1. Cape Fear Cafe
City: Duncans Mills, CA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (707) 865-9246
Address: 25191 Main Street
Description: If you can, try to visit this restaurant for one of its weekend brunches, when the chef’s phenomenal menu of Benedicts is available. The cooking here is a mixture of California cuisine with a southern drawl, so expect such dinner entrees as Carolina chicken (with bourbon and pecans) or pork tenderloin with mahogany ginger sauce. But it’s those Benedicts that can make your weekend. Instead of English muffins, the poached eggs are served over peppered grits. Similar to polenta, the grits are cooked, cooled, mixed with cheese, and then grilled. Wow.
2. Studio Nouveau
City: Duncans Mills, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (707) 865-2461
Address: 25195 B Street
Description: Tucked behind the Cape Fear Cafe in a hobbit-size cottage sits Studio Nouveau, which owner Andrea Record describes as carrying “objects of beauty.” She has so much it spills out of the tiny store and onto a deck. Much of it she created herself, especially the pottery. There are also classic wooden wall hangings, candles, scarves, and unique garden planters. She also has a large array of liquid-metal jewelry and cool purses.