PLATED: Espresso Yourself on Pacific Avenue

Barista Kendall Chade helps works the register during Verve's debut week. (Christina Waters)

GROUNDS FOR REJOICING  Verve—the all-new, urban gigantic oasis of coffee, pastries and abundant seating—opened its third location last week at the top of Pacific Mall in downtown Santa Cruz. To say that this third brainchild of Colby Barr and company is "big" is to understate in the extreme.Three separate barista stations form a service peninsula that juts out into the wraparound seating/schmoozing/studying areas. Windows allow vistas out onto both Front Street and Pacific Avenue. Repurposed antique wood siding lines the walls, sharing space with huge splashy oil paintings and little retail islands. And the place was packed in the days right after Thanksgiving, with baristas kept busy making cappuccinos and explaining the various pastries. Whether the new Verve can share the caffeine needs with its many neighboring coffeehouses remains to be seen. But this is certainly not your basic, tiny, funky, intimate coffee depot. Open daily from 6am until 11pm, Verve is ready for you. Are you ready for Verve?

INNOVATORS AT SOIF   You could do worse than to drop by Soif for the Dec. 3 tasting with adventurous winemaker Kenny Likitprakong of the Hobo Wine Company. As Soif wine director John Locke tells it, Likitprakong—a onetime UCSC lit major who went on to study oenology at UC Davis—offers several wine labels. One is called Banyan, which Likitprakong uses for his riesling and gewurtztraminer, "which go so well with Asian cuisines," Locke reports. A label called Folk Machine and another called Ghost Writer featuring Santa Cruz Mountain wines are also part of his empire. Locke says Hobo Wine Company produces "some of the coolest wines coming out of California right now." And that is enough to put me in the tasting room next week. If you need more options, join Jeff Vierra of Farm Wine Imports to preview some holiday bubblies at Soif on Dec. 17. Call 831.423.2020 for details and reservations. Now. 

HOT PLATES  Enjoyed a stupendous roast halibut topped with sliced chiles, sesame seeds, caramelized garlic and cilantro and napped with a soy and mirin-intensive reduction sauce, all created by intrepid home chef Steve Spill. We sampled it last week, along with appetizer of prosciutto-wrapped figs from Spill's garden, and dessert of poached pears with designer vanilla ice cream. Many attempt such dinners, few succeed with such finesse.

Send tips about food, wine and new dining discoveries to Christina Waters at xtina@cruzio.com. Read her blog at http://christinawaters.com.

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