Below, Good Times writers share some of their secret local pleasures. To see what the readers deemed the Best of Santa Cruz County, click on these links:
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Best All-Access Portal to the Monterey Bay Sanctuary
Santa Cruz Wharf
It’s only natural to take something awesome for granted once you get used to it—even if that something is a natural wonder of the world. Enter the Santa Cruz Wharf, which unleashes free music, free fishing, free dance classes and local-centric happy hours to pair with what wharf supervisor Britt Hoberg reminds residents is the longest on the entire West Coast to tap the power of the Pacific Ocean. “Just having access a half mile out into the sanctuary is pretty big, given the chance to view all the wildlife out here, and being immersed in nature rather than on land looking at it,” he says. “The thing with the wharf is access unlike anywhere else.” No scuba training, sailboat or surf skills needed. Mark C. Anderson
Best Hot and Sour Soup for the Soul
Special Noodle
Soup really does speak to the soul like no other food can, and seemingly every worldly type and style of cuisine has a signature broth venerated as a cultural culinary paragon. When it comes to Chinese food, hot and sour soup is where it’s at, and Special Noodle’s reigns supreme. The dish at this Santa Cruz restaurant on Ocean Street is exactly and exceptionally what it promises to be: Hot in temperature with pleasantly assertive levels of spice, building addictively on itself. And sour, with a wonderful and welcome acidity that sings through, giving the umami-rich broth balance and complexity. Complementing these flavor notes are delightful textures: silky egg ribbons, subtly firm tofu, crisp bamboo shoots and sliced mushrooms that snap slightly at the chew. It’s soup good enough to cure, or at least temporarily ameliorate, any existential or spiritual malfunction. Happy slurping. Andrew Steingrube
Weirdest Place to Laugh
The Blue Lagoon
Comedy Night at the Blue Lagoon, downtown Santa Cruz, is the longest-running free comedy show in California. It’s a sports, goth, drag, punk, disco, comedy bar and a safe place to be you (as long as you’re over 21). Every Tuesday at Blue Lagoonies Comedy, the music starts at 7:45pm and is followed at 8:15pm by a 90-minute free comedy show. Don’t get too distracted that somebody brought their pet owl with them, and give the comics some attention. It’s a no-hate zone, and maybe besides laughing, you might just get a little bit of hope. Also, don’t touch anything. DNA
Best Place for a (Fully Clothed) Massage
China Massage & Reflexology
With eight modern massage tables in this relaxing, quiet studio in Capitola, practitioners use ancient Chinese methods to help you unwind and de-stress. If you’ve never had a massage before, it’s a good introduction since you stay clothed throughout the session. Recommended attire is a cozy T-shirt, yoga pants or sweats. Massage always begins with a warm foot bath as the experienced, certified therapists start with deep tissue work to neck and shoulders, working all joints and tissue of the body from head to toe. Starting at $45 for a one hour, full-body massage, China Massage is easy on the wallet too. Kristen McLaughlin
Best Gas Station
AJ’s Market
This market in Soquel will forever change the way you think of gas station convenience stores. Sure, it has gas and a car wash. But it also has a gourmet kitchen serving locally harvested seafood and Harris Ranch meats, including one of the best burgers in the county. It’s fast food, but unlike anything else with that name. And then it goes where no gas station has gone before: it has organic produce and tasty treats from all over the world, including English biscuits, real maple syrup and a Southeast Asian spice rack. It also stocks plenty of local wines, baked goods, ice creams and coffees. Owner Akhtar Javed, born in Pakistan, fell in love with Santa Cruz and opened the market in 1987. He garnered a big following after the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake when with no electricity, he told customers to take their products free and pay him back when they could. Brad Kava
Best Bean Selection
Staff of Life Natural Foods
Dried beans, a staple of Mediterranean and Blue Zone diets, are finally having their moment. As more of us experiment with cooking from scratch, legumes have a lot to offer. Packed with plant-based protein, fiber and endless possibilities, beans are the perfect combo of comfort food and sustainability. Think silky cannellini beans in a rustic Tuscan soup, smoky black beans for Taco Tuesday, or buttery cranberry beans slow-simmered to perfection. When it comes to the best local selection, Staff of Life Natural Foods tops the list, with bulk bins offering a goldmine of heirloom beans, vibrant lentils and chickpeas at competitive prices. The range of options puts hard-to-find varieties in easy reach among the long list of staples. So skip the cans and explore the world of dried beans—flavorful, affordable and endlessly versatile. Get ready to make magic, one pot of beans at a time. Elizabeth Borelli
