Livermore is so much more than the home of that famous nuclear lab. The city’s downtown bustles, and its buzzy restaurants, thriving wineries and brewery scene send a siren call.
A beer trolley? A hot dog-mezcal bar?
With a dozen new ways to eat, drink and play, this East Bay city is a prime day trip destination.
New eats
All sorts of fun eateries have taken root in Livermore in recent years. Challenging as it must be to open a new business during a pandemic, locals and visitors alike are benefiting from the delicious additions.
Wingen Bakery tops this list. Pastry chef Aimee Wingen, whose resume includes stints at Oakland’s now-shuttered Homestead and Livermore’s Range Life, and husband Bryan opened this pastry spot in June. The cafe is a gluten-filled dream with sourdough breads, bagels, baked goods and fantastic specials — like the eggplant parmesan sub and fig toast with chevre we sampled on our visit. Local produce, carefully sourced ingredients and heartfelt craft are all vividly present.
Bar Quiote, which opened last spring, is a fun new spot that specializes in mezcal and hot dogs. (Yes, really — and we are helpless to resist.) The robust, comprehensive mezcal list is available by the glass or the flight. And that hot dog menu is wildly creative, with nine varieties ($9-$12) including the namesake Quiote Dog, served with smash beans, bacon, salsa verde, chili oil and cotija cheese. They do non-hot dogs, too, including chili, queso and Oaxacan-style peanuts, a must for any mezcal tasting session — and agua frescas for kids and the non-mezcal crowd.
And Da Boccery, the most recent endeavor by the saucy folks behind Plucked and Sauced, just wants you to have a good time. The new place took over the old Campo di Bocce digs this summer with a game menu that includes bocce, of course, and axe throwing, cornhole, foot pool and more. With pizzas ($15-$23), creative sammies ($17-$24), fish and chips ($23) and a kids menu, there’s something here for everyone.
Details: Wingen Bakery opens at 8 a.m. Wednesday-Sunday at 50 S. Livermore Ave.; www.wingenbakery.com. Find Bar Quiote at 112 Maple St., where the bar opens at 4 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday and noon Friday-Sunday; www.barquiote.com. And Da Boccery opens at 11 a.m. daily (and 9:30 a.m. Sundays) at 175 E. Vineyard Ave.; www.daboccery.com.
Bankhead buzz and musical blends
The 500-seat Bankhead Theater sits smack in the middle of First Street, presiding over a sunny plaza and offering a diverse lineup of performing arts options. There’s still time to snag seats for “Mamma Mia,” which runs Nov. 12-21, and a full lineup of holiday music, from “The Nutcracker” to “Noche Buena.” With pandemic precautions in place, the theater is open, and the box office is ready for you to snatch up some tickets asap.
If you like your music accompanied by wine, you’re in luck. Historic Retzlaff Vineyards hosts casual concerts every weekend at the winery, and teams up with the Livermore Valley Opera each summer for Opera in the Vineyard. You’ll find live music at McGrail Vineyards and Wood Family Vineyards, as well. And Livermore’s annual Holidays in the Vineyards — Dec. 4-5 this year — brings festive decor, holiday activities and live music to wineries across the valley.
There are other options, too. The Purple Orchid, a 10-room resort and spa, hosts Music in the Orchard every summer — mark your calendar — with a series of four live shows, plus beer and wine. It’s a collaboration with Nottingham Cellars and Altamont Beer Works, with bites available from the Posada food truck, and a portion of the ticket price goes to the Pedrozzi Foundation, an educational nonprofit. (While you’ve got 2022 open on your calendar, mark down Wente Vineyards which has hosted summer concerts for the last 25 years.)Details: Find details on upcoming shows at the Bankhead Theater, 2400 First St., at www.livermorearts.org. Find winery information, including details on the upcoming Holidays in the Vineyards, at www.lvwine.org.
Stellar sips
Livermore Valley is known for its wineries — more than 50 of them ranging from the historic Wente and Concannon, whose vineyards were planted in the 1880s, to newer tasting rooms. Among the latter: Rosa Fierro Cellars, which opened in 2018, and Leisure Street Winery, whose new tasting room launched in 2019.
But Livermore is increasingly known for its craft beer scene, too. Steve Sartori’s Altamont Beer Works is known as the OG big boys here, established in 2012 as the city’s first brewery since Prohibition. Three years later, Shadow Puppet Brewing opened a warehouse-space tasting room with a warm, welcoming atmosphere and a wide range of beers brewed on site. Check out the brewery’s homage to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a Livermorium IPA, named for the radioactive element the lab created.
Also worth a stop: Pennyweight Craft Brewing launched last year with a big brewing space right downtown, a spacious patio and a menu that includes sliders, tacos and Alameda Point craft sodas, as well as their own ales, sours and IPAs. Look for the bright green trolley at two-year-old Homegrown Hops Brewing Co. — the trolley sits amid wide open space dotted with bocce courts, cornhole and grassy sitting areas.
Details: Altamont Beer Works opens at noon Tuesday-Sunday at 2402 Research Drive; www.altamontbeerworks.com. Shadow Puppet Brewing opens at noon daily at 4771B Arroyo Vista; www.shadowpuppetbrewing.com. Pennyweight Craft Brewing opens at 11 a.m. Wednesday-Sunday at 2455 Railroad Ave; www.pennyweightbrew.com. And Homegrown Hops opens at 3 p.m. Thursday-Friday and noon on weekends at 3000 Mines Road; www.homegrownhopsbeer.com.
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