Meet a new wave of pop-up chefs, coming soon to a patio, tasting room or parking lot near you
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GENEVA RICO
Pop-ups, the global phenomenon of chefs and famous restaurants undertaking temporary stints at various venues, were a byproduct of The Great Recession. The concept remained popular after the economy improved because the business model frees food and drink professionals from the expense and rigors of brick-and-mortar establishments while allowing for creative control and flexible scheduling. Pop-ups aren’t however, without their challenges, like having to plan for bad weather, prepping food for an unpredictable number of diners and cooking in portable kitchens capable of fitting into a car.
The pandemic provided yet another opportunity for entrepreneurial chefs, cooks and second careerists eager to bring sustenance and often, deeply personal flavors, to a populace craving connection. These six fresh Santa Cruz pop-ups are thriving thanks to their exciting food and encouragement from the owners of local breweries and wine bars like Soif and Apéro Club.
MASARAP
A first-generation Filipino immigrant, Paul Suniga has given a lot of thought to his cultural identity. When the pandemic shuttered restaurants, Suniga found himself with time to refine his own style of cooking.
By late 2021, he’d debuted two Filipino-inspired pop-ups, Masarap and Pare, at spots like Soif Wine Bar, Other Brother Beer and Ulterior.
“Because I immigrated to the United States as a child, I didn’t grow up around my family in the Philippines,” says Suniga. “Instead, I integrated into my new environment. Professionally, I learned how to cook in American- and French-dominated settings, and now I apply those techniques to dishes and flavors that are reminiscent of what my mom introduced me to when I was very young.”
Masarap, which means “delicious” in Tagalog, offers traditional Filipino street food like lumpia, pancit and Pinoy tamales (banana leaves filled with coconut rice, plantains, egg and chili oil). At Pare (“fried,” in Tagalog), Suniga ups the ante by serving more refined fare, such as his take on chicken adobo. He elevates the vinegar-and-soy-sauce-marinated, stewed chicken dish by cooking the bird confit-style, until the skin is burnished and crispy and serving it with a rich sauce accompanied by a rice cake and pickles. “It looks like what you’d find at a high-end restaurant, but it is, in essence, comfort food,” Suniga says.
Ultimately, his pop-ups are an homage to Filipino food and culture and “the generations who came before me,” says Suniga. Masarap is also a platform for collaboration with other local creatives like artists or DJs, or for community events like Filipino History Month. Says Suniga, “Being able to push Black and Brown artists and chefs especially, is something I feel a responsibility to do. I’m hoping to do a lot more of that type of work this year.”
- Visit @masarapthehomie for updates.
YAKITORI TORIMAN
When Kaito Akimoto and Yuko Asaoke met while working at a Japanese restaurant in San Francisco in 2015, they could never have predicted they’d become business as well as romantic partners. The founders of Yakitori Toriman launched their side business, which specializes in charcoal-grilled skewered meat and seafood, in 2018.
“When Kaito moved to California from Japan, he went to many yakitori restaurants but none of them were making it correctly or offered great flavor. Yakitori originated as a street food following World War II, and he wanted to introduce the authentic dish and culture here,” says Asaoke.
During the pandemic, Yakitori Toriman switched to bento box delivery but by March 2021, Akimoto and Asaoke were ready to pursue another dream: relocating to Santa Cruz (Akimoto is an avid surfer) and bringing their yakitori with them. “We liked Humble Sea’s beer and after showing them our food on Instagram, they invited us to do a pop-up,” says Asaoke.
Today, Yakitori Toriman also pops up at Apéro Club and The Redroom, plying diners with yakitori, ramen specials and new items like onigiri, shumai (savory steamed dumplings) and tonjiru, a rich pork and miso soup. It’s all part of the couple’s goal to further the region’s culinary diversity, which also includes featuring unfamiliar ingredients like chicken hearts and gizzards and hamachi collar.
The couple is currently searching for a permanent location, which will also offer ramen. “Traditional yakitori restaurants, called yakitori-ya, also serve snacks, sake and beer. With a brick-and-mortar, we can replicate that atmosphere,” says Asaoke. “My family in Japan owned a yakitori-ya, and we’d like to continue that legacy.”
- Visit @yakitori_toriman for updates.
BRUTTA
For Amelia Telč, all it took to make a major life change was one conversation and a glass of wine. The chef was living in Hudson, New York in December 2021, but she was in Santa Cruz visiting family when she met Hannah Denitz, owner of Apéro Club.
“When she heard that I was a chef, she invited me to do a pop-up, but I had no intention of moving back here at the time,” says Telč.A bad fall on the ice back in Hudson led Telč to reconsider California living, and by May of 2022, she was settled in Santa Cruz and had launched a southern Italian pop-up called Brutta.
Telč, who has also worked as a pastry chef, became infatuated with the rustic elegance of Southern Italian cuisine while visiting Italy in 2019. After years of working in fine dining restaurants and doing private cheffing in San Francisco, Boston and New York, she’s relishing cooking more homespun fare.
“I love the idea of having this food that’s deceptively simple and, while maybe not the most visually stunning, still tastes great,” she says. “I always joke that I love beige food.”
At Brutta, which means “ugly” in Italian, beige foods abound, from Telč’s lasagna with a 24-hour Bolognese and other handmade pastas to anchovy and sage fritters and vegetable-forward dishes like carciofi alla Romana, starring Rodoni Farms artichokes.
