La Flor Mixteca grows in Freshwater Driving in the early dark past Three Corners Market at the intersection of Freshwater Road and Myrtle Avenue (5945 Myrtle Ave., Eureka), the brightly lit logo of the Flor Mixteca truck glows like a winter mirage. Since the name references a region in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, […]
breakfast
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Benedicts at the Burger Joint
When T’s Café North closed up shop, Arcata’s roster of brunch spots took a blow. Not to worry. Since August, the stacks of stuffed French toast and the roster of champagne cocktails served in Mason jars have migrated the few blocks to Burger Joint, run by the same owner, Halleh Paymard. Happily, you needn’t wait […]
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Back to the Grind
A moment of appreciation for grab-and-go coffee shops. There, early risers are accommodated and those of us who struggle with morning are soothed without fuss. There, the good people at the counter prep for the breakfast rush and brew hot coffee while so many of us turn in our covers, thinking of reasons not to get […]
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Breakfast with the Season’s Fruit
During the recent 15 months of isolation, outdoor physical exercise helped me manage my anxiety. I am deeply grateful that I could spend time in the forest, on the beach, on the water. My family in Italy, locked inside their apartment, provided me with a comparison that magnified my gratitude. Usually, I exercise early in […]
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Cocina on the Green
The incongruity of a Mexican restaurant on the grounds of a golf course lessens as you sit in a snug window booth at Cocina Mariposa (4750 Fairway Drive, Eureka), which you enter via the pro shop, and watch the sunset. On a recent rainy evening, when a lone golfer was whacking balls into the lake […]
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What’s Good Roundup
Cocina on the Green The incongruity of a Mexican restaurant on the grounds of a golf course lessens as you sit in a snug window booth at Cocina Mariposa (4750 Fairway Drive, Eureka), which you enter via the pro shop, and watch the sunset. On a recent rainy evening, when a lone golfer was whacking […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Hum Plate Roundup
Waffling in Rio Dell Pull up to the Root 101 Nursery (770 Wildwood Ave., Rio Dell) and instead of soil you may smell waffles. Tucked in the corner of the shop is the Wildwood Waffles counter, behind which steams a trio of busy waffle irons. Puffed, crisp and moist inside, the waffles come straight off […]
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Waffling in Rio Dell
Pull up to the Root 101 Nursery (770 Wildwood Ave., Rio Dell) and instead of soil you may smell waffles. Tucked in the corner of the shop is the Wildwood Waffles counter, behind which steams a trio of busy waffle irons. Puffed, crisp and cakey, the waffles come straight off the cast iron and are […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Toni’s is Fancy Now
Toni’s has had work done. In the weeks you spent driving past its empty parking lot, afraid the closure of the one spot in Arcata that was always open might be forever, the truck stop swapped out its humble decor for glass, stainless steel and enough barn wood to make an actual barn. On a […]
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Meant to Brie
Artful charcuterie boards spilling over with brie and fruit are the ephemeral mandalas of the food world. Brie and berry jam show up together on fancy grilled cheese and burger menus all the time. And you can’t shimmy a buckwheat crepe out of a pan without someone tossing a slab of brie onto it. So […]
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Morning, Porkchop
So if we’re willing to blur the line between breakfast and lunch, we may as well luge down the slippery slope to dinner. We’re really only an order of steak and eggs away. Abandon labels and be free. Well, at least until Cafe Waterfront (102 F St., Eureka) stops serving breakfast around 11 a.m. We […]
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It’s All Gravy
In the interest of transparency, I would like to confess that I have been closed minded about biscuits and gravy. Haunted by a decades-ago plate at a truck stop near the border of Texas and Arkansas with payphones in the dining booths, it was hard to accept any variation on the standard dusty-topped, fluffy biscuit […]