For years, Angela Robershotte toyed with opening her own bar. In 2024, with her kids nearly grown and flown, she decided to give it a real shot. After all, she had worked in numerous local establishments for years and was already working some 65 hours a week. How much harder could having her own place […]
Drink
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A Sweet Toast
There’s something satisfying about slipping through the door to Humboldt Craft Spirits and being greeted by a row of pale wood barrels and, beyond them, a wooden still dotted with brass stars, like a low-key steampunk contraption. David Cook and Tera Spohr-Cook, who’ll wave you over to the tiny bar they’ve set up on the […]
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The Fruits of Humboldt Cider Co.’s Labors
When the Humboldt Cider Co. first started pressing apples at its original location at Redwood Acres Fairgrounds, just an apple’s throw from its new tasting room on Hubbard Lane, the plan was to produce single varietals. Co-owner Michelle Cartledge is still a fan. “The [Imperial] Macintosh apple is really wonderful and balanced, and not too […]
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The Wine Cellar
CRAFT BEER AND HARD CIDER seem to be at the forefront of the libation scene here in Humboldt County. But make no mistake, there is a burgeoning wine culture tucked behind the Redwood Curtain and the Wine Cellar is an important part of it. Located in the heart of Old Town Eureka, the Wine Cellar […]
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Sunny Cocktails on the Water
People-watching is a time-honored activity to enjoy over cocktails, but what about bird-watching? At the Café Marina, you might tally a dozen seabirds while you have a sip and a snack. On a recent visit, a harbor seal was spotted swimming by. Café Marina sits on Woodley Island, across a short channel of Humboldt Bay […]
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The Escape Artists
There are long vacations, weekend getaways and day trips, but the briefest escape is dining out, away from your home and its attending chores, immersed, for the duration of a meal, in a little world of someone else’s devising. Only blocks apart, these two Arcata eateries offer very different transportive experiences: one recalling the pleasures […]
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Bigfoot Taproom goes big
The charm of McKinleyville has long been its small, cow-town vibe. I have always been proud to tout hailing from the tiny town lovingly referred to as “Oklahoma by the Sea,” with the motto, “Where horses have the right-of-way.” McKinleyville has been in need of a new watering hole for some time — even though […]
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The Return of the Logger Bar
Not so long ago, the Logger Bar was known as a good place to get in a fight. In its long history, the Blue Lake icon may have at times earned that seedy reputation, but it has since evolved under the stewardship of former owner Kate Martin to reflect the friendly, neighborly character of the […]
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Septentrio’s Wine Connection
As I sip my glass of pinot noir and listen to the hum of people reuniting, the clink of glassware, and the chatter of busy service staff, I realize that in previous years, I have taken for granted the ability to drink in public. Like many, I have been desperate for a sense of normalcy (also […]
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Old Growth Cellars
I was first introduced to Old Growth Cellars when I was pouring wine at the next table during the Arcata Bay Oyster Festival in 2015. I was relatively new to the local wine industry and the friendly, “Hi, I’m Matt,” was welcome. Matt Garrett poured me wines from Old Growth Cellars and shared with me […]
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The Cat’s Meow
There is a certain vibe found in hotel bars: a feeling of emptiness, of customers never there long enough to gain a rapport and menus that seek to make their customers comfortable and nothing more. So Phatsy Kline’s Parlor Lounge, an extension of the Inn at 2nd and C in Eureka’s Historic Eagle House, is […]
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The Basement
Entering Jacoby’s Storehouse, on the southwest corner of the Arcata Plaza, already feels like going back in time. It’s not hard to imagine this hub of the town filled with dry goods, a pier extending south all the way into Humboldt Bay, where supplies from San Francisco were unloaded. The Storehouse’s latest addition, a below- […]