Mendocino Coast Travel

The restaurant business is challenging in the best of times. Since 2020, these haven't been the best of times, particularly not in San Francisco, where high rents make entry difficult and leave no margin of error. So many up-and-coming chefs headed out of town to hone their crafts and fulfill their visions. Mendocino is reaping is the benefits.

The highest profile SF relocated chef is Mathew Kammermer, who took over the kitchen at Harbor House in Elk in 2018 following a10 million dollar renovation on the property. He had been working at Saison in San Francisco and agreed to move to this remote hotel with the caveat that he gets full creative control of the restaurant. The result was Mendocino's first Michelin star restaurant. I couldn't care less about Michelin Stars or celebrity chefs, but I loved how he was translating what was taking place in the exquisite nearby bays into a multi-course menu that told the story of this crashing coastline. I spent a morning with him gathering seaweed and sea urchin for an article I was writing for the BBC on the purple sea urchin explosion. I learned how he made his own salt, cultured his butter sourdough bread with sea lettuce baked in. Dinner is a special occasion as it runs $325 a person plus tax and gratuity. The hack here is is lunch, for $150 a person you can experience the magic.

If you want more casual fair in Elk, try Maritime Cafe for local crab coquettes and petrale sole or a smoked black cod sole. If you're a landlubber, expect to find roast chicken or weisswurst. Each dish is loaded with integrity in regards to ingredients and execution.

Dinner entrees run $20.00-35.00.

My favorite wineries in Elk are Drew Family Wines and Wentroth Vineyards. Both make excellent Pinot Noir in the ridge above the Elk Coast.

A Harbor House sous chef headed down to Point Arena and opened Izakaya Gama,which is making waves with its small plates paired with its vast and varied sake offerings. The menu is seasonal but this time of year expect to find the likes of rockfishkombujume ($28), local rockfish cured on kombu seaweed or warm chawanmushi with Dungeness crab ($16).

If you're driving out 128 to get to Mendocino, don't miss Jumbo's Win-Win. I still dream of their wedge salad. I'm not sure if it's the herby dressing or pickled onions, but it was the best I've ever had. Their Okie Onion smash burger is $9 for single, $12 for double. It's everything a burger should be - juicy and messy - and you can ask for their fermented green chili sauce. Their hand cut fries are a revelation $5/$6. Their open face veggie sandwich ($13) with gouda and cheddar on sourdough is the perfect antidote to uninspired veggie burgers. They offer Strauss soft serve ice cream with the option of Greek style means it comes drizzled with olive oil and honey with sprinkles of Maldon salt and fennel seeds.($5) This place was opened by a San Francisco transplant and I predict that it's going to have long lines in the summer. But it's worth it.

Fog Eaters Cafe in the town of Mendocino is a vegetarian restaurant a menu that can be entirely vegan and/or gluten free if you like. They specialize in Southern food like beans and grits and chickpea pot pie. They also offer natural wines and have a well-curated wine shop.

Petite Percebes (Good Bones) in Caspar is in a honky tonk bar and serves Coastal comfort food 12PM to 8PM Friday through Monday. There's often live music playing on weekend nights. Expect the likes of Ruben sandwiches made with pastrami from Roundman's Smokehouse in Fort Bragg, a savory cassoulet, or local seafood and a pop-up oyster bar. Some of the best bread in the area is made there, and you can grab a loaf to go.

Princess Seafood Restaurant and Market is in the Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg. The fresh seafood is supplied by local salty fisherwomen who run their own commercial fishing operation. Try the Princess Poke Bowl ($17.95) and West Coast Crab Roll ($20.95). There's an outdoor fire pit and lots of local beers on tap. But here's a trigger warning - there are huge Trump flags flying in the Noyo Harbor. They don't belong to the gals running Princess, but you have to stare at them while you're there.

Places to Stay

On 128 through the Anderson Valley, The Madrones has super sexy two bedroom, kitchenette suites. Their restaurant, Wickson, has a wood burning oven and turns out fabulous Pinsas - and ancient flatbread from the Roman Empire. They also have tasting rooms for Wentworth Vineyards and Long Meadow Ranch and a cannabis shop, The Bohemian Chemist, that has the best high end cannabis branding with local product.

The Andiron Seaside Inn & Cabins (Little River) ($124.00-$300.00 a night)

This place is funky in all the best ways. The vintage rooms have themes like "crafting" that has baskets of knitting materials and other maker goodies. I also stayed in one with a beauty parlor-trans-rights activist themed room. You arrive to a vintage radio playing, homemade cookies and if you have. a dog, a great little pooch welcome basket. There's an outdoor hot tub, a happy hour bonfire with the owners on weekends, cute goats and chickens that lay delicious eggs. (Dogs cost an extra $20.00). EV charger!

Seafoam Lodge (Little River) (from $189.00)

This is s sweet little roadside hotel that's clean and cute and less than 1 mile from Van Damme State Park. There's a simple breakfast in the morning and each room has a balcony you can watch the sunset from. They are pet friendly and very close to having EV chargers working.