Crockett is a small city with an outsized pull. Its intriguing historical past threads by means of the cross-Pacific sugar commerce, perilous smelting of treasured metals and unusual crimes involving an “Ocean’s Eleven”-style gold heist and complicated networks of underground tunnels.
With charming eating places and a bustling music scene, it’s additionally an excellent place to have a day journey. However the place to start?
Filling up the caffeine reserves can be Precedence No. 1 for a lot of of us. On the town, the brand new Calaca Espresso pours sturdy java with a Mexican twist. Strive a restaurant de olla chilly brew with cinnamon and piloncillo (uncooked sugar) or a Xoco latte with cacao and espresso – and in the event you’re feeling naughty, prime it off with banana or tres-leches cream.
Glommed onto an outdated church like a retro barnacle, Revival Espresso is a trailer-based operation sporting a bohemian open-air porch with comfortable furnishings and board video games. “Liquid pie” is an efficient approach to describe the espresso. There’s a Cherry Jubilee with white chocolate, a Coconut Cream Pie Latte and a Huckleberry Mocha, giving prospects the prospect to slyly remark to their important different: “No, you’re my huckleberry.” The fruit-forward drinks appear solid down from the berry-rich fields of Oregon, and for a breakfast snack there’s biscuits and gravy.
The candy choices round city appear acceptable given its raison d’etre for an extended whereas was sugar. The California and Hawaiian (C&H) Sugar Refining Firm celebrates its a hundred and twentieth 12 months in Crockett – whose nickname is “Sugar City” – in 2026. Whereas C&H not too long ago stopped importing from Hawaii, it’s nonetheless a serious participant available in the market, producing 14 p.c of the cane sugar in the USA. In native classic outlets you’ll discover its brand emblazoned on Hawaiian shirts, additionally in timeworn cookbooks with recipes like Hawaiian coconut pudding and frosted grapes on pine boughs.
Hungry for extra historical past? Head right down to the Crockett Historic Museum squeezed right into a former railroad station by the sugar manufacturing facility. (Notice it’s closed for repairs till July 7.) Inside you’ll discover treasures like California’s final phone switchboard and a 468-pound taxidermied sturgeon, the most important ever caught in San Pablo Bay. There are informative information articles like one whose headline reads, “UFOs Buzz Crockett Six Say Soberly.”
That’s in all probability not true – the “soberly” half, as Crockett is a historic hotbed of consuming. Among the many 45-plus bars that hung their flag on this tiny group over the past century had been Chuck & Henry, Dick & Johnny, Toots and Gully and the by comparability lonely-sounding Ray’s Nook, which poured booze for 103 years till closing in 2004.
A practice automobile transporting wine parked in Crockett in 1920, the 12 months Prohibition began. The consequence was like one thing out of “28 Days Later” with locals scenting blood within the air. “When the car was discovered on a recent Sunday many of the populace dashed madly to the railroad yards equipped with spigots, garden hose and hand axes,” the Los Angeles Herald reported. “The car was entered and some 3000 gallons siphoned into buckets, bottles, kegs, demijohns and all manner of containers.”
There’s enjoyable historical past to be gleaned right here in regards to the outdated Selby smelting works, as soon as the most important refining firm within the West for gold, silver and lead. It was bulldozed within the Nineteen Seventies, however locals preserve it alive sharing recollections on the general public Crockett-history Fb web page. “When you woke up there was always a layer of gray dust on the porches,” recollects one individual. Laments one other: “[M]y great grandfather fell into a smelting pot I believe never made it home soo sad.”
Selby was the scene of one of many largest gold heists in modern U.S. historical past. In 1901, a former employee named Jack Winters spent 6 weeks tunneling by means of dust and brick to succeed in the corporate’s vault, the place he absconded with half a ton of bullion. He lowered the treasure into the muck of the Carquinez Strait, planning to retrieve it little by little. As an alternative, he was rapidly caught and divers recovered the haul, although that doesn’t cease fortune-hunters from in search of the gold to today.
A pleasant approach to burn off some energy is to discover Crockett Hills Regional Park. From the staging space, the Crockett Ranch Path path leads up a superbly forested path to an extended tunnel below the Cummings Skyway. Go by means of this darkish orifice and also you’ll emerge on the opposite facet of the hill with blazing solar and a panoramic visage of the San Francisco Bay that may solely be known as gorgeous. The random cow that generally grazes right here may agree with an appreciative bellow.
