On Nov. 21, just five days ahead of Thanksgiving, for which Plaza Grill already had 300 confirmed holiday dinner orders and another 200 awaiting confirmation, owner Bill Chino picked up the phone and started calling customers to cancel. A front-of-house employee had just tested positive for COVID-19. The call list was daunting, he says, “but […]
Salt Fish House
Posted inEat + Drink
Salt, Campground to Re-open; COVID-19 Positive Closes Stars Arcata
Salt Fish House posted to its Facebook page that it will resume outdoor, takeout and delivery service on Dec. 1. The restaurant, along with its sibling Campground, closed Nov. 18 after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. Campground has yet to announce its reopening, but informed the Journal it will reopen Dec. 2, allowing an extra […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Salt, Campground and Wildflower Temporarily Close Due to COVID Exposure
As Humboldt County COVID-19 numbers place it in the red substantial risk tier, rolling back indoor restaurant seating to 25 percent, a trio of Arcata restaurants, Wildflower Cafe & Bakery, Salt Fish House and Campground, have halted service in response to staff exposure. According to co-owner of Salt Fish House and Campground Dan Willey, he […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Reopening Dining … Or Not
Meredith Maier of Six Rivers Brewery had already put together a plan for her restaurant to follow not only state and OSHA guidelines, like masks for staff and tables 6 feet apart, but a set of house rules, including only admitting those 21 and over, seating at only five tables and offering counter service as […]
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
Hum Plate Roundup
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 […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Surf & Turf
Why choose just one? Here are a couple of places to get something from land and something from the sea. Double D Steak & Seafood Every town has an old, by-gone restaurant that makes locals misty and hungry recalling it. In Fortuna, that place is the un-fussy, family-run steak and pasta joint Parlato’s. But right […]