Poe. He had been interested in directing it, and in an attempt to get across to me how Hollywood works—or more accurately, doesn’t work—he explained why he didn’t get the job.
“They said, ‘Well, we think it needs a little rewrite, but we’d love for you to do it. We think you’d be good for it, blah blah,’” Romero told me. “Every fact in it, about dates and where he lived and everything, it was just completely wrong. I knew a lot of that, and I said, ‘Oh boy, I’ve got this gig sewn up.’ So I called back and pointed a lot of these things out, and they said, ‘Oh, we know that. It’s just not the way we want to go.’”
His sheer head-shaking disbelief at the way that deal didn’t go down was Romero through and through. When he died Sunday at the age of 77, the horror genre lost not only an iconic writer and director, but also a man who had served as its moral compass for almost five decades. He had integrity, smarts, loyalty and a strict ethical code. He was an indie filmmaker before indie filmmaking existed, and stuck to making most of his movies in his longtime adopted city of Pittsburgh (he later moved to Toronto), despite the fact that it puzzled and probably infuriated Hollywood execs. He didn’t have a lot of use for them, anyway.
“I guess I just don’t fit in the Hollywood system”, he told me. It was a hell of an understatement, all things considered. The downside of it was that the movies he didn’t get to make far outnumbered the movies that he did. But the ones he did? They made it all worth it.
As he is eulogized this week, and hopefully long after, people will focus almost entirely on his zombie movies. That’s fair enough—he literally invented them. Zombie movies as we know them, with legions of the reanimated dead seeking the brains and/or flesh of the living, simply did not exist before his 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead. He created the most potent movie monster of the modern era, with the mindless undead a metaphoric blank slate onto which audiences and critics could project endless meanings. And they did, right through its sequels, 1978’s Dawn of the Dead, 1985’s Day of the Dead, 2005’s Land of the Dead, 2007’s Diary of the Dead, and 2009’s Survival of the Dead. His scores of zombie imitators and successors stretch from gory exploitation flicks like 1979’s Zombi 2 (better known in the U.S. as Zombie) to later big-budget blockbusters like 28 Days Later and World War Z—not to mention, of course, The Walking Dead.
But none of his zombie flicks were actually his favorite of his own films; that honor fell to a little gem of a vampire movie he made in 1978 called Martin. A raw, violent and eerily realistic look at a young man (played by Romero regular John Amplas) who thinks he is a vampire, the film nimbly sets up the question of whether he really is one, and then finds ways to turn that question on its head over and over. Martin is still moving, shocking and unique today, and is the perfect example of how strange and wonderful Romero’s filmmaking was, especially early in his career.
“I would say Martin is my favorite”, he told me. “First of all, we really had, as my First Assistant Director would say, ‘gelled as a unit.’ We knew more of what we were doing, and it was terrific. I just loved it. I think that film comes closest of anything that I’ve done to matching what was on the page and what was in my mind when I was putting it on the page.”
While any time is a great time to revisit Romero’s zombie films, the “Godfather of the Dead’s” contributions to the horror genre ran even deeper, and I hope film fans take the time to revisit his other works like Martin, as well.
Feel like partying on a Friday night? Then head to Stockwell Cellars. Not only does the expansive tasting room offer well-made wines, but they also feature music most Fridays—a fun way to start the weekend. From 5 p.m. on July 21 there will be Music in the Cellar with Toby Gray.
So, what I’d recommend on a warm summer’s afternoon is a nice glass of Stockwell’s 2015 Sauvignon Blanc while taking in some good music. Grapes for this crisp wine are sourced from Riverstar Vineyards in Paso Robles and turned into a fruity libation with “hints of lemongrass, pink peppercorns and kiwi on the nose.” It comes with “mouthwatering expressions of lemon meringue, white pluot and clementine,” says winemaker Eric Stockwell, “with a finish of marzipan, chalk dust and pear skin.” The finish of marzipan is subtle, but adds depth to this superstar wine. Try it with ceviche or oysters for a delicious pairing. This Sauvignon Blanc ($24) is also a perfect picnic wine as it comes with a screw-cap top.
Eric and his partner Suzanne Zeber-Stockwell, along with Eric’s daughter Jessica Stockwell, will give you a warm welcome in their busy tasting room. The family participates in many local events —and Eric will be featuring his wines at the next Route 1 Farms farm-to-table dinner on Aug. 13. Visit route1farms.com for more information.
Stockwell Cellars, 1100 Fair Ave., (entrance on the Ingalls Street side of the building), Santa Cruz, 234.2178. Open 2-9 p.m. Fridays, and from 2-7 p.m. Saturdays. Visit stockwellcellars.com for more info.
Hawaii Days
Celebrate Hawaii Days with the Summit to Sea Wineries, including Burrell School Vineyards, Loma Prieta Winery, MJA Vineyards, and Wrights Station Vineyard & Winery. Wrights Station will have live music, and Bill the Oyster Man will be there with his ultra-fresh bivalves on July 23. You’re invited to a taste of Hawaii, featuring the music and decor of the islands—so dress in festive island garb and be prepared to get “lei’d!” Raffle prizes include a basket of Hawaiian-themed treats, including a ukulele. The event is noon to 5 p.m. July 22 & 23. Visit summit2seawinetrail.com for more info.
Gah, Logos! The news that the used-book-and-records fixture is closing down has me all sentimental and weirdly anxious. When I first arrived in Santa Cruz, Logos was in its crazy earthquake-recovery location off of Laurel Street, in a structure that I remember looking a lot like one of those creepy warehouses the bad guys always meet at before a heist in the movies. I spent roughly 32,947 hours rifling through everything there over the next few years, looking for some obscure Patti Smith bootleg or Re/Search book or whatever. When it moved to its “new” location on Pacific, sweeping through for a quick or extended browse was just part of what one did when one was downtown on a Friday night. Now, with it being right next door to the GT office, I swing by at lunch sometimes, usually to see if there are any new children’s poetry books my kid will like. I feel in every way like I’ve grown up with that place, and I’ll miss it. Check out Jacob Pierce’s story in our news section for the full story.
Otherwise, this week is all about burgers, because it’s … wait for it … Burger Week! Our staff has been eating stacks and stacks of them, and now you can, too. Check out some of our favorites in the cover story—we have meatless options, too, of course—and a full list of the debut participants with details about their featured burgers this week!
Free will astrology for the week of July 19, 2017.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The Greek word philokalia is translated as the “love of the beautiful, the exalted, the excellent.” I propose that we make it your keyword for the next three weeks—the theme you keep at the forefront of your awareness everywhere you go. But think a while before you say yes to my invitation. To commit yourself to being so relentlessly in quest of the sublime would be a demanding job. Are you truly prepared to adjust to the poignant sweetness that might stream into your life as a result?
