One of the great joys of traveling to California’s North Coast wine country is discovering little hidden gems for dining.
It’s easy to find Michelin-starred restaurants in the printed guidebooks and through online resources, but I much prefer to find under-the-radar cafes, diners and bistros that are known to only a few people besides the locals.
Today, at the risk of exposing one of my favorite North Coast wine country destinations to too many people, I’d like to tell you about Rancho Nicasio. Located in western Marin County, it stages an annual series of “Barbecues on the Lawn” concerts.
So, not only do you get a great meal, but you get to hear some great music to go with it. Check out the 2016 schedule here.
(Incidentally, if our schedules allow, the Mrs. and I are planning to take in one of the Paul Thorn concerts. Thorn is a fabulous singer-songwriter, and tells entertaining little stories between the songs.)
If you can’t make it to the Rancho Nicasio concert series, you can always fire up the barbecue on your back porch and take matters into your own tongs. Just make sure you have a boom box and some bright, fruit-forward red wines — like those featured in this Vinesse sampler — to accompany the ’Q.
