Food

Monday, September 25, 2023

Carriage House to Open in Arcata

Posted By on Mon, Sep 25, 2023 at 10:37 AM

Over the phone, chef Rochelle Burgess says she wasn’t looking for a restaurant gig after the abrupt closure of her former post, the Angelina Inn, in Fernbridge. Her work as a personal chef was going well enough and she wasn’t eager to work for someone else again. But after a friend tipped her off to a Craigslist post that sounded right up her alley, she got curious. A meeting with Carriage House owner Shannon Yodowitz and a cooking test later, and Burgess says, laughing, “It’s just been both feet and arms in.” The restaurant at 937 10th St. in Arcata (formerly The Griffin), is set for a soft opening Sept. 30, followed by a few days closed to fine tune the menu using diner feedback before opening for good.
The soon-to-open Carriage House location in the former home of the Griffin. - PHOTO BY JENNIFER FUMIKO CAHILL
  • Photo by Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
  • The soon-to-open Carriage House location in the former home of the Griffin.

That cooking test, held in Yodowitz’s home kitchen, was indicitave of the Carriage House menu and Burgess’ style: udon with preserved lemon butter and shaved fennel, and, per Yodowitz’s request, a BLT. The former served as an example of Burgess’ interest in international influences and local ingredients, as well as her love of a thick noodle. (She is an unreserved fan, she says, of the underappreciated bucatini.) The latter was to see if she could perfect something simple and classic.

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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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Tuesday, March 21, 2023

The Wild Midwest

Posted By on Tue, Mar 21, 2023 at 11:36 AM

There’s a lot going on at Overtime Eatery and Games. In the lot, where the old Angelo’s sign still stands, noodle bowls are steaming from the red Nou Nou’s truck. Inside, basketball plays on a massive TV, the beer counter is hopping and cabinet video games flash from a side room, beyond which, a couple of parents are playing pool while their kids scramble around the air hockey table. But Brett’s Pizzeria — phones ringing, a quick-moving line and a pair of cooks racing from oven to counter — is where the action is.

A thick Detroit pizza from Brett's Pizzeria. - PHOTO BY JENNIFER FUMIKO CAHILL
  • Photo by Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
  • A thick Detroit pizza from Brett's Pizzeria.

Raised in Detroit, owner Brett Obra (also of Humboldt Bay Bistro) brings two Midwestern pies to our neck of the redwoods, offering thick Detroit and deep-dish Chicago pies, as well as hand-tossed Californian for localists.


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Friday, February 3, 2023

Curry Leaf's Fire-Breathing Woks

Posted By on Fri, Feb 3, 2023 at 8:00 AM

The opening of Curry Leaf (2335 Fourth St., Eureka) in the former location of Gonsea is happy news for fans of noodles of many stripes but especially fried. There is more on the menu — a lot more, in fact, as the pan-Asian offerings span from kimchi fried rice to Malaysian curries to tempura and walnut shrimp, all before you read the specials board — but even co-owner Joe Tan, when pressed, will steer you to the fried noodles.
Classic beef chow fun from Curry Leaf. - PHOTO BY JENNIFER FUMIKO CAHILL
  • Photo by Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
  • Classic beef chow fun from Curry Leaf.

Beef chow fun stalwarts, I recognize your numbers and your loyalty to slippery, flat, rice noodles fried with bean sprouts, green onions, beef and Cantonese magic. Your reward arrives on a platter of gleaming noodles, browned by soy sauce and what I imagine is a wok of supernatural heat. This kind of wok hei flavor, lighter than a full char but imparted with more fire than can be summoned by any of the home gas stoves for which some folks are evidently ready to water the tree of liberty, enlivens the humble sprouts and scallions, too. Along with deft seasoning and a generous helping of tenderized beef, it adds to a depth of flavor often missed

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Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Double Dipping at El Chipotle

Posted By on Tue, Jan 31, 2023 at 6:13 PM

If you came to El Chipotle (850 Crescent Way, Arcata) in the mood for a torta, the prize specimen isn’t listed with the others served on bolillo rolls. Flip to the house specialties page of the menu to find the showstopper pambazo.
The dipped and grilled, tinga-filled pambazo at El Chipotle. - PHOTO BY JENNIFER FUMIKO CAHILL
  • Photo by Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
  • The dipped and grilled, tinga-filled pambazo at El Chipotle.

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Saturday, December 24, 2022

Food Trucks and World Central Kitchen to the Rescue

Posted By on Sat, Dec 24, 2022 at 2:41 PM

Three-year-old Leilani Valverde held a partly unwrapped burrito sideways in both hands, took a bite out of the middle and came up smiling. According to her father, Christian Valverde, who brought her with him to the Rio Dell fire department Thursday morning, it was her first hot meal in two days, ever since a 6.4 magnitude earthquake near Ferndale knocked out power and water to their home.

Three-year-old Leilani Valverde has a burrito sponsored by World Central Kitchen in Rio Dell. - PHOTO BY JENNIFER FUMIKO CAHILL
  • Photo by Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
  • Three-year-old Leilani Valverde has a burrito sponsored by World Central Kitchen in Rio Dell.

Following the Dec. 20 temblor, chef José Andréas’ international relief organization World Central Kitchen mobilized quickly to feed residents without access to food, water and other utilities. Because power and water were up and running in other parts of the county, the nonprofit, which responds to humanitarian disasters all over the world, did not need to set up whole mobile kitchens. Instead, it reached out to deploy a local resource that was ready to help: food trucks. By the end of the day Dec. 21, they’d served an estimated 1,700 meals.

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'Guy's Hometown: From Ferndale to Flavortown' to Air

Posted By on Sat, Dec 24, 2022 at 9:39 AM

 It's a Humboldt-heavy month at the Food Network. First it was Big Island Kine's feature on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, and now a special Guy's Hometown: From Ferndale to Flavortown episode is scheduled to air at 9 p.m. on Dec. 30. Many fair-goers will recall Fieri's crew hauling cameras and equipment around the Humboldt County Fairgrounds, where they filmed the special this past summer. It showcases a couple more local businesses, including Big Island Kine and Fry Burger, Fieri's barbecue lunch for veterans and first responders, and his hosting of the Humboldt County Fair's Chili Cook-off.  
Guy Fieri and his crew filming at his free barbecue lunch for veterans and first responders during the Humboldt County Fair this past summer. - PHOTO BY JENNIFER FUMIKO CAHILL
  • Photo by Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
  • Guy Fieri and his crew filming at his free barbecue lunch for veterans and first responders during the Humboldt County Fair this past summer.


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Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Big Island Kine on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

Posted By on Wed, Dec 7, 2022 at 11:39 AM

Guy Fieri fans and poké enthusiasts, you'll want to tune in for this week's episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, when the Humboldt-raised host features local food truck Big Island Kine. The episode "Burgers, Bowls and Bangers" airs Friday, Dec. 9, at 6 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 10, Saturday, Dec. 24.
The Yamamoto family, Isaiah, Echo, Renee and Ender, with Guy Fieri at center. - TACEBOOK
  • Tacebook
  • The Yamamoto family, Isaiah, Echo, Renee and Ender, with Guy Fieri at center.

"Guy Fieri pops into a poke truck he found at the Ferndale County Fair for some island-inspired flavors," according to the teaser for the episode on the Food Network website, which also features recipes for the truck's popular California Dreamin' and Sweet Heat bowls. We know, it's the Humboldt County Fair.

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  • Re: Carriage House to Open in Arcata

    • "indicitave" - oops :-) Did not realize Angelina's had closed (again). I have to say…

    • on September 25, 2023

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