Far Northern California is known for its authenticity – the people, the land and, fortunately for locals and visiting foodies, the food—both for sustenance and celebration. Nestled throughout the Shasta Cascade region are myriad locally supplied restaurants, organic farms, family-run wineries and unique dining experiences that speak of Northern California’s genuine nature.
Use your senses to touch, smell and taste the fruits of the land in more ways than one. Wine tasting is an obvious choice, and as the wine movement grows in popularity in Northern California, the number of quality choices available rises as well. One of the best is Alpen Cellars, a family-run winery in the heart of the Trinity Wilderness. After your visit, you can walk the quaint downtown streets in Weaverville, a classic California mountain town. To the Southeast in Vina, at the New Clairvaux winery, a community of Trappist monks creates a variety of wines from their five acres of grapevines. However, the fruit of the vine isn’t the only treasure meant for sampling here in the North State. The 7 Hills Land and Cattle Company produces honey, beef and lamb for purchase in addition to the wine tasting at Anselmo Vineyards. As you’re headed south, a quick dash off the interstate in Corning will land you at The Olive Pit, a restaurant and shop complete with an olive tasting bar and a wonderland of locally produced olive oils, soaps, jams and honey.
To get even closer to the beginnings of the food process, cultivate your taste by joining up with local growers and visiting their farms and ranches. Using sustainable growing practices, Lundburg Farms provides area retailers with organic rice products such as chips, pasta and even syrup. In spring, the farm hosts an egg hunt, where children and adults tromp through the wintered field to rescue real bird eggs before the fields are prepared for the next planting. Serving farmer’s markets and shops in the region are the cheeses produced at Pedrozo Dairy and Cheese Company, which produces raw-milk, grass-fed, farmhouse cheeses. Chaffin Family Orchards, a multi-generational family farm, produces grass-finished meats, eggs, fruits and olive oil from some of the first olive trees planted in California one hundred years ago. On a visit to Mount Shasta Lavender Farms, you’ll be greeted with a cup of lavender lemonade and have the opportunity to pick your own lavender when the season is right.
Wining and dining go hand in hand as many of the fantastic local restaurants serve up local and regional wines and microbrews. The Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico has been one of the forerunners in the microbrew industry in California, brewing and serving a variety of seasonal beers and ales. In the adjoining restaurant they serve homemade bread, locally grown produce and choice beef from their own herd. Not far down the road, The Red Tavern provides guests with a menu determined by what fresh foods are in season; and of course, always in season is the extended menu of local and regional wines. In Redding, you can get the best steak in town at Jack’s Grill. Tried and true, Jack’s has been locally owned for 60 years. The atmosphere reveals decades of history, loyal customers, conversation and the gratification of a stellar 16-ounce steak. For dessert, you can hit up Sweetspot, a small café-like space with a big-city feel. There, you’ll find irresistible miniature gourmet cupcakes, frozen yogurt and fabulous gelato. You’ll leave wondering what more you could ask for from small town life in Northern California.
With the land and outdoors being such a present reality in the day-to-day lives of Northern Californians, it’s no wonder that people care about the origin of the food that graces their dinner tables. Slow Food Shasta Cascade is a non-profit organization that unites Shasta, Tehama and Butte counties; supplies information; and hosts events that promote healthy and natural eating. There are also annual events like the Taste of Chico and Redding Beer and Wine Festival, and weekly farmer’s markets abound throughout the region. Check out the quarterly Edible Shasta Butte Magazine for more information on local foods and the people connected to them.
This region is home to star producers and growers, famous around the country and the world for their quality and fruitfulness. For instance, Prather Ranch, located in the shadow of Mount Shasta off highway 97, provides certified organic beef to restaurants and customers throughout California. They also produce organic strawberries, creating an unlikely but winning combination for customers. Near the northern border is a place famous for the always fiery favorite: Tulelake horseradish. This area grows one third of the world’s horseradish; adding it as a secret ingredient to an old family recipe is a powerful way to remember the taste of Northern California. California has also become the world’s largest producer of wild rice, the only cereal grain native to North America. Much of it is cultivated in the Fall River Valley and distributed by Fall River Wild Rice, a small, grower-owned cooperative. These food stars are just icing on the cake when having a holiday in the areas; the rest of the show is in the scenery and experiences.
You’ll know you’ve arrived when the land sprawls outwards and upwards, framed by Mt. Shasta, Lassen Peak and the Trinity Alps. Within that frame you’ll find an interwoven relationship that hangs lightly in the air, between the land and food, the natural processes, the cultivators and consumers, just waiting for someone to reach up with their fork and grab it.
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