First thing Saturday morning, Thomas Vinolus jumps in his truck and heads to Aptos to fill it up. Not at the gas station, but rather at the Aptos market.
As the head chef and owner of Bittersweet Bistro in Aptos with his wife Elizabeth, Vinolus fills up the back of his truck with root vegetables such as parsnips, turnips, carrots and celeriac for his winter side dishes. Apples, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, rhubarb and even butternut squash also go into the back for his signature desserts.
A Missouri native who spent time in Michigan and Pennsylvania before moving to California to attend college, Vinolus, 50, has been dedicated to using the freshest ingredients available throughout his culinary career.
“We’ve gone to the Saturday market in Aptos for about 15 years now,” Vinolus said. “We’re always looking and checking things out and seeing what the farmers have.
“The pears are awesome, and so are the pomegranates and persimmons,” Vinolus continued. “The apples are just phenomenal. I get my apples from Prevedelli Farms and Mello-Dy Ranch. They really blow me away. What a world of difference between locally-grown apples and stuff that’s been gassed in cold storage from last season.”
Vinolus first discovered how much he enjoyed cooking while preparing meals for fellow classmates while well on his way to earning a business degree at UC San Diego. Having always wanted to be his own boss, Vinolus formed a plan to become a chef and eventually own his own restaurant.
“I always wanted to cook large, elaborate meals,” Vinolus said. “Once I got my degree, I talked to a lot of chefs, but no one wanted to hire me. I was a UC grad with a business degree who was applying for a job that paid $5 an hour. They didn’t want me.”
Determination and persistence paid off, and eventually Vinolus had a resume that paved the way for his entrance into the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.
After graduation, Vinolus spent time at the Inn at Spanish Bay before he and Elizabeth opened Cafe Bittersweet in Santa Cruz in June 1992.
“We chose ‘bittersweet’ for the bittersweetness of life, not for the desserts which is what a lot of people think,” Vinolus said. “It was really similar to what we’re doing now — American-bistro style with Mediterranean influences. Business was very good from the start. Immediately, we looked for another place because I wanted to expand and have my own building. I didn’t want a landlord.”
When Vinolus found his current site four years later, he changed the restaurant’s name to Bittersweet Bistro. Open seven days a week, the restaurant can seat more than 300 guests at a time. The bar area alone is approximately 1,100 square feet and is popular with the Happy Hour crowd. An outdoor patio complete with Koi pond can seat 100 additional guests. A former banquet room was converted into an adjacent cafe where breakfast and lunch are served daily.
Known for fine, upscale dining, Bittersweet Bistro has evolved since the challenging times of the recession arrived and began offering a lower-cost menu. A bar and patio menu called “Recession Busters and Crushers” consists of appetizers or smaller-portioned entrees for $6 while each night a different cocktail, beer or glass of wine is $5.
Sunday’s Recession Buster features a glass of wine and “Chef’s Comfort Food,” which features a variety of dishes that have included in the past: flat-iron steak, meatloaf and chicken parmesan with scalloped potatoes.
Recently, Vinolus picked up sweet peppers at the market from Mello-Dy Ranch and turned them into an appetizer called “Chili Relleno Carmen.” The roasted peppers were stuffed with goat, ricotta and jack cheeses and covered with a smoked tomato basil sauce.
“There are some really great people at the market that I’ve known a long time,” said Vinolus of Darlene Mora of Mello-Dy Ranch and other farmers including Ken and Sandra Kimes of New Natives and Fred and Joann Minazzoli. “It really is a community. It’s one of the reasons we like it here so much.”
RECIPE: Ginger Butternut Squash Soup
For more information on Bittersweet Bistro, call (831) 662-9799 or visit www.bittersweetbistro.com.
