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e r o t S m Far r i a F t e P north coast co-op photo by drew hyland
— chocolate, “just vanilla,” mocha almond fudge. But why not try a scoop of candied ginger, non-dairy coffee (sweetened with coconut nectar) or (yowza!) jalapeño? The adventurous flavors are often extracted from produce grown on local family farms — boysenberries, figs, pluots and more. Try a few samples, order a doublescoop in a waffle cone (made in-house, of course) and grab a seat on the whimsical balançoire, a two-bench wooden glider seat outfitted with a bent-wood ceiling frame, a table and four hand-painted giraffes. Sweetness. — Ryan Burns The Breakdown: Arcata Scoop 49%, Bon Boniere 19.8%, Redwood Yogurt 11.6%, Ultimate Yogurt 8.7%, Fresh Freeze 2.1%. Category popularity: 11th.
Best Wings
In one of this year’s most heated, juicy, spicy, drippy, plump … uh, sorry … races of this year’s poll, we asked y’all to decide who makes fleshy fowl flying instruments the most delectable. It was a tight, three-way race, but in the end Six Rivers Brewery’s face was just a little bit saucier than runners-up Humboldt Brews and Lost Coast Brewery.
northtown books photo by Bob Doran
Why do wing lovers flock to the top o’ dat hill in McKinleyville? Well, if you’re asking me, its classic hot wings sauce is the bombest to be had in the county. Its meat, the most tender. But it also doesn’t hurt that the 6RB menu features no less than eight styles of wings on any given night. Some popular examples: Thai Peanut Wings, Asian Chile and Mango Chutney Wings and the I’m-really-moreinterested-in-injuring-myself-than-enjoying-these Death Wings. So, for the many of you non-meat/ wings eaters who decided to give preachy answers when you filled out your answer to this category, listen: Should you ever decide to walk the true path to wingvana at some point, might be best to start by heading north. — Andrew Goff The Breakdown: Six Rivers Brewery22.7%, Humboldt Brews 20.9%, Lost Coast Brewery 19.7%, The Alibi 3.2%, Eel River Brewery 3%. Category popularity: 27th
shopping
Best Grocery Store
Once again, this category drew a large number of votes with loyalties split among Wildberries, Eureka Natural Foods, Murphy’s, WinCo, Safeway and Grocery Outlet, among others (no votes for WalMart). But the clear winner (again) was North Coast Co-op. Note that we lumped together votes for Arcata Co-op, Eureka Co-op, The Co-op, The Coop, and various other misspellings since it’s all the wings from six rivers brewery photo by andrew goff same business.
Why is the Co-op most popular? Well, it’s been around for going on four decades (founded in 1973), and it’s hyper-local. We’ll also repeat the assumption that the “we own it” factor plays an important role — that’s what cooperatives are all about. As one reader noted: “I’m not even a member. Probably should be because they have a great deli and wonderful organic and natural products. Plus a wide variety of soy-free, gluten-free, etc. etc.” So just factor in etc., and there you go. — Bob Doran The Breakdown: North Coast Co-Op 28.8%, Eureka Natural Foods 19%, Wildberries 17%, Murphy’s Market 12.7%, WinCo 6.7%. Category popularity: Fifth.
Best Bookstore
I have this theory that bookstores make excellent barometers of a community’s livability, and by that measure, if you’ll pardon the mixed metaphor, Humboldt County is the tits. Here’s an anecdote: While visiting family in Santa Rosa recently, my wife went on a quest for Lionel Shriver books. She visited three different bookstores. Nada. When she got back to Humboldt County, which has less than a third of Sonoma County’s population, she headed straight to Arcata’s Northtown Books where — wouldn’t you know it? — she found three Shriver novels she’d not yet read. Check and mate, Sonoma County. As the publishing world moves toward Kindles, Nooks and iPads, Northtown’s unassumingly erudite staff handwrites thoughtful reviews on Post-It notes and sticks ’em on the “staff picks” shelf. Which is not to say they’re luddites. Last year these esteemed local booksellers launched a revamped website where you can browse new and noteworthy books, search by title, author or keyword, order and purchase books online and even, continued on next page
Sat Sept 22nd 10AM
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4PM
rity This Cha rts o p p su t n Eve fits s/Non-Pro e u sc e R l ca
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Attractions Dog Olympics K9 Police Demo Bicycling with Your Dog Safety Demo Dog Training Demo with Holly Lockwood Silent Auction Raffles Face Painting Jump Houses Hay Maze Petting Zoo Arts & Crafts Microchipping Pony Rides Tack Sale Wildlife Exhibit & More!
thefarmstore.net
northcoastjournal.com • North Coast Journal • Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012
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