Muddy’s Hot Cup

This is one of my favorite places in Arcata. A small town feel, cozy cottage coffee shop with great food and pastries, excellent coffee, and beer! Came in here one morning while on tour and loved it. Felt a lot like my old hangout in Phoenix, the Willow House, which sadly, is no longer around. Nice people, craft microbrews, and a lot of vegan-​friendly fare for my travelling companions. A calendar with events and local concert fliers– my kind of place!

Came here for a show on a saturday night, what a great little spot. The staff was super nice and accommodating to those drinking beers into the night. I liked the selection and the price. I will come back here even when there is not shows and Im not thirsty for good beer.

Ahh Muddy’s, where Arcata scenesters have been coming to drink good coffee, people watch and gossip for hours on end about peoples sordid lives they only dream of living for years. Now I must note their coffee and assorted libations are delicious, along with most of their staff is hip and friendly, the leering scenesters and predatory owner make it too much of a schlep for those times when I need a potent cup of espresso and the last thing I want to do is say hello, let alone be a chatty cathy, there’s a time and a place for that and that is after 5pm. The nightlife is comparable to Toby and Jack’s pint night, but slighlty more upscale and foresaking the sticky floor. Envision newly minted yipsters with freshly righteous attitudes about a realm of knowledge they just discovered in their genderstudies/​theology class that they feel is the cat’s pajama’s and MUST monologue about for 2 minutes minimum, who’s eyes dart back and forth from face to face so much no wonder they get sick and puke, but you could also attribute this to the tiny stage and close quarters. Although newly remodeled and equipped with a ping pong table and built in cribbage board still doesn’t hide the fact this is no place for anything but mild decibels and blatantly obvious mods. (People watching? In Arcata? Really?)
There’s enough of an in flux of newbies to keep this place thrinving for years to come but eh, it’s just not my bag.

Muddy’s is the dirty hippie of coffee shops, which might be great for some people, but certainly not for the. The coffee is easily the worse in the county, and the only reason they serve beer is to make being in there bearable. Even rhe music is third-​rate.
Frankly the only redeeming quality is the outdoor seating, but even that is tarnished when all you can smell outside is weed. But then again, that might be great for some people too. I’ll pass.

A coffee shop featuring live music which also serves beer… how can you go wrong? There is something extra special about this place. The vibe in this quaint house-​to-​biz conversion was magical.
Maybe it was the lovely hippie-​esque employees and patrons welcoming three strangers into their local hang.
Maybe it was the unique and excellent bluegrass, provided by the band: Bucky Walters. Throughout the night the band fluctuated between 6 and 8 members… complete with banjos, stand-​up bass, instruments resembling a ukulele, guitar, and a woman rocking out on harmonica. Some cover songs, some original material. Not sure if they use this phrase up in Nor Cal but «it was sick:» and two thumbs up for their version of Black Crowes’ «Hard to Handle».
Maybe it was food and beverage: I did not sample the coffee preferring instead to imbibe a 40 of Stella Artois for the occasion, but the roast certainly smelled delicious. The deli case had a variety of freshly made food; quiches, quinoa salad, homemade mac n cheese… it was definitely a tough decision. I finally settled on the veggie quesadilla, with fresh spinach, and was not at all disappointed. Although in my opinion the food and drink, while tasty, take a backseat to the creative, community atmosphere.
Or maybe it’s because everything seems extraordinary while on a road trip through Humboldt County. Whatever it was, I left this shop with a down-​home feeling, grateful for such an uplifting experience and hopeful knowing genuinely loving people still exist in our world. Peace and Love to all!