In Humboldt, we love the rain, the mist and the fog. But when the sun makes its appearance, we bask in its rays all we can. At Rooftop in Old Town Eureka, chef Joe Tan is serving classic and inventive sushi, with a dose of vitamin D. The fourth floor patio affords a panoramic view […]
Dining
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Falafel Love
King Salmon is “out of the way but not far away,” says Avi Leibson, owner and chef at Falafel Love. Since the restaurant opened there last summer, it’s been drawing folks out of their way with home-cooked Mediterranean specialties beyond its namesake falafel. The sweet dockside patio overlooking the canal, where the occasional kayak or […]
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Siam Orchid in Bloom
Sommai “Bee” Inboon zips from Siam Orchid’s kitchen to the tables with the sureness of a career server, her arms stacked with plates of shimmering noodles and steaming pots of soup. A diner’s appreciative grin cracks her focused expression into a big smile. Inboon, who hails from the inland town of Ratchaburi in Western Thailand, […]
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A Country Breakfast
Well, menus plural — there’s the regular one and a gallery of chalkboards behind the counter touting specials and “secret” items. Are they secret if they’re on a blackboard? Do you care as long as you can add smoked pork belly to pretty much anything? The 100-year-old, three-generation McIntosh Farm opened its store and restaurant […]
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Nori’s Modern Takes
CHEF JOE TAN DOES NOT WAX POETIC ABOUT SUSHI; for him, both the style and the principles are simple. “The ingredients, the quality is most important. Sushi is really basic,” he says, but it demands the highest standards to be great. There may be no more minimalist cuisine than traditional sushi and sashimi, where there is […]
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Sushi Blue Ups a Casino’s Game
Walk Into Sushi Blue, the sushi bar in Blue Lake Casino in the small town of Blue Lake, and no questions are necessary. Chef Jacob Talbert knows. Plate after plate emerges from behind the counter, omakase-style, chef’s choice. Roughly translated, it means, “I trust you.” There is a small plate of bluefin belly, fresh and […]
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Brunch at the Pub
In its way, brunch is the most luxurious of meals out. The elements can be as basic as eggs and potatoes, though upping the ante with Champagne is always nice. The place can be as modest as a diner, but its timing is predicated on having the weekend off, sleeping in a little. We eat […]
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Down Home at Fat Anne’s Bakery & Bistro
Before you dig into your plate of shrimp and grits at Fat Anne’s Bistro, or take the point off your lemon meringue pie, take a moment to appreciate the plate — its little painted roses or scalloped edges — because it might be a family heirloom. Owner and chef Tevyn Fisher serves on her grandmother’s […]
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Tandoori Bites
At lunchtime, the row of 15 brass chafing dishes along the wall at Tandoori Bites glows, brimming with aromatic yellow rice, deep red tandoori chicken, fried clusters of vegetable pakora, dahl and, of course, a bevy of curries. Navigating these alone takes discipline. How many hunks of lamb can you manage from the pot of […]
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Tomo Forever
When Joe Doherty first looked at the cavernous restaurant space in the historic Hotel Arcata — a pair of joined rooms that dwarfed Tomo’s previous Eureka location — he told founder Fukiko Marshall it was too big. “I’ll fill it,” she replied. Then-manager Doherty was skeptical. “I said, ‘You’ll never fill this place.’ It’s funny, […]
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Bright Flavors
It’s hard to miss Fregoso’s Comida Mexicana — the outside is painted electric blue with an orange trim. If you step inside, you’ll find bold flavors and bright colors that invite you to consider Mexican food with a twist. Aromatic salsas and fresh ingredients accompany your taco of choice, and the molten molcajete — a […]
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Getting Veggie-centric at Wildflower Cafe
Vegetarian dishes are too often relegated to a sidebar, corner or back page of a restaurant’s menu, as if to say, “if we must.” Not so at Wildflower Cafe & Bakery, where vegetables in their many forms secure top billing and all the cameos, too. A staple of Arcata’s Northtown for more than 30 years, […]