At the top of everyone’s list of places to dine in Mendocino, Café Beaujolais ($$$$) put Mendo on the culinary map. Originally opened as a breakfast restaurant in 1977 by now-celeb chef Margaret Fox, Beaujolais became a dinner house after the economic crash of the mid-1980s forced visiting guests to economize by eating the breakfast provided at their B&Bs. As a survival measure, Fox began serving dinner instead—and did a damn good job, too. She sold the restaurant in 2000, along with her recipes, which remain the backbone of the kitchen.

Beaujolais’ monochromatic urban-chic dining room is a far cry from the Laura Ashley–Victorian style of the old days, but the place remains an institution. Incorporating organic produce and free-range meats, the Cal-American menu mixes regional domestic styles and ingredients, as in the sautéed prawns with corn cakes or pan-roasted duck with buttermilk spaetzle and Bing cherry sauce. The food is solidly good, though detractors claim that creative drive has lately been lacking. The restaurant is on its third owners since Margaret Fox, and the jury is still out. I’ll dine here again this spring and update you then. But for now, it’s totally worth a visit, if only once. Reservations essential. Dinner only.

Beaujolais is the most famous, but it is not the best. That honor belongs to the fabulous Rendezvous Inn ($$$$). Protégé of Georges Blanc, the legendary Michelin-3-star French chef, master culinarian Kim Badenhop continues his mentor’s tradition of excellence at the Rendezvous Inn. Firmly rooted in French technique but tempered by a California sensibility, the menu changes with the seasons: When there’s a tasting menu built around seasonal ingredients such as crab or wild mushrooms, order it without hesitation. If you want Caesar salad and prime rib, go somewhere else. Inside a converted Craftsman-style house with floor-to-ceiling redwood paneling, the dining room is long on charm but it’s drafty; ladies, wear something that covers your shoulders. Dinner only. Reservations essential.

In the redwood-paneled Victorian dining room at the MacCallum House ($$$$), tables are a bit close together (book one on the wall or outside on the veranda), but the consistently good Euro-Cal cooking makes up for the tight seating. Expect hearty roasted meats like lamb and duck, house-made gnocchi, and fresh seafood. Chef Alan Kantor prides himself on using organic, sustainably farmed ingredients. (Yes, everyone else in Mendocino does too, but he’s one of the pioneers.) Great breakfasts too ($$). No lunch. Reservations essential.

The cooking is heartfelt and earthy at Moosse Café, with soul-satisfying dishes like chicken pot pies, and macaroni-and-cheese at lunch ($$); or braised short ribs, and saffron-rich cioppino at dinner ($$$$). The kick-back airy dining room has the friendly vibe of a friend’s house. On Monday nights, there’s a 3-course prix-fixe for $20 and no corkage fee—a steal ’round here.

The Ravens ($$$), at the Stanford Inn, elevates vegetarian cooking and healthful eating to high art. Who knew you could make veggies taste so much like…well, meat? Much of the produce (organically farmed, of course) comes from the gardens outside. In the morning, the sun-drenched dining room is the setting for Mendocino’s best breakfast. (So what if there’s not a strip of bacon in sight? There’s real maple syrup on the table.) No lunch.

Surprise, surprise: there’s a stellar French-Thai restaurant in Fort Bragg, called Nit’s Café ($$$–$$$$). The place is tiny, so make reservations. Dinner only, closed Sunday and Monday.

The best bargain for lunch and dinner in the village of Mendocino is at Mendocino Café ($$–$$$$). The diverse menu blends American, Asian, and Mexican cooking, from steak and seafood dishes to Thai burritos and fish tacos. When it’s warm, sit on the deck surrounded by hundreds of flowering orange-and-yellow nasturtiums. Lovely.

When cocktails are as important as dinner, head to Patterson’s Pub ($$), an Irish bar with good pub grub in the middle of the village. And it serves till 11pm on weekends, which may sound like nothing to a city slicker, but around here? Unheard of.

Fill up on organic-veggie burritos at Lu’s Kitchen ($), a tiny order-at-the-window shack set back from the street; outside seating only. Don’t tell her I told you about her—she dislikes me for calling her place a shack. But really, it is. (Sorry, Lu.) Arrive by 5pm. 45013 Ukiah St

The burgers are awesome at hard-to-find Mendo Burgers ($), a ratty little lunch counter set in a pretty little garden: order inside, but sit outside. Great hand-cut fries and milkshakes too. Come before 5pm; closed Weds.

On an icy afternoon, warm up over a bowl of chowder at the bar of the Mendocino Hotel ($), the ideal spot when you’re shopping in the village and failed to wear a proper jacket. Skip the dining room.

Stock up on picnic supplies, grab-and-go prepared foods, staples, and wine and beer at Harvest Market at Mendosa’s ($), which opened about a year ago. Locals are thrilled not to have to drive to Fort Bragg anymore to buy groceries. Alternatively, for sandwiches to take on a picnic, head to itty-bitty Mendocino Market ($).

In Fort Bragg, overlooking the water at Noyo Harbor, Chapter and Moon ($$) serves folksy American cooking like chicken and dumplings, and meatloaf and mashed potatoes in a sweet little whitewashed dining room with low ceilings and exposed wooden tables. If you’re on a budget, you’ll appreciate the inexpensive entrée prices, but watch out for the pricey appetizers.

For thin-crust pizza, microbrews, and local wine, head to Piaci Pub and Pizzeria ($–$$) in Fort Bragg. Avoid peak hours, or plan to wait.

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