Cocktail hour approaches, and beckoning onerous is surf-and-turf establishment The Useless Fish. Named after the proprietor’s nonna – she couldn’t keep in mind all the time recall the species of sea creatures she cooked, so known as every part “dead fish” – the restaurant provides roasted Dungeness crab and Omaha prime rib in a kitsch-filled compound on the cliff. The views of big ships passing by means of the Strait are unbeatable, as are the “Drink-Like-a-Fish” cocktails for under $10. A Crabby Temper Martini or Bloody Shark served in a calming wine glass? Pleasant!
A lot of Crockett’s hidden charms reveal themselves by wandering with no actual goal. The Epperson Gallery is a spacious showcase for California landscapes and quirky animal sculptures. The Cat Classic provides antiques and clothes and plans to open a Cat Museum this summer time, filled with priceless artifacts – to cat lovers, anyway – like feline dolls, trinkets, shirts, staplers and extra Garfields than you may shake a lasagna at. Ask properly and the proprietor may pull again the curtain on the in-progress museum.
Membership Tac is a sleepy dive bar with drink specials and a wall of certificates that, upon nearer inspection, become from E Clampus Vitus, a males’s-only group dedicated to the historical past of the Western Gold Rush. Amongst its purported members was Gene Autry, Ronald Reagan and the well-known San Francisco eccentric Emperor Norton.
For dinner, The Sicilian serves up conventional Italian plates like penne amatriciana or antipasti with burrata-stracciatella and marinated artichokes. The restaurant could or might not be named in tribute to the eponymous 1987 film starring native tough-guy actor Aldo Ray.
Lucia’s Craft Sandwich closes within the afternoon, however in the event you had been lucky sufficient to choose one thing up they’re sizable sufficient for dinner. It’s no exaggeration to say Lucia’s among the finest sandwich outlets within the Bay, targeted on native produce and top-quality meats. The mortadella with artichokes and contemporary ricotta dances between delicate and decadent, and the specials are all the time price consideration: a porchetta with orange and fennel-pollen salad, say, or a croque madame with Mornay sauce, squash blossoms and runny egg.
Crockett could have had dozens of bars in its historical past however at present is right down to a handful, an excellent one being Toot’s Tavern. Mentioned to be the longest constantly working bar in Contra Costa County, the wood-shrouded watering gap switches from sleepy neighborhood hangout within the afternoon to high-energy music joint at evening. Patrons may encounter a thrash-metal band, a Van Halen tribute, an electro DJ or a 17-piece jazz ensemble – right here something’s doable.
There’s additionally rumored to be a tunnel in Toot’s basement that smugglers used throughout Prohibition to get resupplies from the waterfront. Some locals say it’s a delusion, however the resident bartender swears it’s true.
“All of Crockett has tunnels under it,” he mentioned on a current go to. “There were tons of bars during Prohibition and you can see the holes open up by the water. Most are bricked over, and I wouldn’t recommend seeking them out. Yeah, it’s kind of a weird old town.”
IF YOU GO…
Calaca Espresso: Open 7 a.m.- 2 p.m. at 605 Second Ave., Crockett; calacacoffee.com
Revival Espresso: Open 5 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 6 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and seven a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday at 1 Rolph Park Drive, Crockett; therevivalcoffeeco.com
Crockett Historic Museum: Closed till July 7, then open 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday at 900 Loring Ave., Crockett; crockettmuseum.org
Crockett Hills Regional Park: Summer season hours by means of August are 8 a.m.-8 p.m. every day at 1300 Crockett Blvd., Crockett; ebparks.org/parks/crockett-hills
The Useless Fish: Open noon-9:30 every day (final seating 8 p.m.) at 20050 San Pablo Ave., Crockett; thedeadfish.com
Epperson Gallery: Open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Sunday at 1400 Pomona St., Crockett; eppersongallery.com
The Cat Classic: Open noon-6 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday at 720 2nd Ave., Crockett; thecatvintage.com
The Sicilian: Open 6 p.m.-9 p.m. Thursday-Sunday at 601 2nd Ave., Crockett; thesiciliancrockett.com
Lucia’s Craft Sandwich: Open 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Thursday and eight a.m.-4 p.m. Friday-Sunday at 611 2nd Ave., Crockett; luciascraftsandwich.com
Toot’s Tavern: Open noon-1:30 a.m. every day at 627 2nd Ave., Crockett; tootstavern.com
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