Beastie Boy Mike D and 5D (including his kids Skyler and Davis Diamond) rocked the resin out of The Catalyst on Friday, which should not register as much of a newsflash.
What was more surprising: Pacific Avenue was as lit as the concert floor.
Bacon-wrapped hot dogs sizzled meat tube perfume into the air. Throngs of Banana Slugs slid in big groups along the sidewalk. Motiv’s line must’ve stretched 75+ deep.
And perhaps the most welcome sight: family-run Evil Wings food truck was glowing there on the corner next to The Catalyst, the exceedingly rare Surf City spot that stays open as late as 4am.
When I did my survey of Santa Cruz late night spots, EW might’ve been my favorite discovery, thanks to the hottest wings I can remember trying—eat four Diablo wings in 2 minutes and win six free—but all sorts of other offerings too, including overloaded crepes, saucy burgers, crispy fried chicken sandwiches, and the upbeat vibe of the chef Gerardo Rojo too.
Suddenly downtown Santa Cruz is feeling as spicy as it has since COVID. evilwingstacotruck.com
SLICE OF REALITY
Only In Your State, an American travel-and-discovery platform, ranks the nation’s top 10 pizza cities outside New York and Chicago as: 1) New Haven, Connecticut; 2) Providence, Rhode Island; 3) Old Forge, Pennsylvania; 4) Miami, Florida; 5) Detroit, Michigan; 6) Milwaukee, Wisconsin; 7) St. Louis, Missouri; 8) Phoenix, Arizona; 9) Portland, Oregon; and 10) San Francisco, California. Which moves me to, with the power invested in me by Good Times readers, to hereby nominate Santa Cruz consideration, if we want to give the list a lil more substance. Think about it: Bookie’s, Pogonip, Pizza Series, Upper Crust, The Slice Project, Pizza My Heart, Buzzo, Woodstock’s—I can go on—all in a region with a tiny portion of the population of those other places, which has me thinking Greater Santa Cruz is the greatest-pizza-per-capita city on the continent.
TUNE UP
That new pizza campaign represents one of the many topics two gastronomic gumshoes, myself and Grace St. Clair, chew into as part of the latest “Edible on the Air” on KSQD, which airs live 5pm on the last Friday of the month, but is also available as a podcast at ksqd.org. Also in the latest episode: Why Monterey Bay craft beer can claim a best-per-capita crown to go with its pizza power; the levitating discoveries St. Clair made at Bonny Doon Art & Wine; Clearview Orchards harvest parties; and the ongoing vegan revolution happening right under our proverbial noses.
VEG OUT
BTW: Revolution is not an overstatement. Local vegans are having a moment, and here’s hoping it continues. Last weekend the “Until All See” documentary series screened The Game Changers, which tracks Ultimate Fighter winner James Wilks as he wrestles “the protein myth” into submission. All October, the city of Monterey does its own version of Santa Cruz’s Vegan Chef Challenge. And noon-2pm Oct. 24, Santa Cruz’s Vegan Mac Down unloads a plant-based mac-and-cheese competition and vendor market—featuring folks like Eat for the Earth, Little Hill Sanctuary, Hole Foods Vegan Donuts, Sweet Bean Bakery, and Santa Cruz Vegans—on Portuguese Hall, tinyurl.com/SCMacDown. A bonus bit of context: Environment journalist hero Bill McKibben recently reported cattle use about 60% of the entire planet’s ag land but provide just 2% of its calories, at the same time costs keep rising for consumers and producers.
So added motivation to gallop meat-free.
TRICKY TREATS
San Francisco International Airport is partnering with local startup Replate to redirect surplus food from its 114 concession businesses to community organizations, nice work y’all…First annual Santa Cruz PorchFest is jams out Saturday. Oct. 3, santacruz.org/upcoming-event/downtown-santa-cruz-porch-fest…World Central Kitchen keeps keeping people fed in ravaged areas like Nepal and Palestine, wck.org…
Brach’s Ode to Candy Corn eau de parfum ($22) “smells just like the taste of candy corn,” according to its creators, and this is somehow both inspiring and depressing…While we’re here, Hidden Valley Ranch is introducing Halloween-themed “Spooky Ranch” that’s dyed black…Jeff Carlin: “Fun-sized Snickers? Who’s this fun for?”
