Take a cross-country culinary adventure
Wine country wining + dining Lodi style
The San Joaquin Valley offers irresistible eateries and beer and wine hubs to satisfy everyone’s tastebuds.
LODI, Calif. >> We’re chilling inside a massive, state-of-the-art brewery with a cold IPA in hand and a fierce game of tile rummy on the table. Huge roll-up glass doors protect the large fermenters, bustling beer garden and colorful taproom, which has, on any given day, about 10 beers on tap, a live band and a food truck parked in front.
Idol Beer Works is the kind of neighborhood-defining spot you’d typically find in Oakland or Berkeley, Calif. But it is here, in an old Giant Discount Tire shop on South Sacramento Street in Lodi (which is, if you haven’t noticed yet, Idol spelled backward).
We arrived here in the San Joaquin Valley on a cool Saturday morning in late May, tasked with uncovering new, irresistible eateries and beer and wine hubs in a weekend of unhinged gastronomy.
Our culinary adventure actually started en route to Lodi, on the Miracle Mile in Stockton, at a barbecue joint called Fat City Brew & BBQ. Fat City used to be a Big Green Egg retail shop, but the grills have been relegated to the corner to make room for a 28-tap brew house and fast-casual restaurant using the award-winning rubs and sauces of Manteca-based Rob’s Smokin’ Rub & Frog Sauce.
You order at the counter from large paper menus and wait for massive sandwiches delivered on aluminum trays brimming with juicy tri-tip or grilled chicken, accompanied by delicate, housemade potato wedges shaped like Pringles (we loved those) or meat plates featuring their popular baby back ribs.
Service is friendly, the game is always on and frequent tap takeovers — from Tracy’s Morgan Territory Brewing to San Diego’s Pizza Port Brewing — means Fat City is already a destination for California craft beer fans.
After making our way to Lodi and checking into our bed-andbreakfast, Bella Vino, we took a nap in the living room — and awoke to the chatter of guests in town for a square-dancing convention. That was our cue to get washed up for dinner and head out.
Bella Vino was an easy halfmile walk down tree-lined South Hutchins Street to our dinner restaurant, Fenix, in downtown Lodi. Fenix has an urban vibe and specializes in New American cuisine using ingredients from nearby farm and producers, including a handful of Lodi wineries.
Expect crowds, especially on weekends, and order a bunch of warm small plates, like the roasted heirloom carrots ($11) with romanesco, housemade labneh and pine nuts, and cheddar bacon biscuits ($4) with peppered maple syrup and honey butter.
Chef Richard Hyman, formerly of the River Mill in French Camp, delights with pretty plating, especially when it comes to entrees such as the pan-seared Hokkaido scallop ($14) nestled atop forestgreen pesto risotto, or bright white pan-roasted Alaskan halibut ($19) served on a black plate and topped with a tomato and garlic confit.
Too stuffed for dessert, we took advantage of the fresh evening breeze and were walking down West Pine Street back to our bed-and-breakfast, when a neon ice cream cone sign beckoned us. Inside Segale’s Double Dip Gallery, we discovered the watercolor paintings of artist and owner Tony Segale, as well as antiques and handmade jewelry by local artisans.
Segale’s doubles as a scoop shop, serving up Sacramentobased Gunther’s Ice Cream in little takeout boxes. Our favorite: a refreshing and fruity, bright magenta sorbet made with Michael David Winery’s petite sirah. Lemon custard is exceptional, too. We spooned up every last bit before calling it a night.
We awoke Sunday to a day of wine tasting, starting at M2 Wines in Acampo. M2 opened four years ago, but the open-air tasting room, located on the estate vineyard, is so modern and pristine, it felt like opening day.
The winery specializes in small-lot, fruit-forward red wines, particularly from prized zinfandel vineyards, in addition to a viognier and rosé. But our favorite was the 2015 emtwopointone zinfandel ($28). The name is a riff on insufferable computer and mobile phone software updates, but the wine is an absolute delight — lush, smoky and perfect for summer barbecues.
From there, we headed 2 miles down to LangeTwins Family Winery and Vineyards, home to a fifth-generation Lodi wine-growing family. The property is mas-
sive, with a grassy lawn where families were playing outdoor Jenga, while sipping rosé and nibbling wood-fired pizzas straight from the oven.
But the sleek redwood bar inside the tasting room is where the magic happens. We tasted a half-dozen LangeTwins wines, including standouts like the 2017 chenin blanc ($20), a zippy citrus refresher perfect for salad, and the inaugural 2015 Montepulciano ($25), a bright, mediumbodied, plummy red exclusive to the winery.
Those soft tannins whet our appetites and sent us racing back to downtown Lodi and its newest eatery, West Oak Nosh. The trendy gastropub, which is split into a bar and a family-friendly dining room, complete with community tables and chalkboards, opened just last month and is still working out some minor service kinks. But the vibe and food are spot-on.
It offers a small menu of handmade sausages ($8), sandwiches ($9) and shareable bites like a warm, saltglistening Bavarian pretzel ($6) and classic deviled eggs ($8). Plan to split the pork schnitzel, a massive, gloriously pounded and breaded pork loin topped with crispy slaw, chipotle aioli and pickled red onions on a pretzelknot bun. As we headed home, I realized it was yet another example of a meal and dining experience I’m used to having in Berkeley or Oakland, yet happy to experience — again and again — in Lodi’s wine country.