For the second year in a row, I ventured beneath the grandstands at the Ferndale Fairgrounds to check in at the “Judges Only” bar. Eighteen of us — mostly strangers who all clearly love meat — gathered to judge Guy Fieri’s sixth annual Surf and Turf BBQ Competition at the Humboldt County Fair. Lined up […]
Meat
Posted inEat + Drink
Lady’s Choice
The grill at The Patron Kitchen (70 B Wildwood Ave., Rio Dell) can’t be more than 3 by 4 feet but the output, most of which winds up on a bolillo roll, is impressive. Two women with their hair in matching glossy black topknots, lay out meats, tortillas and chopped peppers in separate quadrants on […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em
I only ever see the plumes of smoke shooting up from the behemoth of a barbecue stand at the Eureka Veterans Hall when I’ve already eaten. So when we drove by last week on the way to lunch, I hollered at my colleague to pull over, which she did, Transporter style. Bracing. There are no […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Sausage Party
Fat-free sausages are hideous, unnatural creations. They should be corralled and thrown on a pyre. I suspect that if burned, they would give off an eerie blue glow. They are not food. Don’t let one near your mouth. “Fat is what makes sausage wonderful,” says Jamie Bellerman. I’m watching him put pure pork fat through […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Haggis Hankerings
Mourn now, ye true lovers of all things Scottish, for you cannot get an authentic haggis in the U.S. of A. This centuries old peasant’s dish, elevated to the fare of lairds and ladies, is made from ground lamb innards (heart, lungs and liver) mixed with oats, spices and suet, then boiled inside said lamb’s […]