Retired chef provides fresh food for homeless pets A month ago, as the cold rain of winter was beginning to shift into frame, with the fortunate retreating to their homes, Samaya (who asks that her last name be withheld) was running errands when she noticed a person on the street with his two dogs — […]
On the Table
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Deep Roots at Paskenta Mad River Brewery
It had been too long since I last visited Paskenta Mad River Brewery in Blue Lake. It’s not that I hadn’t been drinking their beer all that time, but returning to those comfy surroundings reminded me to get out more, and farther. CEO Linda Cooley met me in the bar. She’s been in the beer […]
Posted inEat + Drink
What’s Good: Birria Brunch
The siren call of Taco Loco’s (955 Main St., Fortuna) cushy, thick, handmade tortillas is nearly impossible to resist but sometimes lashing yourself to the mast and sailing on to a couple new items on the menu pays off. Not that there’s a wrong time for chilaquiles, as excellent for breakfast as they are for […]
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Throw a Potato Party
A couple months ago, I received a mysterious summons with strict instructions for secrecy. “There is no Potato Club,” it read. I will not divulge the identities of the guests or the hostess here. We were invited for an evening of starchy revelry among women, a potluck to which we’d each bring a topping for […]
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Ambitious Cuisine Along the Avenue of the Giants
Southern Humboldt’s food scene, notably homemade and crafty, doesn’t seem a likely location for high-end dining. Certainly, there are pseudo versions of high-end cuisine, and often restaurants that claim such experiences remain in the overpriced and staid tourist trap category. But that stigma saw a serious blow this past summer with the reopening of the […]
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Return of the Strange
I’m writing this while simmering in the mild, buzzy afterglow that follows attending a beer festival. In the past few years, Humboldt’s beerfests have slowly come back, and the return of Strange Brew, a benefit for the Eureka Theater, feels like a full-circle moment. With at least three dozen libations to sample, I tried, I […]
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‘Don’t Wait to Be Asked’
Feeding folks amid loss of SNAP benefits Avi Leibson estimates the cost of the ingredients for the big pot of chicken soup he made in his Falafel Love kitchen, aside from the few unsold roasted chicken quarters from the day’s special, at around $10. He added potatoes, sweet potatoes, croutons made from the day’s leftover […]
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Two Bags of Apples
Doing what you can with what you have I am a perfectionist. A lot of the things I want to do don’t get done because I am afraid I won’t do them perfectly. This is why I don’t have a few dozen of my own novels on the bookshelf: I instead put my prodigious imagination […]
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Before the Feast
Cooking for Arcata’s Our Lady of Fatima Celebration Maria Homen peels back the paper covering one of a half dozen metal baking pans to reveal rows of browned and bumpy filhos (pronounced “fee-losh” with the lush rounding of so many Portuguese words at the end) tossed in table sugar. She and the crew of ladies […]
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Trophy Burgers
NCJ Burger Week winners Not everything is a competition. But this year, NCJ Burger Week was. For the first time, diners were able to vote for their favorites among the 35 participating restaurants in three categories — Best Use of Local Ingredients, Most Creative and Best Overall — with winners scoring year-long custodianship of unreasonably […]
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Christina’s Filipino Cuisine at the Market
When Christina Lorenzo boarded a flight from the Philippines to Florida in 2003, she had $20 on her and luggage packed with two weeks’ worth of instant noodles and Spam. In Manila, where Lorenzo was born and raised, she’d applied for a job with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Orlando. Once she got it, her family […]
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Beer-flavored Beer at Pale Moon Brewing Co.
Tucked away around the corner from the CVS and Safeway in Arcata, Pale Moon Brewing Co. (600 F St., Suite 7) looks nondescript from the outside. Step inside, however, and you’ll find it inviting and lovably pubby. You sit among the metal brightwork — so pretty — and have a pint or two with an […]