On the Jamwagon Bandwagon You can’t miss the bright blue Jamwagon food truck with its red lettering announcing pitas, gyros, hummus, falafel and fries (1631 Central Ave., McKinleyville; updates on Facebook). And good thing, too. (Sidebar: Is McKinleyville’s Central Avenue, with its Indian takeover days at the Taqueria Martinez truck, Auntie Hao’s and now this […]
On the Table
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Chef Pangnou Vang Behind the Counter at Sushi Blue
Pangnou Vang’s face is mostly hidden under the bill of her ballcap as she works, angling the blade of her long, wooden handled knife horizontally along a block of salmon belly. The fingers of her other hand rest lightly on top of the fish, following the shape of the knife like a peaking wave as […]
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The Elizabeth Dawn and CBD Mocktails Rising
The evolution of a concept can yield such an interesting timeline. Cannabis starts to become legalized in many states and suddenly we have a new beverage option hitting the shelves. Cannabidiol (CBD), one of the 60 active compounds found in cannabis, is non-psychoactive. The cultivation and sale of industrial hemp-derived products, including CBD, were legalized […]
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Meeting in the Middle at Aromas Café
Cut in sturdy rectangles and topped with waves of whipped cream, Adela Rodriguez’s tres leches cake takes a full day soaking in whole, condensed and evaporated milks. It’s a bit firmer than usual, holding up to and holding in the sweet liquid. Marisol Madriz, with whom she co-owns Aromas Café (1651 Myrtle Ave., Eureka), thinks […]
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Mexican and Masala
The bright flags staked around the Taqueria Martinez truck parked beside A&L Feed at 2314 Central Ave. in McKinleyville advertise tacos and burritos. So does the truck itself, emblazoned with pictures of asada fries and tortas. But above the order window through which Miguel Santiago Martinez is taking lunch orders, there hangs a paper menu […]
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Magical, Cozy Winter Cafés
It’s that time of year again. Sometimes referred to as “false spring” here in Humboldt. Don’t be fooled, friends. Narcissistic spring has not arrived yet. We are still hanging out with that old winter charmer, though they are getting sleepier by the day and will soon rest. For now, we can still find comfort in […]
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An Appetite for Local Food History at the Clarke
“You don’t think you’re going to make much of a sweat working at a museum but moving things around really gets you there,” says Josh Buck, executive director-curator of the Clarke Historical Museum. Looking at the behemoth of an iron stove hauled into the main hall from the backroom of the Samoa Cookhouse, it’s easy […]
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Alchemy’s Pop-up Magic
Less than an hour before sunset, the Alchemy Distillery (330 S. G St., Arcata) gives off the glow and thrum of a party through the large open window counter, where patrons sit inside and out, bustling bar traffic on one side, overhead heat lamps cutting the chill on the other. There’s still a line of […]
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Spreading Vegetable Joy
It’s January and “Eat more vegetables” is in the air. There are variations, of course. Fruits are mentioned as well, the Mediterranean diet makes frequent appearances, the gut microbiome may also be invoked. The core message from many voices remains the same: Eat more vegetables. The path to implementing that resonant piece of advice must […]
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Jersey Boys
Yellow neon letters curl in the window above bright café chairs outside Jersey Scoops in Loleta (348 Main St.). Inside, there are more rainbow-colored chairs and barstools, shelves and refrigerators packed with local jams and snacks, and a refrigerator case stuffed with beef and eggs from Ferndale’s Foggy Bottoms Boys Farm. On a barnwood wall […]
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What’s Good
La Flor Mixteca grows in Freshwater Driving in the early dark past Three Corners Market at the intersection of Freshwater Road and Myrtle Avenue (5945 Myrtle Ave., Eureka), the brightly lit logo of the Flor Mixteca truck glows like a winter mirage. Since the name references a region in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, […]
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Classic Oatmeal Cookies Revisited
Winter has arrived, so far carrying buckets of rain. Spreading a sweet aroma around the house by baking cookies is an excellent antidote to seasonal claustrophobia, when I start feeling caged within the walls of short, wet days. Guided on one hand by my Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies (“What-if Cookies,” Jan. 13, 2022) and […]