Trivia time: What drought-resistant root can be boiled, fried or baked, works as a great gluten-free flour alternative, serves as the base for boba balls and is a staple food item for 500 million people on the planet?
Correct answer: cassava, aka yuka or manioc. I learned it stars among other West African dishes like ashake hot pepper soup and pumpkin seed stew at Veg on the Edge when I asked a bartender at neighboring Front & Cooper what their go-to dish is among the wealth of choices at Abbott Square Market (725 Front St., Santa Cruz).
The answer there: loaded cassava fries, which delivered on the promise of filling me up without weighing me down, for around $11, with a choice of two housemade sauces starring.
Next quiz question: Who makes some of the most inventive and tasty designer drinks in Santa Cruz, many with their own atypical ingredients?
We’re talking creations like the Koala with tequila, apple, tamarind, eucalyptus (!) and mint; the Jupiter with gin, passionfruit, Chinese rhubarb (!), juniper and vanilla bitters; and the Pocket Full of Sunshine with Japanese whisky, floral osmanthus tea (!), cognac and lemon.
A: Front & Cooper, a true drink destination—and now home to weekly Trivia Nights 6:30-8pm Wednesdays, complete with hosts Hugging Porcupine Productions and prizes for those who know their stuff, from roots to sun.
LOVE ACTUALLY
I took the occasion of Valentine’s Day to revisit a runaway romance between Santa Cruz and Gayle’s Bakery & Rosticceria (504 Bay Ave., Capitola). If you’re not moved by the warmth of the fireside sunroom, the avalanche of hearty deli salads and rustic sandwiches, the seduction of the raspberry cream danish, the crunch of perhaps the best garlic bread in the area code, the texture of the mushroom turnovers, you’re in need of a heart and/or tastebud transplant. The kicker: Valentine’s was more than a moment to make a run on some salted caramel brownie hearts. It was a way to celebrate the shop’s birthday, which came when Gayle’s mom, Fern Tomlinson, opened the place Feb. 14, 1978. HBD to a local legend, gaylesbakery.com.
COSMIC ASSISTANCE
If you stopped reading this right now and flipped to page 6 to visit your Free Will Astrology horoscope from Rob Brezsny, your day will improve. That’s how reliably insightful his column proves. Many readers are well aware of this, and perhaps also know that before he became syndicated worldwide, he got his start at Good Times. What’s less well known: He also crafts a deeply hopeful and energizing newsletter that I’ve found increasingly indispensable since Trump took office. Check it out at newsletter.freewillastrology.com.
SLICES OF LIFE
The 42nd Annual Clam Chowder Cook-Off ladles out Feb. 22-23, at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, with proceeds going to city parks and rec, beachboardwalk.com/Clam-Chowder-Cook-Off…Rosie McCann’s Irish Pub (1220 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz) quietly has a bangin’ brunch lineup 10am-2pm weekends with $8 pints of mimosas and industry legend Angélica Quezada behind the sticks; meanwhile they also do Comedy Night Mondays, Trivia Tuesdays, Celtic Music Thursdays, Industry Night Sundays and happy hour 4-6pm weekdays, rosiemccanns.com…Homeless Garden Project completed another glorious MLK Work Day, rallying 100+ volunteers, sharing 1440 Multiversity snacks and Alta Coffee, and resurfacing reminders of what good results from localized leadership and outreach, homelessgardenproject.org…Dr. King, please take us home: “Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a better person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.”
