Below The Bridge on Putah Creek
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New Year’s Day, 2012
We ventured out to explore under the bridge in Winters. It was a lovely afternoon for a leisurely stroll.
They’ve done some beautiful work, though it is hard to see from these photos. Click on the photo to see a larger view.
The water is absolutely beautiful, still very clear.
Here are a few views of the cycling bridge from below. I’ve never seen it from this angle before … please bear with me; for some reason this is absolutely fascinating to me.
… and the road bridge … 
… and some just random rambling photos …
They’ve planted lots and lots of trees – each one marked by a blue flag, which you can see in the center picture just above.
Here’s a photo of the other side of the island I mentioned in my previous post …
We strolled. We stopped to talk to a UCD grad student, who is doing her research. She and her research assistant (her husband) are monitoring how the creek changes over time. We learned that what we thought were just markers sticking out of the ground were actually tree cuttings that will eventually grow into a type of willow tree. You can see some in photo above with all of the blue flags – there are no flags, just a post-like stick poking out of the ground. They’re right on the edge of the creek, which at first seemed a little odd to us, but it makes sense if the goal is to return the creek to its natural state. As we walked further, we got away from the construction area to the “wild” area that hasn’t been worked on too much (yet?) and we saw grown trees along the water’s edge.
It was getting close to sunset and we were getting hungry, so we decided to stop for a bite in Downtown Winters. We strolled up and down and settled on the Buckhorn Steakhouse (http://buckhornsteakhouse.com/). I have been a fan for years, having first discovered the Buckhorn at the Metreon in San Francisco years ago, and having dined at their Napa restaurant, also. I just recently learned that the restaurant in Winters is the original one, and that they also own the Putah Creek Cafe, another favorite.
We started with a Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, which was a great deal at only $2.
We shared a Calamari Diavolo ($12.99), without any peppers. We were surprised at the generous size of the portion, but not at the quality. It was cooked perfectly. My only comment is that there was oil on the bottom, which at first we thought was from the cooking and that it had not been drained properly. But then I remembered that the menu said it was tossed with olive oil, garlic, peppers, and lemon. We could also tell that it was fresh oil, not oil that had been used for cooking.
Then we shared my all-time favorite menu item at the Buckhorn: The Roadhouse Salad ($13.99). Seasonal greens, green beans, cherry tomatoes, walnuts, Roadhouse onions, and crumbled bleu cheese with a honey-basil vinaigrette … you can get it with beef, chicken, or salmon ($18.99 for the salmon). I always get the beef, because, it is a steakhouse and they know beef!
This salad is fantastic; very much like a salad I would make at home, except I always forget to say “no Roadhouse Onions,” because I don’t typically eat much fried food. But, I guess it’s OK now and then, and perhaps it’s a bit of a “Freudian slip” that I forget?
We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner at the Buckhorn in Winters last night. The service was friendly and efficient, the food was fantastic, and the atmosphere was very pleasant.