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): It’s a favorable time to strengthen your fundamentals and stabilize your foundation. I invite you to devote your finest intelligence and grittiest determination to this project. How? Draw deeply from your roots. Tap into the mother lode of inspiration that never fails you. Nurture the web of life that nurtures you. The cosmos will offer you lots of help and inspiration whenever you attend to these practical and sacred matters. Best-case scenario: You will bolster your personal power for many months to come.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Two talking porcupines are enjoying an erotic tryst in a cactus garden. It’s a prickly experience, but that’s how they like it. “I always get horny when things get thorny,” says one. Meanwhile, in the rose garden next door, two unicorns wearing crowns of thorns snuggle and nuzzle as they receive acupuncture from a swarm of helpful hornets. One of the unicorns murmurs, “This is the sharpest pleasure I’ve ever known.” Now here’s the moral of these far-out fables, Gemini: Are you ready to gamble on a cagey and exuberant ramble through the brambles? Are you curious about the healing that might become available if you explore the edgy frontiers of gusto?
CANCER (June 21-July 22): I predict that four weeks from now you will be enjoying a modest but hearty feeling of accomplishment—on one condition: You must not get diverted by the temptation to achieve trivial successes. In other words, I hope you focus on one or two big projects, not lots of small ones. What do I mean by “big projects”? How about these: taming your fears; delivering a delicate message that frees you from an onerous burden; clarifying your relationship with work; and improving your ability to have the money you need.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Spain’s most revered mystic poet was St. John of the Cross, who lived from 1542 to 1591. He went through a hard time at age 35, when he was kidnapped by a rival religious sect and imprisoned in a cramped cell. Now and then he was provided with scraps of bread and dried fish, but he almost starved to death. After ten months, he managed to escape and make his way to a convent that gave him sanctuary. For his first meal, the nuns served him warm pears with cinnamon. I reckon that you’ll soon be celebrating your own version of a jailbreak, Leo. It’ll be less drastic and more metaphorical than St. John’s, but still a notable accomplishment. To celebrate, I invite you to enjoy a ritual meal of warm pears with cinnamon.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “I’m very attracted to things that I can’t define,” says Belgian fashion designer Raf Simons. I’d love for you to adopt that attitude, Virgo. You’re entering the Season of Generous Mystery. It will be a time when you can generate good fortune for yourself by being eager to get your expectations overturned and your mind blown. Transformative opportunities will coalesce as you simmer in the influence of enigmas and anomalies. Meditate on the advice of the poet Rainer Maria Rilke: “I want to beg you to be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves.”
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I’ve compiled a list of four mantras for you to draw strength from. They’re designed to put you in the proper alignment to take maximum advantage of current cosmic rhythms. For the next three weeks, say them periodically throughout the day. 1. “I want to give the gifts I like to give rather than the gifts I’m supposed to give.” 2. “If I can’t do things with excellence and integrity, I won’t do them at all.” 3. “I intend to run on the fuel of my own deepest zeal, not on the fuel of someone else’s passions.” 4. “My joy comes as much from doing my beautiful best as from pleasing other people.”
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The world will never fully know or appreciate the nature of your heroic journey. Even the people who love you the most will only ever understand a portion of your epic quest to become your best self. That’s why it’s important for you to be generous in giving yourself credit for all you have accomplished up until now and will accomplish in the future. Take time to marvel at the majesty and miracle of the life you have created for yourself. Celebrate the struggles you’ve weathered and the liberations you’ve initiated. Shout “Glory hallelujah!” as you acknowledge your persistence and resourcefulness. The coming weeks will be an especially favorable time to do this tricky but fun work.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I suspect you may have drug-like effects on people in the coming weeks. Which drugs? At various times, your impact could resemble cognac, magic mushrooms, and Ecstasy—or sometimes all three simultaneously. What will you do with all that power to kill pain and alter moods and expand minds? Here’s one possibility: Get people excited about what you’re excited about, and call on them to help you bring your dreams to a higher stage of development. Here’s another: Round up the support you need to transform any status quo that’s boring or unproductive.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” So said psychologist Carl Jung. What the hell did that meddling, self-important know-it-all mean by that? Oops. Sorry to sound annoyed. My cranky reaction may mean I’m defensive about the possibility that I’m sometimes a bit preachy myself. Maybe I don’t like an authority figure wagging his finger in my face because I’m suspicious of my own tendency to do that. Hmmm. Should I therefore refrain from giving you the advice I’d planned to? I guess not. Listen carefully, Capricorn: Monitor the people and situations that irritate you. They’ll serve as mirrors. They’ll show you unripe aspects of yourself that may need adjustment or healing.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): A source of tough and tender inspiration seems to be losing some of its signature potency. It has served you well. It has given you many gifts, some difficult and some full of grace. But now I think you will benefit from transforming your relationship with its influence. As you might imagine, this pivotal moment will be best navigated with a clean, fresh, open attitude. That’s why you’ll be wise to thoroughly wash your own brain—not begrudgingly, but with gleeful determination. For even better results, wash your heart, too.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A “power animal” is a creature selected as a symbolic ally by a person who hopes to imitate or resonate with its strengths. The salmon or hare might be a good choice if you’re seeking to stimulate your fertility, for example. If you aspire to cultivate elegant wildness, you might choose an eagle or horse. For your use in the coming months, I propose a variation on this theme: the “power fruit.” From now until at least May 2018, your power fruit should be the ripe strawberry. Why? Because this will be a time when you’ll be naturally sweet, not artificially so; when you will be juicy, but not dripping all over everything; when you will be compact and concentrated, not bloated and bursting at the seams; and when you should be plucked by hand, never mechanically.
Homework: In what circumstances do you tend to be smartest? When do you tend to be dumbest? Testify at Freewillastrology.com.
Thursday is very complex this week with many planetary collaborations. What are they? Moon in Gemini (this and that, up and down, here and there), Mars enters Leo, Venus/Pluto, Sun/Uranus and Sun/Chiron. Potent, changing and difficult interactions.
The focus this week is fiery Leo. Sun joins Mars in Leo Saturday morning and Leo New Moon, Sunday (0.44 degrees). At New Moon times, the New Group of World Servers (NGWS) supports and upholds the hands, arms and endeavors of the women and men of Goodwill everywhere.
The fifth Gate (Leo, opposite Aquarius) opens as Sun enters Leo. The fifth Labor begins. It’s a difficult, and, at times, rather dreadful labor, and we must be prepared. Let us keep watch over each other, even though our hearts may be questioning.
During the Leo labor, “We burnish bright our shields and feel our courage strong. Amidst the lion’s roar, we venture forth. Knowing we must create a brave new Aquarian world. Together.”
Monday Venus opposes Saturn. We might not know the location or value of our money, resources or relationships. We might feel somewhat lost, over “there” somewhere, not knowing we have the means to return home again.
Tuesday evening, Mercury enters Virgo. Thinking becomes detailed, our speech clear and bright. We quietly hold new ideas in our hearts. Ideas that seed, nurture and build the “brave new Aquarian world.”
ARIES: In the days to come, with Sun, Mars, North Node and Mercury in Leo, your deepest creativity comes forth. You must be awake, aware, sensitive and silent to recognize it. The Sun reveals your temperament, characteristics and reasons of why you are in this particular life and incarnation. It will highlight all gifts from previous lives. These gifts you are remembering in this lifetime. They point out your path to the stars.
