Breakfast in Healdsburg at Costeaux French Bakery & Café

There are many good spots to have breakfast in the area, but our favorite spot is Costeaux French Bakery & Café. You can get a full breakfast or a pastry, and always a delicious cup of coffee.

The Good: Wonderful breads and pastries, good coffee, full breakfast
The Bad: Crowded on weekend mornings.

Stryker Sonoma Winery

We are members of the Stryker wine club and today the winery is closed to visitors for a wine club event. They have many fun events planned including an old-fashioned grape stomp. We took a tour from head winemaker Tim Hardin. Tim provides excellent information about vineyard management and winemaking procedures. Stryker only makes small case lots from various vineyards. Their wines are excellent, mostly reds, including a delicious Pinot Noir and old vine Zinfandel. The winery and building are stunningly beautiful.

The Good: Small case production of various varietals, beautiful building and picnic area
The Bad: Popular tasting room on weekends, can be crowded.

Limerick Lane

There are many backroads in this wine country that are home to small family owned fabulous wineries. One of these gems is Limerick Lane. Their flagship wine is their Collins Vineyard Zinfandel made from old-vine Zinfandel. It is a well-balanced Zin that is not too heavy, making it a great wine with food. We discovered another delicious wine, the 1023 (their address), a blend of 50% Zinfandel and 50% Syrah. What a beauty! Unfortunately, they only make this wine in magnums and in a limited amount. Limerick Lane is located on Limerick Lane. Take the Old Redwood Highway turnoff from Highway 101 to Limerick Lane.

The Good: Family owned, the old vine Zinfandel and the 1023 blend.
The Bad: Small tasting room, only staffed by one person on our visit.

Dinner at Willie’s Seafood and Rawbar

Willie’s Seafood is definitely a hangout. The bar can be noisy but the dining area either inside or out is much less so. Willie’s does not take reservations as such but you can call just ahead and put yourself on a list. We waited about 45 minutes at the bar before getting seated. We had a great chat with the locals and one of the cooks. The menu is made up of mostly small plates, with the emphasis obviously on seafood. Everything was quite delicious. The place is very cheerful and inviting.

Willies seafood and rawbar

The Good: jovial and friendly atmosphere, delicious small plates.
The Bad: Noisy in the bar, no reservations

Breakfast on Sunday Morning at the Downtown Bakery & Creamery

The Downtonw Bakery & Creamery is very busy with locals. The staff just cannot keep up. We had a delicious breakfast but there were lots of snafus that really made everything much less enjoyable. We will pass next time unless it’s midweek and less busy.

The Good: Good coffee, interesting and unique menu of items
The Bad: The service