Category: Road Trip

Road Trip – The Buttery, Pipeline Road Trail, and Revisiting Special Noodle (Santa Cruz)

Bakery, Chinese Restaurants, Croissants, Dog Friendly, Monterey/Carmel/Santa Cruz - Monterey Bay/Peninsula, Road Trip, Travel

Upon waking on our full day in Santa Cruz, we decided to head up Soquel Avenue to a bakery I’d heard about. It was a short 10 minute walk from our hotel. Right past the Shopper’s Corner Market, was the Buttery.

The low key location had a nice outdoor area.

And the Missus watched JJ, while I went inside to get us some croissants and coffee.

There was no one in the queue when I entered and I was pleasantly surprised at the price of the plain croissants – $2.95.

So, I was ready to be underwhelmed at this croissant, but it was surprisingly good!

The exterior looked a bit overbaked, but the laminate was crisp, but not flaking to pieces. The ridges didn’t fall off either.

The interior was nicely honeycombed and fluffy. But most importantly, there was a decent amount of butteriness to this! Not bad at all! Better than what we’d had at Bouchon Bakery a few days previous!

I even gave JJ a taste and he went bonkers! Oh man, did I open up a can of worms here!

The Buttery
702 Soquel Ave.
Santa Cruz, CA 95062

Of course we’d return the following morning….

And of course the Missus needed me to “burn off” those croissant calories, so we headed back to the hotel, then set out to Henry Crowell Redwoods State Park. Marissa, the lovely young lady at BPC had recommended the Pipeline Road Trail, though she told me that it was kind of long – 6 miles or so. The big plus being that it starts at the Park Office and that it is well paved and maintained. It is the only dog friendly trail in the park as well.

There a 900 foot elevation gain, but we really didn’t feel it.

There were some nice views.

And of course those lovely Redwoods……

And JJ handled it like a champ. Actually, you can tell by his expression that I’m the “weak link” here…..

It was on the “easy side” for the Missus and JJ, who did really well.

After heading back and freshening up, it was time for lunch. Well, since we had enjoyed our dinner the previous evening at Special Noodle and the Missus was still missing Chinese food we walked on back to the restaurant.

The gentleman from the previous evening remembered us and we were seated in the same area. He even made sure got chopsticks without asking this time!

We decided on some different dishes this time around; starting with the La Rou with Smoked Bamboo.

This usual Hunan style dish was a bit short on chilies and spiciness, but the bamboo was nice and crisp; though the pork was definitely like the stuff I can get at 99 Ranch Market. It was far from bland though with a good amount of soy and smokey tones.

The rice had obviously just been finished as it was steaming hot; but also a bit on the mushy side.

We also got the Braised Pork Belly – Hong Shao Rou, which turned out to be quite good!

Just tender enough, without being mushy, the porkiness came through nicely. Ginger – Soy tones came thru nicely, and more importantly for the Missus, this was much more savory than sweet.

After finishing this; we really needed a nap!

Special Noodle
415 Ocean St.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

I guess this will be a regular stop when we’re in Santa Cruz!

Now it was nap time!

Road Trip – Sweetie Pies Bakery (Napa) and Special Noodle (Santa Cruz)

Bakery, Caffeine Fix, Chinese Restaurants, Dog Friendly, Marin, Napa, and Sonoma Counties, Monterey/Carmel/Santa Cruz - Monterey Bay/Peninsula, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Travel

We had a great night of sleep at the Napa River Inn…and no, we didn’t have any “spooky” visitors as I had heard about earlier in the evening at The Fink. Before we left for our next destination, I decided to grab a quick Breakfast Sandwich from Sweetie Pies Bakery which is right next door to the hotel.

This place has quite a selection of treats for your sweet tooth. We had gotten a sample delivered to our room for breakfast the previous morning.

I ordered a Fried Egg Sandwich to take back to our room.

A basic toasted Ciabatta, with creamy avocado, and pesto.

The bacon was basically a single slice lining the middle of the sandwich, on the burnt side, and a single fried egg. Again only enough to cover two-thirds of the sandwich.

