Monthly Archive: February, 2007
February 27, 2007 at 9:33 am
by bruce
· Filed under eats
For an isolated rural area, the Mendocino Coast has many good breakfast choices. Since we’re also a tourist destination, I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. The truth is, however, not all breakfasts are equal, so I’m offering my list.
Of course, if you’re staying at a B & B, you don’t need to read this. Before moving here, I stayed in at least 20 area bed and breakfast inns, and all of them produced great breakfasts. A gourmet breakfast in a B & B is just part of the experience.
Beyond that, the locals all have their own favorites. Mine is Queenie’s Roadhouse in Elk, 20 miles south of Mendocino. If you want to stay closer to Fort Bragg or Mendocino, there are plenty of good choices. Here are some of the places I like, in no particular order of preference:
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February 26, 2007 at 11:25 am
by dff
· Filed under drives, eats, favorites
Or so says Lynne (a.k.a Queenie), the owner and chef at Queenie’s Roadhouse Cafe in Elk. This is the best breakfast around, in my opinion — an opinion shared by a lot of locals. This is the place where you’ll see the most innkeepers outside their pens inns. As a recovering innkeeper, I have to say it’s wonderful when someone else fixes breakfast for you! Here’s what makes Queenie’s so consistently excellent:
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February 24, 2007 at 3:30 pm
by bruce
· Filed under eats, favorites
There are a number of pizza joints along the Coast. Some of them are decent and some not so great. Two, however, are outstanding and as different as night and day.
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February 24, 2007 at 2:43 pm
by bruce
· Filed under eats, favorites
Living next to the ocean brings a lot of benefits: fresh air, great sunsets and lots of fish. Our small fishing fleet, based at Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg, delivers a wide variety of fresh fish and crabs. Rarely do you actually have to ask if the fish is “fresh.” Fish & Chips, of course, is another matter altogether. You can take fresh fish and produce a soggy, greasy plate of fish and french fries.
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February 24, 2007 at 2:13 pm
by bruce
· Filed under hikes, parks
I’m not going to make this a “favorite.” Afterall, everthing can’t be a favorite. But Spring Hill Ranch was an incredible addition to Van Damme State Park, a huge expansion sandwiched between Van Damme Beach on the south, Chapman Point on the north, Highway 1 on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west.
The walk is spectacular: there are two benches cut from tree trunks along the trail where you can sit and watch the waves crashing into the rocky coast. In early spring and winter, the waves create an incredible show of size and power. Some of the waves are 30-feet plus, which literally explode as they hit the cliffs, shooting water another 20 feet high.
There are two entry points from Highway 1 — an marked fence opening just north of the B & B Auberge of Mendocino, and a small dirt strip about 100 yards from the Gordon Lane sign just south of Menodcino Village. Sounds complicated. But ask a local or your innkeeper. There’s no paved parking near the Gordon Lane entrance; just a dirt road with room for a half dozen or so cars.
What is there to do? Walk, look, smell the ocean air, sit and contemplate, watch the harbor seals on rocks near Van Damme Beach. Or picnic on the bluffs. Not too many tourists find this place. So, check it out and enjoy the solitude.
From the Gordon Lane entrance, you can walk to the ocean, all the way to the end of trail and back in 45 minutes (about 3 miles roundtrip).
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