There are no shortage of reasons to make a run at Santa Cruz Diner (909 Ocean St., Santa Cruz), in all its timelessness.
I mean, the rotating pie tower! The symphony of historic photos! The long counter! The if-they-could-talk tchotchkes! The booths! The Guy Fieri endorsement!
Or maybe it’s that is no shortage of items on the menu, from the bacon-and-cheese waffles to the all-day skillets and scrambles to the Captain’s Plate with deep-fried calamari, prawns and battered fish.
Either way, SCD self-professes it has the most expansive menu of any restaurant in the area. Hmmm. Perhaps.
What is less debatable is that the menu has three outstanding elements tucked into its vast inventory of Surf’s Up omelets, salmon Castroville, jambalaya Santa Cruz, and teriyaki top sirloins.
One is a seniors menu, another throwback. That features more all-day breakfast combos like The Egger, with two eggs your way, two strips of bacon or sausage, and a choice of two buttermilk pancakes, a slice of French toast, half waffle, hash browns and toast, or biscuit and country gravy for $13.95.
And lunch offers like chicken Caesar salads for $15.95, or dinnertime deals like spaghetti, bread and soup for $12.95.
Two would be the fresh-not-fried shrimp-and-pork spring rolls for $6.95—an atypical best-seller for a diner, and they do sell out.
Three presents a surprise, namely CENTR Brand CBD drinks that deliver 30mg of non-stoney relaxation for $5.95, which is a lower price than you’ll see in many beverage stores.
Bargains all the way around, nestled in a landmark, which is my kind of combo. santacruzdiner.com.
FUN WITH FLUKES
Whale lovers, a worthwhile pilgrimage awaits: The 15th Annual Whalefest Monterey happens 10am–5pm April 12–13 at and around Old Fisherman’s Wharf and the Custom House Plaza in Monterey State Historic Park. That’s a voyage from Santa Cruz—please, someone, give us a cross-bay ferry!—but given the dozens of marine-related interactive exhibits, research and rescue boats available for public tours, and a loaded lineup of live entertainment and epicurean options, it merits the trip. A dozen musical acts include the Wave Tones, I Cantori di Carmel and Kuumbwa Jazz Honor Band; an annual symposium taps knowledge from world-renowned marine experts; the Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters Association creatives paint marine landscapes and talk process; life-size whales appear in inflatable and skeleton form; and dozens of participating science- and advocacy-centric orgs—Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing Marine Lab and O’Neill Sea Odyssey among them—share knowledge. whalefest.org.
FLASH FRIES
The Homeless Garden Project (30 West Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz) gathers folks April 5 for a day in service in honor of Cesar Chavez—drop-ins are welcome. Then, come May 16, HGP’s first 2025 CSA season pick up happens, more at homelessgardenproject.org…For a limited time, Monterey Bay locals can use code LOCAL at checkout to unlock a 10% discount on select Pebble Beach Food & Wine events April 10-13, pebblebeachfoodandwine.com…Trout Farm Inn (7701 E. Zayante Road, Felton) has a spring thing going with its $20 bottomless mimosas to pair with ribstickers like the Mexi-Cali omelet with chorizo, white cheddar, avocado and salsa verde, thetroutfarm.com…The Watsonville Strawberry Festival art contest for 2025 is now open, with the event scheduled for Aug. 2–3, watsonville.gov…Great “shower thought” from editors at The Hustle newsletter, paraphrased here: Why is it chic when I eat from a cast iron pan in a restaurant, but when I do it at home I’m a dirtbag?… David Lynch, see us to the door: “There’s a safety in thinking in a diner. You can have your coffee or your milkshake, and you can go off into strange dark areas, and always come back to the safety of the diner.”
