The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: breakfast

  • Breakfast burritos in the backwoods of Humboldt

    Breakfast burritos in the backwoods of Humboldt

    By Zack Mink

    Arcata is filled with small businesses and food trucks with a wide variety of styles, cuisines, and loyal customers. From Mexican food to hibachi, cravings can be satisfied simply by making a quick stop. One thing that has been missing from the local food scene is a good old fashion breakfast burrito. Something that will motivate you to get out of bed or cure your hangover on a Sunday morning. A burrito that is both classic and unique, giving you something to look forward to all week. This craving has been satiated with Backwoods Burritos, a local food cart serving up those reliable, tasty, and satisfying breakfast burritos people have been looking for. 

    Britton Latham, founder of Backwoods Burritos, serves up his Southwest inspired breakfast burritos every Thursday through Monday in front of Arcata Theater Lounge and at the North Coast Farmers Market in Arcata. With four different options, three meat and one vegetarian, everyone can get their fix of breakfast burritos. Prices range from $10-$12, featuring Latham’s original redwood chili in each one. 

    “It’s super unique because of the redwood chili,” Latham said. “It’s basically like a green chili, except with the seasonings and peppers I put in it, it turns red… It’s a very signature flavor.”

    Britton Latham serving up Backwoods Burritos at the North Coast Farmers Market in Arcata. photo by: Zack Mink 2/10/24

    Along with this original recipe, Backwoods Burritos is special because consistency is prioritized for customers to have the best experience possible.

    “The first bite tastes like the last bite, and that’s super important,” Latham said. “That makes it really unique, and it’s sold out of a little cart with a UFO on it.”

    After taking some breakfast burritos on a camping trip in the backwoods with friends, Latham realized they could be his new culinary venture and become a successful business. During this time of recipe development, UFO testimonies played in the background as he cooked, inspiring him to pursue an alien theme, strongly branding himself. Latham began selling his Humboldt backwoods/alien themed breakfast burritos in October of 2021, but has outgrown his home kitchen and now utilizes The Kitchen Arcata for commissary.

    Recently, Backwoods Burritos became an approved vendor for Cal Poly Humboldt events, bringing the burritos from downtown Arcata to campus for students to indulge in.

    “Yes, and that’s the dream,” Latham said. “I didn’t even go to college, so to be slinging burritos at a college… this is the closest I ever came.”

    Aside from sharing his creation with students, Latham has goals of selling burritos every day of the week, creating a brick and mortar store, vending at local music festivals, and spreading his impact across Humboldt County.

    “I definitely have the goal of more carts, getting more carts through Humboldt,” Latham said.

    With Backwoods Burritos beginning with friends and locals, Latham gives back and encourages community members to not only support himself, but other local businesses with his golden burrito program. The golden burrito, based off of Willy Wonka’s golden ticket, is a random burrito secretly wrapped in gold foil. The winner receives gift certificates to local businesses that he loves and wants to support. 

    Latham is also starting what he calls the Backwood Running Club, which brings people together to not only run, but to spend time outside in the backwoods of Humboldt County.

    Backwoods Burritos isn’t just about making money for Latham. It’s about building a strong community and making memories with new and old friends.

    “We’re all friends,” Latham said. “Started with friends and now it’s just like expanding with more and more friends… that’s what I love about it.”

    Graphic by Griffin Mancuso
  • Recipe: Toad in the Hole

    Recipe: Toad in the Hole

    By Liam Olson

    Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day. It helps you get your day going and keeps you not hungry until lunch. However for some college students, it is hard to make breakfast with the short amount of time to get ready in the mornings. Well here at The Lumberjack, we’ve got you covered with this quick and easy breakfast recipe.

    LORecipe2
    Toad in a hole on a plate. | Photo by Liam Olson

    Ingredients:

    1 egg

    1 slice of bread

    Butter or olive oil

    Garlic salt

    Pepper

    Cumin (optional)

    Shredded cheese (optional)

     

    Steps:

    1. Grease the frying pan with butter or oil on medium heat. Let the oil or butter heat up in the frying pan.
    2. Make a hole in the middle of the slice of bread and eat the circle of bread that you took out.
    3. Place the bread on the frying pan and crack the egg in the center of the bread slice.
    4. Quickly add seasonings to the egg before the egg becomes too cooked.
    5. For a runny yolk, let the egg cook for less time. For a more solid yolk, cook egg for a longer period of time. Make sure the bread does not get burned.
    6. Cook both sides of the egg and bread.
    7. Put cheese on top of bread and let it melt.
    8. Serve and enjoy!
  • Healthy back to school habits

    Healthy back to school habits

    By: Claire Roth

    Pulling yourself out from your winter pile of blankets with the words back to school ringing in your ears can be difficult. The vision of the never-ending staircase of Founders Hall you’ll have to climb to get to class can be daunting after a month of collegiate downtime. It could start you off on the wrong foot for the spring semester. The Lumberjack has compiled a short list of healthy, back-on-your-feet habits to take up so you can get back into the academic swing of things.

    1. Eat Breakfast – Sound familiar? You’ve likely been told this all of your life, but now that you’re getting your body back on track to learn it’s especially important. Fruits like apples and bananas can be the difference between getting that extra boost of energy or becoming ‘that’ person who falls asleep in class on the first day.
    2. Make a Calendar – Time seems more relative when you have a monthly calendar staring right at you. Stay on top of assignments for your new classes by taking some time to write all big deadlines down such as essays and exams.
    3. Get Moving – If you’re in a class longer than 50 minutes you may have noticed a tingling feeling in your legs after about an hour: this is your body telling you that it’s time to get up and moving. Sitting down, in class or out, for more than an hour can be detrimental to various parts of your body. It always pays to take a short stroll down the hallway before returning to your studies.
    4. Pace Yourself – Allowing yourself the time to reset and check in with how you are doing is one of the most important, yet least practiced, self-care tactics out there. Simple actions such as stopping what you’re doing, closing your eyes, and taking three slow breaths could help you clear your head and stay on the track for success.
    5. Find Some Nature – There’s a reason that the phrase nature deficit disorder exists these days; we simply do not find the time to place ourselves in natural settings. HSU’s campus is fortunate enough to be situated next to a serene redwood forest with a babbling creek and chirping birds, the perfect playlist for a healthier train of thought.