I grew up in Southern China, where watercress was a familiar vegetable in my youth. My mom often used them when making soup with herbs. According to Chinese folk remedies, the soup helps cool one in the heat and detoxify. Watercress soup was a staple in many Cantonese households when the weather was hot and […]
Eat + Drink
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A Trio of Arcata Soft Openings
Chef Gori Igarashi wears a tall ballcap with a cannabis leaf embroidered on it and a thin towel tied around his neck as he hunches over a burner, tossing fried rice in a wok. A pair of men pinball between stations in Susukino Ramen Bar’s (1504 G St., Arcata) open kitchen, ladling out broth, checking […]
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Endless Zucchini is All Right by Me
Like every year, I planted a few zucchini starters at the beginning of summer. Like every year, I mismanaged the plants and harvested nothing. An exuberant growth of leaf lettuce and arugula provided consolation — and large salads. Fortunately, zucchini and summer squash have been plentiful at farmers markets and farm stands around the county, […]
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Tasty Hub Makes Room for Newcomers
On Monday afternoon, Gaby Long, owner of A Taste of Bim (613 Third St., Eureka) and its auxiliary food truck, is still recovering from a long day and night of selling chicken curry and jerk wings at Cannifest. “I can’t feel my feet,” she says with a laugh. But even with a leg brace for […]
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Erlei’s Bakin It is Coming to Eureka
After five years in Ferndale, Erlei’s Bakin It will close the doors to its 444 Main St. location and reopen in its new Eureka location in early October. “The business wasn’t sustaining itself,” says Erlei’s owner Rebecca Erlei. We weren’t getting enough customers.” Erlei’s Bakin It’s new location will see the baked goods shop expand […]
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The Grind Café Relocating to Eureka Courthouse
Eureka’s Grind Café is making a significant move this fall. The café, known for its cozy atmosphere and community-focused approach, is relocating inside the Eureka courthouse. Owner Gabrielle Long has reassured loyal customers that the Grind Café is not closing — it’s simply moving to a new location. According to Long, who also owns A […]
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What’s Good?
Arcata to Get Wild Hare Tavern The darkened windows of the Jam may not be dark for too much longer. Her purchase of the business from owner Mike Munson is still pending, but longtime bartender Angela Robershotte has plans to open Wild Hare Tavern in the plaza-adjacent spot. Robershotte is keeping the specifics of the […]
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Plaza Grill to Make Way for Havana
After 35 years, Arcata’s Plaza Grill is closing at the end of September. According to a press release from the restaurant, owners Bill Chino and Chris Smith will give the space over to a new California-Cuban restaurant called Havana, owned by Shona Baum and William González Martí. Chino and Smith will lease the space to […]
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CCC’s Chili Champs
A drizzly day isn’t great for fair attendance but it does lend itself to sampling steaming cups of chili. Five competing teams that had been cooking under tents by the grandstands ladled out their wares to hardy chili fans who, like the judges gathered behind the Humboldt County Fair offices (myself among them), tasted, compared […]
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Opera Alley Bistro Closes
Opera Alley Bistro, which opened in December of 2020 and won the Journal‘s Best of Humboldt Best New Restaurant in 2021, has closed. Co-owner Kyall Widmier, who also runs the Madrone Taphouse across the parking lot, declined to comment on the closure beyond that plans for the space are still up in the air. The […]
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Arcata to Get Wild Hare Tavern
The darkened windows of the Jam may not be dark for too much longer. Her purchase of the business from owner Mike Munson is still pending, but longtime bartender Angela Robershotte has plans to open Wild Hare Tavern in the plaza-adjacent spot. Robershotte is keeping the specifics of the menu mum for now, but says […]
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Summer in a Condiment
I hope you are relishing tomatoes in all their glorious varieties, from sun-sweetened cherry tomatoes to larger, juicy heirloom ones. Every year, I imagine the arrival of tomato season as a northward migration. I ate the first tomatoes in mid-April during a visit to Los Osos, in San Luis Obispo County. There is a lovely […]