With two tastings under our belts, our thoughts turn to lunch and Taylor’s Refresher. Taylor’s is fast food, Napa Valley style, with gussied up cooked to order hamburgers served still a bit pink in the middle and a concise but impressive selection of beer and local wines by the glass or bottle. Locals and visitors alike mingle in line to place their orders, and then retreat to the picnic tables under the oak trees to wait for their food.
Knowing the lines at Taylor’s can be long and intimidating, I download menus from their website ahead of time. As we depart from Salvestrin I call Taylor’s, inquire about daily specials and place our orders. When we arrive at Taylor’s we bypass the long line, and head straight to the bar to pick up our food.
Predictably, I order the Texas burger, which comes smothered with jack cheese, guacamole, pico de gallo & pickled jalapeno slices squeezed into a toasted egg bun. Accompanied by chili-spice sprinkled sweet potato fries, it is a satisfying indulgence. My husband retreats into silence as he savors the Miss Kentucky sandwich with grilled chicken, jack cheese, slaw, grilled mushrooms and onions, ranch and bbq sauce. Our friends order the rare-seared ahi burger, which arrives decked out with ginger wasabi mayonnaise and Asian slaw and a western bacon blue ring burger, which is wildly adorned with bacon, barbeque sauce, blue cheese and an onion ring. An espresso milkshake provides the perfect pick-me-up after a morning full of wine.
Taylor’s Refresher
933 Main Street, St. Helena
(707) 963-3486
Daily 10:30am – 8:30pm
http://www.taylorsrefresher.com/