TAURUS: It will be impressed upon your mind that you are a deeply creative person. One gradually begins to have confidence in themselves when their creativity emerges. You begin to express yourself in new ways. They affect your home life. There is much in the home that needs clearing, ordering and tending. Deep within, when your gifts and abilities are recognized, you are happy. Then you know you are loved. Be playful and have fun at home.
GEMINI: It’s good to speak quietly and compassionately. These allow you authority and authenticity. Perhaps you speak quickly, any words will do, as long as you make people laugh and they don’t cling to you. You must be free like a bird in a meadow. Personal power and courage emerge when you speak from the heart. It’s important to identify and articulate always what and how you feel. You become a light in the world when you speak.
CANCER: It’s important to realize you are valuable and are a rich source of important resources. Give generously of yourself. Expect nothing in return. Do not hide your feelings or create puzzles or confusions for people trying to ascertain how you feel. When we value our feelings, we express our feelings clearly. It’s important to cherish our feelings. They provide us with direction and are our pathway to peace.
LEO: You have the ability to bring the heart of the Sun (Love/Wisdom), into your heart, radiating the light outward to the world. You have the ability to create warmth in others and to all of the kingdoms. Many people feel cold and dispossessed in their lives. You are to understand that you carry the golden warming light of the Sun. Often, unaware, you hide yourself in that light. You must instead radiate that light. Leos are the Sun!
VIRGO: As the Sun illumines your 12th house it will ask you to dissolve all separative thoughts, feelings, words and actions. Imagine dissolving them into a universal loving matrix. Then your aspirations can be recognized by the Soul. The Soul cannot direct unkind, cruel, judgmental or critical personalities. These are separative behaviors. The Soul’s light is Love/Wisdom. When you see others creating separations, direct to them your Soul’s light.
LIBRA: You are the bright shining star with friends, family and work groups. Everyone appreciates your courage, flair, beauty and generosity. You share everything you have with everyone. Sometimes, though, you want to hide away. Sometimes you’re tired. There are internal places to explore still unknown to you. These are your shadows. Each of us enters our shadow self. It becomes healing. Is there someone you don’t share your starry light with?
SCORPIO: Scorpios are warrior disciples. They are always triumphant. Even when it seems a failure, it isn’t. Deeply individual, you build a strong courageous personality. Later, awareness of purpose and serving humanity appears. Often people think you’re hiding when you’re simply pondering life’s mysteries, which you undertake, one after another. You shoulder great responsibility so that others can move toward the light.
SAGITTARIUS: You sometimes throw caution to the winds. You also sometimes hide your star, letting others shine in their own light. You aren’t happy with anything less than the very best of everything. You bring warmth, personality, style, élan, a buzz wherever you are. You look away sometimes from what others see. You look toward your destiny. You shine a light on it. You walk toward it. It waits patiently.
CAPRICORN: There’s an unspoken energy around you that brings attention to your happiness and creativity. There’s a bit of mystery about you, too, that no one understands. You maintain your dignity in all situations. You know the difference between people who love you and people who … (you fill in the blank). You have a childlike way of loving and are hurt when others are cruel. Keep your trust intact. Help others laugh more. The issues this month will be on shared resources. You always share.
AQUARIUS: It seems to be time for an interlude, linking you to nothing and nowhere, just for a bit of time, so that you can come to a state of balance as to who you are, where you are, why, and what further choices you must make in, and for, the future. You must, as you stand in balance, attempt to hold all opposing forces in check. This tension creates a greater awareness concerning your gifts in service to humanity. In the tension is also direction.
PISCES: You need someone who understands and listens to you, someone who shares your hopes, wishes and dreams, someone who hears your heartbeat and knows all that you say contains a message. You need environments that bring forth playfulness, beauty, intelligence and balance. Chemical reactions between two substances transforms both. If only one is transformed, then only one is singing. Create your Vesta box.
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR ABOUT SANTA CRUZ BURGER WEEK:
Santa Cruz does not get nearly enough love as a burger town. That’s ridiculous, as we have more great burgers than you can shake a side of fries at.
The thing is, nobody agrees exactly on what makes a burger great. We’ve discovered this around the GT office, where Lily Stoicheff and I in particular are always arguing about who makes the best burger in Santa Cruz, and saying how we’re going to write a point/counterpoint laying out our arguments. She thinks it’s Oswald, I say it’s Gabriella.
Actually, you know what’d be funny? If I just write why I think Gabriella has the best burger in town right here in this editor’s note, and don’t even tell her about it, so she doesn’t have a chance to argue with me. Bwah, this is perfect!
OK, I’ve thought about this for a while now, and I think the reason Gabriella’s burger is best boils down to one thing: everything. What I mean by that is that the integrity and balance of a Gabriella burger simply cannot be beat. Let me count the ways: first, it has the most compact and delicious focaccia bun you’re going to find anywhere. This bun is flat and sleek—a stealth bomber could fly along its surface and successfully avoid radar detection. The grass-fed beef is delicious, the tomato super fresh, and there’s just enough lettuce to attain crunch—and not a leaf more. I do not want to have to eat my way through a lettuce field to get to the parts of my burger I really care about. And the bacon is subtle, so that the whole thing comes together in a kind of perfect meat-sandwich storm. That’s what I mean by balance, and that’s what the Gabriella burger has.
I can’t wait to see Lily’s face when she reads this. I’ll guess she’ll have to take her counterpoint somewhere else, since she can’t very well argue with me here in this editor’s note, can she?
Sure I can.
What? Lily, is that you?
Yup.
What are you doing in my editor’s note?
I’m just over at Oswald’s eating an amazing burger and laughing at how dumb you are.
Wait … what is happening right now?
Well, Steve, right now I’m ridiculing your foolish assertion that Oswald is not the best burger in town. Let me tell you what I want in a burger: I want a light-as-a-butterfly-kiss toasted brioche bun to soak up all those delicious meat juices without becoming a gooey mess. This is key to the structural integrity of the burger, of which Oswald is a master.
No, I mean how are you even doing this? Talking to me in my own blurb?
You see, there’s zero slippage between the lettuce, tomato, pickled onion, aioli and melted cheese. The architecture is so well executed that you are able to enjoy the full combination of flavor elements down to the last perfect bite without having one of the components slide out.
This is not the place for this, Lily! I know we have this argument all the time about which of these is the best burger, but you can’t just come in here and hijack this note! Also, you’re wrong! Very, very wrong! I love Oswald’s burger, too, but Gabriella’s is simply …
Oh, and about that aioli—or as I like to call it, the special sauce of grown ups. Greater than the sum of its simple ingredients in a way that’s kind of mysterious, it takes the Oswald burger up a notch from damn near perfect to …
Hey hey, that’s all the time we have! Looking at the final tally, I see that absolutely everyone agrees with me that Gabriella has the best burger in Santa Cruz!
I will find you. I have a certain set of skills.
