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Laytonville, Mendocino County, CA: organic food, locally grown
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Welcome to Laytonville, Mendocino County, CA
A glance out the window of your car might give you the idea Laytonville is just another turn in the road along Highway 101. Not if you’re hungry! No, this isn’t about 4-star Michelin Guide eateries where you have to dress up and be preoccupied by “presentation.” This is about comfort food, the kind you leap out of the car and traipse across a gravel driveway for.
On your left as you pull into town is the Chief Smokehouse. This is ranch country, where people take their beef very seriously. When you get a burger here, it’s the real thing. So are the fries. And the shakes? Uh-huh, made with honest-to-goodness ice cream.
Local resident tip: the patty melt offers an experience that makes serious comfort foodies swoon and utter those primal sounds that could be embarrassing if you didn’t know their cause.
A few blocks farther north on the right side of Highway 101 tucked away behind the Chevron station is La Casona del Cielo, home of some of the finest Mexican food you’ll find anywhere. And to think -- you almost drove through town!
La Casona serves the same breakfast and lunch menu for the same modest prices (MO-SA), 11A-8:30P. Enjoy a variety of pork, chicken, beef and seafood dishes. There’s one word to explain what distinguishes the food, no the cuisine, at La Casona del Cielo. It’s fresh. Whether you’re talking about the pico de gallo, the guacamole, or the ingredients of the dishes listed in the 4-page menu, there was that distinctive, almost unrecognizable sensation of tasting fresh ingredients. You’ll find La Casona at 44901 N. Highway 101 (between the Chevron Station and Geiger’s Long Valley Market). Phone: 707.984.8226.
Of course, you can’t just climb back into the car after a memorable meal. Stroll around town. Across the highway is The Mill. Friends Coffee House & Deli comes highly recommended for sandwiches to go. Buckley’s Thrift Store (“Another Roadside Attraction”) has used clothes and collectibles. Used books are a buck apiece. There’s also a liquor store.
Geiger’s Long Valley Market in Laytonville is a full-service grocery and hardware store. Boomer’s Saloon, popular with locals, has the only liquor license in town. Along the side of Boomer's is a delightfully quirky bookstore, Book Bunnies. You can have your astrological chart read, buy handcrafted gifts from local artists, or just chat with proprietor Jules Aldwell about her eclectic collection of bargain books. Hours vary by season; call 707.984.8733 for specifics.
You could hike a few block south or hop in the car to check out The Fat Quail Quilt Shop -- whether you’re interested in making your own or buying treasures stitched by a local expert. Phone 707.984.6966 or e-mail thefatquail@earthlink.net for more information.
Continue north to explore Humboldt County's redwood country or head west along rural Branscomb Road to reach some of the most dramatic coastline of Mendocino County.
Photos by Jay Gordon
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