San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
DELTA HAS MORE THAN ITS SHARE OF QUIRKY PLACES TO EAT AND DRINK.
Ordering the catfish seemed like a good idea — it was about the only species that’s not stuffed and mounted on the walls at Foster’s Bighorn.
For more than 60 years, the old-timey bar and restaurant in tiny Rio Vista has been known for friendly service, a great Friday lunch special and the more than 100 taxidermy hunting trophies that cover nearly every square foot of the walls in the dining rooms and bar.
And while the spectacle might make a PETA member’s head explode, it’s by far not the only offbeat setting for food and drink along the byways and waterways of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Per capita, the sprawling rural region has more than its fair share of strange places for a pit stop along the River Road, where most towns are smaller than a San Francisco neighborhood — and a lot less likely to be gentrified.
Along with Foster’s Bighorn, here are some of our favorite places to refuel — both on food and on quirky culture — while road-tripping up the delta.
Giusti’s Place, Walnut Grove
Giusti’s is a fairly ordinary comfort-food restaurant (although some patrons swear by the pork chops), but the bar is why this place is a head-scratching experience — although it’s best not to take your hat off. Look up and every square inch of the ceiling is occupied by hats, presumably pinned up as ritualmeets-decor. Trucker hats, baseball caps, beer-logo hats, one from the U.S. Postal Service, and a few thousand other caps with their bills pointing down at patrons, most of who stopped noticing the bizarre collection years ago.
How did it start: “I think a couple of guys were drunk and just left their hats, so someone put them up there,” said the bartender. “Then people just started leaving them on purpose.”
Yes, My Sweet BBQ, Isleton
Pitmaster chef Marvin Epting is not only an expert in grilling and smoking, he knows olfactory marketing. Walking through Isleton’s historic Asian district on Main Street, you can’t help but catch a breath of smoke from Epting’s grills — which are conveniently parked in the street in front of his cafe.
Both the St. Louis-style pork ribs and chicken are as good as you would expect from three generations of recipes brought to this delta from the Mississippi Delta. And on the off chance you have room, Epting prides himself on desserts, including at least a dozen varieties of cheesecake.
Long Island Larry’s Hot Dogs, Rio Vista
After leaving the world of big business in New York City, Larry Brickman found more success (and a lot more serenity) in a parking lot in Rio Vista. That’s where Brickman parks his hot dog business, a mustard yellow trailer with a big dancing frankfurter on the side (wearing a vaguely demented expression).
“I never thought I’d be a hot dog guy,” said Brickman, while taping up flyers with the latest menu item, a chocolate chip brownie. “Sometimes I’m here. Sometimes I’m not. It gave me more flexibility. I wish I discovered it 30 years ago.”
There aren’t a lot of surprises on the menu — old fashioned dogs, hot links, Polish dogs and Rio Pie, a traditional Frito pie (chili, cheese and corn chips) with a hot dog on top. Most popular item: a Polish dog with bacon and cheese. “I resisted doing it, but everyone wants bacon now.”
Lighthouse Bar and Grill, Isleton
From a distance, the kayak rental hut at Lighthouse Bar and Grill resembles a tikithemed houseboat that was lost at sea for a couple years.
The Lighthouse, part of the Lighthouse Marina near where the Mokelumne and San Joaquin rivers meet, doesn’t look like a place that someone intended to make funky, like a hipster bar or a boutique hotel lobby. At some point, it just evolved into a laid-back and friendly restaurant with a summer-vacation vibe — then just stopped evolving.
According to the beleaguered sign out front, with yellowed plastic letters held on with binder clips, the Lighthouse is the go-to place locally for live music, as well as karaoke (Thursday), bingo (Friday) and on Sunday, something billed as “Trivioke.”
The menu is pretty standard; the attraction here is hanging out over the water and drinking a cocktail while watching the boats go by outside. And maybe getting a little lost.