Best Spot to Sip Tea and Read Philosophy
Lulu Carpenter’s
Located in a historic 1865 building on the corner of Pacific Avenue, Lulu Carpenter’s carries an impressive selection of 16 teas: green, black, tisanes and a wonderful oolong. And its art deco interior, bookshelf full of classical literature, and exposed brick from wall to ceiling makes one feel like sitting down with a good book. At the back of the shop, an outdoor patio sports two fire pits, palm trees and more exposed brick in the surrounding walls of taller buildings. Creating a vibe that’s an excellent mix between Brooklyn coffeehouse and Santa Cruz mainstay, this locally owned coffee shop is an excellent spot to stop, sit down with tea (or the excellent house roasted coffee) and do homework, chat with friends or read philosophy from Kant to Camus. Mathew Chipman
Best Place to Drink, Dance and Be Merry
El Vaquero Winery
Music, dancing, food trucks and wine—El Vaquero in Corralitos has it all. This upbeat winery features ever-evolving entertainment. Limited seating indoors means enjoying the great outdoors with El Vaquero’s heaters when the weather’s cool. But you’ll soon heat up as you shake a wicked hoof on the dance floor. Trivia night is every Thursday, with a chance to win a bottle of wine. Order slices from Corralitos Pizza or grab a taco from a local food truck. Music events often sell out, so make a reservation or get there early. El Vaquero bottles excellent wine, too. Try the Pinotage, Merlot and the “One-Eyed Charlie” Carignane. Josie Cowden
Best Healthy Hydroponics
Cabrillo College Horticulture Program
Fresh, flavorful and sustainably grown, the hydroponic salad greens from Cabrillo College’s Horticulture Program are grown without soil in a carefully controlled environment. Available on Saturday mornings from 8am to noon at the Aptos Farmer’s Market at Cabrillo College, these vibrant greens reflect the ingenuity and dedication of students who are mastering the future of farming. Hydroponics, a method that uses nutrient-rich water to cultivate plants, offers a sustainable solution to traditional agriculture challenges, using less water and space while producing high-quality crops year-round. The result? Incredibly tender butter and green leaf lettuces, peppery arugula and herbs that are as delicious as they are environmentally conscious. Supporting Cabrillo’s hydroponic greens means supporting the next generation of growers committed to sustainability. Next time you toss a salad, make it one that’s rooted in local passion and cultivated with care. Elizabeth Borelli
Best Hash Browns Without Walls
Aldo’s Harbor Restaurant
They are a humble staple from a humble tuber, but real-deal, honest-to-Goddess, mom-and-pop professional hash browns present a balance of crispiness, oil and starch that together unlock heavenly dimensions of taste and texture unattainable alone. The A++ hash browns feel like required plating at the community standby that is Aldo’s, inarguably a community treasure and arguably its most unique restaurant logistically, as it’s entirely outdoors—sunscreen is available upon request for the unprepared—and snuggled next to the Santa Cruz Harbor and Mariner Park Lawn. Mark C. Anderson
Best Spot for a First Date
Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery
First dates are notorious for being filled with two things: awkwardness and anxiety. What’s the opposite of that? Hawaiian vibes, with that relaxed, on-vacation, pleasantly set apart from reality feel. Makai on the SC Wharf does exactly that with a truly transportive ambiance. Dining directly above water while enjoying panoramic ocean views in an immersive Hawaiian experience is sure to relax even the most nervous of first-daters. And if that doesn’t work, well, that’s what the rum is for. Classic cocktails abound, and asking for the secret drink menu is sure to increase rizz. Further, the bar slowly rotates, creating a unique and rhythmically calming experience. The food menu is delicious as it is diverse, with small and light plates to large and savory ones, offering something that schmacks for everyone. Between the food, drink and atmosphere, Makai’s environment is perfectly set for first-date success. Andrew Steingrube
Best Teeny Greens
New Natives
New Natives has been a cornerstone of Santa Cruz’s vibrant local food scene since 1982, when founders Sandra Ward and Ken Kimes turned their garage into a grow room for organic microgreens. What began as a small-scale operation is now a thriving sprout farm producing over 2,000 pounds of fresh, nutrient-packed greens each week. Committed to quality and sustainability, New Natives harvests their microgreens at the sprout stage—the peak moment for vitamins, enzymes and bold flavors. The wide range of varieties include tender sunflower shoots, peppery arugula and nutrient-rich broccoli sprouts, to name a few favorites. How to enjoy them? Uplevel your salads with a handful of sprouts, tuck into a wrap, or add a bunch to your morning smoothie for an extra boost of nutrients. Support local, eat fresh and savor every bite. Catch New Natives every week at the Aptos, Downtown Santa Cruz, Live Oak/Eastside and Westside Santa Cruz farmer’s market. Elizabeth Borelli
