Happy hour delights at 3 Foods Café. Photo by Jennifer fumiko cahill
3 Foods Café
Chef Jessica lovelady and patrons at 3 foods café. photo by bob doran
Since there’s room in the budget for a side, you need to do a little soul-searching. You could go with the healthy Greek salad ($4.65) topped with olives and feta with a side of tart, herby dressing. Or you could follow your id to the fried haloumi cheese ($4.95). The latter is perfectly salty and firm with a bacon-crisp edge that’s like a drug. A creamy, fried drug. You can always have the salad next time.
835 J St, Arcata. (707) 822-9474 There are some lovely café tables and a sweet garden outside, and inside is hipster-pretty with a reclaimed wood wall, high ceilings and gauzy drapes. We asked the server for help ordering and he suggested we cut a swath straight through the happy ho ur menu, available Tuesday-Thursday from 5:30 to 7 p.m.. Everything on it is $2, $3 or $6 — simplicity itself. Don’t let the happy hour part scare you off. It’s not the greasy, leaden bar food you’ve been subjected to before in the name of cheap drinks. At 3 Foods, the dishes are inventive and wholesome — there’s enough going on with any given plate to make for a little conversation, but it’s not kooky. And splitting the small plates works as a kind of mini tasting menu. The Light and Lovely salad ($3) of mixed greens, gorgonzola and apple is
Beachy organic Chicken Burrito and Surfer Nachos at Nacho Mama. Photo by Jennifer fumiko cahill
dotted with yummy praline-like walnuts and dressed with a vinaigrette that plays off their sweetness. Black on White ($3), an Egyptian snack, comes with sliced apple beside a stack of soft pita wedges to dip first in olive oil and then in a cup of crispy sesame seeds, cinnamon and other spices. It’s marvelous, and it’s so fun to eat, like Fun Dip for grown-ups. The spices commingle along with the oil into something rich, nutty and spicy-sweet. One wonders why Egypt has been holding out on us. The Golden Nuggets ($3) are, on the one hand, just tater tots. On the other hand, they’re tater tots. Don’t pretend you don’t love them. It’s as obnoxious as pretending you don’t watch TV. And the dips give them the respect they deserve, with a smoky homemade barbecue sauce and a barely lavender-scented honey mustard. A little nostalgia, a little something new. The chicken on the Viva
la Queso ($6) nachos was on the tough side, but the blue cheese sauce drizzled with chili oil that smothers the chips goes beyond comfort — it’s post-break-up food. We were satisfied halfway through, but we were unable to stop ourselves. According to our waiter, it’s the same stuff they use on their macaroni and cheese, which is heavier and richer. Dang.
Nacho Mama
375 Sprowl Creek Road, Garberville. (707) 923-4060 The tables in the patio out back are wobbly enough to spill your Jarritos, but the staff is very friendly and the Point Break kitsch — the dining area is a glorified shack covered in shells and beachy knickknacks — is kind of fun. It’s a dive, but the good kind. Funky enough for street cred but clean enough for the continued on page 17
northcoastjournal.com • North Coast Journal • Thursday, July 26, 2012
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