What an amazing unanimous win for this fantastic burger! Until next Burger Week, everyone enjoy these staff picks—of course there’s no way we could try every burger in Santa Cruz, but we all gained weight trying. It’s a small sampling, maybe, but I think you’ll see from these picks that people are passionate about their favorites, and about what makes a great burger and why.
And Lily, get the hell out of my head.
— STEVE PALOPOLI (& LILY STOICHEFF)
View participating Santa Cruz Burger Week restaurants and burger specials at SantaCruzBurgerWeek.com and at the bottom of this story.
BURGER WEEK STAFF PICKS
The Buttery
By the time I sprinted over to the Buttery, I was hungry. The hungry of a person who follows a strict feeding schedule, and has then missed lunch because of an overbooking of morning interviews. So when the woman behind the counter handed me a burger that felt as heavy as a small infant, something took over. Excitement isn’t the right word—maybe a deep, stomach-growling carnivorous glee? OK, apologies for that visual, but seriously, the weight of the Buttery’s bacon and cheese burger with a ciabatta bun is enough to feel like you’ve done some weight-lifting on the way back to your table. It makes sense, then, that the burger itself doesn’t come with sides—believe me, you won’t need them. Although if you’ve been to the Buttery you know it’s pretty impossible to leave the deli area without side-eyeing those chocolate ganache pecan sandies, buttery croissants and all their other heavenly sweets. But back to this burger. The mayonnaise-Dijon blend oh-so subtly heightens the thin grilled onions and one-third pound beef patty. The bacon cuts through with salty perfection against the backdrop of jack cheese and organic local greens. It’s everything I wanted from a bacon burger. Anne-Marie Harrison
East End Gastropub
A couple of months ago, I came across a recipe for a burger from Shake Shack, a trendy New York burger chain that some have called “the In-N-Out of the East Coast” (these people are wrong), and the instructions on how to cook the meat stuck out to me. It said that you should freeze the meat for 15 minutes before you put it on the grill, and you should only salt the outside of the patty once, right before you cook it.
This made me pause, because the Stoicheff family burger patty that I was raised on and carried to adulthood more closely resembles a meatball than a steak. It’s a blended patty that includes chopped onion, an egg, panko breadcrumbs, chopped parsley, garlic and onion powder, cracked black pepper, Worcester sauce, and kosher salt, cooked close to room temp because doing so usually makes for more even cooking. So, I was skeptical but also intrigued enough to give it a shot.
And—sorry, Dad—it’s a game changer. There’s something about the way the meat caramelizes on the outside, while leaving a soft, juicy interior that I’ve never been able to achieve with other methods. Is it the salt? The cold meat? The 100-percent meat patty? No, really, I’m asking.
I mention this because I’m pretty sure that’s what they do at East End for their house burger. The outside is beautifully caramelized, the inside juicy when cooked medium rare, really flavorful and not too salty, sandwiched in a griddled bun with a slice of melty cheese and a few housemade cucumber pickles. LS
Zachary’s
When it comes to burgers, what is the right balance between savory and sweet? If it’s too savory, it just tastes salty—some people are into that, but it’s not my thing. If it’s too sweet, it probably means it’s swimming in barbecue sauce or something.
But Zachary’s Gourmet Burger finds the savory-sweet sweet spot. It’s an elegantly constructed dome of umami with just the smallest hint of something sugary that you can’t help but want to chase all the way through with your burger-chomping teeth. I’m not sure where that touch of sweetness comes from, but I figure it must have something to do with the nexus of bacon, just-ripe-enough avocado and cheese (swiss is my preference). Normally, I’m a big fan of frying bacon back into the Stone Age, ‘till it’s so crisp you could shatter it with a flick of your fingers. But god, not on a burger. On a burger you shouldn’t notice the taste or consistency until about halfway through the bite—it should be subtle enough for you to wonder “Wait, did I get bacon on this?” before you remember that you did, and that you are a genius. That’s how you feel eating Zach’s gourmet burger. SP
U.S. Meal
While they have recently renovated their restaurant in the East Cliff Plaza, my preferred place to enjoy a burger from U.S. Meal is from a barstool at nearby East Cliff Brewing. Located just around the corner from the restaurant, guests can order off U.S. Meal’s full menu and have their meal delivered to them without interrupting their game of Jenga.
Weighing in at a quarter of a pound, the house burger may be on the modest side, but it’s nonetheless satisfying—and at $6.50 with a side of fries, it’s kind of a steal. TBH, this is my preferred size of burger, as I can easily eat one and feel satiated without hating myself afterward. It’s accompanied by a thick slice of red onion, tomatoes, lettuce, plenty of pickles, American cheese and thick-cut fries. Oh, and mayo—ye mayo haters be warned. It’s seriously tasty, one of my favorite non-fancy burgers in Santa Cruz.
I feel like this is an appropriate time to assert a controversial opinion: American cheese is the best cheese for burgers. There, I said it. I mean, it’s scientifically engineered to be the meltiest, stretchiest cheese on the market. OK, so you could use a fancy melty cheese like Gruyere or raclette, but if you can’t make a trip to Whole Foods, a nice plastic-wrapped slice of American will do just fine every time. LS
Wooden Nickel
This unapologetically straight-forward burger has the charbroiled flavors beef lovers would expect from the unabashedly old-school Wooden Nickel Bar and Grill on Freedom Boulevard in Watsonville. Of course, any sturdy bar burger will pair nicely with a West Coast craft beer, of which the joint has five, including Deschutes Black Butte Porter and Lagunitas IPA. For Burger Week, the Wooden Nickel will be serving basically a supped-up half-pound version of its standard third-pound creation, which comes complete with tomato, lettuce, cheese and grilled onion on a toasted, buttery bun, with sides of slaw, a brownie and some French fries. Those fries—skinnier than steak fries, thicker than skinny fries—taste of actual fresh potatoes, and are loved by South County families and beer-guzzling sports fans alike. JACOB PIERCE
Red Restaurant and Bar
For many of the bar-going crowd in Santa Cruz, going to the Red before 9 p.m. can sound like a dubious prospect—those dark corners in the cold light of day? Dinnertime might just be the best time to go, not only to revisit the stained glass cupola of the old hotel architecture, but also because that’s when the delightful Red staff has yet to be overrun by the 20-something meat market. Most importantly, you can also focus on the burgers—like the Johnny Cash burger with applewood smoked bacon, cheddar, onion strings and bourbon barbecue sauce. With a thick, juicy patty, the burger itself could’ve benefitted from more of that delicious bourbon sauce and less of the brioche bun—tasters are encouraged to eat the halves separately to find the delightful dollop of garlic under the bun (which, with a big ol’ brioche is easily lost). The Red always has a strong fry game, so the healthy serving of French favorites that comes with the Johnny Cash provides a perfectly salty addition to a satisfying, but otherwise under-salted, burger. The real winner might be the adventurous sounding Raven Burger with double cream Brie, caramelized apples, arugula and balsamic reduction, but you can only eat so many burgers between deadlines. (I know this is Burger Week, but for dessert, the mini churros with chocolate dipping sauce are an absolute must—a coveted favorite to accompany a delicious cocktail, or two.) AMH
Hoffman’s Bistro and Patisserie
Whether in the world of burgers or burritos, sometimes we consumers have a choice to make when it comes to toppings: guacamole or fresh avocado? The correct option—nine times out of 10—is avocado, especially because you never know for sure what the status of the guacamole will be. Is it a brand new batch with freshly squeezed lime? Will it taste instead like it came out of a bargain bin at Safeway? This distinction is one the California burger from Hoffman’s Bistro and Patisserie has going for it: real avocado slices over a few strips of bacon, Jack cheese and two patties. It comes on a toasted wheat bun, which may not sound adventurous at first, but it sure breaks the mold out of traditional sesame and brioche buns. Let the tourists and college kids go to Five Guys across the street for food doused in peanut oil and high-fructose corn syrup. We’ll be here at Hoffman’s, enjoying life’s finer sandwiches, which also include the Gilroy burger, another item the restaurant is featuring this week. JP
MEATLESS PICKS: Veggie Burgers Reimagined
By Maria Grusauskas
Worlds away from the frozen aisle at the grocery store, the homemade veggie patties that Santa Cruz restaurants are serving up give new meaning to the very concept. Of the dozens of veggie burgers found on menus around town, no two are even remotely similar. With bases and binders that range from black and garbanzo beans to almond flour to rice to quinoa, coupled with the abundance of possibility that cooking with vegetables provides, the local veggie burger game is an exciting journey of textures, flavor and character. They satiate burger-level hunger, while nourishing the body and comforting the soul. Plus, it’s a lot easier to justify the essential side of fries or a milkshake (or both!) when you go the veggie route. Following are just three of our favorites—be sure to seek these and many other creative iterations out during Santa Cruz Burger Week.
