This week was spent in California, primarily in the Napa Valley. As a hardcore New Yorker, I can be pretty cynical about this place, finding it a bit overly sensitive and self-righteous. So when I find places here that celebrate some things I like, a great old school smoke shop or a butcher that is a cathedral to meat, I get very excited. These are two favorite finds from the week.
Telford’s Pipe & Cigar
I have to credit my buddy (and fellow upstate New Yorker) Tim Marvin for turning me on to Telford’s Pipe and Cigar in Mill Valley. A quick exit off the 101 North, it’s a great stop to stock up on cigars, smoking gear and vintage finds. Family-owned for about 30 years, their website states that it is a “special place where the enjoyment of quality tobacco products is not merely tolerated but wholeheartedly encouraged.” How can you not love a place with a mission statement like that?! I stopped there on my way from the airport to Napa and realized I had passed it countless times. It did not disappoint. The unassuming exterior gave way to a rich wood interior jam-packed with cigars, pipes, tobacco product and smoking accessories (new and vintage). A group of local old-timers were smoking in the back, and I was greeted by the owner’s daughter who reached behind the counter to hand over the NOS (new old stock) Dunhill lighter that I had bought over the phone when I saw Tim’s Instagram post of the place a few days before. I was well stocked with sticks from my own stash from Brooklyn, but was happy to know where to find some on my next trip out.
Fatted Calf
In a land that seems to be dominated with grain bowls, vegetable-based meat products, and militant vegans—it is an absolute pleasure to walk into the doors of Fatted Calf in the Oxbow Public Market in Napa. This shop is a
mecca of meat and the art of charcuterie, a place of meaty wonders. Their fresh product of heritage beef, pork, lamb and foul is some of the most beautiful I have seen outside of Europe, but all their rillettes, salumi, pates, terrines and sausages are made on-site. It is a sanctuary—an oasis if you will—for us meat lovers, and it made me incredibly happy to be in there just staring at the cases, in awe, like a child with the most ridiculous grin (thankfully hid behind my mandated mask.) I walked out with some amazing Cotechino and Soppresatta, as well as two books to add to the library, one on making jerky and the other on making charcuterie. Both books are published by Ten Speed Press and written by Fatted Calf co-owners and founders Taylor Boetticher and Toponia Miller.
I definitely need to visit Fatted Calf! Looks amazing!