Found Treasure: Far West Fungi Truffle Grilled Cheese

April 22, 2022 – The truffle grilled cheese at Far West Fungi Santa Cruz is just too much. In the best way.

The oozing cheeses and golden crust grab the eye. But it’s the bold pheromones that really up the anticipation—so much so that a customer with a dog in her handbag stops on her way to the register and turns as I eat it outside, near the door, in the Santa Cruz sun. 

“Is that what smells so amazing?” she gasps as her pooch’s eyes track each millimeter of the sandwich’s movements in my hand.

Then the collective power of bluefoot mushroom butter, black truffle tapenade, gruyere and Swiss blasts the palate with indulgent complexity, depth and silky-and-crunchy textures. 

Just too much is also true of the store itself. 

Yes, there are fresh mushrooms, which are fun to look at, and that much more fun to scheme dishes around—king trumpet, maitake, morel, baby shiitake, shimeji, cordycep and lion’s mane among them, all CCOF certified organic. 

Manager Greg Benavides says visitors find the selection striking. 

“The standard person who’s not too familiar with gourmet aspects of mushrooms might be surprised by the variety,” he says.

Beyond the fresh mushrooms there are dried mushrooms, mushroom powders and mushroom tinctures.

There’s the DIY plunder like spawn plugs, liquid culture syringes, and take home mini mushroom farms that invite home growing.

Then there are lavish and smartly curated packaged goods, with finds like Truff hot sauce, imported porcini bullion, mushroom zest, porcini tortellini, white truffle butter and spicy tree oyster mushroom jerky. And housemade grab-and-go items like frozen soups and candy cap cheesecake. And a mini bookstore with incredible tomes like Mycelium Running, Fantastic Fungi Community Cookbook and The Mushroom Hunters Kitchen.

Plus there’s a boatload of merch, from vintage mushroom tea towels to artistic greeting cards to reishi earrings to cool mugs to stylish scientific posters to t-shirts and hoodies.

Staffer Franky Olivares seemed to get a kick out of my amazement at all the mushroom salts. “We have so much good stuff here, for sure,” he said.

It all had me thinking I could easily spend $300 before my grilled cheese was ready. Fortunately the intoxicating truffle smell kept me focused.

The cafe options are limited but mighty. Eye-catchers include the chanterelle-stuffed crispy puff pastry, the king trumpet scallop salad and the maitake-shiitake-crimini mushroom barley soup, which are all color coded with vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, nut free and dairy-free notations.

In addition to the grilled cheese, the mushroom empanada felt like a must-order. With tree oysters, king trumpets and crimini all simmer-sauteed with shallots and aged parmesan, it did not disappoint.

I also tried a satisfying if less spectacular “lobster chowder” with lobster mushroom, potato and fennel blended with coconut milk, mushroom stock and a touch of Tabasco.

Those tastes all hail from a menu that changes seasonally. In fact, Chef Gabe Anderson is scheduled to taste the team on dishes for the late spring menu tomorrow.

Far West Fungi was already my favorite mushroom monger before the grilled cheese and empanada hit my lips. 

As Edible Monterey Bay editor-publisher Deborah Luhrman reported when the Santa Cruz spot opened, Far West Fungi cultivates dozens of culinary and medicinal mushrooms at its Moss Landing Farm, which was started by John and Toby Garrone 35 years ago and is now run by their four adult children. 

Far West’s San Francisco Ferry Building spot, which always draws me in when I pass through, makes me proud of the family operation for having such a prime big city spot.

But while Edible reported on the Santa Cruz spot in late 2019, some of my most foodie-centric Santa Cruz friends had no idea it had come to town.

Benavides believes that’s partly a COVID symptom, as they opened not long before being required to close. Foliage also played a role, he adds, saying folks in the neighborhood didn’t know it was here because of trees obscuring it. 

That’s changing as one of the trees was lost to disease and a Far West sandwich-board sign now appears in its place. 

So more and more people will happen upon this treasure soon. They will be happy they did.

More at farwestfungi.com/pages/santa-cruz.