West End Tap
Just outside the limelight of West End’s popular and beloved grass-fed, pasture-raised beef patties, which they grind and shape daily, is a vegetarian rendition that blew my mind and tastebuds. While it wasn’t listed on the dinner menu one busy night last week, our server assured us that they do have them at dinner. Just ask. Made in-house daily, this burger is a refreshing blend of garden flavors that doesn’t waste a second trying to imitate meat. The texture is soft, and loaded with body-loving goodness: spinach, carrots, red bell peppers, and zucchini—all finely minced—and bound with quinoa and garbanzo bean flour. Served on a luxurious, freshly baked Challah bun from Gayle’s Bakery, this masterpiece comes with house sauce (hold the sauce to make it vegan), lettuce, tomato, pickled red onions, and a huge pile of fries you will want to share with a friend.
Betty Burgers/Betty’s Eat Inn
All-natural (hormone and antibiotic-free) beef patties highlight the menu here, but once you try “Tracks in the Grass,” you may never go back. Betty’s vegetarian burger patty is made in-house from tofu, carrots, green onion, celery, black beans, garbanzo bean flour and egg to bind it all together. It’s crispy on the outside with a soft interior that pops with falafel-reminiscent flavor. In other words, if I hadn’t been told there was tofu in the mix I never would have known. You may want to skip the massive whole wheat bun and go “bareback” with a lettuce wrapping (or ask for the regular old less-healthy white flour bun, which is not quite as large), if only to keep this delicious burger in the spotlight of your palate. Avocado is a popular addition (or a substitute for the Secret Lube) according to Yelpers, though it won’t make the burger vegan. To that end, if you’re not vegan and you’re feeling indulgent, do go all out and add cheddar cheese and a Vanilla Malt (made with Marianne’s ice cream), which comes topped with a voluptuous mound of whipped cream and signature red cherry. Fries? No hemming and hawing: get the half sweet potato and half regular basket.
Saturn Cafe
Saturn Cafe has its plant-based burger game dialed. From the creative minds of ur favorite spaced-out foodies comes the cornerstone of its adventurous burger menu: the Saturn Patty. Made in-house, it incorporates hearty brown rice, organic black beans and vegetables with almond meal and rice flour, for a winning blend of protein and carbohydrates that also happens to be vegan, soy- and gluten-free. Shared with a friend last week, the Diablo made for a satisfying lunch. The patty is dense and chewy, and paired well with just the right amount of spice from jalapeños and pepper jack cheese—though vegan cheese can be substituted—as well as award-winning fries and an award-winning milkshake menu that rivals any: The selection includes vegan flavors, and all shakes come with a wide, milk-shake-grade straw (which you’ll need for the thick homemade whipped cream that tops it off) and of course, the ultimate act of love—that metal mixer cup that holds all of the milkshake that couldn’t fit in the pretty tall glass. Otherworldly.
Santa Cruz Burger Week Participants on Their Featured Burgers
The California Burger has always been a customer favorite with homemade guacamole, bacon, and cheddar, so we decided to feature it for Burger Week for only $10, including our waffle fries! Enjoy with a draft beer or a soda.
Featuring our $10 Bay Bar Bomber third-pound 100 percent Chuck patty, double cheddar, three strips of bacon, onion ring, fried egg and thousand island dressing. Or our $7 Teriyaki Burger third-pound Chuck, pineapple ring, house teriyaki glaze, and mayo. Both with lettuce, tomato, pickles.
A delicious Italian twist on the American classic by our authentic Italian chef. We’re serving three delectable meatball sliders with fresh mozzarella, housemade marinara and crisp basil. Enjoy a summer evening on our newly renovated patio, and come back to try our all-new menu and all-new restaurant. Mangia!
1000 41st Ave., Capitola, 475-5901; 505 Seabright Ave., Santa Cruz, 423-8190; 1222 Pacific Ave., Downtown Santa Cruz, 600-7056
Go wild this Burger Week with our spicy Latin Lover—a combo of seasoned beef, chorizo, roasted red peppers, jalapeños and sautéed onions. Or try the Jiffy Swine—this pairing of peanut butter lube and bacon is a huge hit! Voted Best Burger eight years.
For Santa Cruz Burger Week we’ll offer our famous Zayante Burger or our Veggie Black Bean Burger (both available with or without delicious fries and a drink). Each burger will be offered with or without cheese and includes fresh and flavorful toppings, and a tasty house spread!
Just open one year, East End will feature its housemade 100-percent grass-fed burger for SCBW. Paying homage to a traditional American burger, it’s topped with shaved onions, shredded iceberg, American cheese and house thousand island sauce. This juicy burger will rival any in town, we promise!
The Gabriella burger is often described as the best ever had. If you feel otherwise after sampling we will give you a free piece of focaccia! Be forewarned that people have been known to go nuts over our burger and refuse to ever eat anything else.
Decisions, decisions. Which of our three wondrous half-pound burgers will you order during Burger Week? Or after your first, will you feel compelled to come back for all three? Fans of HQ burgers will tell you: resistance is futile. Â
Hoffman’s cooks it up right whether it’s the 8 oz. natural grass-fed Angus beef, free-range chicken breast, or vegetarian black bean patty. SCBW options: Gilroy Burger with roasted garlic, crispy onions, mushrooms, Jack cheese; El Diablo with avocado, bacon, Jack cheese; and Hoffman’s Burger with bacon, cheddar, crispy onions. All with fries!
