Where should we have dinner when we stay overnight in Eureka in November? I'm thinking Hurricane Kate's. Is that a good idea, or is there a better choice for a casual meal?

Any suggestions?

have you tried looking at the reviews on Yelp or Chowhound?

htty, if you are talking about casual...I love the Samoa Cookhouse. Since 1890, a long time working cookhouse for a logging camp.

Family style at picnic tables, you won't leave hungry. You get everything on the menu, menu changes daily, flat price. The wait staff are all college kids and super friendly.

http://www.samoacookhouse.net/

It is not far over the bridge on Somoa Island, from downtown Eureka. They have a logging museum there as well. Breakfast, lunch and dinner served seven days a week.

thereyet

If you're a beer drinker at all, check out Lost Coast.

http://www.lostcoast.com/

I like the looking glass there is a view of the bay or the sea grill no view. If you can get in to Kyoto the sushi is great it is a hole in the wall type of place. The food at the cook house is no better than applebees or dennys. If you do not mind a 18 mile drive the Moonstone grill is where I go for special events.

Have fun
GP

In the Old Town Eureka area Hurricane Kate's is a great choice and Avalon would be a really nice splurge featuring local produce and wines. Kyoto's is not quite as good as it was before the last owner sold the place, but it's still very nice. Hana would be another option for good and more modestly-priced Japanese food and Japanese-fusion sushi. Cafe Nooner serves dinner on some nights and also features local produce and grassfed beef. I almost prefer this cozy place to Hurricane Kate's. It's less upscale in its decor, but the food (and especially the seasonal specials) are delicious.

For more good options, I'd also suggest driving 20 minutes north on 101 to Arcata. Renata's Creperie serves wonderful crepes (they even have gluten-free crepes if you like!) for dinner on some nights, and there are other good moderately-priced options: Sushi Spot (MUCH better than Tomo's but good luck getting a table!), Live from New York Pizza (they get beautiful crusts from their pizza oven), Abruzzi's for a splurgier, beautiful Italian meal just off the Plaza and Folies Douces up the hill for wonderful organic fare. Humbrews is noisy and they don't have their own brewery, but they serve local beer and their food is a couple notches above the usual pub grub. If you're into wine, Libations on the Plaza has wine tastings on some nights and the owner is a wealth of info on all things wine-related. And if you find yourself jones-ing for a donut or a Vietnamese-inspired "Southeast Asian sandwich" at 2 a.m., check out Don's Donuts (open 24 hours). I love their barbecue pork sandwich with everything on it on French bread and anything that's recently been pulled from the donut fryer. Sigh.

Wow LT, you sound like a local!

I don't think folks around here are local until they've had grandkids here, but I could be wrong.

(That system of measurement would make me a glorified tourist, I think.)

two test for locals in Humboldt Co.
one your ancestors got off the boat with Capt. Bhune
two your ancestors were shooting arrows at them.

Spoken like a true local!

Hands down, it's Cafe Waterfront. It's chef owned and operated, beautifully restored space in Old Town with superb food, professional service. We were surprised to find a restaurant of this quality in Eureka. We did a 2 week rd trip along the coast from WA to San Fran. This was one of the best meals of our trip. Enjoy.

Thanks for all these ideas, to which I will refer the next time we stay in Eureka.

I regret to report that we were too pooped to explore so we fell into Marie Callendar's, in our motel's parking lot. The chicken was a big disappointment, but the wine was cheap, the salad was o.k. and the razzelberry pie they gave us to compensate for the chicken disaster was downright good.

HTTY