Los Alamos, California

A Weekend of Discovery in a Hidden Central Coast Town

Feb 28, 2009 Margie Nelson

Southern California's bucolic, isolated Los Alamos entices visitors with gourmet pizza, a romantic getaway hotel and a lively annual street fair.

Uniquely quirky Los Alamos (Spanish for "the cottonwoods") California, NOT New Mexico, is a great place to spend a weekend. A former stage stop, the historic town of approximately 1,000 people is about 50 miles north of Santa Barbara in an isolated, peaceful, pastoral setting.

For a small town such as this, it boasts a lively road hog bar, a big barn of an antique emporium, wine tasting rooms, art galleries, and Vegas-style fantasy "theme" guest rooms hidden within a Victorian era mansion. One of the finest gourmet flatbread pizza restaurants on the west coast makes its home here, with a chef imported from Berkeley, California's famed Chez Panisse.

Bell Street is the town's main drag. Travelers will find most lodging (except for a hilltop motel), dining, shopping and sightseeing choices here.

How to get there: Take US 101 North from Buellton and exit right to Hwy 135.

Where To Stay in Los Alamos:

The Victorian Mansion, 326 Bell Street, (805) 344-1300. Rates: $275 per night Friday and Saturday, $245 per night Sunday-Thursday. Includes breakfast and a bottle of wine. Tax not included. Note: No one under 18 years allowed overnight.

The Victorian Mansion has been written about internationally because of its unique "theme" rooms, hidden behind an 1864 exterior. It took almost 10 years and a team of experts to create the 6 suites decorated in a variety of styles and periods. These include an Egyptian chamber, replete with a "sarcophagus", and a 50's suite-sleep in a Cadillac-convertible bed. Among the many amenities are a huge sunken tub for two, a fireplace, DVD player with classic films and complimentary breakfast (quiche, croissants) shot up via a dumb waiter hidden in the painted walls.

The Union Hotel, 362 Bell Street, (805) 344-2744. Rates: $165 with private bath, $135 with shared bath; includes tax and breakfast. Dinner service Friday-Saturday, open to the public. Call for hours.

Built in the 1880's as a stagecoach stop and road house, the 13-room Union Hotel is furnished with antiques of the period. The ground-floor saloon is one in name only, as it currently serves ice cream parlor goodies, so the whole family is welcome. Murder Mystery weekends are a feature. Fun Fact: Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney filmed their joint video effort, "Say, Say, Say" here.

Where to Eat in Los Alamos:

Full of Life (Formerly American Flatbread) Flatbread, 225 West Bell Street, (805) 344-4400, Open Friday-Saturday, 5-10pm; Sunday, 4-8pm. No reservations taken. $11-30 average per person. Locally produced wines available by the glass. Locally produced beers on tap. Foodies travel for hours each way to savor Full of Life's stone hearth-baked flatbread pizzas. A commercial bakery most of the week, it's open Friday and Saturday nights, and since January, Sunday for supper. The name may be deceptive, as there is more to the restaurant than mere pizza. The chef, an alumnus of Berkeley, California's Chez Panisse, uses mostly seasonal ingredients sourced from locally owned and independent suppliers. Ice cream and desserts are all homemade, and always available are the "smores", luscious giant marshmallows with chocolate espresso cookies toasted in the pizza oven, topped with chocolate sauce.

What To Do in Los Alamos:

Festival: Annual Los Alamos Old Days, September 26-28. Lively and fun old-timey western heritage celebration that's free to the public.

Wine Tasting: Los Alamos may be the next hot wine growing region due to the excellent climate. Bedford-Thompson Tasting Room: 448 Bell Street, (805) 344-2107.

Shopping: Antiques shops and galleries galore. Two worth mentioning: Gussied Up Antiques, 349 Bell Street, (805) 344-2504, and The C Gallery (contemporary art) 466 Bell Street, (805) 344-3807.

The copyright of the article Los Alamos, California in SW U.S./Hawaii Travel is owned by Margie Nelson. Permission to republish Los Alamos, California in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.