My guess is that “Sweetie” is mostly about the pies as the name indicates?

Sweetie Pies
520 Main St.
Napa, CA 94559

After devouring the sandwich, we checked out and headed to our next destination; Santa Cruz. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to arrive at our accommodation, the Hotel Paradox. We were early for check-in so the hotel let us park and we went to explore Santa Cruz for a bit. The hotel was on the other side of the San Lorenzo River from downtown Santa Cruz and we were next to San Lorenzo Park. On the map, it looked like a nice “green space”. Unfortunately, it was taken over by the homeless population while we were in town. So, instead of having a nice green space for JJ to explore, well…..

We did think the Dragon Archway, which faces the last Chinatown in Santa Cruz across the river. And you can see the two folks hanging out under the archway as well. This made the Missus somewhat uncomfortable crossing the bridge at night. We ended up using the busier Laurel Street Bridge when it was dark.

Regardless, the Missus and I really enjoyed downtown Santa Cruz. It had a kind of Hipster-Artsy-Hippy-Surfer vibe to us. Very mellow and laid back; at least when we were there.

We dropped by Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting for our caffeine fix. It was recommended by one of JJ’s Bay Park Coffee “Aunties”, Marissa who used to work there and went to UCSC.

Cold Brew and Latte fortified we headed on to do some shopping.

Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting
1330 Pacific Ave.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

The Missus loved wandering thru the “eclectic” shops.

And bought quite a few items during our stay.

It seems that tarot card reading, and various psychic readings are big business here.

My goodness, check out the name of this shop! I wonder….

Yes, it was quite entertaining here!

We decided to grab an early dinner….by this time, the Missus was sorely missing Asian food…well, Chinese to be specific. I did some research before the trip and found a place that was dog friendly and basically two blocks from where we were staying. Now, I did have my doubts because the place served everything from Orange Chicken to XLB to Chow Fun to Sichuan/Hunan and has multiple locations, named Special Noodle. But I thought we’d give it a shot. Now if I had my doubts…imagine the Missus!

We arrived and I expected us to be seated on the patio; but the very nice gentleman escorted us to one of the back dining rooms!

He also spoke Mandarin….which eased some of the doubts the Missus had. The menu was huge….talk about “Vietnamese Menu overload” times 2!

Yep, this place tries to cover all bases.

It was a huge portion of rice for a single order.

We decided on some typical Hunan style dishes. Starting with the Pickled Beans with Minced Pork.

While kind of mild in the spiciness department, this was a pretty legit dish. Nice soy flavor, the long beans had a nice crunch adding that mild salty-sourness to the dish. The pork wasn’t overly chewy. Nice savory dish!

And of course I had to try the Intestines with Chilies.

Made with a combination of sliced jalapenos and dried chilies, this had a nice smoky kick. Nicely seasoned with soy sauce-garlic-white pepper and a touch of numbing Sichuan Peppercorns. The pork intestine was fairly tender, with a pleasant initial toothsomeness. Nice funky tones and a really good dish.

And of course……

What we did notice as the place filled up was that the Chinese customers were seated in the same area as us. While the “other” customers were seated in the front dining area, which we named “Eggroll Land” ! Kind of funny….

The Missus was pleasantly surprised at the food and even though She got Her “fix”, we’d end up returning the next day for lunch!

Special Noodle
415 Ocean St.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

We were enjoying Santa Cruz. In addition to the “vibe” we had gotten decent Chinese dishes as well!

Road Trip – The Alston Park Loop, The Riverfront Promenade, Dinner at Angele Restaurant, and Returning to the Fink (Napa)

Cocktails, Dog Friendly, French Restaurants, Marin, Napa, and Sonoma Counties, Road Trip, Travel

Our one full day in Napa started with pastries being delivered to our room in the Napa River Inn. These are from Sweetie Pie a bakery – sandwich shop located in the Old Mill Complex next to the hotel.

A bit too much sweets for me; but we saved most of it to have as an afternoon snack.

We then headed out to Alston Park and spent the morning doing an easy walk along the Alston Park Loop Trail. A nice walk along the meadows, groves, and of course alongside some vineyards.

