The Life Style of Foodie Boozing
Since retiring my habit schedule has changed! I often thought I could sleep in longer, but that has not been the case. I find myself waking up at 5am, after going to bed after midnight. Yet, when I was working, I couldn’t get up at 5am to save my life! I hated the alarm clock. Now, in some twisted ironic way, I don’t use an alarm clock anymore, but I wake up at 5am feeling rested. WTF!
While the rest of you still live that 8 to 5 pace, I wonder how awful that tastes now to everyone else? I wasted no time in ditching the 8 to 5 life style! By the way, 8 to 5 was a bitter taste for me.
What does all of this have to do with food and booze? Well, just about everything. Starting with 5am. I found I do my best writing in the early morning hours! I do my best eating late in the day, and I do my best drinking late into the night!
It’s a brutal life style ; )
The Villager
The day finally arrived! Thursday, July 1st, there I was, 8am, and sitting at the bar inside the Villager. They opened! After 16 long months of being closed due to Covid, the Villager not only survived, they beat the odds, and re-opened fully. I know…that’s early even for me, but it was the only way to catch the owner on day 1.
And the pour into my glass by the bartender didn’t skip a beat either. Look at that generous pour of Jameson whiskey.
It’s the kind of pour that makes all your worries of the day disappear. And, if you are not keeping track, it will turn out to the the greatest day in your life, that you won’t remember. You will spend days, maybe months, trying to reconstruct that moment in time! Maybe never. It’s those kind of days the vehicle remains in the parking lot overnight.
While I was there catching up with some of the “regulars” and the owner. I had breakfast delivered by Carmona’s BBQ Deli next door! It was a good investment. The chicken fried steak with the country gravy and potatoes, helped soak up the alcohol! http://carmonasbbqdeli.com
Villager has no Website.
Freedom Meat Lockers
In my hometown of Watsonville, California, there is one place the majority of the town folk flock to for grilling and smoking meats! Freedom Meat Lockers is a family owned business that sells some of the best meats! They have been in business since the 70’s. It’s a great place to buy lunch at the sandwich deli. I always get the BBQ flavor marinated tri tip sandwich. The meat is thinly sliced with smoked cheese. It’s heavenly!
Bruno's Bar and Grill
I recently had the opportunity to eat at Bruno’s Bar and Grill. They have been in business for a while, but I live far south of the town of Scott’s Valley, California, so it’s difficult to make it a regular stop.
Bruno’s has a nice selection of food to eat. My favorite happens to be the ribeye steak. It was cooked to perfection and tasted great!
Bruno’s also has a place upstairs and outside called Cloud 9! Out there they serve appetizers and drinks. I had a selection of charcuterie boards and some Jameson on the rocks. All of it good!
This is one section of Cloud 9. Lighted trees, fire pits, comfy couches, and great ambiance. Nice and relaxing! And the best thing about Cloud 9, it’s adults only! Making it a great place to hang out.
Thanks Lisa Z. for suggesting this place and hanging out with me there!
Some Less Known Places
This edition of Foodie-Booze I wanted to cover a couple of places less traveled and worthy of being talked about and of course, worthy of eating! El Patio Grocery, Nonno’s Italian, Aloha Hola, and Ramen Kaito.
El Patio Grocery
El Patio Grocery is a small convenience store that sells, canned goods, frozen foods, alcohol, and maybe a few miscellaneous items. In the far back of the store is a small deli sandwich shop that serves good sandwiches.
El Patio is way off the beaten path and located in La Selva Beach, California. Only the residents know this place, unless someone gets lost and stumbles upon it. Making it a great locals lunch spot!
There is a park across the street from the store, which is ideal for having a picnic lunch. I typically order a turkey and salami sandwich, with provolone cheese, pepperoncini, lettuce, mayo, and mustard, all on sourdough sliced bread.
I walk down to the park, sit at one of the bench tables, and eat my sandwich. There are rare days in La Selva Beach that has sun shinning. It’s usually foggy. I try to hit the place when it’s sunny.
Nonno's Italian
Known for having tasty pizzas and cold beer…this hidden gem is in the middle of a neighborhood, on top of a hill, in the Redwood Estates off Highway 17.
Nonno’s also has deli sandwiches and other food items to enjoy!
Best of all, Nonno’s has a big backyard where you can eat at a picnic table and play Bocce Ball, while drinking cold beer.
Thanks John H. for suggesting this place!
Aloha Hola
Aloha Hola is not exactly off the beaten path. It’s next to Beer Mule in Watsonville, California, and sees heavy foot traffic, as people pass by on their way to Beer Mule.
They are best known for their Hawaiian style tacos!
However, if you are looking for a good poke bowl in Watsonville, then you came to the right place! They only serve one type of poke bowl, but it’s better than nothing at all.
Ramen Kaito
Ramen Kaito moved inside the Capitola Mall making their new location obscure to the general public. Most people don’t think about going out to lunch or dinner inside a mall, unless you have shopping to do. So it makes Kaito less known, even though a lot of foot traffic comes through there.
But what hasn’t changed is the quality of their ramen. I like my soup base with Miso broth, fresh ramen noodles, pork tonkotsu, egg, and some spices. It’s the only place in Santa Cruz County that makes ramen this way.
Ramen Kaito also serves sushi rolls and some other items.
Often during my travels for more food and booze stories, my former colleague from our office days together, Mark T. joins me on my adventures, especially if it’s within or near Las Vegas! And when we travel it’s all about Jameson and cigars!
He’s retired as well, so travel is easy to schedule with this guy. I can’t get him to travel for ghost hunting yet, but it’s only a matter of time! Hahaha…
Until next time on Foodie Booze Explorer.
You can also find me at KSCO Radio, AM 1080, Santa Cruz, for my Ghosts N Grub Show. Download the KSCO app or go to KSCO.com.
Hey PTash…as usual your blog made me hungry and thirsty…enjoyed the local commentary too, looking forward to your next adventure!
Thank you Len!
Love the variety Paul. And keep up with those local grindz and ramen 🙂
Thanks John!
Keep up the good work, Paul!
Thanks Kevin!
Thank you Paul! I love the flow of your words and your photography. Makes me smile. And you opened my world to great places on Watsonville. Side note: have you had the arepas at Chica inside the Venetian? Oh my. So delish. I go out of my way for them. 🥰
Thank you Kristine! I have not tried Arepa yet, but now that I know…I will visit Chica at Venetian! Thanks for the suggestion.❤
I always love your stuff and envy your fun retirement gigs!
Aww…thank you Dakota!