Editors’ picks

Best Word

Resilience

Butte County has had a rough year—especially those living in areas devastated by the Camp Fire—and if there’s one word that characterizes the community as it works, struggles, hopes and recovers, it’s “resilience.” It was an inspired choice by the folks at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. to name the beer they started brewing a couple weeks after the fire to raise money for recovery efforts: Resilience Butte County Proud IPA. It has been a massive effort, one that included more than 1,400 partner breweries using Sierra Nevada’s recipe and ingredients donated by its suppliers to brew a total of 17,000 barrels (about 4.2 million pints’ worth) of the beer that was estimated to raise more $10 million in donations for the Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief Fund.

Best Comeback

Shakespeare in the Park

facebook.com/LegacyStageChico

There was a time in Chico when the hot summer months meant sitting outside on temporary bleachers and waving away the heat with your program as you watched local thespians sweat through the Bard’s masterpieces. It’s been six years since Shakespeare has appeared in a park in Chico, but it is finally back. And in the fall! The new Legacy Stage—a collective of local theater folks, including Erin Horst, Jami Witt and Lara Tenckhoff—debuted its maiden performance, Macbeth, in Cedar Grove this past weekend. The new troupe won’t always do Shakespeare or have its shows outside, but for the rest of October at least (the show runs Thursdays-Saturdays through Nov. 2), there is a cool-weather version of Shakespeare in the Park to enjoy.

Best Place for Cock and Bull

The Allies Pub

426 Broadway Ste. 130, 809-1650

One of Chico’s newest eating and drinking establishments, The Allies Pub certainly brings a little bit of Britain to downtown. And we’re not just talking about the owners’ accents. The beer is British to a T (unless you’ve chosen the American varieties), but where Allies really sets itself apart is with its traditional pub food. The bar serves bangers and mash, shepherd’s pie and Scotch eggs. And then there are the pasties (pronounced past-ees), which come in four varieties. Our favorites happen to be the Cock and the Bull, one filled with chicken and the other beef (guess which!). Not only are they delicious hand pies, they also make great conversation starters. Perfect for relaxing on the patio around the fire pit, wrapped up in a complimentary blanket with your mates.

Best Kept Secret

Strong Water

27 Lost Dutchman Drive, 894-5743

This retro cocktail bar is one of Chico’s best kept secrets in part because of its design: It’s modeled after a Prohibition-era speakeasy. Strong Water has a minimal online presence, and its actual location, near the Lost Dutchman Taproom and Wine Time, is unmarked and easy to miss. CN&R staffers heard about the place through excited whisperings, typically along the lines of: “Have you been to the Chico speakeasy? Oh, you have to check it out!” Once inside, patrons will find a cozy, quaint space with moody lighting and vintage poster decor. But it’s not just the vibe that makes this place stand out; its $10 specialty drinks are creative and superb.

Best (Potentially) Lethal Dish

Ackee and Salt Fish at Sipho’s Jamaica

1228 Dayton Road, 895-1866

It’s a good thing the folks at Sipho’s Jamaica restaurant are experts at the art of cooking Caribbean food. Because if prepared improperly, Jamaica’s national dish, ackee and salt fish, could be the last meal you eat. The poisonous ackee fruit (which is related to the lychee and longan) must be harvested at just the precise time, when they burst and reveal their toxic, shiny, black seeds. Unripe ackee and their seeds contain hypoglycin, which, if consumed, causes Jamaican vomiting sickness, which can lead to coma or even death if left untreated. Luckily, the FDA has stringent regulations on ackee imports. And doubly lucky for Chicoans is the fact that Sipho’s Jamaica has the expertise to prepare the dangerously delicious dish. The fruit itself looks somewhat like scrambled eggs, and is buttery and tangy. At Sipho’s, the imported ackee is prepared to perfection, with sauteed onions, sweet peppers, tomatoes and tender, salted cod, paired with rice and peas. Well worth the risk, indeed.

Best Place to Stock Up on Za’atar and Rose Water

ABC Market

715 W. Ninth St., 891-8350

Inside the unassuming liquor mart on West Ninth Street is a hidden gem, a place where you can find everything you need to make falafel wraps with couscous, dolmades and baklava. And a whole lot of other Mediterranean delights. Want to add a hint of rose flavor to your flaky pastry? There’s rose water. Looking to create a flavorful dip or add a little zest to your hummus with za’atar? Look no further. When ABC added shelving and row upon row of ingredients from the other side of the world, our jaws dropped—and we started drooling. Oh, the possibilities! Apparently, the owners, who are Syrian, were tired of driving down to Sacramento for ingredients to cook with and decided to open their own market. We’re thankful they did. Considering Chico’s climate is Mediterranean, a lot of the recipes you’ll find online will work just fine here—especially with the right ingredients. Eat up!

