So you (along with half the Bay Area) decided to make the trek to Tahoe for Labor Day weekend. Or maybe you have a late summer or early autumn trip planned. And ski season will be here before you know it.
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Here’s our guide to keep you well-fed along Interstate 80 and Highway 50, maintaining your blood sugar in the happy zone so that when the routes invariably turn red on your map at all the usual pressure points (ahem, Berkeley, Vacaville, Dixon and Roseville), you can smile and let that road rage dissipate.
With a belly full of these tasty bites, you can chill out, knowing you’ll get there when you get there, and maybe even enjoy the journey.
(Did we miss your favorite stop? Tell us about it via the submission form at the end of this article.)
Lucia’s Craft Sandwich and Calaca Coffee, Crockett
A Genoa Salami sandwich is photographed at Lucia’s Craft Sandwich in Crockett, Calif., on Sunday, June 15, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Just before you cross the Carquinez Bridge, take a second to bop into downtown Crockett. Here’s where you’ll have your first stop. Step into the cozy Lucia’s Craft Sandwich, and choose from several chalkboards’ worth of creative, high-quality offerings — including the hearty and affordable $7 breakfast sandwiches.
The sandwiches are made to order and take a few minutes, but it’s well-worth the pause. Make the most of the break by walking through the back to Calaca Coffee, a Latinx-owned coffee shop serving up Mexican-inspired coffee (and not-coffee) drinks. The banana cream cafe de olla ($7) was a hit, combining cold brew with a banana cream topping — like banana bread in whipped form. The horchata xoco latte ($6.25), featuring espresso, brown rice, cacao mix, cinnamon and piloncillo syrup, was also tempting. Either way, you’ll get the caffeine fix to fuel your drive onward.
Details: Lucia’s Craft Sandwich is open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday-Sunday and Calaca Coffee is open 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Saturday at 611 2nd Ave., Crockett.
Jelly Belly Visitors Center, Fairfield
Inside the Jelly Belly factory museum are candy-making machines of years past and festive jelly beans suspended from the ceiling. (Kate Bradshaw/Bay Area News Group)
Next up, indulge your inner child with a stop at what is perhaps Fairfield’s most whimsical destination: the Jelly Belly factory. I checked out the museum and gift shop at this landmark on a recent trip.
The museum, with giant jelly beans suspended from the ceiling and aisles of historical candy-making machinery to peruse, was worth a quick visit. Most impressive was the jelly bean art, featuring larger-than-life portraits of endangered animals and Harry Potter characters. (The factory brought the fictional Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans to life with its own run of booger, black pepper, earthworm and soap-flavored jelly beans, mixed in with other gross bites, plus some not-so-icky flavors.)
The museum also pays homage to former President Ronald Reagan, who apparently swapped his smoking habit for chewing jelly beans, and kept a standing order for 720 bags of Jelly Belly beans during his days at the White House.
Or do a factory tour and see the candymaking in action. Then make your own mix of jelly beans at the gift shop to take on your way.
Details: Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily at 1 Jelly Belly Lane, Fairfield; jellybelly.com/california-visitors-center.
High-Hand Cafe, Loomis
If you’re looking for a proper sit-down meal along the way — or are looking to adopt a new plant — consider stopping at Loomis’ High-Hand Cafe, housed in a plant nursery. Wood-fired pizza, beer brewed onsite, sandwiches and house-made apple pie await.
Details: Open 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekends at 3790 Taylor Road, Loomis; highhandnursery.com.
Ikeda’s, Auburn
At Ikeda’s in Auburn, you’ll find a restaurant and gourmet market with offerings like this razzmatazz pie milkshake — featuring an entire pie slice blended into the beverage. (Kate Bradshaw/Bay Area News Group)
Started decades ago by a Japanese-American couple that faced internment as children during World War II, this market and restaurant along Interstate 80 is in its third generation of family ownership and serves up all the ingredients of the quintessential roadside stop — and then some.
Stellar burgers, Wagyu beef optional. Dungeness crab sandwiches. Pie. Milkshakes. Pie milkshakes. The list goes on, but I’ll stop there because the pie milkshakes alone are worth the pit stop. You can hand-select the slice of pie from about 20 different varieties you’d like to be blended into the shake.
And then there are the farm-fresh fruits, Napa Valley wines and hand-packaged trail mixes for those looking to grab and go. They also sell bread from the nearby bakery The Baker and the Cakemaker for further car-trip snacking.
Details: Open 9 a.m.-8 p.m. daily at 13500 Lincoln Way, Auburn; https://www.ikedas.com/
Highway 89 near Eagle Point at Lake Tahoe. (Google Maps image)
Alibi Ale Works
You’ve made it to Truckee! Celebrate with a visit to the local brewery at Alibi Ale Works. The outdoor beer garden offers a lovely spot to unwind from your journey to the Sierra. But if you’re continuing onward, make it a pit stop and pick up a four-pack (or two) to go.
Details: Open noon-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and noon-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday at 10069 Bridge St, Truckee; alibialeworks.com.
Alternate stop, along Highway 50:
Timmy’s Brown Bag, Placerville
If you’re taking the Highway 50 route to the southern end of Lake Tahoe, consider stopping at Timmy’s Brown Bag in Placerville, a sandwich shop unlike any other you’ve eaten at.
Choose from an eclectic menu. There’s the Potsticker “It’s Not A Cheeseburger” Cheeseburger Sandwich, with potstickers, miso sesame scallion mayo, pickles, American cheese and more on a brioche bun ($17). And the Pulled Pork and Belgian Waffle with Green Chile Mac N Cheese sandwich ($17). The restaurant earned a spot on Yelp’s 2023 top 100 restaurants in the U.S. list.
Details: Open 11 a.m.-3 p.m Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday-Saturday at 451 Main St., Suite #10, Placerville; timmysbrownbag.com.
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