Of course we had to finish before things got too sunny/hot as JJ does not do too well under those conditions.

After which we headed into downtown and found parking on 1st Street….man, it gets pretty busy here, where the Missus did some shopping.

For some reason, the Missus just didn’t find Napa to be much fun….She thought it was on the boring side???

We returned to the hotel and finished off the pastries and had a nap. After which, the Missus just wanted some time to read, so I decided to take JJ out for a walk along the Riverfront Promenade which basically cuts thru downtown Napa. Here’s a view of our patio which was right along the promenade.

It was a nice little walk.

We walked all the way to the First Street Bridge which has a nice view of the promenade.

And there was shade for our fragile, heat sensitive, little squirt.

Check out this mural in front of a Tiki Bar named Wilfred’s……kinda sterotypical, yeah?

JJ and I took Main Street back to the hotel.

I kind of enjoyed some of the architecture.

I saw this church on the way back and walked over.

This is the First Presbyterian Church, built in 1874 in the Gothic style.

When dinner time rolled rolled around, we had noticed a French restaurant named Angele located just a few steps from our accommodations in the Historic Napa Mill.

So, we dropped on by and there were a bunch of al fresco tables available out front. The menu was quite interesting; a nice variety of dishes. As is our usual, we went with three apps and one main.

The baguette was nice and crusty, though a bit “doughy” for my taste.

I was fascinated by the Potato Beignets.

These were interesting. The exterior was crisp, though we weren’t big fans of the overly pasty and sweet filling.

The Pate de Campagne was “by-the-book” and quite good. Very porky, slightly offaly, hint of boozy sweetness-pungency.

The much needed cornichons and mustard allowing for some pungent, palate cleansing counterpoints.

The Beef Tartare was a bit on the mushy side.

And the use of capers was a bit on the heavy-handed side, though not bad overall.

The piece of Veal Sweetbread was huge!

It looked like it was overdone, but was quite tender-creamy. The jus was quite winey, though not unpleasant. The sweetbreads were a bit livery, but overly “metallic” in flavor.

The service was friendly and welcoming. And while not in the same league as L’Escargot in Carmel which we dined at a few days earlier, it was a nice meal overall.

Angele Restaurant
540 Main St.
Napa, CA 94559

It was still light out when we finished dinner, so we took a walk along the Promenade.

There’s so much public art in Napa. This one is named Grateful Harvest.

After crossing the 1st Street Bridge, we came across this.

This is the China Point Overlook and Park.

Did you know that Napa once had a Chinatown? From this park you can see the location of Napa’s Chinatown, which was razed in 1927 to make way for a Yacht Club. Which by the way was never built.

We then headed back to the Napa River Inn. From the sign at the door to front lobby it seems like “Ember” had checked out with only JJ and Nola being the two “VIPs” left.

After relaxing a bit, as I did the night before, I headed next door to The Fink for a nightcap. This time I took JJ along.

The woman working smiled as we entered and said “oh, I’m so glad you brought the pup along this time!”

And the owner…”the Fink” himself asked me if I had noticed anything strange the previous evening. When I said “no”, he told me the story of the hotel being haunted!

Yikes, it was time for a cocktail!

JJ was indeed treated like a “VIP” here as several customer came to pet him!

It was a really cool cocktail bar!

The Fink
530 Main St.
Napa, CA 94559

Road Trip – Morimoto Napa and The Fink

Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Cocktails, Dog Friendly, Japanese Restaurants, Marin, Napa, and Sonoma Counties, Road Trip, Sushi and Sashimi, Travel

There was a restaurant I wanted to check out just a half block from where we were staying in Napa. Several decades back, I recall the Missus and I being glued to our television watching the original Iron Chef. And when I was in Philly for a conference, I remember being so excited having the chance to check out Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s restaurant there. Sadly, it was quite disappointing. But now, over two decades later, a few steps away from us was the Napa location of Morimoto. I thought it would be interesting to check out all these years after having dinner at the Philadelphia location.

And they had a patio! So I made reservations.

