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Brunch becomes a grand gourmet affair at the Ahwahnee Hotel.
(Photo: Courtesy of Ahwahnee Hotel) |
Splurge on Sunday brunch at Yosemite’s grande dame, the Ahwahnee Hotel. Opened in 1927, the granite-and-timber hotel unveiled a $12 million makeover in 2012 that spiffed up its lobby and majestic dining room. The latter’s 34-foot ceilings, sugar-pine beams, and floor-to-ceiling windows are as awe-inspiring as the highbrow mountain cuisine served, like smoked wild salmon, and Cajun catfish over bacon-cheese-spinach grits (buffet brunch: $45). Dinner is equally decadent�think Niman Ranch lamb shank ($36) or grilled Pacific swordfish ($32). Or just stop by in the late afternoon, grab a patio table, and marvel at the sun setting over Half Dome while sipping a Sesquicentini cocktail, made with gin, lavender syrup, and fresh lemon juice, in honor of Yosemite’s 150th.
Savor gourmet cuisine in a small-town setting at Oakhurst’s elegant Erna's Elderberry House, helmed by Austria native Erna Kubin-Clanin. The chef developed an eye for composition at the New York Academy of Art and owned restaurants in L.A. before starting a new adventure in the Sierra Nevada. Her five-course, pre-fixe menu ($108) highlights local ingredients and changes daily�a recent selection featured lobster-halibut terrine, Wagyu short ribs, and lime Bavarese. Sommelier Samuel Aguilar will help you navigate the 725-bottle wine list, which features a strong Austrian influence plus hard-to-find California bottles. Post dinner, be sure to take a stroll through the restaurant’s namesake bushes in the elegant estate garden.
Quaff some of the region’s tastiest brews at South Gate Brewing Company, a working brewery in Oakhurst specializing in small-craft beers nodding to local landmarks, as in the Glacier Point Pale Ale and Gold Diggin’ Blonde. Dig into creative takes on comfort food, like the �El Capitan� artisan wood-fired pizza with red-chipotle cream sauce, caramelized onions, and barbecued chicken ($12), and hearty, grass-fed beef burgers ($11). Linger over dessert�the root-beer float, spritzed with house-made draft ($5), makes for a tasty and nostalgic treat�in the laid-back space, with reclaimed wood furniture and roll-up garage doors opening up to beautiful views of Deadwood Mountain.