Our friends at FOUND LA have been traveling throughout California to discover the best places to stay, eat, drink, and play. Below, find some highlights from their recent discoveries. Subscribe here to get FOUND LA in your inbox.
San Diego
Grandeur awaits those entering Addison, a bucket list fine dining destination in San Diego. Set inside a hacienda, the restaurant boasts wooden ceilings, floor-to-ceiling arched windows, marble pillars, and wrought iron double doors. Inside the main dining room, a dozen tables covered in white linen, a spacious wine room encased in glass.
A recent dinner began with a glass of Krug from 2006, the year of Addison’s inception. A ten-course tasting ensued, the work of chef William Bradley, a San Diego native whose cuisine incorporates Mexican nods (chicken liver churros) and Japanese influences (shellfish chawanmushi). Most marvelous of all was the modestly named “Eggs and Rice” starring caviar, koshihikari rice, smoked sabayon, and toasted sesame. Here, the notion of California gastronomy transcends traditional ideas about seasonal and ingredient-driven work to honor the different cultures (and their respective cuisines) that have put down roots in the Golden State.
The service is extraordinary. Should you go for the wine pairing, Kyle South, Addison’s, 26-year-old sommelier, offers three options that draw from the restaurant’s 10,000-bottle collection.
Securing a reservation can be tough — Addison is the only Michelin three-star restaurant in Southern California — though OpenTable shows some availability about a month out. If that doesn’t work, a tip: each month, the restaurant releases additional tables via its email newsletter. Consider subscribing, and when it hits your inbox, act fast. –Victoire Loup
→ Addison (San Diego) • 5200 Grand Del Mar Way • Tues-Sat 5-11p • Reserve.
Montecito
In a state with 840 miles of coastline, I always wondered why it was impossible to find an excellent seafood restaurant with beautiful views of the Pacific. Then I discovered Caruso’s at the Rosewood Miramar Beach in Montecito.
The best tables are undoubtedly on the terrace, which offers front-row seats to crashing waves and pink sunsets, while the dining room resembles the inside of a yacht — bedecked in navy blue and crisp white, with teak wood floors and leather booths. Despite a dress code (strictly elegant) and Caruso’s corresponding top-tier service, a warm and inviting atmosphere persists.
Regional flavors and locally sourced ingredients drive the Italian-influenced menu. Highlights include chilled Santa Barbara spiny lobster, gnocchetti with uni (from an esteemed local diver, Stephanie Mutz), and Channel Islands halibut served underneath a parsnip puree. For dessert, buttermilk mousse made with honey from, of course, the property’s own beehives.
Rather than hastily returning to Los Angeles after an exceptional dinner, stay the night at the hotel. This allows for a nightcap at The Manor Bar, with its library-like setting and cocktail menu that nods to iconic literary villains: The Dorian Gray is fruity and Hennessy-based, while the spicy Shere Khan contains both mezcal and Aperol. And, finally, a good night’s sleep in a Rosewood Miramar Beach bungalow, marble bathrooms and Diptyque amenities included. –Victoire Loup
→ Caruso's at Rosewood Miramar Beach (Montecito) • 1759 S Jameson Ln • Sun-Thurs, 530-9p; Fri-Sat, 530-930p.
Russian River Valley
Lately, my vacation craving is for wilderness — with plush amenities, of course. The Russian River Valley on the outskirts of California wine country fits the bill. Here, two excellent lodging options:
→ The Stavrand (Guerneville, above): A newly renovated historic mansion that provides creature comforts like luxury linens, strong showers, and organic Juice Beauty products made exclusively for the hotel. A trim 21 rooms, The Stavrand easily meets the mark for isolation. Better yet, some rooms come equipped with outdoor cedar soaking tubs for stargazing.
The inn’s restaurant serves a prix fixe of California cuisine with produce from an on-site garden. The rest of the six acres are home to a pool and hot tub, lawn games, fire pits, and a short walking path that leads to town, where bikes and kayaks are available to rent. The best choice for leisure, however, is to grab a book from the hotel’s lending library, find a nook to curl up in, and escape into another world under a bower of Redwoods.
→ Farmhouse Inn (Guerneville): Even the most central part of wine country was sleepy in 1991, so it’s hard to imagine the vision that brother-and-sister duo Joe and Catherine Bartolomei had when they purchased Farmhouse Inn, a storied address built in the 1870s. And yet, once on site, it quickly becomes clear. From the cool silence of the enveloping trees to the crunchy gravel paths between the (naturally) farmhouse-style rooms, the prevailing mood is tranquility.
Inside the rooms, find marble-acquainted bathrooms with heated floors, walk-in steam showers, and gas fireplaces. And at the center of the property, a “wellness barn” offers herbal bath treatments and customized massages. But the biggest draw is its eponymous restaurant, which earned a Michelin star in 2006. Despite the retirement of founding chef Steve Litke in 2021, Farmhouse still hits as the Russian River dream you won’t want to wake up from. –Caitlin White