Best Music & Nightlife
Best Local Musician
MARTY O’REILLY
1. Leader of Marty O’Reilly and the Old Soul Orchestra, which also includes Chris Lynch on fiddle, Jeff Kissell on upright bass and Matt Goff on drums.
2. Two of the band’s musical influences are Tom Waits and Andrew Bird.
3. O’Reilly and Lynch like to take their shoes off during shows.
4. There are no more shows scheduled in Santa Cruz for the remainder of their tour. They play April 4 in San Luis Obispo.
5. O’Reilly and band recently started giving lessons in Santa Cruz in upright bass, guitar, violin, banjo, harmonica, songwriting, booking shows, music theory and more.To set up a lesson, connect at facebook.com/martyoreillymusic. | AMANDA EDWARDS
Best Dance Lessons
PACIFIC ARTS COMPLEX
1. Santa Cruz’s fastest growing dance studio was founded two years ago by Leslie Johnson, Mireya Nunez, David Bortnick and Tisha Nusbaum.
2. Over 150 classes are offered per week, in styles ranging from contemporary to ballet to hip-hop.
3. The program accommodating all skill levels, and ambitions from recreational to pre-professional.
4. A plaque on the studio wall offers messages of encouragement: “When you stumble, make it part of the dance,” and “It’s not that you can’t get it, it’s that you haven’t yet.”
5 Pacific Arts Complex also offers video production classes, including cinematography, lighting, script writing and editing. | JUNE SMITH
Best Place To Play Darts
POET & PATRIOT
1. Poet & Patriot has been open since 1982.
2. When it first opened, it drew primarily a working-class, artist, crowd, but students eventually discovered it, as well.
3. Chris Matthews, co-founder of the pub, died in 2008, but remains a larger-than-life figure of Santa Cruz legend.
4. Behind the bar, there is a large selection of IPAs, stouts, and porters on tap and in bottles.
5. Your best bet to play darts to the sounds of the Pogues on any given night. | AMANDA EDWARDS
Best Bar & Best Fancy Cocktails
515 KITCHEN & COCKTAILS
1. The best selling cocktail at 515 is called Ain’t Life Grand—Buffalo Trace bourbon, peach liqueur, lemon juice, saffron bitters, apple bitters, angostura bitters and ginger beer.
2. The house specialty cocktail is called Quarter After Five, and they have several other original creations, as well.
3. Bar manager Ethan Samuels thinks that what sets 515 Kitchen apart from other bars around Santa Cruz is hard-to-find American whiskeys such as Van Winkle, Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, and George T. Stagg.
4. 515 Kitchen was opened in 2006 by Germaine Akin.
5. The name comes from the address of the bar, 515 Cedar Street. | AMANDA EDWARDS
Bar
515 KITCHEN & COCKTAILS
515 Cedar St., Santa Cruz, 425-5051, 515santacruz.com
RUNNERS-UP Red Restaurant, Red Room
Bartender
STEPHANIE SANCHEZ DEMARS @ SEVERINO’S BAR AND GRILL AND THE HIDEOUT COCKTAILS
RUNNERS-UP Ethan Samuels @ 515 Kitchen & Cocktails, Ben @ Oswald
Craft Brewer (local)
DISCRETION BREWING
2703 41st Ave, Soquel
discretionbrewing.com
RUNNERS-UP Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing, Sante Adairius
Dance Club
MOTIV
1209 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 429-8070, motivsc.com
RUNNERS-UP Blue Lagoon, Moe’s Alley
Dance Lessons
PACIFIC ARTS COMPLEX
1122 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, 471-8142, pacificartscomplex.com
RUNNERS-UP Dancenter, International Academy of Dance
Fancy Cocktails
515 KITCHEN & COCKTAILS
515 Cedar St., Santa Cruz, 425-5051, 515santacruz.com
RUNNERS-UP Oswald, Hula’s Island Grill
Happy Hour
HULA’S ISLAND GRILL
221 Cathcart St., Santa Cruz, 426-4852, hulastiki.com
RUNNERS-UP Crow’s Nest, 515 Kitchen & Cocktails
Karaoke
BOARDWALK BOWL / COASTERS BAR & GRILL
400 Beach St., Santa Cruz, 423-5590, beachboardwalk.com
RUNNERS-UP I Love Sushi, Malone’s
Live Music
MOE’S ALLLEY
1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz, 479-1854, moesalley.com
RUNNERS-UP Kuumbwa Jazz, Catalyst
Local Band
EXTRA LARGE
extra-large.net
RUNNERS-UP SambaDá, Marty O’Reilly & The Old Soul Orchestra
Local Musician
MARTY O’REILLY
martyoreilly.com
RUNNERS-UP James Durbin, Keith Greeninger
Margaritas
EL PALOMAR
1336 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz,
425-7575, elpalomarsantacruz.com
RUNNERS-UP Tortilla Flats, Palapas
Microbrewery
DISCRETION BREWING
2703 41st Ave, Soquel
discretionbrewing.com
RUNNERS-UP Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing, Seabright Brewery
Place to Play Pool
SURF CITY BILLIARDS
931 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 423-7665
RUNNERS-UP Fast Eddy’s, One Double Oh Seven
Place to Play
Darts
POET & PATRIOT IRISH PUB
320 Cedar St., Santa Cruz, 426-8620
RUNNERS-UP One Double Oh Seven, Surf City Billiards
Pub
POET & PATRIOT IRISH PUB
320 Cedar St., Santa Cruz, 426-8620
RUNNERS-UP Parish Publick House, Brittania Arms
Tap Room
WEST END TAP & KITCHEN
334D Ingalls St., Santa Cruz, 471-8115, westendtap.com
RUNNERS-UP Beer Thirty, Lúpulo Craft Beer House
