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 […]
Food & Drink
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Old Growth Cellars
I was first introduced to Old Growth Cellars when I was pouring wine at the next table during the Arcata Bay Oyster Festival in 2015. I was relatively new to the local wine industry and the friendly, “Hi, I’m Matt,” was welcome. Matt Garrett poured me wines from Old Growth Cellars and shared with me […]
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Bandit Savory & Sweet Café
Built in 1872, the Vance Hotel building is the namesake of a lumber and railroad baron, and it has seen Eureka through its days as a bustling port and lumber town stacked with brothels and bootleggers. Now the Italianate-style landmark is home to shops and businesses, its wild days to be imagined as you sit […]
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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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The Cat’s Meow
There is a certain vibe found in hotel bars: a feeling of emptiness, of customers never there long enough to gain a rapport and menus that seek to make their customers comfortable and nothing more. So Phatsy Kline’s Parlor Lounge, an extension of the Inn at 2nd and C in Eureka’s Historic Eagle House, is […]
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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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The Basement
Entering Jacoby’s Storehouse, on the southwest corner of the Arcata Plaza, already feels like going back in time. It’s not hard to imagine this hub of the town filled with dry goods, a pier extending south all the way into Humboldt Bay, where supplies from San Francisco were unloaded. The Storehouse’s latest addition, a below- […]
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Fresh Paint and Vintage Style
The city of Eureka always has a foot in the past. It’s not a long history, but it’s full, at turns rich and sour, ever present if you look closely enough. You won’t have to look hard in one of its newest bars, North of Fourth. That’s because, like Eureka’s rows of Victorian homes juxtaposed […]
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Counter Culture
On a sunny day, it’s tough to beat lunch at a café table or even taking a sandwich, a drink and some pastry to the boardwalk. A brisk walk from the view of the boats in Eureka is Delish on 5th, where you can outfit a legitimately enviable picnic basket. The far end of the […]
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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, […]
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Souji House in Garberville
For years, Southern Humboldt residents have enjoyed shopping at Chautauqua Natural Foods for organic food and supplements. In June of 2018, the owners of Chautauqua Natural Foods opened Souji House, an “Asian soul food” restaurant offering colorful lunch dishes, organic soft serve, Japanese sweets, beer, wine and sake. Peg Anderson started Chautauqua Natural Foods 35 […]
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Alchemy Distillery
Does it take a village to make whiskey? For the owners and operators of Alchemy Distillery, community collaboration and a commitment to the environment have coalesced into an intoxicating beverage. Amy and Steve Bohner are known for building things. Steve (short cropped hair and a belly-length beard with lightning bolts of gray) and Amy (a […]