We have new owners and a new chef—check us out for Burger Week! We’ll feature our scrumptious Americana Burger: California-grown Harris Ranch Angus beef or vegan patty, with lettuce, tomato, pickle and fries; with options like avocado, bacon, mushrooms, cheddar, Gruyère, Jack and blue cheese.
Enjoy authentic Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors. Choose from the popular top sirloin Mozaic Burger, delicious Wild Salmon Burger and vegetarian Opa Burger, with fries or Greek salad. Pair with wine or an award-winning martini from the full bar, and grab some baklava for the road! Â
Gather with friends, raise a pint, play some pool and achieve Burger Nirvana with our amazing Greek Burger, King Burger or Portobello Mushroom Burger for Burger Week. We take burgers seriously and have an extensive burger menu year-round. Opening a new location in Aptos soon!
Red’s chef is taking it up a notch with the Burger on the Cusp, a decadently divine pistachio encrusted crab burger topped with a whole lot of goodness, and served with truffle rosemary fries. Try it with one of many signature cocktails or suds on tap.
Rosie McCann’s is a pub that holds a high standard for its food. The Fire Burger featured for Burger Week is direct from farm to kitchen, crafted from 100-percent grass-fed Braveheart Angus beef, with grilled jalapeños, chili flakes, Jack cheese, and chipotle ranch sauce, and house-cut fries.
Even meat eaters will love the burger at this award-winning vegetarian restaurant. The Space Cowboy is an event on a bun, and you’ll party on when you become a Saturn regular. Try one of the thick, out-of-this-world, nationally award-winning milkshakes.
Sid’s is a carnivore’s dream. Choose from five burgers, all half-pound Angus beef patties, with delectable smoked embellishments such as bacon, pastrami, brisket and pulled pork, paired with a side of fries. You’ll be basking in burger bliss! Â
At Surf City Sandwich, we love to spice things up. Our Spicy Muchacho has been our best-selling specialty burger. We combine the classic flavors and textures of Mexico to create a grande burger that is a fiesta in your mouth!
“The Buttery Burger” from the Best Bakery in Santa Cruz (GT’s Best Of). Made with 100-percent grass-fed patties, oozing with smoked gouda and cheddar, with smoky bacon, lettuce, tomato and our killer Coca-Cola caramelized onions! Buns made in-house. Take dessert to go, you won’t have room!
Stop by for laid-back burgers, fries and comfort! We’ll offer our most popular burger: the Salmon-Crab-Avocado burger for Burger Week at a great price for everyone to enjoy. We also have regular, garlic, and sweet potato fries and hope you’ll discover your new favorite burger spot.
We’re featuring our new, totally veggie burger for SCBW. Our team has refined this made-from-scratch burger for months! It’s a BIG, juicy patty with housemade kimchi to give it that extra tang and spice on a daily-delivered, fresh Gayle’s sesame bun. (Gluten-free option without bun.)
Wooden Nickel
1819 Freedom Boulevard, Freedom, 724-2600
Our popular half-pound hamburger, with grilled onions, lettuce and tomato, and served with crispy, savory fries is a great deal for Burger Week. Stop on by, enjoy our friendly, cozy atmosphere and find out for yourself where you can savor the burger voted the best in Pajaro Valley!
For Santa Cruz Burger Week, this downtown favorite has added another crowd-pleaser to the mouthwatering menu. The Pesto Mushroom Burger offers up housemade everything, including the bun, and pairs with your choice of fries, fresh fruit or potato salad. You’ll leave happy!
A strange mood hangs over Logos Books and Records—somber, nostalgic.
“Can I sell some books?” a middle school kid asks the man working behind the counter on Saturday morning, July 15.
“We’re not buying books anymore,” the man responds. “Try Bookshop Santa Cruz.”
Word began leaking out this month among longtime customers that the two-story used book and music shop will close at the end of the summer—ever since owner John Livingston started telling a few friends. Employees began doing the same.
“Everyone has a different point of view on it. Some people only care about how they can’t shop here anymore. Other people care about how it’s a loss to the community. And other people come up and congratulate me because I get a chance to retire,” says Livingston, a sentiment resembling regret in his voice.
Not regret, necessarily, for any decisions he’s made in the 48 years since he first launched the business. It’s more the rueful reflection of a man who wishes things could have gone another way.
After several years subsidizing the beloved destination, Livingston, now 70, began to yearn for retirement—more time playing music and golf and helping with Kuumbwa Jazz, where he sits on the board of trustees. He had started to worry about what it would mean if something happened to him and his wife Fran Etow was stuck managing an increasingly costly operation.
“You know, I started thinking about the practical aspects,” he says.
Logos will be temporarily closed through Wednesday, July 19, while Livingston, his employees and a consultant complete an inventory and organize a sale, which will begin on Thursday, July 20, and last through the summer.
Livingston first got his start in 1968, when he took a job as a music buyer at Moe’s Books in Berkeley, where he went to college.
That store’s owner, Moe Moskowitz, became a mentor to Livingston, who left soon after to drive around the United States, searching for a place to open a book and music store of his own. After realizing he didn’t actually want to leave the area, Livingston decided on Santa Cruz. And at his boss’ insistence, he took extra copies of books that Moe’s had duplicates of and brought them to Santa Cruz to sell at his grand opening. It was something that rubbed some Moe’s employees the wrong way, Livingston recalls—not that his mentor really cared what they thought.
Doris Moskowitz, Moe’s daughter, who now runs the Berkeley store, says her father was a mentor to a lot of young people, and employees often questioned his willingness to help out fledgling entrepreneurs—and even would-be competitors—who followed in his footsteps. She remembers her father as very proud, and even a little bit “cocky.” He was so confident in his business that he felt no one could truly pose any threat. And regardless, he wanted nothing more than to spread the joy of book selling, and he wanted bookstores to do it “the right way,” like he did, explains Moskowitz, who’s been to Logos many times herself. The Moskowitz family earned a reputation for paying fair prices for the books that customers brought in, and building a relationship with those customers over time.
And so with a small loan from his parents, Livingston opened Logos at its original Cooper Street location in 1969, when he was 22.
“In those days, you could start a business for almost nothing,” he says. “They lent me a little bit, and I paid them back within a year. It was lights-out from the start. The doors opened, and we were flooded with books to sell. For the first 10 years, it was great. I was in my 20s with lots of money.”
Livingston’s favorite used-book memory involves a copy ofThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer that a woman named Charlotte Williams brought in. And instead of buying that day for a few bucks, the book buyers set it aside, telling her they thought it might be worth more, and they’d like to get back to her. The novel eventually fetched $18,000 at auction, with Williams and Logos splitting the proceeds.