Best Guy

Fieri

The mayor of Flavor Town loves Chico! Guy Fieri, the spiky-haired host of the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives show, was on the ground immediately after the Camp Fire broke out, serving meals to first responders.

A couple of months later, he came back with his film crew and documented six of Chico’s best-loved local eateries—The Banshee, Grana, Momona, The Rawbar, Sin of Cortez and Upper Crust Bakery—and featured them across four different episodes of his signature show. Butte County thanks you, Guy. You’re the real deal.

Best Cause to Support

Chico Housing Action Team’s Simplicity Village

Notre Dame Boulevard

Chico Housing Action Team (CHAT) started researching and working on its plans to create a tiny home community more than six years ago. In the meantime, the tireless group of volunteers has housed more than 120 people, including students and families, in 36 homes across Chico through its Housing Now master lease program. After the City Council declared a shelter crisis last October (just a month before the Camp Fire), CHAT’s dream of creating Simplicity Village and housing approximately 45 homeless seniors appeared to be in the home stretch. But there has been some pushback from a neighboring lumber yard. It’s unclear what will happen in the next few months, but we know this: Chico was in dire need of housing before the Camp Fire and there is a lot of support from the community for this plan to house seniors, including fire survivors.

Best Place to Chill with a Drink and Book

Tender Loving Coffee

365 E. Sixth St., 433-0414

Tender Loving Coffee is a lot of things: a coffee roaster, brunch spot, wood-fired pizza joint and live music venue. It’s also one of the few spots in town where it feels just as comfortable stopping in with friends to share a Neapolitan pizza and hanging out solo for a while with a craft beer and book. Lushly decorated with bar and counter seating, the cafe’s casual vibe continues in the tradition of Midtown Local, which previously operated in Tender Loving’s space next to the Pageant Theatre. Another plus: It’s home to a prime window seat. Immediately turn right as you enter.

Best Pork Combo

Belly on broth at Coco’s Ramen

1008 W. Sacramento Ave., Ste. 1, 965-5541

The barometer for a Japanese noodle house is its tonkotsu. If the masterminds in the kitchen do the time-consuming work of developing the flavors of the traditional pork bone broth, one can be confidant that they take care with all their cooking. And the wonderful tonkotsu at Coco’s Ramen is just about perfect. The hole-in-the-wall shop in the Nord Safeway shopping center has been open since last December, but the dinner-only restaurant is already one of the most consistently busy places in town. Coco’s version of the classic dish is made with a tonkotsu base and pork-and-chicken stock and topped with black mushrooms, bamboo shoots, green onions, a sheet of nori and half an egg. For all the ramens, you choose your spice level and whether you want added garlic, black garlic or no garlic at all. You also get your choice of meats: beef, chashu pork or most perfectly indulgent, braised pork belly. The broth is opaque and meaty—like a liquid version of the pork belly—and the chewy noodles are simply elegant in the rich soup. A most welcome addition to Chico’s food scene.

Best Hope for the Future

Chico’s climate action crusaders

It’s been a significant year for global climate mobilization, and Chicoans have rallied to make their voices heard, including a few new groups, like the Chico Sunrise Movement, which champions the Green New Deal, and #ClimateUprising, a grassroots bipartisan organization. Local activists organized last month’s successful Climate Strike and have public discussions and other calls to action planned in the coming months. Their fervor has only intensified against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s actions to quell progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the Camp Fire, a disaster worsened by years of drought and extreme heat attributed to our warming planet. Local government is listening: The City Council declared a climate emergency earlier this year, and recently created the Climate Action Commission, which will advise the panel on how to best implement the city’s Climate Action Plan and curb emissions. It’s about time everyone started stepping up to the plate.

Best Way to Celebrate a Birthday

Have an Adventure Quest

facebook.com/quest4adventure

What do you get when you take a certified naturalist who’s fluent in the art of survival and throw in a love of medieval times and Lord of the Rings-type adventures? Apparently, a whole lot of fun. The idea behind Adventure Quest was born out of the Ranger Corps, a Chico Creek Nature Center program created by Druin Heal. This past year, Heal launched his company, which specializes in creating personalized experiences—from Indiana Jones-type adventures to pirate-themed treasure hunts. A skilled leathersmith, Heal creates his own props and quest items to be found. He sets up scenarios in which participants—it could be a child’s birthday party or a week-long work retreat—must fight off adversaries or solve clues to reach the goal. But clearly, the experience itself is what it’s all about.