Though Brutta’s concept and food are straightforward, the combined effect is magical, says Telč. While she hopes to find a permanent location someday, you can experience Brutta this spring when it pops up at Apéro Club, Madson Wines and other locations.
- Visit @bybrutta for updates.
OFF THE HOOK SUSHI
Aaron Robertson of Off the Hook Sushi started his culinary career at age 15, as a pizza maker and prep cook at Round Table Pizza. In 2014, seven years after earning a culinary arts degree at Santa Barbara City College, Robertson moved back to his native Santa Cruz and started working at Capitola’s Geisha Sushi. It was there he learned about sustainable fisheries management and became passionate about responsible seafood sourcing. “I’ve always searched for ways to help our planet, including the ocean,” he says. “It just made sense.”
Robertson, who also works part-time at Akira in Aptos, sources his fish from local waters as well as overseas fisheries, but his goal is to be “as local as possible,” he says. “Right now, my salmon is sustainably farmed from British Columbia or wild from California, and I use local albacore, sablefish, as well as pole-caught yellowfin tuna from Fiji. I want people to try fish they haven’t had before.”
You’ll find these species, and others, in signature dishes like wonton poke nachos with tombo tuna, crudo and a Japanese poke bowl.
Off the Hook features mid-size species, which are generally more abundant and reproduce quickly, unlike slow-growing apex predators such as bluefin tuna or shark. “If we wipe out the biggest fish, it creates an imbalance within the food chain,” says Robertson. “It’s important to me to support fishermen and fisheries with sustainable practices.”
Off the Hook is helping Robertson to fulfill his longtime dream of owning a sustainable seafood trailer, which enables him to spend more time with his family (his eightyear- old son also helps with the business).
The first pop-up was last July, after a mutual acquaintance introduced him to Alexis Carr and Dede Eckhardt, owners of Soif Wine Bar. “Before the event even started, I had a call from a winery to do a pop-up, and by the end of the night, Alexis and Dede had invited me back,” he says.
With the recent purchase of a trailer, Robertson will have a permanent kitchen space for his business, and he anticipates rolling through Monterey and Santa Cruz counties this spring.
- Visit @offthehooksushi_sc for updates.
JAYNE DOUGH
A lot of people got into making sourdough bread during the pandemic, but Jayne Droese was able to turn her starter into a successful business venture. In the fall of 2020, the former restaurateur stumbled upon a recipe for Detroit-style pan pizza—a rectangular, deep-dish version—and subsequently became “obsessed with achieving a super crispy, golden crust.” After finalizing her recipe and perfecting it in her woodfired oven, Droese set out to share it with the pizza-loving public.
Since starting Jayne Dough in August 2021, Droese has been slinging her exquisite, slow-fermented pies at pop-ups around town, including the Apéro Club and Venus Spirits. She sources her ingredients from local farmers markets and businesses, including Far West Fungi, Foustman’s Salami and Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co.
As for sources of inspiration, “I love to deconstruct various dishes and render them in pizza form,” she says. There are croque monsieur and French onion pizzas, a vibrant vegan puttanesca pizza and pies adorned with everything from heirloom potatoes to figs and Gorgonzola. Droese has also expanded her sourdough offerings to include items like focaccia, ciabatta sandwiches and bagels.
Learning on the fly has been part of the journey for Droese, who has no formal training as a cook. “That’s why the pop-up thing is really fun,” she says. “I can set my own hours, switch up my menu, and not have limitations.”
In addition to pop-ups at restaurants and tasting rooms, Droese is at the Westside Farmers Market twice a month, selling take-and-bake pies and, occasionally, hot slices. “I have regulars who buy pizza as a group so they can share multiple items,” she says. “It really fosters that sense of community, and it’s amazing.”
- Visit @jaynedoughpizza for updates.
HÔ CHÍ MOMMÀ
Growing up, David Morgan wanted to open a pizzeria so he could eat as many pies as he wanted. Over the years, the specifics changed, but his desire to cook remained, leading him to work in high-end kitchens from Sonoma and New Orleans to Houston before landing at The Bywater in Los Gatos. Eight years later, Morgan is living a different kind of pizza dream, serving up Vietnamese-inspired pies and street food under the name Hô Chí Mommà.
“It happened quickly,” he says. “A friend had a spot at Sante Adairius Rustic Ales in Capitola, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do because I was doing Vietnamese food at The Bywater. I even had the name brewing.”
Morgan became intrigued by Vietnamese food, especially its influence on Cajun cuisine, while working in New Orleans. After traveling to Vietnam in 2017, the idea for Hô Chí Mommà was born.
“When I saw the crazy kitchen setups used for cooking and serving food, like old French armoires with burners in them, that ingenuity and creativity piqued my interest,” he says. “If they can do it on an ar- moire or from the back of a scooter, I can do it out of the back of my Volkswagen Golf.”
Morgan pops up at places like Sante Adairius and Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing, serving his distinctive pizza, which is comprised of a grilled rice paper wrap filled with ground pork, scrambled egg, chiles and green onions. He also makes a chicken and cabbage salad that he says is deceptively simple but, like most Vietnamese cuisine, manifests in an explosion of flavor.
“There are so many fascinating aspects at play in Vietnamese cuisine,” he says. “The more I learn about the philosophy behind it, the more I realize how special the food and culture truly are.”
- Get the latest updates @hochi_momma.
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