One of my favorite restaurants in the whole world, which you may already know if you read Part 2 in our af
oories on Santa Cruz, is Riva Fish House, out on the municipal wharf. They serve a dish there called Tilapia Vera Cruz. When I was younger, it was made with shark, then snapper, but now they serve this dish with the more environmentally-responsible farmed tilapia. A thick, tomatoey sauce studded with tender vegetables and black beans covers the broiled fish, draped in jack cheese. Spilling over rice pilaf, this is hearty and healthy, with a nice kick of heat. Though my version sadly lacks the exquisitely deep-fried zucchini spear as a garnish, it does a pretty good job of summing up all the flavors I’ve come to crave. When I can’t get to Santa Cruz for the original, I whip this up and suddenly it’s like I’m there; surfers cutting arcs across the break at Steamer’s, seagulls coasting on thermals, and the convivial bellows of sea lions, echoing in the distance.