Upon walking over, we were greeted and seated on the patio. The service here was super friendly, the staff so warm and sweet. Folks came out just to meet and greet JJ! He was brought water….totally the definition of dog friendly. In fact, the next day while I was walking JJ, some of the folks working saw him and called out “hi JJ, hi JJ, how are you???”

The place wasn’t overly busy. Looking at the menu…well, it was obviously not going to be cheap!

I saw Sawara (Mantis Shrimp) on the menu; one of my favorite things, but they were out! Bummer….

Anyway, we placed our order and soon enough our food started to arrive.

First, the Toro Tartare ($32). This was kind of weird as it was so finely minced that it was more like Nakaochi (Tuna Scrape) making it really mushy.

The ponzu sauce was overkill; since it came with wasabi, nori paste, and other seasonings on the side along with sturgeon caviar. The sauce just basically nullified everything but the wasabi.

We got some Sushi….here they charge you by the piece.

Man, the quality of the seafood was top notch, though I would have preferred not having my o-toro ($16/ea) slightly torched, but it was still quite buttery, and don’t get me started on Hokkaido Uni ($20/ea) ok? Good lord, so melt-in-your mouth, buttery, and sweet-oceany tones…it took me back to Otaru! The Aji ($8) was a bit on the overly chewy-slightly metallic side and the Madai ($8) had too much wasabi. Still, this would have been really great, but the rice was hard and under-cooked and the sushi meshi was too strong. Sorry, but if I’m paying $88 for six pieces of nigiri…..

We ordered the Braised Black Cod ($43).

This was a non-starter as it was overcooked; even the sauce, which was overly salty could not save it. Such a waste of a nice piece of fish.

The actual “best” dish of the night was the Duck Confit Fried Rice ($20)

The Jasmine Rice was a bit on the dry side; the rice itself decently coated with a soy sauce – basil type sauce. You could make out the flavor of the duck in the rice; I’m thinking they use the confit duck fat for this as well. Loved that perfectly cooked egg, with the crisp edges and gooey yolk.

Overall, we loved the folks working here, but the food just fell short. The products seemed top notch, but the execution did not do it justice. And at this price point, well…. It’s kinda like what my experience was at Morimoto in Philadelphia.

Morimoto Napa
610 Main St.
Napa, CA 94559

We took a short stroll after our meal. Right around the corner from Morimoto Napa is a location of Morimoto Asia. I know they have one in Waikiki as well. I took a looks at the menu; with stuff like XLB, Peking Duck, Sisig (!?!?), Pad Thai (double !?!?), Tonkotsu Ramen, etc, etc….

And then the faux Terracotta Statues…can you say PF Chang’s, in the image of Masaharu Morimoto???

What the heck???? Yikes!!!

Anyway, we walked along the walkway and promenade, enjoying the artwork.

We returned to our room….JJ was pooped, so I decided to walk a couple of doors over and check out the Cocktail Bar named The Fink.

I liked the somewhat nautical theme of the place. It was really quiet on this evening. I found it interesting to note that all the other folks at the bar were regulars.

The bartender was really friendly as was the gentleman talking to everyone. He introduced himself and I came to find out that he’s the owner of the place; Judd Finkelstein! Really friendly guy! I got to meet the “Fink” himself.

I got a favorite of mine; a Penicillin, which was nice and stiff!

Chatting with the bartender; I mentioned JJ and she asked me why didn’t I bring him in! So nice!

So guess who was coming with me to The Fink the next evening!

The Fink
530 Main St.
Napa, CA 94559

Road Trip – Bouchon Bakery (Yountville) and The Napa River Inn

Bakery, Croissants, Dog Friendly, Marin, Napa, and Sonoma Counties, Road Trip, Travel

**** Just a croissant in this one, in case you just want to come back tomorrow!

Our next destination after leaving Mendocino was the actual city of Napa. But first, I wanted to stop at a bakery that folks I know have been raving about in Yountville. Back in 2003, the one and only Thomas Keller opened Bouchon Bakery in Yountville, to reside along his restaurant Bouchon…all of which has become part of the kingdom that includes among others, the French Laundry, which I’ve had the pleasure of dining at a bajillion years ago and Per Se.

