The Griffin has the most interesting cocktail menu.  There’s always new things to try. I stick with the Pain Killer. I just really like it. It’s a really tasty rum drink with fruit juices and coconut cream topped with freshly grated nutmeg. It’s like a grown up Creamcicle. I had to have two of those.

Kelly had a Proud Mary which was an infused gin and..some other things.  It was too good to pay attention to the ingredients.

The bartender also made a gorgeous sparkling wine cocktail with a hibiscus flower and hibiscus syrup she calls Ray of Sunshine.  It has the flower in the bottom of the glass which makes it super sexy.

Both bartenders, Vanessa and Cesar, are very attentive and Vanessa likes to share information about her cocktail infusions which shows she has a passion for her creations and why we always recommend sitting at the bar if it’s just one or two of you.

Chips and salsa are a great bar snack here. The last couple of times we’ve been there the salsa has been different and disappointing to us because the first time the salsa was so amazing we begged for the recipe from Armando, the chef. His secret, he told us that first time, was what his mother told him, “you have to sing to it.”  This time the salsa we love was back and as delicious as we remembered it.  It’s smoky chili flavor.  A little tomato and a little garlic but mostly that smoky red chili which we later learned is usually Japanese chilis.  Not too hot so you can eat buckets of it.

Our favorite thing to eat is the street tacos which come with several meaty flavors.  We’ve tried most of them so far.   I really like The Al Pastor, so I had two of those, but I always try something else so I also sampled the Korean BBQ beef which was a delicious and sweet, tender meat.  It is extra delightful when you splash a little of the aforementioned salsa on top.  Makes for a really great bite.  When we expressed our love of this particular salsa, Armando brought out a big bowl of it for us to enjoy.

This is a frequent music and dance venue in town.  We have yet to be up late enough to check that out.  We regret not sticking around one evening when they were having their salsa night.

An interesting side is that Armando is always playing with his sauces and trying to come up with something different and changing his salsa all the time, occasionally with more success than others, to my taste. Tonight he had a new salsa that was an oil based with Serrano and garlic that was good.

We frequent this place often and we highly recommend it to anyone looking for something to do in Arcata.

http://http://www.griffinarcata.com