Three years ago we dined at the legendary Roxanne’s, the nation’s most talked – about vegan shrine, in Larkspur. The creation of a dot-com millionaire and his new wife, a glamorous and innovative chef, it was the first elegant "raw foods" restaurant. Nothing at Roxanne’s was heated to more than 118 degrees F. This meant […]
Eat + Drink
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Spaghetti col Tonno
As you drive towards Trinidad harbor you can’t miss the sign for Katy’s Smokehouse, and on my first visit to Humboldt County nine years ago, I didn’t. Nowadays a pleasant two-mile walk along shady Stagecoach Road brings me from our house to town, and I have become a regular customer at Katy’s. Initially I would […]
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Roasting chicken and a Taste
While shopping at Wildberries not long ago, I saw Phil Ricord staring, lost in thought, in the general direction of the deli section, aka Wildplatters Café. If you shop at the store, or listen to the radio or watch TV, I don’t have to explain who Phil is – in short, he owns Wildberries. In […]
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Can We Survive The Syndrome?
If somehow I’ve conveyed to readers that I disrespect restaurants, I’ve expressed myself badly. When we go to a new restaurant, we do so with optimism. True, we do not eat out often, as we are ourselves cooks, but when we discover a place we like, we tell everyone – because we know all about […]
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Love Times Three
Somewhere in this space a few weeks ago I mentioned that a new restaurant, 3 Foods Café, had finally opened behind the Arcata Co-op. I had not yet eaten there, and as I noted, I had no idea what the three foods in the name might be. At this point I’ve been there three times […]
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Polenta: Variations on a Theme
Polenta is one of those ageless culinary lords, like bread. It has sprung from the hunger of mankind, and without apparent effort has always carried with it a feeling of strength and dignity and well-being. M.F.K. Fisher, How to Cook a Wolf Polenta is an ancient Mediterranean dish. The Greeks, Romans and others who lived […]
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In the Night Kitchen
It’s hard to miss the Community Kitchen at the new Eureka Co-op – just look at the back of the store for the giant capital letters spelling KITCHEN, and the slightly smaller "cooking demonstrations." So far the room has mostly been used for meetings, everything from dental hygienists and Boy Scouts to the Co-op board […]
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The Future of GMO, Cloning and Other Controversies: Part II
In last week’s column, I bemoaned the "religious" zeal in opposition to GMO, which seeks to end any discussion by withdrawing funds for research. I said that such efforts reminded me of the Bush administration’s refusal to fund stem-cell research. In that context, here are two inventions nearing production: 1) Introduction into the rice plant […]
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GMO, cloning and other controversies
Within the past few years – starting in 2000 with printed notices at the Arcata Co-op registers, rallying the troops – there has been a potent local reaction against genetically-modified (GMO) foods. Well, the Co-op has a bad record for consumer-friendly action (as opposed to decisions that are motivated by its directors’ narrow concerns). Was […]
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Eat food.
It’s Tuesday morning, deadline day. My wife Amy just left for work; before she took off she saw me staring out the window and asked what I was thinking about. I admitted I was not sure what to write about for this week’s food column. There was the Art of Wine tasting we went to […]
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Two Artisan Cheesemakers
Talking with Craig Nelson, plant manager for Rogue Creamery, one of the most successful "artisan" cheesemakers in the country, I asked why French cheeses are so much more varied and flavorful than American ones. "The FDA has much higher standards for pathogens," he told me, "and many companies have even less tolerance than the FDA […]