So, after a three hour drive, we made a stop in Yountville, which is quite a lovely and artsy town.

We found some parking up the street from the bakery and had a lovely little stroll down Washington Street. Van De Leur Park is a small, but quaint park…..and the flowers were in bloom, which JJ enjoyed.

We arrived at Bouchon Bakery and the Missus and JJ had a seat at the bench outside; while I went in.

Yes, of course I got the butter croissant, which looked fairly good.

Not overly laminated and while the ridges didn’t fall off, it lacked a nice crispness. The interior was on the doughy side and definitely needed more butter for my taste.

Overall….meh. And the funny thing is; we’d actually get a better croissant aux buerre later on this road trip, in Santa Cruz of all places!

Bouchon Bakery
6528 Washington St.
Yountville, CA 94599

We took a short walk after having the croissant.

Yountville seems nice to visit; though all the folks we saw seemed like tourists. I’m fairly certain it’s pretty expensive to live here as well.

From Yountville, it was about a twenty-five minute drive into the city of Napa and our accommodation, the Napa River Inn. Located in the Hatt Building, once the location of the Napa Mill, the hotel is located right on the riverfront.

It’s a historic property…..just look at the lobby.

The rooms are spread thru three different buildings on the property. The entrance to where our room was on Fifth Street.

And it actually had a view of the riverwalk from the patio, though it was discreetly bordered by plants for privacy. But, one of the main reasons we stayed here was how dog friendly the place is.

Look at how JJ was greeted!

I guess there were three pups staying here on this day!

And they had the room nicely set-up for him as well.

There’s a bakery; with free pastries delivered to your room each morning; 2 restaurants, a cocktail bar, and a sweet shop located on the property.

And lots of artwork everywhere.

Napa River Inn
500 Main St.
Napa, CA 94559

After settling in, we headed on out to explore a bit. We crossed the Napa River on the Third Street Bridge.

And went to explore the Oxbow Public Market.

There wasn’t anything at the market or along the walk that caught the Missus’s attention. So we headed back to the room.

It was kind of strange as this would basically be the main theme of our stay for the Missus as She seemed kinda bored with Napa…..

But at least JJ was a VIP!

Road Trip – Trillium Cafe (Mendocino)

American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Dog Friendly, Mendocino, CA, Road Trip, Travel

After having a nice afternoon nap and relaxing for a bit, we headed out to dinner.

Our destination for dinner was basically a half block away at the place much like MacCallum House Inn where we were staying. Trillium Cafe & Inn did double duty as well; both accommodations and a restaurant.

Like MacCallum House, the menu featured local produce; but seemed a bit more “hipster” to us and we seemed to enjoy the more eclectic menu as well.

And it’s always nice to be able to start with a Kir Royale, right?

As is the “norm” for us; we ordered a couple of appetizers and shared a main.

Things started off with some perfectly seared scallops in the Sauteed Wild Scallops ($22). So very oceany-sweet and tender.

I thought the balsamic glaze might be overkill; but it actually paired well with the earthy-slightly smoky asparagus puree.

The one item we found quite interesting was the Vegetable Galette ($13).

Here’s a better view.

Loved the texture of the pastry, sturdy enough to hold the veggies, but crisp really crisp layers of puff pastry. Nice combo of vegetables. And that lemon pesto was rich, but had a nice crisp-acidity as well.

The Broccolini ($12) was straight-forward, sort of like how I make at home…..though we prefer it a bit more “charred”.

The Vegetable Gnocchi ($37), had a nice array of veggies, but overall was the weakest dish of the meal.

The potato gnocchi was a bit tougher than we prefer but not bad. The pepito pesto had a mild nuttiness, but this dish needed a bit more flavor overall….though perhaps the objective was to enjoy the veggies in their true state?

I had a nice Tawny Port as my digestif.

While the Missus had the “Dubai Bar” ($14) for dessert.

Which She really enjoyed.

Overall, a very nice dinner under a lovely tent. The place was quite busy; but the service was quite friendly and they treated JJ well. We’d gladly return!

