One of my favorite places in Napa Valley is the Calistoga Inn. Located in downtown Calistoga, the inn is a rambling old hotel with a gorgeous patio situated alongside a creek. I recently went there with my friends John and Heather and we all had a great time.  I had a roasted turkey sandwich with brie cheese and an olive tapinade. Heather found the tapinade a little overpowering, but as I’m a huge fan for olives I loved it.
The inn has a bar and a brewery and the beer is really some of the best in Napa Valley. We enjoyed pints of the delicious pilsner that had a nice light body, perfect carbonation and flavored with soft, flowery German hops. I tried a wheat too but found it a little on the malty side.

The Calistoga Inn, one of the best spots in north Napa Valley.

Next to the outside dining area, the inn has another garden area with picnic tables and a horseshoe pit. Unfortunately for us, it was a little too hot for throwing horseshoes. After lunch we ambled over to Susies, a locals “dive” bar on the main drag in Calistoga. Weekend nights can be rowdy, but we found a mellow crowd of older gents and a chatty bartender. We ordered up some beers, and I got a shot of chilled vodka that was just perfect on a warm day.
Refreshed we got back in the car and drove back to Napa for some cocktails and dominos.

Too hot for horeshoes during our visit.

Chilled Coronas and a dark bar, what better way is there to spend a beautiful day?

Domino castles are as sturdy as a house of cards. But they do look cooler.