We need a term for the sudden panic at the start of August when we realize summer is finite and we have not yet had all the fun. It was this wave of recreational anxiety that led us to Lighthouse Plaza (180 Lupin Drive, Arcata) for mini golf in the shadow of a Bunyon-esque lumberjack. […]
Food
Posted inEat + Drink
Doughnuts Rising
Sit-down doughnut options are too few and far between. And yet the doughnut should be a legitimate breakfast option alongside bacon and eggs, pancakes and waffles. Drive-thru doughnut shops are necessary because sometimes time is of the essence, people. But can we not give this glorious, unifying food that crosses all social and political boundaries […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Naughty
Let’s not pretend names don’t matter. This week Ferndale’s favorite foodie son Guy Fieri revealed that his trademark Donkey Sauce — principal export of Flavortown — is just aioli. It’s hard to know whether we should feel duped or just relieved on behalf of donkeys. And did aioli really need rebranding? Naming is a tricky business, […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Bivalve Bacchanal
You could get just about any creative approach to raw or barbecued oysters on Saturday at the 27th annual Oyster Festival in Arcata – except oyster-flavored ice cream. Staff from Humboldt Creamery, who were passing out free ice cream in the Family Fun Zone, said they might work on that for next year. The Arcata […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Best of the Oyster Fest
Upsets and new blood (brine?) marked this year’ Arcata Bay Oyster Festival. As crowds swarmed the plaza, lining up for paper trays of oysters, judges (myself among them) sampled entrants in the Best Raw, Best Cooked, Best Non-oyster and, for the first time this year, Best in Show. The new Best in Show category, according […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Meltdown
Artisanal toast hasn’t yet made its way past the Redwood Curtain but expect it soon. Just wait. Until then, you can work on grilled cheese. The Artisan Cheese Factory, née Loleta Cheese Factory (252 Loleta Drive, Loleta), upped the ante on its bevy of samples when it opened the Queso Kings grilled cheese bar in […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Mussel Bound
Put away your clam diggers — domoic acid has put the local clam digging party on hold and mid-calf pants are hard to pull off anyway. But this is not to say shellfish is off the table. In fact, let’s take a moment to appreciate the other mollusks that are so often overshadowed by our […]
Posted inEat + Drink
The Upside Down
In the 1950s and 1960s, sweeping into a dining room or a backyard barbecue with a cinched waist and pineapple upside down cake for company was the height of suburban hostessing. The magazine clippings and index cards bearing recipes for America’s own version of tart tartine could have built a land bridge to Hawaii. But […]
Posted inNews
Locally Delicious Guidebook Drops
The mantra of “eat local,” isn’t just hipster folly — it’s a critically important act of resistance against the corporate takeover of our diets, our bodies and our health. A dollar spent on local, sustainably grown food supports family-owned farms, reduces petrol dependency, can reduce the chemical contamination of your food and reinvests your money […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Deep Dish Diplomacy
Hey, Australia. Are we good? We had a weird phone call followed by a weird meeting and now it’s awkward. But look, we made your favorite: meat pies! For those unfamiliar, meat pies are the wings and nachos of the land down under. They are at once a comfort food and the portable meal that […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Pressed for Cuban Sandwiches
The plot twists and sudden shifts of international politics have never come at us with such breakneck speed. Sure, you can hop a flight to Cuba now but who knows in a month or two? Stockpiling Cohibas in your bunker humidor now might not be a bad idea. And you’ll need a local back-up supplier […]