Revving up

Every year around this time, Chicoans inexplicably start complaining about the heat—as if we’ve never experienced it before. All of a sudden, I’m seeing farmers tans from people over-exposing their winter-pale arms and legs. It’s time to break out the sunscreen and mosquito repellant, folks—this is the nicest it’s going to be pretty much all year. And with these clear skies comes a never-ending schedule of fun.

Thursday Night Market is now in full swing. And there’s Fork in the Road every third Wednesday at DeGarmo Park. Friday Night Concerts at the City Plaza are starting up this week (May 3) and Oroville celebrates First Fridays at downtown businesses.

Given these springtime conditions, Cycle Gear chose the perfect season to open up a new shop in Chico. It couldn’t be more appropriately placed, either, conveniently off Highway 99 on South Whitman Place, a few doors down from the Tackle Box Bar & Grill. Cycle Gear was opened in 1974 in Richmond and now has stores all over the U.S. It specializes in motorcycles and the associated gear. Find ’em on Facebook for store hours and special event info—their first bike night looked like a blast!

New foodies A couple new mobile food businesses opened up over the past few months in the Chico area. The first one I came across was The Hot Box, as I saw it was feeding folks at Cycle Gear’s grand opening on March 30. It appears to still be in its beginning stages, as its web presence is pretty minimal at this time, but from what I can tell, it’s a hot dog cart that offers an eclectic variety of toppings. Find it on Facebook @thbfoodcart.

I also came across Pizza Riot, as it’s joined the rotating cast of food trucks at The Commons Social Empourium. The pizzas look pretty delicious in the photos I scrolled through and—get this—they’re 100 percent vegan. Pizza Riot’s motto is, “plant-based, organic and non-GMO.” Pretty cool. On Facebook @veganpizzariot.

Also check out this week’s 15 Minutes feature on Lola’s Filipino Cuisine, based in Oroville.

Speaking of Filipino food I’m a little bit bummed to report that from here on out, satisfying my craving for Inday’s Filipino Restaurant’s pork adobo and mango smoothies will be relegated to weekends. Owners John and Inday Geiger announced last week that they have decided to scale back in order to spend more time with their kids. I can’t blame them—between running a restaurant and a mobile kitchen and organizing the Fork in the Road food truck rallies, the Geigers are awfully busy.

Generally speaking, you can find the Inday’s cart at Thursday Night Market, while the brick-and-mortar is open Friday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Check Facebook for schedule updates—this Saturday and Sunday, for instance (May 4-5), they’ll be at Sierra Nevada’s Beer Camp instead of at their West Eighth Street eatery.