Let’s set aside, for now, the flea market with its displays of quartz crystals and circa-1973 Pepsi glasses, the craft fairs, wrestling matches, roller derbies and cannabis fests. Redwood Acres, that bastion of endless entertainment, is also a hotbed of handcrafted delectables. A few mornings a week, head to the old racetrack these days to […]
Food & Drink
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Crown Jewell
You don’t have to be a fan of gin to enjoy Jewell Distillery’s latest spirit, Jewell Gin. In fact, you don’t have to be a gin fan to distill it. Michael and Barbara Jewell began Jewell Distillery in a small Blue Lake warehouse in June of 2016. It was a passion project for the longtime […]
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Flavor Palette
Start with a heart of Romaine, curled up on the plate like a crisp green flavor envelope waiting to be filled. Add tangy corn pico de gallo. That’s the foundation for the main event — chicken in a dark, glossy mole simmered up from a generations-old family recipe. Top with thinly sliced, perfectly ripe avocado. […]
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Family Business
Good taste runs in families. In Arcata, Halleh Paymard keeps her Southern California family’s restaurant tradition alive with breakfast, brunch and Bloody Marys at T’s Café North. And in Eureka, the Tanski family makes its home at Gabriel’s with Italian dishes and remarkable wines. Gabriel’s Misheal Tanski handles the bar Saturday afternoon between a busy […]
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By Hand
Sun streams in the window. The café cat, Luna, sprawls across a polygon of light, licking her paws. An espresso machine purrs as customers of Mind’s Eye Coffee Lounge line up for a mid-morning hot beverage fix. A door in the back of the coffee machine and counter opens into a shop with works in […]
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Pulling Back the Curtain
Redwood Curtain Brewing Co. is the best-known secret in town. Tucked in an unassuming business park on the outskirts of Arcata, it’s become a popular destination for Humboldt County beer enthusiasts and tourists alike. But, says beer pourer Chris Galleron on a bustling Sunday afternoon, locals still frequently visit the tasting room for the first […]
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Treat Yourself
If you stroll by between 7 am and noon, go around the side to the walk-up coffee window at Sweetness and Light, and you might get a peek at Matt and Tami Toste tempering chocolate or hand dipping the old-fashioned candies that fill the cases at this Ferndale institution. Inside, treat yourself to browsing the […]
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Grazing
A sketch from the comedy show Portlandia mocks a food-aware couple at a farm-to-table restaurant who demand specifics about their chicken. Unsatisfied with the animal’s name and history, the couple asks the waiter to hold the order until they’ve visited the local farm that raised the animal. Far-fetched joke? In Humboldt County, the source of […]
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Farm to Glass
“You’re making this hard for me,” says a regular who’s sidled up to the standing-only bar that divides the small tasting room from the tap house at the Humboldt Regeneration Brewery. He came to get a growler filled, but with 28 unique beers on tap, and a small littering of empty tasters in front of […]
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The Siren Call of Beer
Soft gold and deep blue lights illuminate the impressive line-up of stemware behind the bar at Siren’s Song Tavern in Old Town Eureka — something for every beer, ale, stout and sour on the menu. After quietly opening four years ago, the place has steadily built a solid reputation for craft beer and cider, eclectic […]
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The Market
Would you rather kick back in the sun, quaffing a draft kombucha and nibbling a Garden Goddess wrap, or hunker down and watch football amongst the barflies with a pint of local beer and a cheeseburger? Luckily, at Fieldbrook Market and Eatery, you can do both. Not to mention draft cider and corn hole, Diet […]
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The Traditionalists
Two very different Italian restaurants are sticking to their traditions, one in a landmark building with classic steaks and pasta dishes, the other with an old-country, farm- to-table menu. Hotel Ivanhoe Restaurant & Saloon The Hotel Ivanhoe Restaurant and Saloon feels like it’s been there forever. Indeed the building and the redwood bar inside have […]