Friday, October 21, 2011

J'ai Soif! Soif Wine Bar in Santa Cruz

Soif
105 Walnut Avenue
Santa Cruz, Ca 95060
831-423-2020

Sometimes I get to go to fun places for work. Truth.  I pulled into Santa Cruz after a day in Redwood City and that long, winding beautiful drive through the Santa Cruz mountains, checked into the hotel, sweated my way through a session in the local 24 Hour weight room amongst the thick neck muscle building crowd, and took my still damp self straight to Soif Wine Bar downtown. Run-on sentences and sweatiness be damned!


I had a few Chowhound recs for Santa Cruz in my pocket via this semi-contentious thread. I stopped posting in Chowhound because I found the contentious/pretentiousness makes it less fun, but I still use it as a resource when I am traveling and want the best advice.

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As I settled into a bar stool, I overheard staff mentioning a Nebbiolo flight, my ears perked right up.  I have been LOVING a Nebbiolo this summer from Lone Madrone in Paso Robles. A fun little adventure to taste the stuff from its country of origin, Italy.

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Sipping Nebbiolo in order from left to right, like we read a book.

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The last was far and away the best. I whole glassed this one after I finished the flight. It wasn't cheap. I found a nibble and sip and Soif can be as inexpensive or as spendy as you make it if you watch your prices. I didn't and I learned my lesson. Eep. I was visiting on Tapas Tuesday; all my plates but one were very inexpensive. Next time I will more closely heed my beverage costs. (Above, my iPad sneaks its way into the shot. She's an attention whore.)

On Tuesdays, not only does Soif have a special tapas menu, they have live jazz in the corner and it was pretty fabulous.

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I started healthily with baby lettuces, beets and Pt. Reyes bleu. What's to argue with here?

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The man attending to me at the bar (owner?) suggested clams and chorizo from the tapas menu, small but at $3 a bargain. This pairing is perfection.

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With my remaining Nebbiolo, he suggested the curried cauliflower. Delicious with a nice char but on the oily side. Salt and oil, to be expected when eating tapas for sure.

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Apres le workout, I was wanting more protein, ergo lamb meatballs on a nice little aoili-like sauce. It wasn't aioli, not as creamy. Some kind of puree. I'll be honest here, I found the service extremely efficient but a tad on the chilly side. I was dining solo (with my iPad, but I hardly consider that another person, kind of not really) and asked a few questions here and there, yet still felt a hesitance to engage on the part of the folks behind the bar. Could be the culture of the restaurant, could have been my sweat. So, I do not know what lies beneath the lamb meatballs. I do know the meatballs and either the cauliflower or the salad was enough for a meal. I left about a tapas course beyond satiated.

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Despite the aloof bedside manner, I would go back again. I visit Santa Cruz for work a few times this winter (forever alone). I'm completely open to dining suggestions, but Tapas Tuesdays with live jazz is hard to beat, even without conversation.

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