.The Wait for Buzzo Wood Fired Pizza is Over

Buzzo Wood Fired Pizza in Soquel, next to popular craft beer destination Beer Thirty Bottle Shop & Pour House, opens as soon as Saturday, Feb. 18, pending final arrangements. 

One way to know it’s so breathlessly anticipated: When I walked into Beer Thirty to see what rotating taps they are featuring at the moment, two separate staffers almost jumped over the counter when they saw me holding a Buzzo menu. 

“Is it open!?” one beertender shrieked before I realized what she was talking about. “We’ve been waiting sooo long.” 

Buzzo itself looks ready to open any minute, with a welcoming atrium-like dining area, long marble bar, freshly stacked firewood and an imported Italian Mugnaini oven. 

The menu is simple but seductive. Eight “apps” ($5-$22) include house meatballs, crispy green beans, marinated olives and a big antipasto plate. The six pizzas star offerings like pancetta with white sauce, leeks and red onion; potato with bacon, chives and egg yolk; and house sausage with caramelized onions. 

The wine list balances between Italy and California, buttressed by a few local craft draft beers.

Manager Miguel Bibriesca is most excited to open the doors once and for all. 

“I’m just eager to be open for the community so they can enjoy great pizza, wine and appetizers,” he says. “That’s our driving force.” 

ALD REALITY

I’m grateful for the Good Times reader response to last week’s Alderwood Pacific story. (Jump over to GTSC’s Facebook for greater detail.) It went like this: How can you celebrate a place after helping expose a racist event—and mismanagement of it thereafter—at its sister spot? I covered that incident in depth, and remain frustrated by the lack of information furnished by the Santa Cruz Police. (I called SCPD to see if there were any updates and haven’t heard back.) The good news is the former Alderwood employee who took the brunt of the attack, Paul Suniga, is doing good things; check out @masarapthehomie on Instagram for more on his Pare pop-up and his thoughts on the fight. Alderwood chef-partner Jeffrey Wall, meanwhile, is ready to focus on positives. “I don’t think [the incident] is relevant [to Alderwood Pacific],” Wall says. “It’s time to move on.”

FUSION FABULOUS

There’s more happening at Beer Thirty than craft beer and backyard corn hole. On our visit, Hapa Bros. Food Truck was parked out front to serve its intuitive blend of Southern and Asian food—think bulgogi egg rolls, bacon-fried rice and buttermilk fried chicken sandwich on brioche with spicy garlic aioli, soy caramel and kimchi slaw. Though based in San Juan Bautista, Hapa’s Aaron and Jason Ricketts are making more and more adventures in the Santa Cruz area; more via @hapa.bros on Instagram. Meanwhile, Beer Thirty continues to welcome food trucks whenever its food partner Carpo’s is closed (see Beer Thirty’s Facebook and Instagram for updates).

FLOUR POWER

While San Francisco Beer Week runs through Sunday, Feb. 19, at Santa Cruz area spots like New Bohemia Brewing Co., Lupulo Craft Beer House, Sante Adairius and Humble Sea Brewing Co., another S.F. export beckons. Flour + Water, one of my favorite pizza and pasta houses in San Francisco, has debuted a line of dried pasta, Flour + Water Foods, now available in Whole Foods Market. It’s certified organic and done with North American Semolina grains, with part of its proceeds directed to implement regenerative agriculture practices.