The women who wait tables in Humboldt County are teenagers, grandmothers, artists, teachers, musicians and students. But ask any who have been in the industry a few years about sexual harassment and you’ll likely hear what the Journal heard over and over from the women we spoke to: “We’ve all got stories.” Each asked to […]
On the Table
Posted inEat + Drink
What’s Good: Dipping and Frying
Double dipped 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. Chef and co-owner Oscar Anguiano’s Mexico City iteration is a traditional […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Crooning and Cooking at Opera Alley Bistro
Amid the sound of an elk and bison burger sizzling and the warm aroma of the day’s soup, Madison “Mattie” Lopez’s tenor cascades from the pass-through window between Opera Alley Bistro’s kitchen and dining room as he belts out Frank Sinatra or Johnny Cash with a little Michael Jackson sneaking in. Table conversation sometimes stops […]
Posted inEat + Drink
‘Everybody Works Together’
The link between teaching young Native people to process and cook acorns and addressing substance abuse in their communities might not be readily apparent, but the folks at Cal Poly Humboldt’s Rou Dalagurr Indigenous Food Sovereignty Lab know it’s there. Now the lab, born from a class project and community fundraising, is central to the […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Funded Food Trucks Roll to Trinidad
Co-owner Esmerelda Hernandez and the rest of the Los Giles Taqueria truck crew woke at 5 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 9 to start prep for more than 700 meals — around five times their usual day of sales. But this day, the black and gold truck will be posted up at Trinidad Town Hall, cooking […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Rio Dell Restaurants Reopen with Losses
A determined person could eat at every restaurant in Rio Dell in a single day. Businesses along Wildwood Avenue took losses in the aftermath of the 6.4 earthquake that hit the tiny Eel River Valley town especially hard. Beyond the damage from the quake, like damaged equipment and dining rooms, the days without power and […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Food Trucks and World Central Kitchen to the Rescue
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 […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Chicano Bakes‘ Pan Dulce and Disco
The cover of Esteban Castillo’s second cookbook Chicano Bakes is like a panaderia dessert case set up in Studio 54. A flan that shines like Donna Summer’s lip gloss, a square of pink-frosted cortadillo cake is cut sharp as Bianca Jagger’s suit. It’s a departure from the signature style of sunny lighting, bright backgrounds, and […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Add Another Squash to the Table
Winter squash is my comfort food this time of the year, helping me accept the irrefutable reality of winter. By the time December comes around, several dishes featuring them are on dinner rotation. Winter squashes work wonders on two levels: first with their colors and shapes, which brighten up the space where I store them, […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Buddha’s Fists in Chicken Coops
Chayote, or Buddha’s fists squash as we call it in Chinese, is a thin-skinned squash. Some are smooth and others are prickly. I’m ecstatic to share some of my harvest this year and have given over a dozen of the sprouted squash for friends to plant next year. Chayote is a prolific producer in Humboldt. […]
Posted inEat + Drink
What’s Good: Patino’s and Humboldt Bay Burgers
Patino’s Quesabirria Slam Dunk 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 […]
Posted inEat + Drink
A Hot Meal at St. Vincent de Paul
On a bright but chilly Monday morning in November, a handful of people are already waiting on a sunny patch of sidewalk across from the blue St. Vincent de Paul Dining Facility building at 35 Third St. in Eureka. At 11 a.m., the door will open to a dining hall with a high-ceiling, color-block cafeteria […]