Fieldbrook Country Kitchen
When the Fieldbrook Market (4636 Fieldbrook Road) closed, Paddy O’Dwyer was among those who grieved. “We used to come here a lot on the weekends,” he says. “It was pretty sad when it closed — it kinda’ preyed on me. Every time I’d drive by, I’d think what it would take to open it up.” Turns out, it took O’Dwyer and his family, who’ll be reopening the spot as the Fieldbrook Country Kitchen on Nov. 29.
Originally from County Laois in Ireland, O’Dwyer moved to Humboldt in 2010. Now in Blue Lake at the O’Dwyer Family Farm, he’s eager to pursue the dream of a restaurant. “It’s kind of now or never,” he says.
Fieldbrook Country Kitchen won’t be exactly like the old place, though O’Dwyer says it’ll still stock necessities like eggs, milk and toilet paper for convenience. Beyond that, he says, “We’re not focusing on so much of a market anymore.” Instead, it will have a farm-to-table menu that leans heavily on local produce, including from his own farm. The menu is in the works, but patrons can expect smoked tri-tip sandwiches, pastas, seafood, “hearty soups like Irish beef stew, tomato soup,” and some taco specials.
“We’re setting up the farm and we’ll have the license to be producers,” says O’Dwyer. He also hopes to plant herbs and other ingredients in a greenhouse out back.
“I’ve always loved cooking,” O’Dwyer says, “here I love running the smoker and the barbecue.” But he’ll hardly be on his own in the kitchen. He notes that in-laws Don and Gretchen Elder, who made their bones at Larrupin’, the Benbow Inn and Seascape before retiring, will be on hand, as will Juan Martinez, formerly of Stardough’s, who will be in the kitchen, too.
The Nov. 29 opening is set for 3 p.m., with music from The Lost Dogs. O’Dwyer says the hours will likely be limited for the first month, opening Fridays through Sundays. “They are all great people,” says O’Dwyer. “It’ll be fun times there.”
Sun’s Out at Taco Town Fruteria
Some days, even the most chunkily be-scarfed among us is hit with a wave of seasonal affective downer, the need for a little sunshine. Sure, there’s light therapy, but it can’t hurt to try tacos.
Taco Town Fruteria (320 F St., Eureka) opened in July, in the former home of Chuchi’s and before that Masaki’s Kyoto. Vitamin D fairly bounces from the walls in the form of bright murals of whimsical sea creatures crossed with fruit, not to mention the neon highlights on the menu above and below the counter.
At your left, find soft street tacos, among which the cabeza ($3.50) is the star, the beef tender enough to pinch apart in your fingers, and topped with cilantro and onion. (Psst: The mild avocado and spicier red salsas are in the little fridge to your right.) Consider, too, the humble gordita ($10), its thicker masa shell split and filled with meat, cheese, salsa, cilantro and onion.
On the rest of the menu, an endless summer of beachy parfaits and raspados glow with icy sweetness. Their sweet, spicy, tangy queen is the mangonada ($10), layered with chunks of fresh mango, mango sorbet and rivers of deep red chamoy. The heat from the chamoy sauce plays against but isn’t dulled by the fruit in its fresh or frozen forms and, if it’s possible, it gets better as you work your way to the bottom, lighting up every part of your palate like oceanside fireworks.
“We make our own mango sorbet at the mall,” says owner Samira Ayala, whose family also runs the Fresh Fruity Grill in the Bayshore Mall’s food court. “It’s technically fresh fruit,” she says, explaining how the fresh lime, strawberry, mango and guava sorbets are made by freezing and blending, sometimes with sugar, depending on the batch of produce. The mangonada is her favorite, though the Mango Delight (a whipped cream version) and the house-made horchata come close. Keep an eye out for specials, like the Mazapan de la Rosa milkshake ($8) made from the Mexican peanut candy with the rose on the wrapper.
Ayala’s family also owns La Patria Mariscos and Grill in Fields Landing, and she says she started helping at the restaurant when she was 15. “I always told them they weren’t allowed to close because the restaurant was mine, but I realized I wanted to do something of my own.”
Everything on the menu is takeout-friendly but if the skies are gray, pulling up to a candy-red table and sitting amid all that color might do you some good.
Share your tips about What’s Good with Jennifer Fumiko Cahill (she/her), arts and features editor at the Journal. Reach her at (707) 442-1400, extension 320, or jennifer@northcoastjournal.com. On Instagram @JFumikoCahill.
This article appears in ‘Powerful’.