Trillium Cafe & Inn
10390 Kasten St.
Mendocino, CA 95460

After dinner we took a short walk to the bluffs and on the way back we saw this little one having a “bath”, just staring us down…..and an old phrase from “back home” came to mind as the raccoon seemed to be saying “wot, boddah you“?

We got back to our lovely accommodations and just hung out…..

The next morning we got up early…..

And took a walk up Lansing Street.

Past the very nice Harvest Market, then up the hill past the cemetery.

Past the lovely St Anthony’s Catholic Church.

That wooden sculpture above is of a woman and child looking toward the sea. It was created in the memory of two fishermen lost at sea.

We strolled on back to MacCallum House to have our breakfast, past some wonderful structures.

We had our breakfast on the patio again…..

Before packing up…resting for a bit….then heading out to our next stop!

Thanks for stopping by!

Where on the road were we?

Paso Robles/Cambria/San Luis Obispo County, Road Trip, Santa Barbara County, Travel

Would you believe we just got back from our 11th road trip this year? Yikes! I guess not being able to take those international trips because of the squirt really got us going huh? And yes, I’m like 6 road trips behind!

Anyway, this last one for the year was a short one, we actually went back to a familiar locale…we were just there in March.

But we thought JJ might enjoy the holiday festivities and he did.

Of course the Missus said we had to stop at Her favorite in the area.

And as for dinner; I went to a place that I had really enjoyed with JJ on our previous visit for drinks.

But this time we had the food which we really enjoyed!

JJ really enjoys this village; though it was a bit too crowded when we arrived. But he did make some new “frens”…..

Our next stop we had visited in in September and really enjoyed. Also, dogs can enjoy the beach before 10am and after 5pm…..

On days when the place isn’t busy; it’s so very relaxed and chill.

You could hear the waves crashing on the beach from our room.

On our last visit; we found a restaurant we really enjoyed and it was just as good this time around!

The actual main street is basically two blocks long; but it’s an enjoyable, relaxed place to stay!

Our last stop, was in an area recommended to me. The Missus enjoyed the shopping; folks were really friendly, and there were some nice walks.

We had one mediocre dinner; but our second dinner was pretty good.

So I think we’ll be returning.

Thanks for stopping by and let me spend this evening “juggling” things around…..

And I’ll be back tomorrow with a new post!

Road Trip – Breakfast at MacCallum House, the Mendocino Bluff Trail, Mendocino Market

Breakfast/Brunch, Dog Friendly, Mendocino, CA, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Travel

The Missus woke on our first full day in Mendocino ready to go. Breakfast was included in our stay at MacCallum House which was nice.

The Missus had a nicely made latte; I had an Americano.

The Missus chose some poached eggs and bacon.

While I got the standard two eggs breakfast – easy over with bacon, which was a $20 value.

Meanwhile, JJ got a nice stick to chew on…..

After a short break we decided to do the entire Mendocino Headlands Trail, which we had done a part of the previous day.

We headed back down Church Street and headed off until the trail ended with a view of Big River Beach.

We then walked along the bluffs; where the scenery was quite beautiful.

We then took the trail into Headlands State Park.

Even more lovely views….the coastline here is beautiful.

And as I mentioned before, it’s hard to believe the town is but a few steps away.

JJ was enjoying the scenery as well.

As you head toward the rocky end of the bluffs, things get a bit more dramatic.

It’s an easy 5 mile walk.

Did you know that Miasa (Omachi) in Nagano is Mendocino’s Sister City?

After our morning walk, the Missus wanted to drive up to Fort Bragg, which we did. Though once we got there; the Missus didn’t feel like stopping anywhere, though I think the next time up there we’ll take JJ on the Skunk Train. Anyway, I turned and headed back to Mendocino.

Once back, the Missus wanted to do some shopping, so we headed on out. We came across this honor system farm stand.

Pretty cool, huh?

We zig zagged our way around, in and out of shops. This was the Missus’s favorite.

Where She actually did “Spend-o-cino” if you know what I mean.

