In the years before the pandemic, the festival filled Arcata’s other, much larger, community center. This felt intimate and back-to-basics with maybe 20 brewers, several dozen brews of various kinds, with hard-driving band The Mojovators performing multiple sets. It’s like the difference between a recent Platinum Edition Ford pickup and an F100 from back in […]
Eat + Drink
Posted inWhat's Good
What’s Good at the Friday Night Market?
In case last year’s season of Friday Night Markets in Old Town have been pushed down in your mental feed by the crushing cavalcade of events over the past months, here’s a quick refresher. The start time is 5:30 p.m. and lines for food stalls vary wildly. Parking is at a premium, so carpool if […]
Posted inOn the Table
A Cauliflower Dish for Spring and Beyond
While spending Holy Week in Italy, I encountered hard-boiled eggs at several tables and was reminded of the Easter breakfasts of my childhood. Every year my father recalled his childhood’s version of the meal which included eggs blessed at the church before consumption. My mother made hard-boiled eggs regularly and I often asked to […]
Posted inWhat's Good
What’s Good:Shanty Burgers and Snax
Like a giant olive that’s somehow rolled out of an upended Martini glass and around the corner from the Shanty (213 Third St., Eureka), the dive bar’s namesake army green food truck appeared in the adjacent lot last Monday. Where once only a Shanty Dog was available to fortify patrons and soak up the evening’s […]
Posted inOn the Table
Greghini’s Brings Philly to the Wild Hare
In the Wild Hare Tavern’s windowfront kitchen, the flat-top grill hisses against a layered rectangle of mortadella, Genoa salami and capicola (or “gabagool,” as the cured pork neck and shoulder is known among Sopranos fans and spanning the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border). Flipped onto a split Amoroso roll with mayo and circles of provolone, shredded lettuce, […]
Posted inOn the Table
Decolonize Your Palate
Knowing your ingredients goes further than familiarity, says Crystal Wahpepah. The Three Sisters Cake she’s teaching Cal Poly Humboldt students to bake in the stainless-steel kitchen of the Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab today makes a solid example. The Three Sisters, as the North American Indigenous staples corn, beans and squash are called, are all […]
Posted inOn the Table
Hmong-Japanese Fusion Magic at Alchemy
On Thursday before her three-day pop-up dinner weekend at Alchemy Distillery, Pangnou Vang had plenty to do but only one worry: mustard green pickles. “I’ve been pickling it since Tuesday,” she said, a process that normally takes three or four days, depending on the weather. “I’m just hoping and praying it turns out like I’m […]
Posted inOn the Table
Mi Rinconcito Pupuseria Salvadoreño Pulls into Tasty Hub
Joaquina Imelda Quintanilla’s granddaughter peers just over the ledge of the red Mi Rinconcito Pupuseria Salvadoreño truck. It’s an echo of how Quintanilla grew up in El Salvador, tagging along after school to the restaurant kitchen where her Aunt Lilian worked. By 12, she was able to help her aunt prep and cook a little, […]
Posted inEat + Drink
What’s Good? Luxury Fries
Fries, so often a throwaway side, at least in their preparation, deserve attention and appreciation. The potato from the Americas, julienned and immersed in a riot of bubbling fat in France or Belgium — I am not taking the side of one colonizer over another — is in itself an indulgence and, when served truly […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Where’s the Catch?
Not all of us are ready to catch our own crab like a sport-fishing kayaker, a seasoned commercial fisher or a wily otter. But at last, after stormy weeks and a spate of delays, the sun shines on the docks and, after some price negotiation, Humboldt crabbers are hauling their catches to market. Many of […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Important Research at Humboldt Cider Co.
More than a decade ago, Michelle and Darren Cartledge, along with Jamie Ashdon, launched Humboldt Cider Co. Back then, they were brewing in 5-gallon fermentation vessels. They are bigger now — several of their fermentation vessels now are 5,500 gallons and they employ 18 people — but they remain wonderfully Humboldt-centered. I was assigned to […]
Posted inEat + Drink
What’s Good for Arcata
The fundraising events for those affected by the Jan. 2 fire in Arcata are legion, and the music shows alone are going to eat your weekend. But what are you going to eat? Luckily, local food folks are pitching in for the cause as well, and we’ve got suggestions for your community-minded grazing, in case […]