Santa Cruz for East-Coaster

[drb]

I'll be visiting my kiddo - grad student at UCSC - and I would appreciate some recommendations. I have some wildly disparate categories, so please indulge me.

1. Mexican - decidedly lacking here in Boston. Can be simple but something more than a taqueria.
2. Sushi
3. special dinner. I'm thinking La Posta? We have lots of good Italian here but the locavore take would be interesting.

Thanks for any help.

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La Posta
538 Seabright Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95062

[vday]

We love the Mexican food at Tortilla Flats in nearby Aptos. They make extremely tasty chicken mole enchiladas that I crave every couple of weeks. The mole sauce is complex and delicious. And BIG delicious margaritas :-) It's cute and upscale inside with good service.

[budnball]

Another good choice is 515 Kichen and Cocktails in downtown Santa Cruz.. A funky vibe great drinks and food. Open for brunch.

[mikester]

My wife and I love Soif - a small wine-bar, right downtown. We sit at the counter, chat with the staff, order their great selections of interesting and well-priced wines by the glass and their very tasty, creative small plates.

[letsindulge]

Not mentioned in previous posts that you might consider:

El Palomar or Tampico's on Pacific Ave. for Mexican
Shogun on Pacific Ave. or Pink Godzilla on 41st for Japanese
Bocci's Cellar on Encinal or Ristorante Avanti on Mission - Italian-esque

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Ristorante Avanti
1711 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Pink Godzilla
830 41st Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062

Bocci's Cellar
140 Encinal St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

El Palomar Restaurant
1344 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

[bouncepass]

1. Even after many years, I have yet to find a higher-end type Mexican restaurant around Santa Cruz, though my search certainly hasn't been exhaustive. Personally, if I came here from the East Coast I'd probably just go crazy on taquerias since we do those pretty well. Everyone has a different favorite, but mine by far is Taqueria La Cabana on Mission. Another great option is Garcia Family Mexican Kitchen at the farmer's markets (Saturday West Side and Sunday Live Oak for sure, I believe they're also at the Wednesday Downtown market but not 100% sure). They have great homemade tortillas for their gorditas, sopes, etc. I have heard good things about Las Islitas in Watsonville and that's very high on my to-try list - glad to hear another recommendation.

2. IMO, great sushi requires a large enough community that's willing to spend $$ on top ingredients. That's not really the local demographic. I think Otoro in Scotts Valley is the best place around by some margin, but definitely a tier lower than the best places in Silicon Valley.

3. La Posta is an excellent choice. I would second Cellar Door as being less Italian and more California cuisine with the same focus on local organic ingredients, etc. Disadvantage of CD is that the wine list is exclusively Bonny Doon, which I'm not a huge fan of. But I think the food is terrific, they have a very nice beer list (all bottles but long and well thought-out) and maybe a style of food less easily found in Boston.

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La Posta
538 Seabright Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95062

Taqueria La Cabana
2332 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Cellar Door
328 Ingalls St, Santa Cruz, CA

[escargot3]

just to clarify:
las islitas is a certified sorta funky hole-in-the-wall that is fairly large. And has lottsa clientele and therefore fresh food.

[glbtrtr]

Cafe Carlos for Mexican in near by Scott's Valley which is more high end residential - Silicon Valley crowd. The little towns around SC might be worth exploring: Aptos, Capitola etc.

[escargot3]

Santa Cruz is beautiful, but not a culinary capital. That said, here are a few suggestions:

There's a small joint called "Jalapeno's" that is a few steps above a taqueria. (they often have a good enchilada special.) But if you like seafood (and from the Sushi query, I assume you do) then drive 10 minutes south of Santa Cruz to Watsonville and go to Las Islitas -- it's in a dodgey looking strip mall. But the food is good especially for brunch/lunch.

[rainey]

"Santa Cruz is beautiful, but not a culinary capital."

That's the truth!

However there is an excellent kitchen supply store downtown. Must be everyone who cares about food is home cooking.

You might grab a cup of coffee out on the end of the pier at the candy store. They make a nice brew and stick a huge ole honking piece of fudge on the rim.

[alwayshungrygal]

I always stop in the kitchen supply store when I'm in DT Santa Cruz, which is maybe once a year. I always find something there I can't find (or haven't seen) anywhere else.

[letsindulge]

Chefworks is SC's answer to SLT or WS. I've worked there in the past. They offer a 10% discount to food service professionals.

Pacific Ave. offers 4 coffee companies within 4 blocks!

[prima]

I enjoy the small plates, made with mostly local ingredients, served at Bonny Doon's Cellar Door.

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Las Islitas
45 Brooklyn St, Watsonville, CA 95076

Cellar Door
328 Ingalls St, Santa Cruz, CA