After some serious pampering up at Indian Springs in Calistoga the last few days, and a very decadent dinner at the Martini House in St. Helena, we were in need of some down-home delicious grub. Besides, we needed a good solid foundation for an afternoon of wine tasting down the Silverado Trail.



We lounged around the heated mineral pool at the Springs until we could stand it no longer, then packed up our bags and headed down to the original Taylor's Automatic Refresher in St. Helena. Taylor's also has a second location (which I've visited many times) at the SF Ferry Building.

Bought by winemakers Joel and Sarah Gott in 1999, who also own the lovely Palisades Market in Calistoga, Taylor's serves up not only some of the best burgers you are likely to find in the Bay Area, but also huge salads, ahi tuna burgers, fried calamari, mini corn dogs, fish tacos, chicken sandwiches, and thick milk shakes made with Double Rainbow ice cream.

If you've never been to this North Bay institution, it's well worth a visit. The kitchy burger stand/diner has a huge back lawn studded with picnic tables. You could do some serious lounging here, especially on a beautiful day. Well, that and the food coma you might go into after ordering way too much.

But the real reason you are here are definitely the burgers. Served on toasted Sciambra egg buns with Taylor's secret sauce, all of their burgers are made with the best-quality ingredients. You can get a simple cheeseburger (always my favorite, I'm a purist) or go for all-out fulfillment with a double burger and combinations of bacon, blue cheese, BBQ sauce, jalapenos, or mushrooms.



Four of us ate our way through crispy beer-battered onion rings, a cheeseburger, a double cheeseburger, a California chicken sandwich (layered with jack cheese and guacamole), and the wild Miss Kentucky chicken sandwich, complete with grilled onions and mushrooms, jack cheese, slaw, BBQ sauce, and ranch (yeah, imagine that!). I'm getting full again just thinking about it. We also slurped down a thick, creamy espresso-chocolate shake and a couple of very refreshing Arnold Palmers (a mixture of lemonade and iced tea, my fave on a hot Napa Valley day!).

We finally got up the will to leave our shady picnic table, roll into our car, and set off on a wine adventure, with a vow to only eat salads for at least a week.

St. Helena Location
933 Main Street, St. Helena
707-963-3486

San Francisco Location
Ferry Building, San Francisco
866-328-3663