What’s Good Homey dumplings and far-flung pizza

By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill jennifer@northcoastjournal.com

Even in a rainy month, Auto Spa in McKinleyville still sees a little traffic since the bright blue Auntie Hao’s truck is parked out front Thursday through Saturday (1642 Holly Drive). The trim menu of Chinese crepes, dumplings, fried noodles and tea stands out amid bumper-tobumper taco and sandwich trucks, and it’s likely the only one with a punch-card that gets you a free carwash.

Co-owner Michael Evenson is part owner of Auto Spa, too, hence the deal and the permanent parking spot. But his wife, Xuanli “Shirley” Hao, is the one rolling thick, homemade wrappers and stuffing the juicy pork dumplings. She’s tight-lipped about the filling, but it’s a simple, straightforward pork mixture with mushroom-y earthiness, wrapped, sealed and pan fried to toasty brown on the bottom. Splashed with an unfussy soy dipping sauce, they’ll steam up your car nicely while you shelter from the rain.

The drink menu is the place to branch out despite the relatively short list of flavors. Boba tea aficionados will want to pack their reusable straws for the Hong Kong boba tea. The strong black tea, condensed milk and tapioca balls yield a smoky, tannin flavor reminiscent of brown sugar. And those who’ve been curious about/missing milk cap tea (the more Western-friendly branding of cheese tea) will be happy to see jasmine, black and oolong options. The jasmine (which could pass for a foamy beer at a distance so keep that in mind when you hit the road) is light and fragrant, and watching the layer of whipped milk, cream and cream cheese dissolve into the tea has the relaxing effect of a less frantic lava lamp. Sip and enjoy the slight saltiness that balances the sweet.

There’s a lot going on at Overtime Eatery and Games (215 Seventh St., Eureka). In the lot, where the old Angelo’s sign still stands, noodle bowls are steaming from the red Nou Nou’s truck. Inside, basketball plays on a massive TV, the beer counter is hopping and cabinet video games flash from a side room, beyond which, a couple of parents are playing pool while their kids scramble around the air hockey table. But Brett’s Pizzeria — phones ringing, a quick-moving line and a pair of cooks racing from oven to counter — is where the action is.

Raised in Detroit, owner Brett Obra (also of Humboldt Bay Bistro) brings two Midwestern pies to our neck of the redwoods, offering thick Detroit and deepdish Chicago pies, as well as a hand-tossed Californian for localists.

The Detroit, trending nationally these days, takes its square shape from the auto-industry pans in which it was first baked. The semolina-dusted bottom has a crunch and the cheese that goes all the way to the edges browns down the sides, making a strong case for the corner piece. Unlike its East Coast counterpart the Sicilian, the light tomato sauce, which is simple and straightforward, tops the pie over a relatively restrained scattering of cheese and pillowy dough filled with steamy air pockets and a little chew. A standard sausage, olive and pepper hits the classic pizza parlor notes, Michigan-hearty on a rainy Humboldt evening. The cheese-centric can order extra or go for a Chicago.

On a recent evening, we were warned the hefty deep-dish Chicago would take 50 minutes. It’s not a shock, given the descendent of the Windy City’s Uno’s in the 1940s is built up with straight sides of thin, rolled crust two knuckles high and filled with enough cheese for a video-worthy pull. Obra himself hoists a Chicago from the oven and tops it with a frantic shake of Parmesan cheese over the spread of red sauce before running a cutter across it in the box. The depth means room for toppings that might collapse a New York slice — there’s capicola on the list of offerings, so you might take advantage. Purists should look away from the chalkboard — here there be monsters/ non-traditional choices from pineapple to barbecue, clams and white sauce to taco sauce and jalapeños. They’re crazy out in the Midwest.

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Share your tips about What’s Good with Jennifer Fumiko Cahill (she/her), arts and features editor at the Journal. Reach her at (707) 442-1400, extension 320, or jennifer@northcoastjournal.com. Follow her on Instagram @JFumikoCahill and Mastodon @jenniferfumikocahill.