Posted inEat + Drink

France, Italy, Texas

Nothing ever got worse because somebody spooned mascarpone cheese on it. It’s like the missing link between whipped cream and cream cheese. Thanks, Italy. Case in point: the French toast at Benbow Inn ($14; 445 Lake Benbow Drive, Garberville). If the weather’s nice, order it on the veranda overlooking the bridge. Just nibble at the […]

Posted inEat + Drink

Slow Mocha

Is that rain? Quick, run into Café Mokka (495 J St., Arcata), slide into a window seat and watch the back garden get all misty. We can’t afford to waste wet days anymore, so make your mocha a double ($3.10). There is no pit crew of headset-wearing baristas, and you are not going to slug […]

Posted inEat + Drink

Cremini!

Real cream of mushroom soup has been so thoroughly overshadowed by the Warhol-esque army of cans at the market that we no longer remember the original. Instead, we recall the sound of the congealed stuff, its vacuum suck and plop into the pot. Not that we don’t love Aunt Martha’s green bean casserole when it […]

Posted inEat + Drink

Frittered Away

In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love the apple fritter at Happy Donuts ($2.75). Jane Austen would forgive me. After all, is this not the Mr. Darcy of doughnuts — Crusty and intimidating, a […]

Posted inEat + Drink

Fo Schnitzel

Now that the US has been punted from the World Cup finals by Belgium, we could use a little comfort food. How about German? Too soon? Off to Stuf’t Potato (if you haven’t been, don’t worry — it’s not nearly as food-court as the name suggests) for German and Austrian soul food (3200 South Broadway, […]

Posted inArts + Scene

Tourist Trap

Hipsters, pack your bags. Eureka might be too mainstream for you now. The July-August issue of the American Automobile Association’s Via magazine features seven highlights from the “vibrant Northern California seaport, famed for teeming fisheries and towering redwood forests.” Carson Mansion, the Hikshari’ Trail, Samoa Cookhouse, Sequoia Park Zoo, Living the Dream Ice Cream, Humboldt […]

Posted inEat + Drink

Little Devils

You know that deviled egg recipe your aunt is so stingy with? Nobody wants it anymore. Instead we’ll be trying to recreate the ones at Humboldt Smokehouse (310 Fifth St., Eureka), topped with house-smoked bacon or pork belly, barbecue sauce and green onions ($1, $1.50). They have the tiniest bits of tart pickle to balance […]

Posted inEat + Drink

Shell Shock

It was a rough room. At both ends of the long table in the window at Mazzotti’s on the Arcata Plaza, judges were bemoaning an entry with over-seasoned and undercooked bread and wondering aloud who would plate up closed clams for a competition. The annual competition for best raw and cooked oyster, as well as […]

Posted inEat + Drink

Sandwich Porn

When you name something the “XXX Adults Only Grilled Cheese Sandwich,” you’re making a statement. A reader sent in an email tip about her favorite order at Lost Coast Café and Bakery (468 Main St., Ferndale), and her flustered description of the sandwich read a bit like vintage Penthouse Forum. The first time I ordered […]

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