Groveland, Calif., is literally a wide spot in the road, without even a traffic light (or, at least, any we encountered). We headed there to spend the night at the Groveland Hotel so we could slip into Yosemite the next day.
The Groveland Hotel is old, having been a viable establishment since the mid-19th century, at times with a bevy of "working girls." (None encountered this trip.) The porch boards creak, the doors are weathered, and the paint less than pristine. It was great!
More B&B than hotel, the Groveland features, along with the traditional numbers, rooms with the names of local personalities from the past. The room across from ours is advertised as being haunted because a local leader with some notoriety had died in the room. (We ran into a couple of Brits who had stayed in the room for three nights, but they saw no ghostly spirits. "We may ask for our money back," one said.)
Our room, "Just Juanita," celebrated a young woman back in the mining days who was hanged from a nearby bridge for killing a man who was attacking her. Her arguments of self defense didn't sway the mob who thought more of the miner than poor Juanita. Jaded history aside, the room was comfortable, in a Victorian way, and sans TV, which allowed for a quiet evening of cribbage and romance.
On our arrival earlier that afternoon, we had slipped next door to the Iron Door Saloon, the first saloon in California, we were told, for a beer (Malcolm) and marguerita (Joyce). At dinnertime, we returned, but we found the menu mostly burger-ish. We wanted something a bit more enticing with a more serene ambiance, so we ambled back to the Groveland Hotel for the fare in its dining room, the Cellar Door. (Guess "Door" names play well in these parts.)
To our surprise, it turned out to be one of our most pleasing dining experiences ever -- yep, ever! (And this from two people who take eatin' seriously and who have dined in some pretty fancy places.) Truly, it was exquisite, a word I've seldom used to describe a dining experience.
We started with martinis (and, no, that did not influence our use of "exquisite"). Joyce had grilled pesto shrimp in lemon oil on a bed of parmesan grits with garlic spinach. I had a 4 oz. filet mignon with truffle mashed potatoes and crisp vegetables in a green peppercorn sauce and, because of the irresistible lure of garlic, a side of the garlic spinach. Not only delectable, but reasonable. Joyce's was $19, mine $16, plus $4 for that extra touch of garlic spinach.
Did I mention the martinis? They were reasonable (and exquisite), too.
We'll be back to the Groveland for both the ambiance and the food.
And the martinis.
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