There is nothing like the crushing disappointment of sharing intel on a favorite hole-in-the-wall — the labyrinthian directions! the semi-sketchy location! the limited hours! — only to find your confidante has already eaten there. Sniff out whether or not members of your carnivorous inner circle have hit up BullDoggies hot dogs yet (1125 Summer St., […]
What’s Good
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San Diego Homesick Blues
Now and then, you may see a faraway look in the eyes of those of us without Frumboldt stickers on our cars, who hail from elsewhere but were lured here by Humboldt’s verdant charms (or perhaps the charms of a Humboldter). We long for the food of our homelands. You may wave a hand in […]
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Bone Deep
Early evening at Five Eleven, with its azure concrete floor and shining glass tile bar, is a bit like relaxing in rather than beside a very chic swimming pool. On a recent night, adjacent tables were stocked with flat-billed hats, toddlers picking at fancy pizza and older patrons discussed the fine line between appetizers and […]
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Key Player
Some of us leap flip-flop first into summer at the first hiss of lawn sprinklers. For the rest of us, zipping up our hoodies in vampiric fear of the sun and denial over the year whizzing by, a little incentive is required. A slice of Key lime pie will help. There is patio seating at […]
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Good Decisions
Tucked back from the street, its fence camouflaged with peeling fliers, La Chiquita (1021 I St., Arcata), brick-and-mortar counterpart to the taco truck of the same name, is easily missed on the walk past Los Bagels and Wildwood Music. Luckily, there is the smell of steamy tortillas and carnitas to turn your head. A news […]
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The Bomber
The Crabs get most of the local press, but the summer sun shines on Bomber Field, too. The Humboldt B-52s haven’t got a live band yet but the snack shack platoon is performing this season (Redwood Acres, Eureka). Pay for your entry stamp at the folding table and hook right once inside and find yourself immersed […]
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Hop a Flight
Unfortunate fact of physics: A standard ice cream cone can only hold two flavors before things get sloppy and end in tears. If you’re not already married to a flavor, the wait at Living the Dream Ice Cream (1 F St., Eureka) culminates with a scramble to pick from more than a dozen rotating flavors. […]
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Waiting for Tuesday
Tuesdays are press days at the Journal, a cruel constant that has thus far kept us from following a lead on the Tuesday night Southern fried chicken special ($20) at Six Rivers Brewery (1300 Central Ave., McKinleyville). But this week, we put the issue to bed and called ahead to secure one of four remaining […]
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The Small Things
We are not so much spoiled for choices as crushed by the never-ending waves of them. It never occurred to me as a child, for example, that I would one day find myself behind on watching TV. It is with the same Netflix-esque overwhelm that you sometimes open a Mexican menu, fold after fold, until […]
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Great Divides
There are two factions of polenta lovers: those who want to dip their spoons into a bowl of golden creaminess and those who want to angle a fork through the browned, cheesy edges. Isn’t our nation divided enough? The polenta lasagna ($17) at Brick and Fire (1630 F St.) is a unifying force. True, it’s […]
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Comfort Zone
Entering the vermillion and yellow interior of Ethiopian International Café (210 Fourth St., Eureka) is like being wrapped in a flag at a soccer match. On a recent rainy afternoon, following a tip about the restaurant’s outpost at the Arcata Farmers Market, we grabbed a random-couch-adjacent window table at the brick and mortar location and […]
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Angels and Morsels
The parking lot of Siam Orchid (427 V St., Eureka) is packed enough to simultaneously irritate and inspire hope, given the number of businesses that have moved in and out of the spot. Don’t fret; there’s more room in the bright dining room, where a photo of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit preside over twinkling […]