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Menu Please: Simple Mexican Food at Las Dos Marias

Show of hands, please: how many of you were first introduced to Mexican food by Taco Bell (en-chi-REE-toe,TAH-co)? And how many of you were shocked to learn that Taco Bell is not actually Mexican food as served in Mexico? Ooops.… Continue Reading

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Menu Please: A Mixed Bag at Peacock in Anderson

Back in the late 1980s, there was a Peacock Restaurant on Lake Boulevard near… oh dear. Femme de Joie was about to say it was near Timber Lanes, but that bowling alley had closed up by that time. So it… Continue Reading

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Menu Please: Healthy Take-Out Mexican at Roquito’s Taqueria

If you haven’t lived in Redding long, you might be surprised to know that Market Street used to be part of California’s main thoroughfare. The Highway Formerly Known As 99 ran from Mexico to the Oregon border and was quite… Continue Reading

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Menu Please: Gironda’s Blooms Under New Ownership

Apparently no one in Redding had ever heard the phrase, “Location, location, location” when the old Ramona’s Mexican Restaurant opened. Or maybe it’s just that the edge-of-downtown location was pretty good way back when. There was a  lively, uh, bar… Continue Reading

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Menu Please: Old Mill Delivers Real Barbecue in Shasta Lake

If you live in the US of A, chances are good that you own a grill – according to the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association, 75% of Americans own a smoker or grill, and 61% of them use it year… Continue Reading

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Menu Please: Palo Cedro’s California Brewing Company is Worth the Drive

Anyone who has lived in the Redding area more than a few years knows that until quite recently live music was as rare as jackalopes. Oh, sure, if you were over 21 you might have gone into Ricardo’s to hear… Continue Reading

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Menu Please: New York Style Pizza (& More) at Redding’s Fasolini’s

Femme de Joie came late to the less-is-more approach to pizza. For years she enjoyed goopy pile-it-all-on combinations with pounds of cheese, layers of salty meats, a token mushroom to make it healthy, and thick bready crust. Heart attack on… Continue Reading

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MenuPlease: It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again

America is connected by coffee shops. Yeah, you get to them via freeways and highways, but that’s just a means to an end. They’re everywhere and we use them as markers – “Can you hold it until we get to… Continue Reading

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MenuPlease: When Food is the Enemy, Part 2

Part 2 of a conversation with two celiac sufferers marking National Celiac Awareness Month in California. Find Part 1 here. – Femme de Joie

MP: Are there any restaurants or mainstream food products that cater to the gluten-free market? … Continue Reading

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MenuPlease: When Food is the Enemy, Part 1

It was not very long ago that celiac disease was virtually unknown. In the U.S. currently, approximately 1 out of 133 people have it, the Celiac Disease Foundation reports. In Italy, it’s estimated that I out of 250 have some… Continue Reading