SANTA CRUZ

New Italian market and deli now open

Bottega del Lago, from the owners of Lago di Como Ristorante & Pizzeria, opened last week at 1701 Portola Drive. The venue offers ready-to-eat food like paninis (combos include mortadella, burrata, pistachio pesto), pizza, savory croissant sandwiches (a spin on a BLT is PLT with pancetta, lettuce and tomato) and ready-to-heat house-made lasagna or refrigerated, ready-to-cook fresh pasta with house-made pesto — plus items like goat cheese. Espresso and cappuccino are available, along with bottled Italian sodas, several flavors of fresh gelato served by the scoop and rotating sweet pastries like almond croissants. Dozens of pantry items imported from Italy are also available; the shop plans to add more in the coming weeks. Think jars of kale pesto, chopped artichokes, Calabrian peppers, tomatoes and tomato sauce; bottles of olive oil; and packaged cookies and pasta. Hours to start are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily except Tuesdays. Stay in the loop on Instagram @bottegadellago.

CAPITOLA

New hours at Dani O Bakeshop

Dani O Bakeshop in the Capitola Mall food court, has new hours starting this week. It is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday-Friday, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, with both bread and brunch service. Owner/baker/chef Danielle Orlando opened the shop last month. Learn more or place advance orders at daniobakeshop.com. Stay in the loop on Instagram @danioandco.

CAPITOLA

Menu changes at Busy Bees

Busy Bee’s Café & Catering (1200 41st Ave. Suite B, 831-854-2212, busybeescafecatering.com) recently added a new menu item: a half sandwich and salad combo for $15. Customers can select from eight sandwiches like The Capitola (chicken salad), vegetarian Italian Stallion (roasted eggplant, burrata and more) and vegan Hikers Delight (ingredients include hummus and avocado). Salad choices are green salad (with many homemade dressing choices) or Caesar Goddess. Other selections include breakfast burritos, biscuit sandwiches and freshly baked cinnamon rolls. All breads and biscuits are made in-house. Hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. For details, follow on Instagram @busybeescafecatering or visit their website.

CAPITOLA

Menu addition at Shadowbrook

There is a new vegetarian dinner entrée at Shadowbrook (1750 Wharf Road, shadowbrook-capitola.com): local mushroom pappardelle. It features a variety of oyster and pearl mushrooms grown locally by family-owned business Santa Cruz Mushrooms (learn more at santacruzmushrooms.com). Other ingredients include Parmesan, basil, white wine and fresh cream.

SANTA CRUZ

Verve offers seasonal drinks

Verve Coffee Roasters is selling three new fall beverages, which will be available through Nov. 19. These are Pomegranate Mocha (espresso, rich semisweet chocolate, milk and pomegranate), Pumpkin Pie Latte (real pumpkin puree, espresso, milk, warming spices, organic sugar and graham cracker crumble topping) and Turmeric Nitro Cider (a twist on apple cider with turmeric, warm spices and apple, topped with nitrogenated apple spice foam). Verve’s Santa Cruz stores are at 1540 Pacific Ave., 1010 Fair Ave., 104 Bronson St. Suite 19 and 816 41st Ave. Visit vervecoffee.com for details.

Harvest Festival at UCSC on deck

The annual Fall Harvest Festival is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the UC Santa Cruz farm (152 Farm Road). There will be an apple pie contest, apple pressing, honey tasting, pumpkin sales, kids’ activities and live music. Plus, local food vendors S&B Food Truck, Pana Venezuelan, Dos Hermanos Pupuseria and The Penny Ice Creamery will have items for sale.

Admission is $5 for the public. It’s free for kids under 12, UCSC, Hartnell and Cabrillo College students with a student ID and Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden members. See calendar.ucsc.edu/event/harvest_festival for details.

Cheese Shop 831 offers cheese club

Cheese Shop 831 (3555 Clares St. Suite V, 831-515-7406, cheeseshop831.com) now offers cheese club memberships. Each month, subscribers can choose between a curated selection of cheeses or an enhanced option that includes accompaniments designed to complement the cheeses. There will be rotating themes. Get details and sign up at cheeseshop831.com/cheese-club.

Also, the shop has Halloween platter pre-orders available, with advance orders for Thanksgiving and Christmas platters coming soon.

Apple tasting event coming this weekend

The Monterey Bay chapter of California Rare Fruit Growers is hosting its annual apple tasting from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at Wilder Ranch State Park (1401 Coast Road). More than 70 locally grown varieties will be available. Admission is $5 per person, $8 per couple or $10 per family. Learn more at mbcrfg.org/events/.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

Wineries offer October Passport Day

The next Passport Day for the Santa Cruz Mountains wineries is Oct. 19. Passport holders are welcomed into more than 30 wineries. Some wineries offer special tastings, and some that are usually closed to the public are accessible on Passport Days. Passports are $90 for one or $150 for two, with choice of physical or digital format, and are good for one year. Purchase at a participating winery or winesofthesantacruzmountains.com/events/passport.

Also, tickets are available for Premier Cruz: A Mountain Cabernet Experience, which is Nov. 10 at Vidovich Vineyards in Cupertino (18101 Montebello Road). At this tasting of Cabernet Sauvignon produced from the Santa Cruz Mountains American Viticulture Area, each winery pours a new release and a rare vintage to compare and contrast. Attendees will enjoy a 3.5-hour wine tasting salon and a strolling dinner with savory Oak and Rye pairings. Get details and tickets at winesofthesantacruzmountains.com/events/nov10totpc/.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

Scrumptious Fish & Chips popups

Scrumptious Fish & Chips has several upcoming popups. It will be at the Rio Del Mar Elementary Harvest Festival from 4:30-8 p.m. Friday. It will appear at Humble Sea Brewing Co.’s Westside SC location from noon to 7 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays for the rest of the month. Other appearances include the Tuesday Felton Farmers Market from 1-6 p.m. Oct. 22 and Oct. 29. See the full schedule at scrumptiousfc.com.

Sip and stroll tickets on sale

The next Pleasure Point Sip & Stroll is from noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 26 and has a “Sip & Scare” theme. Attendees are encouraged to dress in costume. Tasting stations will be located at several businesses. Tickets are $40 in advance ($45 day of event if not sold out) and include beer and wine tastes. Learn more and buy tickets at pleasurepointsipandstroll.com.

Upcoming community event with local food

Wheelie Good Time, with a skate jam, car show and bike ride, is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Felt St. Park (1904 Felt St.). Food vendors Areperia831, Evil Wings and Aparicio Family Ice Cream Truck will be present. Second Harvest Food Bank will be distributing a few free produce samples. Proceeds from the event benefit Felt St. Park. Learn more at countyparkfriends.org/feltstreet.html.

Quick Bites, compiled by Tara Fatemi Walker, is your weekly helping of Santa Cruz County restaurant, food, and drink news. Send items to sentinelfood@gmail.com (Sunday 7 p.m. deadline for that week’s column). Want local food & drink news as it happens? Follow the Sentinel’s food crew on Twitter @santacruzfood.