Upon waking on our full day in Santa Cruz, we decided to head up Soquel Avenue to a bakery I’d heard about. It was a short 10 minute walk from our hotel. Right past the Shopper’s Corner Market, was the Buttery.
The low key location had a nice outdoor area.
And the Missus watched JJ, while I went inside to get us some croissants and coffee.
There was no one in the queue when I entered and I was pleasantly surprised at the price of the plain croissants – $2.95.
So, I was ready to be underwhelmed at this croissant, but it was surprisingly good!
The exterior looked a bit overbaked, but the laminate was crisp, but not flaking to pieces. The ridges didn’t fall off either.
The interior was nicely honeycombed and fluffy. But most importantly, there was a decent amount of butteriness to this! Not bad at all! Better than what we’d had at Bouchon Bakery a few days previous!
I even gave JJ a taste and he went bonkers! Oh man, did I open up a can of worms here!
The Buttery
702 Soquel Ave.
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Of course we’d return the following morning….
And of course the Missus needed me to “burn off” those croissant calories, so we headed back to the hotel, then set out to Henry Crowell Redwoods State Park. Marissa, the lovely young lady at BPC had recommended the Pipeline Road Trail, though she told me that it was kind of long – 6 miles or so. The big plus being that it starts at the Park Office and that it is well paved and maintained. It is the only dog friendly trail in the park as well.
There a 900 foot elevation gain, but we really didn’t feel it.
There were some nice views.
And of course those lovely Redwoods……
And JJ handled it like a champ. Actually, you can tell by his expression that I’m the “weak link” here…..
It was on the “easy side” for the Missus and JJ, who did really well.
After heading back and freshening up, it was time for lunch. Well, since we had enjoyed our dinner the previous evening at Special Noodle and the Missus was still missing Chinese food we walked on back to the restaurant.
The gentleman from the previous evening remembered us and we were seated in the same area. He even made sure got chopsticks without asking this time!
We decided on some different dishes this time around; starting with the La Rou with Smoked Bamboo.
This usual Hunan style dish was a bit short on chilies and spiciness, but the bamboo was nice and crisp; though the pork was definitely like the stuff I can get at 99 Ranch Market. It was far from bland though with a good amount of soy and smokey tones.
The rice had obviously just been finished as it was steaming hot; but also a bit on the mushy side.
We also got the Braised Pork Belly – Hong Shao Rou, which turned out to be quite good!
Just tender enough, without being mushy, the porkiness came through nicely. Ginger – Soy tones came thru nicely, and more importantly for the Missus, this was much more savory than sweet.
After finishing this; we really needed a nap!
Special Noodle
415 Ocean St.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
I guess this will be a regular stop when we’re in Santa Cruz!
Now it was nap time!