Business / Economy

Friday, September 1, 2023

Belly Up to the Salsa Bar

Posted By on Fri, Sep 1, 2023 at 4:56 PM

The revolving door spot on Eureka’s Fifth Street Los Sinaloenses and its marvelous white menudo occupied has flipped again. Alfa Torres and her husband Bosacio Villagrana have opened their first restaurtant Paco’s Tacos Taqueria (1134 Fifth St., Eureka) in the spot, bringing big flavor in the form of its salsa bar. A Southern California standard, the array of self-serve salsas has thus far eluded us on the North Coast, and the couple weren’t finding the level of spice they wanted. “It’s something different in Humboldt; no one has it,” says Torres.
A rainbow of salsa options at Paco's Tacos Taqueria. - PHOTO BY JENNIFER FUMIKO CAHILL
  • Photo by Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
  • A rainbow of salsa options at Paco's Tacos Taqueria.

Salsa aficionados, your moment has arrived. Lift the stainless steel lid of the salsa bar and reveal a dozen options from dark and oily to bright and creamy. On a recent visit, they included: freshly made chipotle, verde, habanero, pico de gallo, chile de aceite, roja, chile de arbol and guacamole salsas, fresh lime and habanero slices, sliced pepperoncini and pickled jalapeño. Somewhere in that field is the tang and heat you have been looking for, the oily chile de aceite — spiked with chile japones and chile de arbol — and the habanero being closest to the top of the Scoville chart.

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Friday, March 31, 2023

Dumplings and Tea at the Carwash

Posted By on Fri, Mar 31, 2023 at 11:58 AM

Even in a rainy month, Auto Spa in McKinleyville still sees a little traffic since the bright blue Auntie Hao’s truck is parked out front Thursday through Saturday (1642 Holly Drive). The trim menu of Chinese crepes, dumplings, fried noodles and tea stands out amid bumper-to-bumper taco and sandwich trucks, and it’s likely the only one with a punch-card that gets you a free carwash.
Pork dumplings from Auntie Hao's truck. - PHOTO BY JENNIFER FUMIKO CAHILL
  • Photo by Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
  • Pork dumplings from Auntie Hao's truck.

Co-owner Michael Evenson is part owner of Auto Spa, too, hence the deal and the permanent parking spot. But his wife, Xuanli “Shirley” Hao, is the one rolling thick, homemade wrappers and stuffing the juicy pork dumplings. She’s tight-lipped about the filling, but it’s a simple, straightforward pork mixture with mushroom-y earthiness, wrapped, sealed and pan fried to toasty brown on the bottom. Splashed with an unfussy soy dipping sauce, they’ll steam up your car nicely while you shelter from the rain.

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Thursday, March 30, 2023

Arrivederci, La Trattoria

Posted By on Thu, Mar 30, 2023 at 12:57 PM

After 21 years, Jim Becker and Patricia Cambianica, husband and wife owners of La Trattoria in Sunny Brae, are bidding farewell, shuttering the little restaurant after service Saturday, April 1.
Orchette and kale at La Trattoria. - FILE
  • File
  • Orchette and kale at La Trattoria.
“We've been doing this for 21 years," says Becker over the phone. In that time, La Trattoria has built a loyal following with its traditional, seasonal Italian fare in the incongruous Sunny Brae strip mall location. Throughout, it's been a tight operation, with Cambianica as chef and line cook, creating the menu and cooking everything that comes out of the kitchen. Becker, who formerly handled both prep and front of house labor with a pair of servers, was down to one server and finally on his own recently.

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Monday, December 5, 2022

Bob's Footlong's Comeback

Posted By on Mon, Dec 5, 2022 at 2:03 PM

After 72 years in business, Bob’s Footlong, beloved hot dog haunt of teens and truckers alike, shut its doors November of 2021. But like the chili stains on a shirtfront, it seems it wasn’t gone for good. Jessica and Daniel Milich have bought the business, are now, keys in hand, hiring staff and readying to reopen the shop in early January. You can almost smell the chili.
The chili cheese dog from Bob's Footlong. - PHOTO BY JENNIFER FUMIKO CAHILL
  • Photo by Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
  • The chili cheese dog from Bob's Footlong.

