Insider: Guidebook author’s Santa Cruz favorites
When Stuart Thornton moved to California in the mid-’90s, he took a job at Upper Crust Pizza in Santa Cruz.
The worst part of that era wasn’t living in a cubbyhole apartment sleeping three to a room, storing clothes in the kitchen cabinets or using the oven as the heater.
Ultimately the pizza world’s loss would be culture, music and travel writing’s gain.
Thornton moved on to become a Big Sur Station ranger aide, then a film critic and a longtime music writer for the Monterey County Weekly.
“He just has great instincts,” says Joe Burnett, a local condor naturalist who often joins Thornton on surfing and record-shopping trips.
Of late, Thornton has taken to writing Moon Travel Guides, including Moon Coastal California, Moon California Road Trip and Moon Monterey and Carmel (with Santa Cruz enjoying a fat chapter).
The joint enjoys atmospheric acoustics, intimate seating and professional staging — plus impressive food like wine-braised short ribs and pitchers of beer brought to your seat.
The stiff breeze makes this a windsurfer destination in the afternoon, but surfers reign in the mornings.
Beyond the lighter crowds, it boasts breaks on either side of the beach, a sea cave on the north end (accessible at low tide) and beautiful bluffs.
“This little beach combines the rugged beauty of the Central Coast with a stretch of sand worthy of SoCal,” Thornton says.
Tacos Moreno and Taqueria Vallarta are common draws for Thornton post-surf — especially when budget is a concern — but this place wins with lomi lomi salmon ceviche, Korean short ribs and the popular poke bar with 15 types, including an ahi-onion-avocado-seaweed salad-kimchi number, plus regular live music guests with distinct island styles on weekends.
“I talked to a lot of locals putting together various travel books,” Thornton says.
Of the three outposts for the sown-in-Santa Cruz startup, Thornton goes for the downtown Pacific Avenue over the Seabright and Eastside locations.
About 20 years after Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk got its start in 1907, the Cal Nevada Co. bought a mothballed concrete ship, the Palo Alto, towed it to Seacliff State Beach in Aptos and built it into an amusement destination with a dance floor, swimming pool, restaurant and pier.
The beach, meanwhile, welcomes camping, biking, hiking, RVs, windsurfing and geocaching, among other activities.
“I don’t think there’s another shipwreck like this along the whole California coast,” Thornton says. 8 a.m. to sunset, 201 State Park Drive, Aptos, (831) 685-6442, www.parks.ca.gov
The real revelation in Santa Cruz, according to Thornton, is this funky restaurant with a room for performances up front that’s been known to draw national bands on top of strong local and regional touring acts.