SPRING IS IN THE AIR, and all I want on a midday weekend is a drink in my hand and some al fresco brunching. Maybe even a little sun peeking past the edges of an overhead umbrella, glinting off my fork as I savor another bite. Here in Humboldt, two mother-daughter teams, in a sea of brunchly options, have each found a niche to set them apart. The patio dining is just the cherry on top.
Owned by Tryphena Lewis and daughter Rhiannon Lewis-Stephenson, the Bayside Farmstead Cafe, is off the beaten path on Old Arcata Road. The quaint little neighborhood café, which opened only a year ago this spring, is already a bastion of breakfast for locals. The chalkboard menus, the patio, the fresh flowers on the table — they all evoke a homey feel made even better by the scent of baked goods drifting through the place. Herby shallot tarts and iced blueberry scones tempt patrons on both sides of the sweet and savory fence.
The cafe's menu is rooted in freshness and collaboration with other local makers and growers, leaning into Humboldt's rich farm-to-fork tradition. The Lewis and Lewis-Stephenson duo conceptualized a menu with which they could "showcase the abundance of farm fresh food grown right here in Humboldt." With the help of local fine dining chef Natalia Boyce, they settled on a menu featuring hearty portions of a range of seasonal offerings, organic when possible and elevated in their composition. Order the Lox Benedict special to see what I mean: local Fish Bros. lox with arugula on house-baked biscuit halves, fresh mixed greens with pickled onions and dilled potatoes. Yeah, dilled potatoes. They don't skimp on the details, which are often herbaceous.
Most of those herbs, Lewis says, are grown on her 6-acre farm not far from Bayside Farmstead Cafe. In addition to what she grows, she relies on produce and goods sourced from Luna Farm, Arise Bakery, Brio Breadworks, and Little River Farm, among many other local brands, often organic. And for the ingredients that aren't hyperlocal, she still ethically sources local-ish from brands like Judy's eggs and Niman Ranch pork (try the Farmhouse Waffle for some pork on pork action – a gluten-free mochi-masa waffle, topped with braised pork shoulder, poached eggs, chive pesto and bacon crumbles).
Prior to the pandemic prompting a shift in Lewis' career endeavors, her years spent working for a nonprofit promoting ecological integrity and land stewardship indelibly impacted what would develop into her philosophy for responsible sourcing. "We find it to be a benefit to our environment. Fewer pesticides are going into the waterways and the earth, and that's important to us. We can't do everything 100 percent organic, but it's definitely the majority. We like to support other companies doing the same."
This local sourcing leads to seasonal specialties, like peach and burrata salads and cloud-like cheesecake topped with fresh berries in summer, and year-round favorites, like the local wildflower honey in the iced salted honey latte, topped with honey-whipped cream and bee pollen. These fresh salads and sweets taste even better on a sunny day out front, if you're lucky enough to snag a seat. If you do, order a strawberry spritz (Champagne and sparkling water with house-made strawberry lemon syrup and St. Germain elderflower liqueur) and think of me.
ANOTHER FAMILIAL PAIR IS APPROACHING THEIR MENU from old traditions that are new in Humboldt. Mother's Cooking Experience, an Afro-Cuban food truck located at Septentrio Winery's sprawling courtyard just blocks off the Arcata Plaza, is an amalgamation of owner Alby Alawoya's ancestral roots. The daughter of a Nigerian father and a Cuban mother, Alawoya pays homage to the West African and Caribbean flavors of her forebearers, an untapped niche in a restaurant scene yearning for new flavor. Alawoya's mom, Monique Sutton (or Mama Mo as she is lovingly called), moved north from Los Angeles during the pandemic to make up the other half of the Mother's Cooking team.
An initial scan of their menu has some familiar Sunday brunchtime favorites. Lemon ricotta pancakes with a rich lemon curd, served with a perfectly crisp and juicy piece of fried chicken is sweet and savory comfort on a plate. Then there's the Cubano, a sandwich lover's dream, packed with a traditional mojo pork, citrusy and spiced in all its glory, topped with Havarti, glazed ham and a thick slice of pickle, and drizzled with honey mustard. For a brunchy vibe, add a soft-boiled egg and make it a Cu-benny (kyoo-ben-knee) — what doesn't taste better with an ooey-gooey yolk on top?
If you want the proper introduction to Alawoya's cultural cuisine, though, she recommends starting with the Havana Bowl, vibrant and packed with an array of colorful ingredients. It's a customizable dish, with greens or grains as a base, succulent Cuban black beans, pickled onions, avocado, salsa and a vegan garlic aioli. Your hardest choice is playing favorites when picking a protein: mojo pork or chicken, a fried egg, or a portobello mushroom with chimichurri. Trust me when I say the mojo pork is the place to start. As Alawoya says, "It's the center of Cuban cuisine," and for good reason. The whopping 24-ounce bowl is finished off with a maduro, a caramelized fried plantain, sticky, soft and sweet.
In the spirit of additional customization, Mother's Cooking Experience offers a slew of sauces. There's tantalizingly garlicky mojo de ajo, chimichurri for a little zing, jerk sauce for a little heat, and the West African hot sauce, a love letter to Alawoya's patrilineal heritage. The hot sauce is derived from flavor profiles found in traditional Nigerian egusi, a West African stew. To add the hot sauce to the Havana Bowl is to taste the marriage of Alawoya's roots and her own creativity.
This sharing of her culture is the core of Mother's Cooking. While the name and menu do honor Mama Mo, Alawoya's concept is broader, encompassing the nostalgia of coming home, a feeling as much as a flavor she intends to share with patrons. For this reason, she plans to do more tasting events to share "multicultural stories and cross boundaries through food." Her newest endeavor, expanding into a bodega with sauces and seasonings for sale, will let her patrons bring Afro-Cuban flavors home. Aguas frescas are on the horizon, too, to cool the palate from that West African heat.
For those who love wine in the sunshine with plenty of community gathered together, Mother's Cooking Experience is perfectly situated amid Septentrio Winery's tasting space with plenty of seating, umbrellas for those coveted sunny days, and fire pits and heaters for cooler ones. The food and wine are made even better by the community events, live music and DJ sets during Sunday brunch. It's fast becoming a new Afro-Cuban and Humboldt tradition.