In 1949, Bob Broome and Lula Mclure opened Bob’s Footlong as a mobile business selling hot dogs at the Humboldt County Fair and later by the Fortuna movie theater on Main Street. Eventually it moved into the brick-and-mortar location at 505 12th St., where it throve under owners Ozzie and Joanne Smith. They passed the business down to their son and daughter-in-law Mike and Karen Smith, who kept the tradition going before selling to Jose and Tanya Moreno. The Miliches, who’ve purchased the business and will rent the space, which is still owned by Mike and Karen Smith. The Miliches plan to stick to the storied shop’s style, as evidenced by the familiar orange-striped logo with its sly Dachshund on the building and online, where they are accepting applications.  

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Thursday, December 1, 2022

Oberon Plans its Final Weeks

Posted By on Thu, Dec 1, 2022 at 11:08 AM

Nicholas Kohl, owner of Old Town's Oberon Grill, has announced the restaurant will close its doors for good after December. The business will be open through at least Dec. 31, during which time he and the staff will be juggling one last round of holiday parties.
oberon_magnum.jpg

A number of factors played into the decision, according to Kohl, including the continuing impacts of COVID, rising energy costs and a disappointing summer recovery that fell short of hopes. “I had to start evaluating after our second mechanical failure that was in October.” Before the disruptions and supply issues brought on by the pandemic, he says, repairing the restaurant's stove hood would have taken a couple hours to repair. Instead, work was held up a week waiting for a part. He estimates the two closures cost $20,000 including lost revenue, labor, inventory and continuing overhead.

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Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Patino's Quesabirria Slam Dunk

Posted By on Tue, Nov 15, 2022 at 10:31 AM

The quesabirria taco has Mexican food enthusiasts happily in its grip, all of us grinning orange oil-slicked smiles now that the Tijuana specialty has made it this far north. But while dunking your way through an order of the crispy, gooey, beef tacos with a side of deep red consommé goes by all too quickly, the journey from pot to plate is a long one.

According to Gabriela Patino, who works with her mother, Beatriz Cruz, and father, Rodrigo Patino, in Patino’s Mexican Food truck (4050 Broadway, Eureka), Cruz starts by marinating the beef over night before slowly simmering it with spices over low heat for three to four hours. That process takes around 14 hours before she’s tossed a single corn tortilla on the grill. Once the tortillas are cooking, they get a splash of the rich, fatty broth from cooking the beef, which lends the tacos a bubbly, crispy texture. Then Cruz adds Monterey jack cheese, a scoop of the shredded beef, and a sprinkling of cilantro and chopped white onion before flipping the tacos closed.

The cheesy, bubbly quesabirria taco from Patino's Mexican Food truck. - PHOTO BY JENNIFER FUMIKO CAHILL
  • Photo by Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
  • The cheesy, bubbly quesabirria taco from Patino's Mexican Food truck.

An order of quesabirria comes with four of the tacos, oozing with melted cheese, edges browned on the grill, with improbably tender meat inside. A plunge in the consommé (possibly scooping up a glistening morsel of fat) adds to the juiciness and stewy flavor, and a squeeze of lime cuts the richness and sharpens the flavors from the marinade.

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Saturday, November 5, 2022

Fries to Flan at Humboldt Bay Burgers

Posted By on Sat, Nov 5, 2022 at 10:00 AM

The menu on the side of the Humboldt Bay Burger truck parked at 14th and Broadway in Eureka since the end of last month is long — the more than 80 items (not including drinks) are a challenge to the decision averse and, in the case of the sandwiches at the top, the short. But if you ask, co-owner Leobardo Rivera will lean on an elbow at the order window and help you narrow it down.
Leobardo Rivera, co-owner of the Humboldt Bay Burgers truck. - PHOTO BY JENNIFER FUMIKO CAHILL
  • Photo by Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
  • Leobardo Rivera, co-owner of the Humboldt Bay Burgers truck.

Rivera, who owns the business with partner Juventino Cabrera, offers some breakfast items and salads, but mostly burgers and sandwiches, including a hefty list of grilled cheese offerings. It’s what he knows best after years of cranking out orders at diners and chains like Denny’s and IHOP. Originally from the city of Zacatecas in Central Mexico, he says he came to Humboldt for work in 1995, starting out as a dishwasher before moving into the kitchen. “I never worked in a Mexican restaurant — I don’t know how to make Mexican food,” he says with a laugh.

