ON THE TABLE
Francisca Vereugo serves up a burrito from the Taqueria Martinez truck. Photo by Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
Truck Stops
New meals on wheels in Eureka and Arcata By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill jennifer@northcoastjournal.com
A
person could get the idea the only new food in town is the KFC luring cars into its Broadway drive-thru like sailors onto the rocks. Not so. A trio of trucks have made their debuts this month, navigating pandemic restrictions and appetites with grab-and-go and outdoor seating options.
Laissez le Shanty Truck rouler No shade on the long-ago Shanty hot dogs but the solid food offerings have leveled up recently. A peek at the Shanty’s (213 Third St., Eureka) adjacent lot finds a
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NORTH COAST JOURNAL • Thursday, March 4, 2021 • northcoastjournal.com
lit patio built by a friend of the bar and a red truck with a sandwich board menu that will allow the bar to stay open under COVID regulations. The New Orleans offerings are an homage to owner Lynn Sandstrom’s wife Rana Krueger, whose 2020 death friends and regulars marked with a second line brass band parade through Old Town. Stacie Nunes, one of the bar’s managers, says, “Mardi Gras was one of her favorite bar holidays and we wanted to honor her and everything she meant to the Shanty.” To that end, bartender and chef Mike Vitiello put together a lineup of hushpuppies, red beans and rice and fish po’boys, as well as a Shanty burger with remoulade.
