As many of us know, the area around Redding, California, is a Mecca for fly fishers: you have the lower Sacramento River, Keswick Reservoir, Lake Shasta and the gateway to the upper Sacramento, the McCloud River, Manzanita Lake, Hat Creek, the Fall River, the Trinity River . . . the list goes on and on. It also has some great food — you just need to know where to find it.
As I’ve said, I don’t write about chain restaurants in this column. I like featuring family owned and operated eateries. These folks work hard to put the best product they can on your plate or between two pieces of bread.
Dill’s Deli
Dill’s Deli is a family owned and operated deli and barbeque joint on the north side of Redding on Caterpillar Road, just east of Highway 273. Zack Thurman at The Fly Shop in Redding turned me on to this place. You can smell the smoke from a mile away.
I have only had lunch at the deli. I have not yet tried their barbeque dinners, which is on my to-do list. For lunch, they offer a sandwich that is called the Dirty Pig. It is big, juicy, and really good. I usually don’t order toasted sandwiches, but this sandwich is the exception. It is constructed of slowly smoked pork loin, topped with four thick pieces of bacon, jack cheese, smothered in “dirty mayo” (mayonnaise with mustard and a spice such as paprika), and topped with cold pickles and shaved red onion, all on an oven-toasted sourdough roll. Just thinking about this mess-making beast gets my mouth watering.
My wife Kirsten, on the other hand, likes the Pig Vicious. I have to admit it comes in a close second place to the Dirty Pig, with oven-toasted sourdough bread layered with in-house-made pastrami and four thick slices of bacon, then topped with pepper jack cheese, mayonnaise, deli mustard, cold pickles and shaved red onions. Again, all of the sandwiches that the deli offers are a feast.
One thing I need to mention is the house-made potato salad. Yukon gold potatoes, their “dirty mayo,” pickles, and seasoning make it one of the better potato salads I have come across. It’s still not better than Kirsten’s homemade potato salad, but it sure comes in at a close second. Dill’s Deli, 5132 Caterpillar Road, Redding. Phone (530) 44-3457; website, https://www.dillsdeli.com. Open Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Sunday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Champa Garden
Champa Garden is a ThaiVietnamese or what I would consider a pan-Asian eatery. I fell in love with Thai-Vietnamese food decades ago when a good friend of mine, Ed Maya, introduced me to it. The food is fresh and well prepared, with flavorful sauces. The restaurant is located at the end of a 1970s strip mall, and the décor is basic, but the food is outstanding. This family-owned business has been serving great meals for more than a decade. The staff are always smiling, and the service is excellent.
There are a couple of menu items that I really like, and usually I end up ordering both — I just can’t make up my mind. The first is the mango fried rice. Kirsten and I usually split this dish. The rice is steamy hot when it comes to the table, and has eggs, mango, raisins, Chinese sausage, cashews, peas, and carrots. We add snow peas to ours. I also get a side of Chinese mustard. The second dish is the phō. I usually get the medium size. You have a choice of beef or chicken. I get the beef. The beef is brisket and meatballs. There’s a healthy serving of phō noodles, a light beef sauce, plus bean sprouts, basil, lime, and lettuce. Another dish that I love is the Lao sausage, saigock. It is a homemade pork sausage made with lemongrass, other herbs, and red peppers. This dish is spicy — not burn-your-throat spicy, but is does have some heat. Champa Garden isn’t expensive and has great homemade food from the family that both cooks and serves the food.
Champa Garden, 1107 Hilltop Drive, Redding. Phone (530) 221-4999. Open seven days, 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Mosaic Restaurant
The Mosaic is located at the Sheraton Redding Hotel at the Sundial Bridge, and its menu was created by chef James Vereb. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and it’s all exceptional. I have followed chef Vereb from Chico to Red Bluff and now to Redding’s Mosaic.
After he left his previous restaurants, they fell a couple of notches in the quality and freshness of ingredients, creativity, and balance of the dishes.
You may look at the menu and say, “Wow, Lance is recommending a place that serves turkey bacon,” and I am. The menu features gluten-free and vegan options. The Mosaic is doing the restaurant business differently. Their offerings are spot on.
For breakfast, I like the dish on the top of the menu: the hash brown stack. It’s a combination of old-style country food with a twist of healthiness, consisting of crispy hash browned potatoes, two eggs any style, freshly made country gravy with cheddar cheese, but served with turkey bacon marinated in grape tomatoes. This breakfast doesn’t eat like a lighter, healthier version of eggs and bacon. The first time I had this dish, I was not that hungry, and I was standoffish when it came to the turkey bacon. I was sold after I had it, though. I love it.
I haven’t been to the Mosaic for lunch, so I can’t report on that, but I have had fly-fishing clients who have told me that everything they had from The Mosaic’s lunch menu has been great.
For dinner, by far the dish I love best is the Chilean sea bass when it’s on the menu. The fish was cooked perfectly every time I’ve had it. The seared sea bass is served with Castelvetrano olives, caulilini baby cauliflower in bacon dashi, sautéed shiitake mushrooms with napa cabbage, and a celery leaf salad. The caulilini in bacon dashi makes this dish. The smoke of the bacon with the sweet taste of the caulilini is terrific, and it balances out the tart taste of the olives and combines well with the sautéed shiitake mushrooms. By leaps and bounds, it is my favorite sea bass dish of all time.
