After a nice morning hike and a pork filled lunch we had ourselves a nice nap. Upon rising, we decided to head back to downtown Sant Cruz, where the Missus could get more shopping in. And then we’d find a place to have an early dinner.
Because the Missus didn’t feel comfortable among all the homeless in San Lorenzo Park, we walked over to the Soquel Avenue Bridge and crossed the river there.
Check out this truck and trailer crossing the bridge!
Right as we got to Pacific Avenue, one of the main streets in Downtown; the Missus saw this shop.
What else could I say other than “Ommmm on in”?
It was quite a “groovy” experience.
We wandered thru the side streets and alleyways. Check out the tea master at this Tea House.
We headed north to where Pacific Avenue meets Front Street and came to the Town Clock.
Which I later learned had quite an interesting story behind it. You can read about it here.
We then headed down Front Street.
Lined with shops, coffee places, and restaurants…..
And came across these Rockin’ Nana’s….man, they were really good! And much cooler than me!
Meanwhile, a street art thing was happening on the corner.
While walking thru one of the passageways, we came across this “groovy” tea shop/cafe. Named Roxa (and no my fellow Kama’aina’s it ain’t RockZa ok!) Hammock Cafe.
It sold tea and other herbal drinks and had actual hammocks spanning two floors! No, I didn’t feel comfortable taking photos since there were folks just having their teas and lounging on the hammocks. The Missus actually got some tea from here.
I could see why Santa Cruz played a big part in the “Summer of Love”. Some of it still lingers on….
We decided to get an early dinner. Of course the question was, where? I had heard about a nice Gastropub named Lupulo, that served up some decent brews and some “Latin” style dishes so we decided to walk on over and give it a try.
There was outdoor seating, which worked fine for JJ. I went in and ordered. The gentleman working was quite friendly.
The place was pretty busy as well…..
The menu was indeed Mexican/Latin based, I placed my order and had a nice Pliny while we waited for our order.
I loved the glasses here!
And we also enjoyed watching the customers……
As for food. Well, you know how the Missus loves Her meatballs, so I ordered the Albondigas.
The bread was meh……but those beef and pork meatballs were quite good. A bit dense, but you could tell there was pork there! The tomato “sofrito” was tangy, with nice garlic tones. This was fairly good.
I also ordered the Cochinita Pibil tacos….which was made from chicken rather than pork.
This was actually not bad at all. Nice tangy acidity, a bit on the chewier side, which is fine for tacos. Decent savory tones, really enjoyed the pickled onions. The tortillas were quite basic and routine, but not terrible. This was actually not bad and made for a pleasant meal.
Lupulo Craft Beer House
233 Cathcart St.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
It had been an enjoyable day for us!
As for the next morning….well….you know we’d be back at the Buttery. And by this time…..well, JJ was now into full “croissant mode”!
And it was just as good as the day before if not better!
The Buttery
702 Soquel Ave.
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
We really enjoyed Santa Cruz and can’t wait to return….with JJ of course!
Thanks for stopping by!