Last time I was in Napa was 2004. It looked a lot different. I’m glad the Silverado Trail is still somewhat remote, and yes, there are still an endless line of wineries on the St. Helena Hwy, but back then there was also a lot of empty space. It seems that everything has been filled in now. The overall look of wide open spaces remains intact but only because so much of it are vineyards.
But I do remember making Tom go to a little roadside stand called Taylor’s Refresher, a burger institution in the area since 1949. And I seem to remember that it stood almost alone on a stretch of dusty road on the St. Helena Hwy. A month or two ago, before we even planned this trip to Napa, I read an article in the Chronicle about a controversy in the valley about the legendary Taylor’s Refresher, which had been rebranded at Gott’s Roadside Diner.
I don’t remember anything about the stand other than the name Taylor’s Refresher. Gott’s bought out the family that owned Taylor’s Refresher back in 1999, but I don’t remember seeing it as Gott’s. And I remember thinking that for all the local buzz about the place, it didn’t seem to be very good.
Though the article was fairly recent its content spanned some time, so I guess the furor was over the rebranding. The two daughters of the founder Lloyd Taylor were disturbed by the name change. After some legal wrangling brothers Joel and Duncan Gott kept their name on the beloved roadside stand, but left the old sign with the original name Taylor’s Refresher in the parking lot.
One afternoon after visiting Beringer, we stopped in at Taylor’s Refresher. We became curious about Gott’s from the Napa location. It’s just cool with its mid-20th century vibe. Mary Leigh really wanted to go, but so did I.
There’s just something wonderful about sitting outside in the glorious California weather at a roadside stand straight out of the last century. The place remains busy all the time. I don’t remember all the seating from our last visit. I remember a dusty parking lot but this one is paved all around it, with lots of picnic table seating in the rear. The bartenders were so cute and really helpful in steering us through the visit. The young lady who took our order was also great.
The menu is much larger than I remember and there are present day items that no one had heard of when I last visited in 2004. This is no ordinary hamburger joint. But we stuck with the basics: hamburgers, fries, and a chocolate shake. ML also got some street corn, and we agreed it was the best version of that we’ve ever had. She gets it a lot, but I thought it was exceptionally vibrant with lime. And almost too hot (temperature) to eat.
The burger was pretty basic but good,
the fries ordinary,
and the corn extraordinary. ML was looking at the salads but we just weren’t that hungry. As with all really casual places in the valley, there is a pretty good wine list, and cocktails .
With a menu of good food that it would take a while to get through, and the kind of weather perfect for sitting at a roadside stand, this would be a regular in our rotation. Gott's or Taylor's Refresher, it is refreshing indeed.