Best Japanese-Peruvian Poetry
Oyuki Sushi Nikkei
Discerning diners love year-and-a-half-old Oyuki for a range of reasons. The telenovela inspo behind the name. The mom-and-pop sweetness behind the service. The entertaining execution in the open kitchen. The Inka Kola rarely seen this far north. And these are all valid, even important. But the biggest key is the rarest in these parts: The intuitive expression of Nikkei—think Japanese techniques on Peruvian ingredients—in dishes like causita potato towers, aji pepper-spiced nigiri and leche de tigre-sauced sushi. Delicioso and oishī. Mark C. Anderson
Best Place to Catch the Green Flash
Rockview Drive County Park
In late February of 2020, It was a cold pink evening, I was 15, a sophomore in high school released from track practice early, and I got this feeling in my bones that if I chased the sunset I’d see something truly special. From there, I biked three miles from Soquel High on a beat-up beach cruiser, the whole time afraid the rusty chain would snap from my frantic pace. On Rockview Drive I witnessed my first green flash sunset, a rare blink-and-you’ll-miss-it phenomenon where the sun turns a dazzling emerald shade in the seconds before twilight begins. In the five years since that day in February, I have become an avid sunset chaser, with the pleasure of catching a dozen green flashes, the majority at Rockview Drive. Nestled between Moran Lake Beach and Pleasure Point Beach, its unobstructed view of a westward horizon, calm and distant, creates ample opportunities between January and April to catch the neon green trick of the light that dazzled the characters of Le Rayon-Vert, Jules Verne’s 1882 novel. Mathew Chipman
Best Scenic Sipping
Soquel Vineyards
To pair great wine and a scenic view, take the short and beautiful drive from Soquel Village up Glen Haven Road to Soquel Vineyards, where lush vines and a sweeping view of the Monterey Bay await. An airy outdoor patio is a great spot to taste the superb pinots made by twin brothers Peter and Paul Bargetto and Jon Morgan. When construction of the winery began in 2001, the three of them wanted an authentic Italian look for the tasting room, so they had handmade rooftop tiles from the 1700s imported—from Italy, of course. Josie Cowden
Best Wine and Food Pairing
Stockwell Cellars
With a passion for making wine, former metalsmith Eric Stockwell turned his metal shop into an industrial-chic tasting room complete with a plethora of events. Stockwell’s is the place for fun, food and a fabulous time. And it all comes with an upbeat vibe. Visit Stockwell Cellars for Trivia Night, Sip & Sway music nights, and Food Truck Nights—with local vendors serving up tasty nosh. Stockwell supports local artists and features their work on the popular First Friday events. There’s nothing like checking out beautiful artwork with a glass of good wine in your hand. Josie Cowden
Best Graffiti-Covered Waterfall
The Waterfall Spot
Half a mile up Prescott Road in Soquel, deep in the redwoods on a small, one-lane, ravine-hugging pass, you might stop in a turnout by a degraded wire fence, just before reaching Land of Medicine Buddha, to hear the rustling sound of water and take a gander at Santa Cruz’s most unique (probably only) man-made waterfall. Lovingly referred to by locals as “the waterfall spot”—with decades of graffiti hidden under layers of moss, crumbling stairs with a generator at the top and a shallow pool at the bottom—this defunct hydroelectric facility supplied pressurized water to Monterey Bay Golf & Country Club from the late 1920s until the area became Monterey Bay Heights, leaving the dam to rot away and become the 100-year-old landmark it is today. Mathew Chipman
Best Music Served With Mead
Bargetto Winery
In business since 1933, Bargetto Winery pulls out the stops when it comes to wine and hospitality. Bargetto has spacious indoor and outdoor areas for folks to enjoy both public and private soirees. The Music in the Cellars events are a blast—with wine by the glass, food trucks and no cover charge. Fancy a glass of mead instead of wine? Under its Chaucer’s label, Bargetto brews different kinds, including Raspberry, Pomegranate and even a sparkling mead. Josie Cowden
Best Executive Shuttle Out of Surf City
Highway 17 Express
The 17 Express is fast. (Arrival happens in under an hour.) It’s affordable. (Rate runs $7 flat, bring change.) It’s convenient. (Departures happen every hour weekends and midday weekdays, and more frequently weekday morning, afternoon and evenings.) And it’s also an all-out portal to a world of options, since it plops riders at Diridon Station in San Jose. (From there you can connect with a train or bus just about anywhere in the greater West.) Visit scmtd.com. Mark C. Anderson
