Sometimes it doesn’t take much to sneak a smile onto your face. In this case, it was a tiny Dixie cup filled with bright, fragrant and refreshing strawberry lemonade.
The surprise free lemonade appeared on the counter at teacup-sized Crepe Cones (in front of Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave.), which I have been stalking because it stocks big-value, fresh-to-order crepes like its banana-nutella and grilled cheese, for just $6.
Hours are normalizing for owner-operator Matt McCabe, and here’s hoping he helps normalize good old-fashioned kindness.
The little splash of citrus and sweet went a long way on a warm day, and served 1. as a microcosm of the welcoming vibe and comforting fare in the kiosk spot; and 2. as a modest antidote against understandable cynicism given less-than-generous national leadership.
Meanwhile, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom just announced another antidote that’ll help keep Crepe Cones affordable: The Golden State won’t be unlawfully hit with tariff taxes without a fight, and my own lemonade toast with the Tom Scribner statue next to the crepe stand.
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WHOLE NEW ANIMAL
The Salty Otter Sports Grill opens 4pm Thursday, April 24—and will be open 10am–midnight daily to start—which is huge news for downtown Santa Cruz, particularly later night eaters. The Otter will occupy the former CT City Lights and Firefly Tavern at 110 Walnut Ave., which locals still think of as 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall. Rachael Carla Smith is among those locals, having both visited as a regular and a three-decade-long restaurant pro who dreamed of someday running the spot. She’s importing the formula that works at The Salty Seal on Cannery Row: lots of draft taps, sports on the screens, live music, billiards, and good pub food starring signature burgers and seafood chowder inspired by her native Bermuda.
ACID TESTAMENT
Award-winning docu-series Chef’s Table returns to Netflix April 28, with an installment titled “Legends,” and including Thomas Keller, José Andrés, Alice Waters and Jamie Oliver. Keller, who once told me, “You can judge a kitchen by its chicken,” dropped some other pearls across a back-in-the-day Q&A: 1. Me: “Hardest lesson—and maybe most important—you’ve learned in your career?” Keller: “Restraint.” 2. “Most Zen-like cooking practice for you?” “Filleting fish.” 3. “Three things you can’t live without in the kitchen?” “Seasoning: salt and acid. Knives. Spoons.” 4. “Out of the kitchen?” “Enough time; time is critical. Sleep. Exercise.” 5. “Last meal?” “Bibb lettuce salad, quesadilla, roast chicken, lemon tart and chocolate tart,” netflix.com.
WINNING PLAYS
Slice Project (300 Main St., Watsonville) has opened its second spot at The Hangar (45 Aviation Way, Suite 6, Watsonville), sliceprojectpizza.com…The Santa Cruz Warriors season has ended, but big brother Golden State journeys on, with SeaDub favorites like Gui Santos and Quentin Post getting big playoff minutes, and one lively place to follow along on game nights, complete with SCW raffle prizes hosted by their staff (!!) and $3 pints (!!!), is Pono Hawaiian Grill (120 Union St, Santa Cruz)…Resilience Grants for restaurants and catering companies in the Monterey Bay area are now possible thanks to the California Restaurant Foundation, and more than 230 independent restaurants will be selected for $5,000 grants (for equipment, technology, employee training, etc.) but the application period closes soon (April 26), craf.communityforce.com…UCSC Baskin School of Engineering’s Climate Week hits a high point with Sustainable Demo Day noon–2pm Thursday, April 24, in the Baskin Courtyard, engineering.ucsc.edu/events/climate-week…More Pacha Mama love: free and family-oriented Earth Day Watsonville happens in Watsonville Plaza noon–3pm Sunday, April 27, around the theme “Our Power, Our Planet,” watsonville.gov…Wendell Berry, take us home: “The Earth is what we all have in common.”
