For a recent trip to Calistoga, a charming small town in California's Napa Valley wine country, digital marketing agency owner (and former fashion editor) Melissa Liebling-Goldberg had two key items on her agenda: plenty of pool time for her five-year-old son and lots of delicious food & wine for the adults. She's letting us in on her favorite spots from her trip, including a quick stopover in San Francisco. Here's her travel diary for Merlette.
San Francisco:
We detoured to San Francisco to start our trip because I could not miss the major Irving Penn retrospective at the de Young Museum. A delicious pizza dinner at Del Popolo (ask to sit on the back patio and don't miss the focaccia to start!) and one of every pastry at Tartine Manufactory rounded out our quick stop.
Napa:
The Oxbow Public Market was the perfect midway stop on our drive from SF to Calistoga. The kids in our party gobbled down the burgers and hot dogs from Gott's Roadside, while the adults had a delicious Moroccan chive yogurt dip with fresh flatbread from Moro and chilled oysters from the iconic Hog Island Oyster Co. Model Bakery's famed English muffins were purchased to be eaten at home.
Calistoga:
Calistoga has been renowned for its mineral springs since the 19th century, and with temperatures cresting over 100 every day our group was intent on spending as much time in the water as we could. Dr. Wilkinson's was home base for the trip, a retro-cool refurbishment of a classic 1950s Calistoga motel with three mineral pools, hammocks and plenty of space for the kids to roam.
For those looking for a larger resort feel, the historic Indian Springs just a short walk down the road is expansive and beautiful. We had a delicious lunch at their restaurant, Sam's Social Club, where we stole the crunchiest tater tots from the childrens' plates to go with our local stone fruit panzanella.
House of Better at Dr. Wilkinson's adds smokey green chiles to its excellent breakfast burrito and makes a superior breakfast sandwich with the aforementioned Model Bakery English muffins — in my opinion, best consumed poolside.
Sam's General Store is another solid bet for breakfast, eaten outdoors on their leafy patio outside the last remaining cottage in its original location built by the town's founder, Samuel Brennan. The quiches, kouign amanns, and overnight oats were all a hit with the group, along with the excellently prepared coffee.
Calistoga Creamery produces perfectly homemade classics like root beer floats and thick handspun shakes, but the must-tries are the unexpected flavors like Cardamom, Rosewater and Saffron. Perfect for a leisurely stroll down the town's main street, Lincoln Avenue.
For those looking to burn some calories, the Calistoga Bikeshop rents out bikes by the day and will happily help visitors plan a route based on their interests and experience level. My husband spent the morning biking in the hills, while I hit the pool one more time with our son (and maybe a breakfast sandwich to share).
Sonoma:
We finished our stay with an outdoor picnic lunch on the Knoll at Sonoma’s Scribe Winery, which was well worth the short drive from Calistoga and a delight in every way! While the table enjoyed the Rosé and Pet Nat, I discovered their new Summer Vermouth, which was deliciously citrusy. Warm baguettes, local cheese, a grain salad with chèvre and ripe corn, perfect strawberries (we begged for a second helping) and crumbly butter cookies that reminded me of Poilâne in Paris. The property was gorgeous, the staff were exceptionally knowledgeable and kind, and the olive oil I took home is as tasty as it is beautiful.
Tip: It's as easy to fly in and out of the Sacramento Airport to get to Calistoga as it is to fly to San Francisco, which opens up the times quite a bit. We had a rental car with us the whole time and we were happy with that decision, which allowed us to roam the greater Sonoma area. Calistoga itself is highly walkable and no car is needed in the town itself.
