Eureka's Old Town Plaza

Eureka's Old Town Plaza features a gazebo with an Asian flair surrounded by red inlayed brick. A fountain winds its way down and around the gazebo which is a local hot spot for feeding the pigeons! In the center of the plaza is a compass rose design that looks to have been somewhat copied by the city of Tehachapi, California for their downtown esplanade. The compass rose is inlaid at the foot of the F Street Plaza and points the way north.

The area is so visually appealing that I felt relaxed just being in the moment and happy to able to enjoy Old Town Eureka for a couple of hours before getting back on the road to Trinidad.

The Samoa Cookhouse, Eureka, Ca.

Our trip to Eureka, California began on September 7, 2009. After being on the road since 3:00 am, we arrived in Eureka in the late afternoon and headed for the Samoa Cookhouse for some lumber camp style chow! We were quite tired and famished by the time we arrived in Eureka and on a recommendation from my mother, we decided to dine at the historical big red cookhouse. We took the Samoa bridge off Hwy 101 and turned left onto Samoa Blvd and then took the first left into the parking lot.

The Samoa Cookhouse was founded in 1893 for mill and dockworkers and is one of the last lumber camp style cookhouses still in operation in North America. The cookhouse was originally opened as part of Samoa, which was one of the last company owned towns in the United States and established by the Vance Lumber Company. It began serving the public in the late 1960's.

The cookhouse serves up breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Beware, there are no menus! Everyone eats the same meal which is prepared "family style" or as the cookhouse refers to it "lumber camp style". Family and strangers sit together in simple lumber camp style surroundings that include long wooden tables covered with red & white checkered table cloths. After your server takes your drink order, your food is served to you in courses. The first course is soup and bread, followed by salad. The main dishes are served after the soup & salad course and if you still have room left, it's time for desert!

The food is served hot in large serving bowls and platters that are ready to be passed around the table and shared. The servers come by often to ask if anyone would like seconds and inquire if you're ready for the next course. On the evening we were there we were served vegetable soup with bread, a dinner salad, boneless fried chicken, roasted pork, bake potatoes, gravy, and corn. We had to pass on the desert, as we were stuffed and completely satisfied!

There is also a museum inside the cookhouse that we browsed through while we waited to be seated. The museum consists of antique logging artifiacts, lumber camp and cookhouse ware, and old photos. There's also a guest book inside the museum where folks can sign their names and comment on their experience at the cookhouse.

I highly recommend the Samoa Cookhouse for their great food and a fun change of pace!