The 1989 earthquake dealt the store a big blow, but Livingston was able to buy a new building—its current three-story location with a basement, offices on top and a skylight that beams down the center on sunny afternoons. Business peaked in the mid-1990s, Livingston remembers, “and then all of a sudden the downloaded music started happening.”
Livingston cut back Logos’ rent in the following years. When the numbers dipped again, he stopped taking a salary. After that, he reduced the store’s rent some more. Then in the summer of 2015, used book sales began nosediving. At first it was only a few percentage points per month. But even that meant a serious blow for the part of the business that had, until then, appeared relatively resilient. Suddenly, one month saw a 12-percent drop in sales. “And hasn’t picked up,” he says. “I can’t look at very many months that have been up, and I can look at a lot of them that have been down.”
People’s reading habits have changed, Livingston says, and shoppers are browsing for books less than ever.
Livingston had once prided himself on paying well above minimum wage, but that became difficult to do, he says. He listed his business on the market for a year, and had some serious talks, but couldn’t secure a buyer.
“Essentially, the biggest problem is the rents downtown are high, and I own the building, and because I’m trying to retire, I need to get at least a reasonable market rate for the space,” he says. “The economics of a used book store now, especially of that size, just don’t work.”
Livingston has started looking for new tenants.
In order to reshape a used bookstore like his into something that might survive, Livingston says, it would have taken an owner with a different model, a lot of time and plenty money to experiment with.
Moscowitz of Moe’s Books in Berkeley says her shop is on a long lease, and the building is in a trust, but they are still constantly trying to keep up, even selling books on amazon.com. “We need that, but we don’t like it,” she says. “We have to stay in business, so you have to stay flexible to just keep moving along.”
Meanwhile, Livingston keeps hearing from distraught customers.
“They come in and say, ‘What am I going to do now?’ Or ‘I have no more reason to come downtown.’ I’ve heard that several times because it’s a unique store,” he says. “It’s one of the things that makes Santa Cruz different from other places. In that sense, it’s horrible. There aren’t many great bookstores left in the world. I consider this to be one of the best.”
Natayo lugs 40 pounds of water on her back across miles of Kenyan desert to wash laundry, cook, and provide drinking water for her children. Henry, a Ulithian village elder, stands in front of what remains of his home after Typhoon Maysak hit Asor in Micronesia. Ana Maria stands on a pile of rubble—formerly the house she was illegally occupying, which she found reduced to a charred heap after being released from detention.
These people are all fighting for their homes, their communities and their way of life, says Mara Milam, one of three female photojournalists in Santa Cruz who is presenting these stories as part of the Shifting Lands exhibit at Corralitos Brewery through July 31.
“It’s kind of an experiment in an unassuming public place. Instead of pictures of the beach or forests of Santa Cruz, we’re making a bolder statement in a setting where people are taking time to enjoy themselves and each other,” says Kelsey Doyle, the exhibit organizer. “Even though it is depressing that these people are going through various climate issues and cultural struggles over land, they’re still pulling through it.”
Milam, Doyle and Katie Sugarman offer a lens into universal stories of strife across three continents—here is just a snippet of what they learned from the communities they visited.
Kelsey Doyle, 26
Two years ago, the category 5 Typhoon Maysak—the most powerful pre-April tropical cyclone recorded in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean—ravaged the islands of Micronesia. It destroyed the reefs, the primary food source for the local Ulithian population. Doyle travelled to the islands in the immediate aftermath of the typhoon with the organization One People One Reef, which trains scientists to educate locals in scientific methods for sustainable ocean management.
“It’s revitalizing the community and trailblazing the way that we approach disasters—not just sending in U.S. aid with powdered sunscreen or boxes of sandals—sustaining the way they live in the most traditional way possible, with modern tools and science,” says Doyle.
This is the only way that the population can adapt to the reality of rising sea levels and the certainty of more, larger typhoons in the future, says Doyle.
Doyle’s photos are of the Ulithians amid their makeshift homes fashioned from the typhoon wreckage. Hopefully brewery =goers can connect these faces with the dire situation in Micronesia, she says.
“Maybe when they hear about some disaster happening in the world because of climate change, they now have a catalogue of that recollection to pull up and say, ‘Oh yeah that happened, that’s real.’ People need to see to believe.”
Katie Sugarman, 30
For Maasai women living in the Olgulului, Kenya, an already grueling existence has been exacerbated by the country’s worsening drought conditions. “A lot of Maasai all over Kenya and Tanzania have been displaced from traditional tribal lands, and their tribal land is centered around having a reliable water source,” says Sugarman. “I want people to have an idea of what drought means in their context versus our context, just by the virtue of carrying your own water for a day.”
Between the drought and being forcibly moved away from areas where their cattle can graze, it’s generally up to the Maasai women to pick up the daily slack.
“All they can do is carry the water on their backs. To support 10 kids, you need to go multiple times a day.”
Sugarman has visited Olgulului three times over the years, most recently in February with the Biocultural Conservation Institute, a nonprofit that seeks to educate and empower Maasai women and girls.
“It’s a very traditional culture, very male-dominated, and they still practice female circumcision and arranged marriage at unthinkably young ages,” says Sugarman.
With an education, says Sugarman, girls can at least wait until they’re a bit older to decide if they want to live as traditional Maasai women or choose a different life.
Sonia Villobos was in tears, screaming when Milam and the team, on assignment for Seeker media network, stepped on Villobos’s land in the AraucanÃa region of Chile: she did not want them there. The Mapuche had been terrorizing Villobos’s family, she told Milam, sneaking onto her property at night. They fired shots, and threatened their animals and her 90-year-old father—methods that aren’t uncommon for the indigenous Mapuche in their fight for ancestral lands, which have received a forceful reaction from the Chilean government.
“When we first arrived in this tiny town, four Mapuche men were on trial for occupying a building, and there were armored vehicles all around the courthouse. The government has been accused by the U.N. of using extremely excessive force to put the Mapuche in line, but certain people in Chile refer to [the Mapuche] as terrorists.”
There’s a brewing civil war in AraucanÃa, says Milam. The conflict is rooted in the Chilean government’s brutal seizure of Mapuche lands in the 1800s, which left thousands of indigenous people dead, and was exacerbated by U.S.-backed dictator Augusto Pinochet giving land to lumber companies, in addition to countless atrocities, torture and disappearances of indigenous people under his rule.
The Mapuche want their ancestral land back, the farmers don’t want to sell the land they’ve now lived on for generations, and the government has been slow to respond. In June, president Michelle Bachelet formally apologized to the Mapuche for state “errors and horrors” against their communities, proposing a plan to transfer land and increase Mapuche representation in government. But the Mapuche want concrete action—like demilitarization of their communities.
“I don’t want to condone behavior on either side. Everyone is a victim on both sides of this situation,” says Milam. “But they want to be seen and have their communities be safe.”
For more information on the Mapuche, watch the free short documentary “500-year Secret Conflict In Chile”.
“I’ve Always Been a Rambler” is a traditional song about a real jackass—a drinking, gambling, womanizing, only son who lives fast and loose and leaves a trail of trouble behind him. That is, until he finds himself smitten by a wealthy farmer’s “tall and handsome daughter.”
