Tag Archives: Esmeralda’s

Short Ribs and Random Thoughts Aug 14 2017

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Our Fake President can’t bring himself to condemn the racists in Charlottesville but can’t stop running his mouth re: North Korea. He needs to SHUT UP. Meanwhile, for the grown ups……

HIGH-SPEED RAIL- ain’t it comforting to know that they now have HSR in Inner Mongolia while California is still arguing over the Central Valley routes? They’ll have it in Fiji before Trump delivers on his great “infrastructure” initiative.

RESTAURANT  ROULETTE- Everyone’s abuzz this morning over the news that the China Buffet is closed for a few days due to sanitary deficiencies. Haven’t been there in a while although in the past I counted on them for dependable takeout, and even used them to cater parties. I hope they’re back online soon.  The also-closed  Gonsea, on the other hand, was a mediocre place I didn’t miss.  The good news is that the Gonsea has been purchased by the owner of A& J Ichiban and will reopen under the name “OISHII”, which is Japanese for “delicious”. Sounds good.

MORE RESTAURANT STUFF- I posted this on Yelp yesterday re: ESMERALDA’S

“We went yesterday (a Friday) to check out the $1 tacos. I’d only eaten there once before. Service was prompt and cheery. The deal is you have to order TEN tacos to get the $1 price but you can take them home if you don’t finish them. I wasn’t crazy about the idea of taking home leftover tacos with all the mess that that would entail so I was pleasantly surprised to see that the tacos were tiny! Even smaller than the normal “street taco”. There were several choices. We both had chicken and carnitas . The carnitas was great- good char! And the chicken was good but not the standout that the carnitas tacos were. I had NO PROBLEM finishing off five tacos . Our bill was $13 because I ordered a Mexican Coke. The Taco special runs from 130 to 4pm and again in the evening, I THINK from 8 to 9 but you’d better call. We will definitely be back!”

NEXTDOOR- those of you who are active on NextDoor have been seeing real estate ads that weren’t there before. We’ve been wondering how NextDoor was ever going to make any money. Guess this is how.  Read about it HERE
 
WHY CAN’T TRUMP CONDEMN WHITE NATIONALISM? He runs his mouth to condemn John McCain for being captured, Gold Star families and our European allies but can’t say an unpleasant word against the alt-right hoodlums or, God forbid, against  Vladimir Putin. He doesn’t have it in him to disavow his racist supporters and it looks like he never will. He started to read an acceptable statement but decided to wing it  and spoil it all by throwing in  the idea that there was violence  “on many sides”.  There was not. He’s making it easy for Mike Pence to look good.
 
PRIMAL DECOR- I needed an ear piercing redone but I hate the Mall so much I went online for more options and found out that this place is not far from me,  on Myrtle Avenue. It was a good experience and the staff were very professional. I was the only person in sight without a lot of tats and piercings but they were very welcoming and I would recommend them.  More fun than the Mall !!
 
I-NEED-TO-GET-OUT-MORE-DEPT- As I was leaving said Mall  after my annual visit to BBB  I saw a bunch of objects in the row closest to the street that  looked like hitching posts. Did you know the Mall has electric car chargers??  Good for them!!
 
The ECLIPSE-  From here, you have to drive to Eugene or thereabouts to get the full effect. I was still living in Hawaii in 1991 when we had a full eclipse over there.  It was around 10 or 11 in the morning and the Shipyard didn’t let people off their jobs lightly (something about preparedness)  but I found myself with about 500 of my colleagues up on top of the Supply Building hoping that the roof would hold.  It did.
 
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What Eureka Needs- an Early Christmas List for Entrepreneurs

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     Since it seems that every day I go past another shuttered business, we obviously have retail and office space to spare. Why not seize the situation as an opportunity to fill those spaces with businesses we actually NEED in town and to encourage entrepreneurs to meet those needs? Okay, here’s my  list.

A GOOD KOSHER DELI  Those healthy delis at Co-Op and ENF don’t count. Not enough cholesterol. A warm, juicy, greasy pastrami san with a latke or two can rejuvenate your soul for a week.  The pastrami Reuben at Hole-in-the- Wall is close, but where’s the chicken liver? The  matzoh ball soup? We await our deliverance.

MORE PARKING  IN HENDERSON CENTER  The situation is just on the edge of being too crowded and if the Henderson Center Market Place or anything else ever comes to roost in the old Robert’s space or along Henderson Street, the tipping point will have been reached. The demise of the Go Go Bistro, a nice little lunch spot with an unusual  menu,is truly sad, and I wouldn’t  be surprised if parking was one of the contributing factors. By the way,  it was reported in the media that Esmeralda’s restaurant on Grotto was the target of an arson attack. If so, the firebugs must have had pretty poor aim.  The morning after, Esmeralda’s was open for lunch with nary a scratch but the building NEXT to it, further  toward “G” was boarded up and as of today was sporting a “For Sale” sign. Parking’s pretty good on that block, by the way.

A RELIABLE SHUTTLE BETWEEN EUREKA AND REDDING enabling travelers to bypass our ill-located and unreliable airport. The first person to do this legally will make some money.  There are already wildcat outfits going after this market. Check Craig’s List. And how about a shuttle to Eugene? You can pick up the AMTRAK there.

HUMBOLDT-MADE YOGURT from local cows. Not that frozen stuff, real yogurt. 

TAKEOUT CHICKEN With the departure of KFC (the closest now is in Fortuna) and the fact that its sort-of replacement, Church’s, is execrable, we are left with Winco which is meh and COSTCO which is a whole different thing, being rotisserie vs. fried. When you go for takeout chicken you don’t want healthy, although El Pollo Loco is delicious and I’d be a regular if someone opened one here. Anyone? I’d be a regular at Chic-Fil-A too if they ever made it up here, even with their weird management and policies (closed on Sundays.)

GYROS  Having to drive to Valley West to the Kebab Cafe is just wrong. At one time  Simon was talking about opening in Eureka.  Hurry, Simon! and finally

KOREAN FOOD  Since that place near the Arcata Safeway closed, there is nothing. How can we have an Ethiopean restaurant in Eureka but no Korean?  Bad show.

     So come on, entrepreneurs, here are your pockets of opportunity.  I imagine you folks can think of some more felt needs around town. Let’s hear from you!