Even though they must have to deal with many tourists; folks here were very laid back, relaxed, and friendly.

Circling around Ukiah Street we came across and honor system pottery shop.

The town was giving off major quaint small town vibes!

We decided to grab a sandwich from Mendocino Market, a small shop that sells sandwiches, deli items, snacks, and even wine.

It’s one of those places where you check off your order on one of the handy-dandy forms, pay, then pick up your order at the counter.

After our breakfast we just wanted something light; so I got the Hummus Avocado ($9) on Sourdough.

I’ve come to enjoy pesto on my avocado toast, but never thought of having hummus with it! The nutty-earthy – slightly tangy hummus actually went quite well with the creamy-rich avocado.

The lovely alfalfa sprouts and tomatoes made the sandwich complete. Not haute cuisine, but just a nice, light sandwich for lunch.

Mendocino Market
45051 Ukiah St.
Mendocino, CA 95460

After which it was time for…..you know what, right?

Thanks for stopping by!

Road Trip – MacCallum House Inn and Exploring Mendocino

American/New American Restaurants, Dog Friendly, Mendocino, CA, Road Trip, Salads, Travel

After lunch we set about walking around Mendocino. From what I was told; the history of the area starts with the Pomo People, who lived here for over a millennium. The redwoods brought the lumber industry in the 1850’s and Mendocino Village was established in 1852. Many of the workers were from New England, which explains the Victorian stylings and Saltbox Cottages we saw. The town itself is quite charming, though folks I know warned me of how expensive they though things were…..they called the place “Spendocino”…..to us, it wasn’t as pricy as the Bay area.

Right off Main Street in Mendocino are two really easy trails. While waiting for our room, we strolled along the Mendocino Headlands Trail. The views were lovely.

Quite peaceful and relaxing, not another soul in sight.

Hard to believe that right across the road is Main Street!

We walked to the area overlooking Big River Beach.

And then up to Church Street where there’s well, a church of course.

That’s the historic Mendocino Presbyterian Church, which was build between 1867 and 1868.

And made our way back to our accommodations in a roundabout way. When visiting this charming village one quickly notices how many water towers there are.

In fact, our accommodations even had a Water Tower Suite….good ol’ number 13. According to this post, the water table is the area is close to the surface, thus the area was lacking with regards to in ground water storage. Most of the water towers were built at the end of the 19th century. That water tower above also has a history, which you can read about here.

Walking on Albion Street we noticed this Chinese Temple.

This is the Temple of Kwan Tai a Taoist temple dedicated to Kwan Tai (Guan Yu).

The Missus and I were immediately interested in how this got to be built in Mendocino. Apparently, the Chinese came to the area in the 1850’s to work in logging camps. It is said the the temple either dates back to1854 or 1867, depending on the source. Interesting, huh?

A block down Albion was our accommodation; the MacCallum House Inn which dates back to 1882.

This lovely inn features a variety of accommodations. We stayed in one of the suites in the “North Barn” building.

Which was lovely and had a private patio and even a hot tub, which was nice, even though we never used it.

The main building features a rather popular restaurant with patio seating, which was perfect for JJ. This was where we had breakfast, which was included with our stay. We decided to have an early dinner on this evening. The friendly Server told us that most of the ingredients were locally sourced.

Things started out with some really delicious bread.

The butter was decently whipped and light.

The Missus had Her sights on getting Her veggie fixes, so that was the focus of the meal; starting with the Field Lettuces.

Nice variety of greens, great crisp texture, loved the beets. The avocado was under ripe, hard, and lacking in flavor. The vinaigrette was quite simple, like something I’d make at home. That avocado and sourdough was a $7 upcharge.

The Grilled Asparagus and Proscuitto was fine; though the asparagus was overcooked and mushy, not quite how the Missus enjoys it.

The proscuitto was super fatty, almost like lardo. The egg was perfectly cooked and the cheese was nice and sharp in flavor.

The Olive Oil Roasted Cauliflower was simple, which was actually a good thing. Though the price for this dish was $32!