The Smokehouse Burger from the Humboldt Bay Burgers truck. - PHOTO BY JENNIFER FUMIKO CAHILL
  • Photo by Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
  • The Smokehouse Burger from the Humboldt Bay Burgers truck.

But sandwiches and burgers he has down. “Everything is easy,” he says, explaining how he swaps toppings, fillings and sauces for variations on a handful of proteins, breads and buns. “I don’t waste very much food.” And so a little sauce and grilled pineapple turn a blended beef and pork patty into a Hamburguesa Al Pastor. Once he has a handle on what sells best, he says he may whittle the menu down some.


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Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Annie's Cambodian Cuisine Starts Fresh in Henderson

Posted By on Wed, Oct 26, 2022 at 11:23 AM

Renovation has been afoot in Henderson Center at 2850 F St., where Annie’s Cambodian Cuisine has transplanted and transformed. The new spot, formerly Le Monde and then Manzanilla, boasts an airier, more upscale dining room than its former home in a run-down building on Fifth Street, now slated for demolition to make way for a Starbuck’s and another drive-through chain.
Annie Chau and Laura Chau-Yang at the new Annie’s Cambodian Cuisine in Henderson Center. - SUBMITTED
  • Submitted
  • Annie Chau and Laura Chau-Yang at the new Annie’s Cambodian Cuisine in Henderson Center.

“We were slammed. We’ve been pretty blessed,” says Laura Chau-Yang of the Oct. 17 grand opening. Though some of that blessing was in heavy disguise back in March, when her family was first hunting for another location. “Being forced to relocate kind of gave us a clean slate,” she says. Chau-Yang, who took on co-ownership with her mother Annie Chau in January, says local interior designer Aubrey Ritter helped create a welcoming and transportive space that feels like Cambodia to them. So far, the 56-seat dining room — roughly twice the size of the old place — has been filling up.

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Sunday, October 9, 2022

Tavern 1888 Opens in Eagle House

Posted By on Sun, Oct 9, 2022 at 8:25 AM

After 13 months of renovation and preparation, Tavern 1888 has "soft opened" in the Eagle House in Old Town Eureka (139 Second St.). The official grand opening is set for Friday, Oct. 14 and Jennifer Metz, co-owner of the Inn at 2nd & C and Phatsy Kline's Parlor Lounge, says, "We're excited to make it official." The former home of Gallagher's seats 60, says Metz, between the dining room and the bar/lounge area.
Dessert in the bar/lounge area. - SUBMITTED
  • Submitted
  • Dessert in the bar/lounge area.
The restaurant takes its name from the year the historic building went up but the menu is more new American than old California. Executive Chef John Ruddick cooked in Hawaii for seven years before coming to Humboldt, where he also served as executive chef at the Red Lion. Metz says the Georgia roots of sous chef Jason Whitley have brought Southern and Cajun flavor to the kitchen with a family recipe for shrimp and grits and a "pasta-laya" take on jambalaya.

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Friday, September 16, 2022

El Fogón Costeño's Bright Ideas, Big Flavors

Posted By on Fri, Sep 16, 2022 at 11:10 AM

Slow down on Myrtle Avenue, both in the name of safety and so you don't miss the little red El Fogón Costeño truck — decorated with a pastoral image of burrito-eating bears — tucked in the Chevron station (1679 Myrtle Ave.). Enrique Buenrostro, who originally hails from Acapulco, Mexico, has run his truck out of Fortuna for a couple of years and recently relocated to Eureka. (Not cool keeping this from the rest of the class, Fortuna.) Most of the menu falls under burrito, torta or burger, but the standouts are his maximalist specialties. 
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The Cubana, Buenrostro's take on the classic kitchen-sink sandwich, stacks grilled hot dog, ham and pork grilled to a browned patty with pinto beans and chorizo, as well as lettuce, tomato, pickled jalapeño, American cheese and mozzarella, all bravely held together by a soft roll. The crisped patty is a nice touch and adds some interest even in a sandwich with so much going on.

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