I didn't have much planned for my birthday due to strict orders to do as little as possible from my surgical team, so I decided to visit Amanda at the market. It was a warm, sunny day in Santa Cruz and the Farmer's Market was jumpin'. A bit too busy for my current state. After six weeks in a hospital and at home alone, the energy of people weaving throughmarket stalls, busking musicians in every row (each with their own style of music), and seeing customers and friends for the first time in weeks, put my stimulation meter in the red almost immediately.
Luckily, our daughter—who's filling in for me in the kitchen this summer—knew I needed an off-ramp, so we escaped to Hidden Peak Teahouse (a must visit) for tea and Mancala. We also wandered through Atlantis Fantasyland—aka the comic shop from The Lost Boys—where I stupidly passed up on Godzilla versus X-Men. After the market, we went to Bantam, having recently learned much of the menu is gluten-free. Santa Cruz isn't known for fine dining (burritos, burgers, and pizza are more the vibe), and much of what is considered "a nice meal out" is just-okay in my book. Bantam has been on my radar, but is known for their wood-fired pizza (oh, to have that fire-kissed crust!). We met the hostess at the market (she's Celiac) a few weeks back and she gave us the deets on the gf options, including fried chicken. I ordered Hangar Steak (my favorite!) with potatoes, wood-grilled trumpet royale and radicchio, celery root, and nasturtium butter. Our only dessertoption was house-made ice cream, and while that isn't cake, the blueberry was fantastic, capping off one of the best meals I've had in Santa Cruz.
I brought along one of my favorite little cameras, a Hasselblad Stellar, which is responsible for the great photos. Despite the iPhones' capabilities, I'm happier to have a camera on hand.