Mosaic Restaurant, 826 Sundial Bridge Drive, Redding. Phone (530) 319-3456; website, https://www.mosaicredding.com. Open Sunday through Thursday, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Closed Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Jack’s Bar & Grill
Not mentioning Jack’s Bar and Grill for this issue’s “Foraging Angler” would be doing you folks a disservice. Jack’s is a landmark in downtown Redding. This establishment has been in the same building for its entire 84-year history. Jack’s Bar and Grill has had only four owners over the decades. The current owners are Don Conley and Mike Woodrum.
The grill has seen many ups and downs, and if the walls could talk, it would be a night to remember. Jack’s is open only six days a week and doesn’t take reservations. Jack’s mottoes are “First come, first served” and “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” They serve great steaks that are hand cut daily at the restaurant. The bar at Jack’s is top-notch. The bartenders all have a long pour.
Although this eatery is known for its hand-cut steaks, it has a diverse menu that includes chicken and seafood. This awesome steakhouse isn’t for the faint of heart. Their food is genuine, large, and cooked to perfection.
I generally don’t get steaks when I go out to dinner. I am more into ordering something that I can’t make in our home kitchen. Jack’s is one place where I usually break that rule. The 16-ounce filet mignon, coupled with a baked potato and the house salad, is just heaven. The filet is cooked to order, but please don’t order a steak done beyond medium rare. You will get a glare from patrons and staff. I know. I have seen it.
The other dish that is fantastic, but is not available all the time, is the Jack’s Stack — tender bits of filet, New York strip, and top sirloin, sautéed with onion and green peppers and served with a light gravy. This dish is savory, hot, and will fill you up without giving you the “meat sweats.” The bar makes a fantastic Vodka Press that is fresh and light, too. It goes great with the Jack’s Stack.
Jack’s Bar & Grill, 1743 California Street, Redding. Phone (530) 241-9705; website, https://www.jacksgrillredding.com. Open Monday through Saturday, 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Closed Sunday.
The Lighthouse Fish & Chips
The Lighthouse is a little place tucked away off Hartnell Avenue, near the intersection of Hartnell and Churn Creek Road. Don’t let its small size fool you: it serves some great food. The Lighthouse has seen minor changes to the menu, and Kirsten likes them. For example, the folks at the restaurant have added grilled items to their usual deep-fried offerings. The grilled items include everything from chicken breast to mahi mahi and swordfish. Side dishes include baked potatoes and salads.
My favorites on the Lighthouse menu are their homemade clam chowder and their deep-fried mushrooms.
Their chowder is a traditional New England clam chowder. It is rich, buttery, and creamy. I like it because it has celery in it. When I make my homemade clam chowder, I add carrots and celery. This clam chowder rivals the chowder you find along the boardwalks of coastal towns around the country. Their deep-fried mushrooms are fresh and lightly battered. Dip them into cold ranch dressing. If you ordered just these two items, you would be satisfied. It’s lots of food, especially if you order the large clam chowder.
I usually don’t stop there, though. I order the two-piece fish and chips with calamari. Their batter is light, crispy, and well seasoned with a little bit of sweetness. The cod is cooked perfectly, and the calamari gives you a little change in between the fish pieces. Tell the truth, I never finish the French fries, and I frequently bring home one of the pieces of fish. Leftover fish is a great snack.
The Lighthouse Fish & Chips, 1109 Hartnell Avenue, Redding. Phone (530) 223-9200; website fishandchips.com. Open Saturday through Thursday, 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Friday, 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
The Woodside Grill
The Woodside Grill at the Gaia Hotel is fantastic. The hotel is in a great location in the town of Anderson, and is well-situated for fly fishers. Its managers give folks who come to fish with me a good rate, and they throw in breakfast. Such a deal!
The grill has an updated, modern look and serves excellent food and ice-cold cocktails from the bar. This place makes one mean Bloody Mary and a refreshing Vodka Press. They also have multiple varieties of Farmers Beer on tap.
I have had breakfast and dinner at the grill. My favorite for breakfast is the fried chicken and waffles. This dish is spot on. It feels like you are in the South, eating in some soul food place. The buttermilk-dipped chicken is hot and crispy, and the Belgian waffles are fluffy and creamy. The dish comes with two pieces of bacon on the waffles, and I smother mine with the grill’s homemade Cajun spiced syrup. Couple that with a Bloody Mary, and you’ve got breakfast.
For dinner, the grilled salmon is a great dish. The salmon is fresh from the market, and at times, the grill runs out of it. The fish is lightly seasoned and grilled perfectly, then plated with creamy orzo with a fennel–tarragon shallot butter. It’s the sort of fresh and sophisticated dish that you would find at a high-end restaurant for $50, but the Woodside Grill’s is only $30 — a great deal. If the grill runs out of salmon, my backup is the slow-braised beef short ribs.
The spicy ahi tuna poke appetizer is Kirsten’s favorite dinner choice. She orders that and the grill’s dinner salad. The ahi tuna with a sweet soy glaze and sesame seed crust is served with fresh avocado, cucumbers, wonton cups, and scallions and with a mild sriracha mayo dipping sauce. Kirsten usually asks the server to add fresh ginger slivers.
The Woodside Grill, 4125 Riverside Place, Anderson. Phone (530) 365-7077; website, https://www.gaiahotelspa.com/dining. Open seven days, 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. for breakfast, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for lunch, and 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. for dinner.
