Found Treasure: Appetite for Travel, Timber Cove Edition

March 28, 2025—The concierge at Timber Cove seems impressed I made it all the way from Monterey Bay.

She tells me, in not so many words, To get here, you gotta want it. 

And oh, I do.

I want the serenity of the Great Room, where she welcomes guests through the dramatic glass entry, with the fireplace all a-crackle, the antler chandelier dangling on high and a library of vinyl records awaiting in-room spins.

I want the infinity vistas of the Pacific, from in bed, or on deck, or atop nearby Jenner Headlands Preserve.

I want the Indian paintbrush and wild irises rimming marine cliff trails, the tidal-and-vinyl soundtrack, the ping pong on the patio, the raptors wheeling around above, the Bufano Peace Obelisk shooting from its rock outcropping 90+ feet in the sky. 

And, full disclosure, I want to experience the epicurean program that adds depth and texture to the whole experience—perhaps in a private yurt.

The media invite to Timber Cove proved compelling on its own. 

“Located where the redwoods meet the sea in Jenner, Timber Cove Resort is offering new ways to experience the Northern California coastal resort,” it reads. “This spring, the hotel invites guests to experience new activities including A Taste of Coastal Foraging, Spring Alpine Yurt Dinners, wine experiences with Valette Wines, and more.”

An enthusiastic endorsement from travel author, longtime music writer and Found Treasure consigliere Stuart Thornton—”Make sure to check out the vinyl library,” he says—and a timely voyage to the California Artisan Cheese Festival two days later (more on that next Found Treasure), helped the side trip adopt a sense of destiny.

Edible receives its share of these inquiries. This one accidentally optimized on a touch more hunger from us because we’re adding a regular print feature, starting this summer, called “Appetite for Travel.”

The idea is to suss out far-out spots not too distant from the Central California Coast.

And to maximize arguably the best teacher, connector and humbler out there: exploration.

Those familiar with this column and my wider Edible ramblings won’t be too surprised this is something I’m geo-locating.

(See also: “Found Treasure: Mendocino Magic,” “Found Treasure, Overload Edition: From San Diego to Carmel,” “North Star: Chef John Cox follows his heart to a haunted hotel on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest,” among others, for a peek at out-of-the-area adventures.)

And, yup, one of the joys of real travel is accessing local cuisine. That’s a vivid strength of Timber Cove’s seasonal menu, set against a Treebones Resort-style backdrop that somehow, improbably, rivals the oceanview Coastal Kitchen space.

I know that sounds crazy, but these yurts are as cool as they are simple, and a nice option for those pursuing a little privacy.

For $125, the four-course experience floats two choices for three courses, plus a chef’s choice dessert.

The mezze board with hummus, bab ganoush, Morrocan carrots and grilled pita is possible for the opening salvo, but the Sonoma-centric alternative was an easy get-to-know-the-local-flavor there, and had me full before dish two.

Fortunately the trout chowder, accented with what looked and tasted like fresh miner’s lettuce, potato, baby clams and subtle fennel transcends appetite.

I set down my spoon at least once to slow down and extend the bowl, which occupies a spot on my internal score sheet for best dishes of the year to date.

It’s also a thematic reminder that it’s good to budget additional travel time ahead of, during or after a Timber stay, to enable stops at historic Fort Ross, the Jenner Headlands Preserve, and character-rich local haunts like Cafe Aquatica and Stewart’s Point Store.

At that point I’m full, so I pass on the black cod, even though that’s a personal favorite, because I want easy-to-manage leftovers.

Meanwhile Alana—a natural server who doesn’t so much take for granted the gorgeous spot where she works as she tries to keep arriving visitors’ stoke as stirring as the setting—recommended the pork chop with bacon lardons, Fresno mustard au jus and smashed garlic fingerling potatoes.

Which had me feeling a little guilty for going door number three.

Then the plainly named winter vegetable pasta had me doing shakes-of-the-head and double-takes.

That’s how potent its blow-the-yurt-walls-off bright the blasts of pesto, artichoke, arugula and dino kale were, all nestled into the comfort of housemade ricotta cavatelli shells underneath Parmesan cheese.

In the brief time since dining there and publishing this, Timber Cove has already added more special event culinary action, while extending the yurt dinners through the end of next month.

The synergy of setting, thoughtful details and meditational wavelengths would be more than enough to merit a mission here.

But the tasty-incentive part of the equation helps.

Timber Cove represents an expression of the sorts of places I hope Appetite for Travel can channel: Out there but accessible, familiar but unique, comfortable but challenging, as it moves visitors to ground themselves in a specific place.

It wasn’t until I did some secondary research that I learned the iconic 93-foot stone statue that makes the grounds harder to forget was originally named “Expanding Universe.”

Which could be a synonym for the forthcoming Appetite for Travel.

More at timbercoveresort.com.