A small town in Northern California has been named the best small town in America for food and wine lovers.
The quiet idyll of Elk, a three-hour drive north along the coast from San Francisco, took the top spot in a new ranking by Travel + Leisure.
The row of homes and hotels that stretches along Pacific Coast Highway is often overlooked by travelers, and is home to only about 275 residents.
To find the best small towns for food and wine in the U.S., Travel + Leisure only considered places with fewer than 25,000 residents.
Elk stood out for its high-quality restaurants and its location in the middle of a world-renowned wine region.
The quiet town of Elk is a three-hour drive north along the coast from San Francisco.
To be recognized in the ranking, a city had to “stand out in its category and offer a variety of activities, accommodations and a timely reason to visit, whether it’s a notable new festival, hotel, restaurant, attraction or tourism initiative,” Travel + Leisure wrote.
Despite having fewer than 300 inhabitants, Elk has a Michelin-starred restaurant.
The Harbor House Inn, which has received two Michelin stars, is a 20-seat restaurant serving “a tasting menu focused on coastal cuisine,” according to its website.
The Michelin guide describes the cuisine as “very original”.
She praises chef Matthew Kammerer’s use of “hyperlocal and foraged ingredients, enhancing not only delicacies like sea urchin but also more humble items like seaweed harvested from the nearby shoreline or lace lichen plucked from overhanging trees.”
Elk is also home to the recently reopened Sacred Rock Inn, which has panoramic views of the Pacific Coast.
The hotel features two restaurants: Greenwood Restaurant, which bills itself as an “approachable fine dining restaurant,” and Elk House, a casual pub-style restaurant housed in a historic building.
The former has a wine list dotted with local wine, according to Travel + Leisure, while the latter has a beer list that includes brews from the neighboring towns of Point Arena and Boonville.
Elk Cove Inn is home to the Sibo restaurant, which has a distinctly French feel.
When it comes to wine, Elk has its own wineries and is in a prime position just half an hour from the Anderson Valley vineyards.
The row of houses and hotels that stretch along Pacific Coast Highway is often overlooked by travelers and is home to just about 275 residents (pictured: Harbor House Inn)
Elk was noted for its high-quality restaurants and location amidst the world-renowned wineries of the Anderson Valley.
The Harbour House Inn, which has received two Michelin stars, is a 20-seat restaurant that serves “a tasting menu focused on coastal cuisine,” according to its website.
The Michelin guide rates the cuisine of the Harbor House Inn as “very original”
Anderson Valley wineries are known for their sparkling wines and Alsatian grape varieties.
“Unlike many wine regions that have become popularized to the point of overtourism, the wine experience in Elk and Anderson Valley remains accessible and intimate,” Travel + Leisure said.
‘Many wineries are owner-operated and some retain a gastronomic element, such as artisanal cheeses that complement Pennyroyal Farm wines.’
To sample local wine, visitors only need to drive 10 minutes inland from Elk to Drew Winery, which sits on a former apple orchard.
This family-owned farm is known for its pinot noir and chardonnay, as well as its food grown on certified organic farms.
