Food
Thursday, March 30, 2023
Arrivederci, La Trattoria
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Thu, Mar 30, 2023 at 12:57 PM
“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.
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
The Wild Midwest
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Tue, Mar 21, 2023 at 11:36 AM
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.
Friday, February 3, 2023
Curry Leaf's Fire-Breathing Woks
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Fri, Feb 3, 2023 at 8:00 AM
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
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Double Dipping at El Chipotle
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Tue, Jan 31, 2023 at 6:13 PM
Saturday, December 24, 2022
Food Trucks and World Central Kitchen to the Rescue
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Sat, Dec 24, 2022 at 2:41 PM
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.
'Guy's Hometown: From Ferndale to Flavortown' to Air
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Sat, Dec 24, 2022 at 9:39 AM
Wednesday, December 7, 2022
Big Island Kine on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Wed, Dec 7, 2022 at 11:39 AM
"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.
Monday, December 5, 2022
Bob's Footlong's Comeback
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Mon, Dec 5, 2022 at 2:03 PM
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.
Thursday, December 1, 2022
Oberon Plans its Final Weeks
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Thu, Dec 1, 2022 at 11:08 AM
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.
Tuesday, November 15, 2022
Patino's Quesabirria Slam Dunk
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Tue, Nov 15, 2022 at 10:31 AM
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.
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.
