It’s time for double the apple-walnut pancakes, double the egg bread French toast, double the Cowboy omelets, double the calamari steaks and eggs and double the chicken cutlet BLTs.
Those popular plates and specials at Silver Spur (2650 Soquel Drive, Santa Cruz) will soon be flying from the kitchen of location #2, as East Lake Village Shopping Center finally adds a standout breakfast-lunch spot to complement a sturdy selection of flavorful spots like Fruition Brewing, Ozzy’s Pizzeria and Staff of Life.
In a word, yeehaw.
The sister Silver Spur (1040 E. Lake Ave., Watsonville) debuts at dawn March 4. Hours are 6am–2pm daily.
The original Soquel institution found renewed identity in 2023 when the longtime chef for former Spur owner Linda Hopper, Juan Valencia, bought the place with his son Danny Govea, himself a restaurant veteran. They promptly restored historic menus and reinvigorated the historic good vibes.
They’ll each oversee a location and the hot coffee–strong service–big plates recipe that’s made the Spur a Live Oak life affirmer for generations.
More at instagram.com/silverspurranchco.
CELEBRATION BREWING
Humble Sea (820 Swift St., Santa Cruz) soon commemorates a birthday as it does much everything: with style points to spare—and this time, choose-your-own-beer-venture optionality. The three plays for the March 15 anniversary celebration: 1) “Just Show Up” (free): Per HSB, “roll through, grab beers, eat food, vibe out. No ticket needed.” 2) Level Up Your Experience ($25 early bird; $30 after March), which involves a commemorative glass, magnum pours, an anniversary lager, and a sticker. 3) Full VIP ($50/$60) with the Level Up love plus private bar access, HashNDash food truck, cellar bottle pours, tank-fresh lager pours and extra magnum pour access. Presale kicks off as this goes live (Wednesday, Feb. 26) on HumbleSea.com.
DON’T WORRY BE HOPPY
More beer news, less boozy. A tasting flight at Discretion Brewing (2703 41st Ave., Suite A, Soquel) remains an intriguing endeavor, especially complemented by a bianca flatbread and some Italian antipasto. Last visit there, for instance, I gained altitude with a splash of a tart raspberry-hibiscus ale, a Shimmer Pils, a Jugo Nuevo hazy, a Follow the Creek West Coast IPA and a Uncle Dave’s Rye IPA, and closed with a new addition to the menu: a house hop water that proves crisp, balanced, refreshing and surprisingly satisfying. That fits into a wider trend toward NA options, and staffers told me after sales have remained consistent, if less robust than during a Dry January surge. Hop on, discretionbrewing.com.
RECOGNIZE GAME
The Santa Cruz Warriors play their annual game at Chase Center in San Francisco against the Mexico City Capitanes on Sunday, March 9, and the first 10,000 fans in score a Stephen Curry Sandcastle Bobblehead; a shuttle bus or two from Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz to Chase Center will transmit local season ticket holders, santacruz.gleague.nba.com…Meanwhile Sea Dubs big brother Draymond Green is getting into the restaurant game with Meski, an Ethiopian fusion restaurant and bar opening in SF’s Lower Nob Hill…A special webinar 6–7pm Feb. 26 empowers locals to help protect Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, by doing everything from collecting data beachside to kayaking on the bay, montereybay.noaa.gov/getinvolved…Reminder: Our very own intergalactic omen interpreter Rob Brezsny has a newsletter, check out freewillastrology.com…A single oyster filters 50 gallons of water a day…Zora Neale Hurston, shuck away: “I do not weep at the world. I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife.”
