news story / By North Coast Journal Staff

Best Of Humboldt — Staff Picks

BEST DRIVE-THROUGH BARISTA

“Hey there, what’s new with you? Triple in a 16 with cream?” There’s a line behind you, but you are the only one on the planet at this moment. “Hi!” Jaunty eyebrow raised. “Did you do something different with your hair? It looks good!”

I don’t drive through this coffee stop on the corner of 5th and N streets in Eureka every day. Really. But still, Dutch Bros.’ Jacob Nunes remembers my drink, as well as incremental changes in my appearance. He’s high-energy, with a teasing, gentle style that let’s you in on the joke. The tunes are loud, and they’re dancing and singing. Although, says Nunes — who’s a Mt. Shasta native but came to Humboldt via Hawaii — if he sees a known crank approaching, he thoughtfully dials it down. He’s the manager, he can do that. But the dancey-singy thing? Dutch Bros., says Nunes, knows “people want caffeine because they want to get jacked up. So we’re like that, too.”

It has to be real, though — to get hired, you hoops-jump through three interviews. Well, 22-year-old Nunes didn’t have to interview — he was so what corporate wanted, they recruited him. “This job’s so cool,” he says. “I never had a job before where I could be myself. And I’ve worked since I was 13. And this has been my favorite job.”

— Heidi Walters

BEST BIG-CITY GETAWAY

According to Google Maps, if you’re parked on the Humboldt-Del Norte county line you are only 10 minutes closer to San Francisco than Portland. So let’s say you’re sitting there with the engine idling and a couple of free days ahead of you. You’re trying to make up your mind. Do you drive north or do you drive south?

No Humboldter with an ounce of sense would waste more than half a second on this calculation. The San Francisco of today is a dirty, overpriced hellhole, populated exclusively by dot-com scum and the homeless. Meanwhile, everything you’ve ever heard about Portland is 100 percent true and then some. Beautiful neighborhoods, awesome food, bustling nightlife, inspiring arts scene, fun and funky people — all at the low, low price of way cheaper than here.

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