table talk / By Bob Doran

Love Times Three

Thus my one of wife’s favorites fell by the wayside. “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” a three-cheese ravioli swimming in Alfredo and topped with even more cheese, made way for a “decadent” fettuccini dish studded with tomatoes and bits of green onion. A Swedish-style stew of short ribs cooked until the meat fell from the bone, took too long to finish and thus was replaced by “Home on the Range,” a free range buffalo tri-tip steak served incongruously with cous cous and a compote of apples, bleu cheese, walnuts and spinach.

The constant is something intangible, a bold passion that fills the place. In the kitchen that Sunday morning a note in red marker put it into words, “Love affects flavor.”

“The main thing I wanted to do is give people like, love, I guess,” Naomi told me with some hesitance. “It sounds kind of cheesy, but I’m just someone who has a general love for people - there’s this activism streak in me that wants to help save the world. When I was younger I did peace rallies and fasting and did things because I was sad about the war. I realized I could sit around and be sad, or I could try to help make peace, like John and Yoko talked about - you know, cultivating love.”

3 Foods Café is at 835 J St. in Arcata. They’re open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday from 5 to 11 p.m. Reservations are recommended, and pretty much mandatory on weekends. Call 822-WISH (822-9474). You can see the whole menu and wine list at their website: www.cafeattheendoftheuniverse.com.

Now, let me mention a couple of food-related events, both this Saturday, March 10. The local charter school Northcoast Preparatory and Performing Arts Academy presents its 5th annual French Dinner and Dance at the Bayside Grange starting at 5:30 with hors d’oeuvres before the three-course French meal prepared by NPA instructor Marceau Verdiere (a chef from France) and Lauren Sarabia of Comfort of Home Catering, who cooks for the kids at school. The menu entrées: Boeuf Bourguignon, Salmon with Picon Jam, or Vol au Vent (puff pastry filled with wild mushrooms and leeks). Dinner music by Magnolia, dancing after to The Delta Nationals. Dinner is $40. Dancing only, $10. Go to www.northcoastprep.org for details or call 826-0102 for reservations.

In Eureka that night the Ink People present their annual Artware Affair at the Wharfinger, where, among other things, you can purchase hand-painted platters and other dishes. This year’s theme is “Barbary Coast” focusing on cultures of Morocco and North Africa. They’ll have the requisite live and silent auctions, music by Dogbone and others, bellydancing, and of course dinner, plus the “Dessert as Art” competition, with celebrity judges sampling and selecting the tasty winners. Guess who gets to be a judge? That’s right, me. Yum. Admission: $40. Call 442-8413 for reservations.

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