The tune then takes a turn from cautionary tale to sob story as the anti-hero of the song courts the farmer’s daughter, falls in love with her, leaves town to continue his ramblin’ ways, can’t forget her, and eventually gets word that she’s married another, which leads to heartache … and more ramblin’. As the last stanza goes: ”My heart was filled with trouble, while trouble’s on my mind / Going to drink and gamble for the one I left behind.”
The song, which is surprisingly uptempo and toe-tap-inducing, has been around since the 19th century. It’s a prime example of the old saying that if you’re not crying or praying, it’s not bluegrass. For American roots band the Goodbye Girls, the song serves as a template for a cross-genre sound that pulls in elements of bluegrass, old-time, jazz and Swedish folk music.
Comprising Swedish fiddler Lena Jonsson, Allison de Groot on clawhammer banjo, Brittany Karlson on bass and Molly Tuttle on guitar and lead vocals, the Goodbye Girls was formed out of necessity when Jonsson, who was a student at Berklee College of Music in Boston, was asked to perform an American roots music tour of Sweden with fellow Berklee students. Jonsson enlisted de Groot, who knew Tuttle, who was roommates with Karlson. The band came together easily, and the spark of inspiration was there from the start as the artists met weekly to work up songs for the tour.
“It was a strong connection right off the bat,” says Tuttle. “We didn’t have any songs, but we had a whole tour scheduled. We all searched for songs and we all came up with the arrangement together. That’s how it’s been since the first time we all played together—it’s really collaborative.”
With a name taken from the folk tune “Goodbye Girls, I’m Going to Boston,” the Goodbye Girls all have different musical backgrounds. Tuttle grew up playing bluegrass, de Groot plays mostly old-time music, Jonsson has roots in traditional Swedish music, which has elements similar to American old-time music—including fiddle-driven melodies, but with different musical inflections—and Karlson has a background in jazz. Combined, the artists put a twist on American roots music, with unexpected ornamentation, jazzy improvisations, cross-cultural arrangements and four-part vocals sung in unison.
The women are all ace musicians who bring mastery of their own instruments and styles to the Goodbye Girls. The result is something at-once familiar and fresh—even for a roots music veteran like Tuttle, who is a well-known artist in American roots circles.
“We all come from different areas,” says Tuttle. “We mostly play old-time stuff, but it has a lot of different influences in it. Even though we’re playing old-time songs, you can hear maybe some Swedish influences in Lena’s playing, or a bluegrass style. It’s different from anything else I do.”
Though the band members live in different cities and can’t play together as often as they’d like, it doesn’t take them long to fall back into their upbeat and catchy sound when it’s time for a tour. Tuttle says it’s less about learning complex instrumentation and more about reconnecting with each other musically.
“Once we can play together for a couple of hours, we get the groove back,” she says. “Our songs aren’t heavily arranged. It’s mostly about finding our groove together again.”
The initial Goodbye Girls tour was supposed to be a one-off, but the outfit is still going strong, making numerous trips back to Europe to perform, as well as limited dates in the States. The members make a point of scheduling a handful of Goodbye Girls performances a year—in addition to their other music projects—to keep the band’s momentum and the members’ camaraderie going.
“We’d like to keep trying to push it to a higher level,” says Tuttle. “It’s so much fun to work up new music together, so we’d really like to keep doing that. I think we all want to keep it going and think about making another album in the next couple years.”
The Goodbye Girls will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 25 at Don Quixote’s, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. $10/adv, $12/door. 335-2800.
OK, I’ve thought about this for a while now, and I think the reason Gabriella’s burger is best boils down to one thing: everything. What I mean by that is that the integrity and balance of a Gabriella burger simply cannot be beat. Let me count the ways: first, it has the most compact and delicious focaccia bun you’re going to find anywhere. This bun is flat and sleek—a stealth bomber could fly along its surface and successfully avoid radar detection. The grass-fed beef is delicious, the tomato super fresh, and there’s just enough lettuce to attain crunch—and not a leaf more. I do not want to have to eat my way through a lettuce field to get to the parts of my burger I really care about. And the bacon is subtle, so that the whole thing comes together in a kind of perfect meat-sandwich storm. That’s what I mean by balance, and that’s what the Gabriella burger has.
When it comes to burgers, what is the right balance between savory and sweet? If it’s too savory, it just tastes salty—some people are into that, but it’s not my thing. If it’s too sweet, it probably means it’s swimming in barbecue sauce or something.
Whether in the world of burgers or burritos, sometimes we consumers have a choice to make when it comes to toppings: guacamole or fresh avocado? The correct option—nine times out of 10—is avocado, especially because you never know for sure what the status of the guacamole will be. Is it a brand new batch with freshly squeezed lime? Will it taste instead like it came out of a bargain bin at Safeway? This distinction is one the California burger from Hoffman’s Bistro and Patisserie has going for it: real avocado slices over a few strips of bacon, Jack cheese and two patties. It comes on a toasted wheat bun, which may not sound adventurous at first, but it sure breaks the mold out of traditional sesame and brioche buns. Let the tourists and college kids go to Five Guys across the street for food doused in peanut oil and high-fructose corn syrup. We’ll be here at Hoffman’s, enjoying life’s finer sandwiches, which also include the Gilroy burger, another item the restaurant is featuring this week. JP
Saturn Cafe has its plant-based burger game dialed. From the creative minds of ur favorite spaced-out foodies comes the cornerstone of its adventurous burger menu: the Saturn Patty. Made in-house, it incorporates hearty brown rice, organic black beans and vegetables with almond meal and rice flour, for a winning blend of protein and carbohydrates that also happens to be vegan, soy- and gluten-free. Shared with a friend last week, the Diablo made for a satisfying lunch. The patty is dense and chewy, and paired well with just the right amount of spice from jalapeños and pepper jack cheese—though vegan cheese can be substituted—as well as award-winning fries and an award-winning milkshake menu that rivals any: The selection includes vegan flavors, and all shakes come with a wide, milk-shake-grade straw (which you’ll need for the thick homemade whipped cream that tops it off) and of course, the ultimate act of love—that metal mixer cup that holds all of the milkshake that couldn’t fit in the pretty tall glass. Otherworldly.
Two years ago, the category 5 Typhoon Maysak—the most powerful pre-April tropical cyclone recorded in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean—ravaged the islands of Micronesia. It destroyed the reefs, the primary food source for the local Ulithian population. Doyle travelled to the islands in the immediate aftermath of the typhoon with the organization 
For Maasai women living in the Olgulului, Kenya, an already grueling existence has been exacerbated by the country’s worsening drought conditions. “A lot of Maasai all over Kenya and Tanzania have been displaced from traditional tribal lands, and their tribal land is centered around having a reliable water source,” says Sugarman. “I want people to have an idea of what drought means in their context versus our context, just by the virtue of carrying your own water for a day.”
Sonia Villobos was in tears, screaming when Milam and the team, on assignment for 
