Editor’s Note: This story is part of Good Times’ annual Santa Cruz Visitors Guide 2019. Read the full publication here. High above the floor of the Santa Cruz Mountains’ redwood forest, I’m jogging across flimsy wooden bridges, scrambling across nets made of rope and shimmying from one log to another. The ropes course at Felton’s…
Articles by Jacob Pierce
The Dive Bar Guide
Let’s open with a few simple parameters, beginning with what makes a dive. It usually boils down to good drink prices and friendly people. Pool tables, dartboards, a jukebox and a slightly smoky atmosphere don’t hurt a bit. A good dive usually has more grumpy old men than the Sentinel’/i>s online comments page. And while occasional live music is allowed, the diveyness of the bar itself must remain the top attraction.
Local Arts Icon Ralph Peduto Dies
Ralph Peduto, a local writer, actor and director, has died. Peduto leaves behind a legacy that included roles in Mrs. Doubtfire, Patch Adams and The Rock. In Santa Cruz, he was just as well-known for his work in local theater, his generous personality and his warm smile. He succumbed to leukemia Monday—just 12 days after…
Secret's Out About Sentinel Café
Lauren Bates-Rodriguez likes shopping at the farmers market to buy salad and soup ingredients for the Sentinel Café, where she’s worked for over a year. Located in the Cruzioworks building, the coffee shop also has pastries from Kelly’s Bakery, bagels from the Bagelry and coffee from Verve. SCW: What kinds of people come by here?…
Preview: Leo Kottke at the Rio
Leo Kottke sits down with an acoustic guitar—likely one of his trademark Taylors—as the uproarious applause of the full theater before him quiets. He launches into “William Powell,” plucking and hammering away furiously at an open E chord for about four bars. Then he takes a breath and stops. “That’s a little fast. I’m going…
McCoy Tyler Band Shakes Up Local Scene
The McCoy Tyler Band has dressed up to play the Freedom Rotary Club’s 30th anniversary party. Drummer Clinton Brown threw on a dress shirt, and upright bassist Chad Bowen, the trio’s self-described “recovering jam band fanatic,” put his long hair in a ponytail with a rubber band he borrowed from the raffle table. The Santa…
West End Tap’s Unusual Influences
Geoff Hargrave, a Texas-raised chef, knows there’s beer for every occasion. “When it’s hot outside, I love a Kolsh,” says Hargrave, chef and co-owner at West End Tap. “When it’s cold outside, I prefer a porter.” The eight-month-old restaurant in the Swift Street courtyard sits in the former site of Le Cigare Volant, and will…
Do Santa Cruz Planning Laws Need Another Look?
You could call Joe Collins’ home on Manor Avenue of the Westside of Santa Cruz “quaint.” The neighborhood used to be home to the town’s Italian fishing community, and neighbors have told Collins, a non-fiction author, they once saw Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio eat in the dining room decades before he bought it. The…
Foodie File: Local Catch Monterey Bay
“Every fisherman you talk to would have a story that could easily be turned into a movie or book,” says Alan Lovewell, co-founder of Local Catch Monterey Bay. “They’ve all had their scary encounters. They’ve all had that huge fish get away. They’ve all lost friends at sea, and they’ve all struggled.” Lovewell, who grew…
Foodie File: Leyla World
Amir Jamali, owner of Leyla World, which opened almost two years ago, enjoys changing the yogurt flavors at his Mission Street shop.