The hubster and I drove up to the wine country to meet up with my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew over Memorial Day weekend. Then we all took a mini trip to Lake Tahoe together. Lake Tahoe is where California and Nevada meet, and most people go there during the Wintertime to go skiing. We opted to visit it in the Spring to hang out in the hot tub, drink pina colatas, and chillax. It was a great decision.
We started out our trip by first doing a little wine tasting, and then stopping by Yountville in Napa Valley to grab a picnic lunch at Thomas Keller’s Addendum for some of his famous fried chicken. It’s an addition (outdoor stand) to his restaurant Ad Hoc, and serves boxed lunches to go only on Thursdays-Saturdays from 11:00am-2:00pm.
With such a small window of time when the stand is open, you can imagine that it can get pretty crowded fast. That’s why they even give you the option to place your order online in advance. We decided to live on the wild side and just go. Fortunately, we were early enough to just miss the line.
There are a few picnic tables available, but we saw many people bring their own blankets and enjoy their lunch on the grass. That’s not a bad idea!
This little shack isn’t big on offering choices. As you can see, they basically have two main entrees available, which sometimes changes. Our menu choices were his fried chicken and reuben sandwich. The entrees are pricey, $16.50 for one menu item, but totally worth it just for the experience alone. Whatever you choose comes with a few delectable sides, such as potato salad, honey corn bread, and cole slaw, so you do leave feeling full.
The reuben sandwich consisted of moist well-seasoned corned beef, mild homemade sauerkraut, and warm buttery toasted thick sliced rye bread. It was soft to the bite and almost velvety.
The fried chicken was everything I expected and more. It definitely lived up to its hype. The juicy meat was seasoned to the bone, and the light and crispy batter had a slight kick to it. I couldn’t stop saying, “mmm” with every bite.
I actually have the cookbook Ad Hoc at Home but haven’t cooked anything from there yet. But now, I seriously cannot wait to try to recreate his fried chicken recipe on my own. Everyone loved it.
When we arrived to our hotel at Lake Tahoe, this was our view. The air was cool and crisp, and kinda confusing- you know where you’re not sure if you should be wearing jeans or shorts…so you wear shorts and then regret it.
The next day, we grabbed some breakfast at a local bagel shop and strolled around on the marina.
Let me just say that Lake Tahoe in the Springtime is gorgeous. It was pretty surreal to watch my nephew play in the warm sand near the water and see the snow capped mountains in the distance. We spent a few hours lounging on a beach blanket, eating sandwiches, and sipping on smoothies.
Overall, the best part of our trip was sitting in the hot tub at our hotel, looking out at the mountains.
The worst part of the trip was when my foot got stabbed by a nail.
Ouch.
The next day, when we were back at my sister’s home, we went to the Cornerstone Gardens to take some pictures.
My sister paraphrased this place to be “kinda hipster” and “a photographer’s dream.”
Both statements were true.
It’s this small sculpture garden which showcases exhibits from local artists that are constantly changing.
Why… hello…
There was even a beautiful lily pond there.
It’s pretty cool, because walking through the gardens is totally free, and it’s a great place to hang out and get creative.
Before we knew it, our Memorial Day weekend was over, and it was time for Joe and I to head back home to Orange County. But before we took off, we had to pick up some super sweet Sonoma strawberries from this little farm stand my sister frequents.
I don’t know what’s going on with these strawberries, but they are out of control. They are CRACK berries.
They were the perfect treat to snack on for our long car ride home.
So… what did you do for Memorial Day weekend? Whatever you did, I hope you drank pina colatas, didn’t get stabbed by a nail, and enjoyed lots of yummy food with family and friends.
