Quick Bites | Cruz Kitchen & Taps shuts down – Santa Cruz Sentinel

Cruz Kitchen & Taps (145 Laurel St., 831-713-5173, cruzkitchenandtaps.com) abruptly closed last week. Dameon DeWorken and Mia Thorn, co-owners, opened Cruz Kitchen & Taps in January 2022. The restaurant has permanently shuttered its doors.

Vegan restaurant Cultiva Artistic Cuisine opened last weekend at 215 Third St. Chef/farmer Maria Gonzalez and farmer Rudy Jimenez, life partners as well as business partners, operate and own Cultiva. Gonzalez formerly ran vegan food business Cali Dawg. The restaurant serves breakfast and lunch, featuring ingredients grown at the farm just a five-minute drive from Cultiva. The opening menu features dishes like avocado toast with radish and cherry tomato on an everything bagel, breakfast sandwiches with house-made vegan sausage, salads and squash curry soup with pumpkin seed crema and chili oil (seasonal soups will rotate). Beverages include fresh juice. Current hours are 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, and 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday. Call 831-593-1016 or follow on Instagram @cultiva831 for information.

Señor Chilaquiles is the new restaurant at 2623 41st Ave. (behind Café Cruz). Earlier this month, it replaced 41st Ocean Breakfast & Grill, which opened in October 2023. The same owner is running Señor Chilaquiles; there is a new manager, Gustavo Alba, and he has made a few changes. “It’s home cooking like grandma used to make, using recipes that have been handed down for generations,” says Alba. The restaurant is serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast selections include signature chilaquiles, French toast, eggs Benedict and breakfast burritos. Lunch and dinner offerings include burgers, sandwiches, pasta, seafood and more. Current hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Visit senorchilaquiles.com.

Organic food delivery service Golden Roots Kitchen (5340 Scotts Valley Drive) has released its Thanksgiving menu. It is accepting orders until noon Nov. 21. The dishes will be ready for pick-up Nov. 26. There are a la carte options or “ready-made plates with all the fixings.” The menu features Thanksgiving for One (with pasture-raised turkey breast entrée or Far West Fungi lion’s mane steak) plus selections like Brussels sprout breakfast hash with sage turkey sausage and hollandaise, Rodoni Farms pumpkin loaf with dark chocolate chips and coconut creamed Pinnacle Farm yams with tahini and toasted shallots. Visit goldenroots.bottle.com/b/5672814 for full menu and ordering information.

Ibiza (1541 Pacific Ave. Ste B., 831-900-5222, ibizasantacruz.square.site) is offering a takeout “all the sides for Thanksgiving” package available for pickup from 3-5 p.m. Nov. 27, the day before the holiday. The $195 “feast for four” includes selections like a platter of jamón Serrano, manchego cheese and Membrillo; roasted Brussels sprouts with pickled currants and fried capers; olive-oil mashed potatoes; and stuffing with Spanish chorizo. It also features signature Hippie Salad with kale, spiced yams, tabbouleh, pickled shallots, sunflower seeds, crispy chickpeas and carrot ginger vinaigrette. For full menu and to order, visit the website.

The Capitola Village Sip & Stroll will be noon to 5 p.m. Nov. 9, taking attendees on a tour through Capitola Village. Tasting stations with wine from area wineries and one brewery will be located at approximately 20 businesses. Admission is $45 plus fees and includes a commemorative glass and 12 two-ounce pour tickets. Learn more and buy tickets at eventbrite.com/e/capitola-village-sip-and-stroll-tickets-1004655580887.

Anouchka Bakery (anouchkabakery.com) is offering pumpkin pies every Friday in November, until Thanksgiving week when pies are available on a Wednesday (the day before the holiday). Place orders online, via email ([email protected]), or phone (831-234-9949). You can buy a half or whole pie, and they are made from locally grown pumpkins. The bakery also offers other items in November including cardamom shortbread cookies and cinnamon rolls. Customers can choose between local delivery or pickup at Botanic & Luxe (110 Cooper St).

The annual Wine and Roses event is 4-7 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds’ Crosetti Hall (2601 E. Lake Ave., Watsonville). Attendees can enjoy tastings from local wineries, breweries and restaurants, and bid on silent auction items. Proceeds benefit the Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley’s programs supporting health and wellness. Tickets are $100 for one or $160 for two people. Learn more or buy tickets at pvhealthtrust.org/wine-roses.

There are winter promotions at The Crow’s Nest (2218 E. Cliff Drive, 831-476-4560, crowsnest-santacruz.com). Valid at lunch and dinner, these include steak on Monday ($29.95) or lobster on Tuesday ($29.95), each with a choice of three preparations at the main downstairs restaurant. Customers who dine in the upstairs Breakwater Bar & Grill can order the deal with a view Monday through Friday from 6 p.m. onward. The $14.95 dinner features a choice of four entrees served with house-made potato chips. This seasonal promotion usually ends right before Memorial Day.

The downtown Santa Cruz fall wine walk is 2-5 p.m. Nov. 10. Tickets are $40 plus fees in advance, or $45 plus fees the day of the event. There are 12 wineries, and participants stroll through different shops to taste the wine. To see the full winery list and buy tickets, visit eventbrite.com/e/downtown-santa-cruz-fall-wine-walk-november-10-2024-tickets-917579584237.

The restaurant Tortilla Flats (4616 Soquel Drive, 831-476-1754, tortillaflatsdining.biz) is holding a Frida Kahlo look-alike contest from 5-7 p.m. Saturday, with a prize of dinner for two. Also, there will be a Hot Tamales festival from Nov. 26-Dec. 1. Special dishes include Oaxaca tamales with mole sauce and mushroom tamales with white truffle oil. Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday, and 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday (closed Monday).

A few food trucks are appearing at Steel Bonnet Brewing Co. (20 Victor Square, 831-454-8429, steelbon.net) in the near future. La Fenice Pizza appears from 4-8 p.m. Friday. Shockwave pops up from 3-7 p.m. Sunday and from 5-8 p.m. Nov. 13. Kikuchi Yakitori is popping up from 5-8 p.m. Nov. 7, and Scrumptious Fish & Chips appears from 4-8 p.m. Nov. 8 and Nov. 15. Other vendors include Cali Caracas.

The start of the commercial Dungeness crab season has been delayed. For the seventh consecutive year, officials are delaying the Monterey Bay area’s season — which was scheduled to begin Nov. 15. The goal is to lower the chances of migrating whales (currently off the coast) getting tangled up and stuck in crab fishing ropes. The earliest start date will be Dec. 1; the next assessment by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife will be completed around mid-November.

Quick Bites, compiled by Tara Fatemi Walker, is your weekly helping of Santa Cruz County restaurant, food, and drink news. Send items to [email protected] (Sunday 7 p.m. deadline for that week’s column). Want local food & drink news as it happens? Follow the Sentinel’s food crew on Twitter @santacruzfood.