Via California - March/April 2020 - 20

ON THE ROAD

WEEKENDER

Sutter Creek,
California
↘ Spring is the perfect time to head
to the Sierra foothills for wildflowers,
history, and wine country cuisine.

Housed in a former Gold
Rush-era saloon, Feist
Wines is a great place to
taste the foothills terroir,
with a focus on zinfandels
and an in-demand barbera.
The tasting room offers a
small menu, including charcuterie and wood-fired pizzas; the walls are festooned
with posters for westerns
scripted by James R. Webb,
the owner's grandfather.
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Catch a glimpse of the
workings of mother lode
mining at the Kennedy
Gold Mine, between Sutter
Creek and Jackson. Over
the course of its 82 active
years, the mine bored 5,912
feet into the earth and produced roughly $34 million
in gold. On weekends from

●

top: One of the original tailing wheels-which carried mining debris
away from Jackson Creek-at the Kennedy Gold Mine. bottom:
Challah French toast with fruit and citrus cream at Element.

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V I A | M A R C H +A P R I L 2 0 2 0

March through October,
guests tour surviving surface structures, including
the office where melted
gold was poured into ingots
and the change room where
miners were given body
searches for hidden flakes.
The 147-year-old Knight
Foundry is home to one

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of the last water-powered
forges in the United States.
During monthly tours, the
machine shop's line shafts
and antique lathes whir
back to life. Visitors can
also watch molten aluminum being poured into custom molds, and take home
a cast piece.
With open-hearth cooking, regional craft beer, and
American roots music,

●

Sutter Creek Provisions

attracts a lively crowd.
Cowboy-hatted musicians
serenade audiences from
the stage while chef Tim
Blankenship, at work in the
outdoor kitchen, serves up
an ever-changing roster of
eats, ranging from smoked
chicken tacos to charred
broccoli with miso romesco.
- ga r r i c k

ramirez

TOP: CAROLYN FOX; BOTTOM: DAVID H. COLLIER

With a look that leans
more metropolitan than
mining camp, the brunch
spot Element Restaurant
serves up a custardy challah
French toast and a chard
frittata "waffle" accompanied by homemade maplesage sausages. A monthly
dinner series features seasonal plates such as lamb
with a pistachio-mint crust.

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Via California - March/April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Via California - March/April 2020
