Foodies

A picnic table overlooking the Eureka Municipal Golf Course’s 18th green is the best place to enjoy the properly named Super Taco, a delight of beans, carne asada and cilantro cradled in a tender handmade tortilla. Cocina Mariposa (“butterfly kitchen”) gives you access to the talents of the Carillo family: Chef Marisela, mother Graciela and two sisters who expertly wield the tantalizing flavors of the west-central Mexican state of Michoacán. All dishes are cooked to order and well worth the wait. Using locally sourced and organic ingredients when available, Cocina Mariposa knows how to please everyone — note the vegetarian taquitos and keto enchiladas. The organic chicken tender basket with fries assures that the picky child in your life will not dramatically starve as you enjoy your torta on a fluffy telera roll. Inclusiveness through gastronomy. The menu entices a return for a breakfast of chorizo con huevos. Or maybe Taco Tuesdays and house-made horchata? Breakfast or lunch? Either way, you win at Cocina Mariposa, 4750 Fairway Drive, Eureka (9 aM-6 pM. Tuesday-Sunday).

There is no summer without beer. Humboldt Brews gives us all the support we need to enjoy our full-fledged freedom to enjoy a good craft ale. Or, particularly, to love 25 of Humboldt County’s best brews on tap rotation. Thirst quenched, hunger beckons. Hum Brews, as it’s known, offers delights like Humboldt grassfed beef and local organic tofu, both of which work with a pitcher of the Ardell Brothers’ storied Red Nectar Pale Ale, a long-ago local classic once again being brewed in our county. Though you may need milk, as this wingmaster does not play: award-winning wings (10 awards to be precise) served by the pound and a house Suicide Sauce that comes with a warning — eyes may water at its appearance on the table. Social lives are rebirthed Tuesdays over spirited games of cornhole (loser buys). Watch the game in the sports bar with a delicious hummus tostada salad and a Smokey Hazy Hemp IPA. When it’s time to go home, grab a growler of your favorite brew. Check out www.humbrews.com and www.northcoastjournal.com for updates on the live entertainment schedule. Find it all at 856 10th St., Arcata, (707) 826-2739.

Café Feast just gave Redway another reason to be happy. Laura Lasseter and her family took over the former Meadows Café and re-imagined its offerings to better serve the community. Using seasonal ingredients, she’s crafting a menu to drool over. Fresh salads, like the delightful blueberry feta salad, and her take on a sweet and spicy chicken taco served on a Hawaiian roll, topped with Asian slaw and bacon bits. The tri-tip sandwich is a favorite, taken to the next level with the addition of a basalmic glaze and fresh organic greens. Relish a flaky Brio pastry with espresso or a refreshing smoothie. A memorable picnic along the Avenue of Giants starts with a charcuterie board or box of succulent fruits, fresh veggies, crisp crackers, savory nuts and Cypress Grove cheese. Take a Sweet and Savory basket along for a romantic stroll on Shelter Cove’s Black Sand Beach. Or create your own mix with a grab-and-go sandwich and gourmet treats from the café’s bright shop (wagyu jerky or old-fashioned popcorn balls?) and lose yourself in the Lost Coast. A bread crumb trail from Café Feast will lead you back to 1211 Evergreen Road for more (8:30 aM to 2 pM. Monday-Friday). Take U.S. Highway 101 to Redway Exit 639B, then turn right at Redwood Drive and right at Evergreen Road to the Meadows Industrial Park. Find it on Facebook.

A half-order of wings and a Smokey Hazy Hemp IPA at Humboldt Brews. Jonathan webster