At Sol Food Market & Café, pesto makes the world go ’round

BY HAVEN LINDSEY / PHOTOS BY ZOË ZIMMERMAN

One of the cornerstones of the quaint village of Arroyo Seco is Sol Food Market and Café — the place that brings friends and families together to celebrate the spirit of food and community.

Owned by Anna Woodall and her husband Chris, the seeds of that food and communal spirit were planted years ago. One of Anna’s earliest memories is standing on a wooden stool in her family’s kitchen helping her father make pesto. “I was about five years old, and I remember helping pick the basil. My father learned the recipe when he was 17 — from Luigi, who ran Luigi’s Café in nearby North Beach.”

Decades later and more than a thousand miles from the California seaside town where she was raised, the pesto tradition is alive and well. Specializing in providing natural, organic and local foods and ingredients, Luigi’s original pesto has not been forgotten.

Not only is the basil recipe found in some of the most popular dishes on Sol Food’s menu, but it is also available for purchase in the store — if it hasn’t sold out. “We go through two to three gallons of pesto a week,” Woodall said, describing the sauce that is one of Sol Food’s most popular items and always meticulously made in small, singular batches.

Over the years, Woodall has experimented with different varieties, but tends to stick with what she learned from her father all those years ago, which still includes Luigi’s secret ingredient.

Since he visits at least twice a year, Nick DePavloff, Woodall’s father, has continued to make pesto alongside his daughter and, now, with grandchildren in tow. “My kids love it,” Woodall explained, “they’re obsessed with it. They’ll put pesto on rice, potatoes, sandwiches — we don’t limit it to spaghetti.” menu says, ‘Be courageous, add pesto!’), you won’t go wrong at Sol Food. And, while the menu suggests being courageous, there ought to be a warning sign as well — the pesto is difficult to resist.

While pesto makes the world go ’round at Sol Food, the café and market draw locals and tourists alike for many reasons — and a variety of flavors. Freely and laughingly admitting to having a rebellious side, there are a variety of flavors that can be used to describe the multi-dimensional Woodall.

Perhaps that is the reason flavor combinations come together so seamlessly in her recipes. “Who says you can’t put avocado in a Ruben sandwich? I love to pair foods that can surprise people and then they find they love the blend of flavors just as much as I do,” said Woodall of the classic sandwich that was recently voted, ‘Best Ruben’ in a local Facebook poll.

Woodall takes community seriously and her passion is palpable. Step inside Sol Food Café and you’ll be immediately embraced by the camaraderie of community that she has created with purpose and intention.

Sol Food Market and Café is open seven days a week starting at 8 a.m. The café is open until 3 p.m. and the market is open until 8 p.m.

Indeed, if you’re looking for a runof-the-mill club sandwich, Sol Food isn’t your best bet. But if you want to learn why the locals add pesto to their breakfast burritos (even the

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