The Missus loves Her cauliflower and this was lightly sweet – earth – nutty, She loved it. The Kale might have been better served in smaller pieces. The quinoa was fine. That sauce had an interesting sweetness to it. I later found out it was pea “jus”.

I did see something on the “side dishes” menu that interested me. The Collard Greens, Ham Hocks, and Black Eyed Peas.

While the ham hocks were on the crisp side like lardons; we both loved the flavors – so savory and smoky, the beans were cooked perfectly, slightly firm and tender. This was very good.

Overall, a nice meal, the service was very friendly and we appreciated that most of the produce was sourced locally. Not a cheap meal coming in at over $120 not including tip….but heck, we were in “Spendo-cino” right?

MacCallum House
45020 Albion St.
Mendocino, CA 95460

We took a nice stroll after dinner. There’s a Health Food Store; with the interesting name of Corners of the Mouth Health Food Store right next to the back entrance of MacCallum House. Looks like it could have possibly been a church in a previous life?

We got some snacks and I got a couple of beers for the next two nights.

Corners of the Mouth, Health Food Store
45015 Ukiah St.
Mendocino, CA 95460

It was obvious that we wouldn’t be starving in Mendocino…….

Road Trip – Peaked Hill (Sonoma), Point Arena – Stornetta, and Frankie’s (Mendocino)

Marin, Napa, and Sonoma Counties, Mediterranean Restaurants, Mendocino, CA, Road Trip, Travel

Our next stop after Bodega Bay was the town of Mendocino. I’d heard some really nice things about the town and was excited to visit. The actual drive was set to be less than 3 hours, so I had some detours in mind.

Our first stop was right before the Russian River. I took a turn off Highway 1 onto Goat Rock Road making several stops at places like Blind Beach.

A then drove south finding some parking to the trail to the summit of Peaked Hill. Needless to say, the views were beautiful.

Loved the views of the shoreline.

I like to mix in interesting places when we travel and there happened to be a place I read about in Sea Ranch. Right off Highway 1 is a sign directing one to the Sea Ranch Chapel.

A non-denominational chapel dedicated to the memory of local artist Kirk Ditzler, it is designed to be a “serene refuge” for meditation and prayer. There were several people inside the building, so I didn’t want to bother them.

You can find some photos of the interior here.

We made a short fuel stop in Gualala and then the Missus went to check out this lovely little book store.

Right at the Rollerville Junction, we once again did a detour off the Shoreline Highway. This time up Lighthouse Road. We took a quick look at the Point Arena Lighthouse.

Before heading back down the road and parking at the beginning of the Point Arena – Stornetta Trail.

It’s a lovely coastal trail.

We only went until we could view the shore and rocks before heading on our way.

JJ did have time to stop and smell the flowers though.

From there it was just an hour to the town of Mendocino. We were instantly charmed by the village.

The Victorian style houses instantly took us to the East Coast.

In need of lunch, we stopped by a little shop steps away from where we were staying. You know why we “had” to stop here, right?

Yep, that’s right, it’s Frankie’s! Frankie’s is mainly a pizza and ice cream shop; but they also have salads and falafel…and even piadina.

There’s some patio seating, which was great on a nice sunny day.

The Missus and I really weren’t feeling like pizza, so we got Frankie’s Falafel and the Mediterranean Piadina.

The portion size for the Falafel Salad was quite generous.

This dish is actually Vegan. The exterior of the falafel wasn’t crisp enough, nor was the interior nice and creamy. We did both love the Tahini Dressing though. Nice and earthy, with a good acidic kick. The hummus was passable.

Both the Missus and I enjoyed the Piadina, which, while not being close to what we’d had in Malta, was quite refreshing.

The pita was crisp; the Tahini, like the salad was very refreshing; the Parmesan Cheese adding that salty-milky component. Crisp spinach, with olives and sun dried tomatoes as “hidden” surprises.

And while there wasn’t a “rainbow from Frankie” signifying his approval (we miss you F), this was a decent lunch.

Frankie’s
44951 Ukiah St.
Mendocino, CA 95460

Glad the lunch wasn’t too much food as it was now time to explore a bit before checking in.

Thanks for stopping by!