There was a lot to see, taste, debate and celebrate for the 200 souls assembled at Santa Cruz’s first-ever Vegan Mac Down at Portuguese Hall Oct. 24, animal products not included.
There were freeze-dried spicy pickles and pumpkin pie bites from Happy Harvest Crunch Co., incredible Vietnamese iced tea from Cali Caffeine, vanilla-pecan-cardamom rolled oats from Eat for the Earth, and helpful info from the likes of Plant-Based Luke/Compassion-Based Apparel and the Food as Medicine Conference organizers (Nov. 22, foodasmedicinesantacruz.org).
And, yes, inspired macs like the Southwestern mushroom cavatappi with roasted sweet peppers, local mushrooms, smoky creme sauce and toasted cumin-coriander from Circle & Square Bistro (2904 Freedom Blvd. A, Watsonville).
Two key ingredients rose to the very top, however, like a dairy-free cream.
Number one: real emotion, with each of the crowd’s three top vote-getters channeling vivid gratitude and energy.
Mayra of MGA and vegan fruit op Vtartts exalted the progress school districts are making in presenting plant-based options. V&V Delicious Crepes described the joy and honor of from-scratch cooking for its growing audience. And winner Julia Alaimo of Soy Cheesy openly wept out of what she called “validation,” adding she’ll proudly parade the prize for her yummy mac-and-cheese in front of her vegan-skeptic family.
Number two: real momentum. On the heels of spring’s Santa Cruz Vegan Chef Challenge and Monterey’s version happening through October, this passionate collection of creators and eaters raised its biggest cheers for the fact that Surf City is riding an ever-rising wave of compassionate consumption. These veg-heads don’t vegetate.
JUICY FRUIT
Downtown Santa Cruz has a new, fun and flavor-forward foodie specialty shop in Tomato Tomato (117 Walnut Ave.), which celebrated its grand opening Oct. 23, and where owner-operator Lizi Barba stocks the vintage-inspired shop with hand-picked discoveries like folded potato chips, Wisconsin cheese curds, anchovy-lemon butter and pasta-water salt tablets, plus Pajaro Pastures eggs, Fogline Farm meats and Companion Bakery cookie dough. Throw in thrifted Pyrex and Tupperware, bespoke mustards, and Marianne’s Ice Cream, and you’ve got a neighborhood market with pantry personality that provides a welcome resource for the district’s fast-growing population, open 10am-6pm daily except Tuesdays, @tomatotomatosc on Instagram.
GO…FISH!
Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust (MBFT) hosts an open-to-the-public press conference loaded with luminaries and lawmakers at the Haute Enchilada in Moss Landing (7902 Moss Landing Road) on Thursday, Oct. 29, to introduce “From Trends to Action,” a new initiative connecting decades of fisheries data with community-driven efforts to revitalize Monterey Bay’s working waterfront and fishing ecosystem. The event, coming amid National Seafood Month, heralds the next phase of MBFT’s Future of Blue Initiative, following the release of the report Monterey Bay Commercial Fisheries: Status and Trends. Drawing on more than four decades of fisheries landing data, it provides a long-term look at changes across Monterey Bay’s fishing fleet, landings and fish stocks. Check out the report and much more at montereybayfisheriestrust.org.
KIBBLES AND BITS
The October edition of “Edible on the Air” is now live and available as a KSQD podcast, and includes insight on the upcoming Big Sur Food & Wine Nov. 5-7—volunteer with me?!—ksqd.org/edible-on-the-air…Capitola Village Sip and Stroll ($50) rolls noon-5pm Saturday, Nov. 14…Restaurant and bar operator brethren, please make prices easy to find—I get that costs are changing but it will save time and stress…The Associated Press reports the so-called “Waffle House Index” of 1,900 restaurants helps Southerners and FEMA gauge storm damage: green means a full menu, yellow means limited service, and red means closed…Troy Hussey, Bard of Beach Flats: “You can only hold a butterfly with an open hand.”
