THE START OF NOVEMBER? Many fans of pumpkin-flavored goodies and haunting costumes begin to stow the decorations and delights of earlier fall, while others start to look to Thanksgiving, and the close of the year, for direction on what to cook and where to go next. But the days following Halloween have a different sort of hold on many Californians, especially those people who dig a panache-tastic chanterelle, or marvelous morel, or a zingy truffle. Mushroom time is springing forth, like a promising cap seen pushing through the forest floor, and the primo place to be is Mendocino County. That's where the Mushroom, Wine, and Beer Festival takes place each November, and numerous restaurants, hotels, and destinations get in on the chewy, big-of-taste, perfectly sauteéd fun. The festival is ready to slice 'n dice the good stuff once again from Friday, Nov. 3 through Sunday, Nov. 12, at a host of spots, from Hopland to Fort Bragg to Little River. If you're looking to spend a day supping about, consider bedding down at the...
LITTLE RIVER INN, which is offering a Mushroom Mania rate during the festival. A Seaside Luxury Room is $279 (the savings is fifty bucks), while an Ocean View Deluxe Room is priced at $215 (you'll save $40). And find your way to an Ocean View Gas Fireplace Room for $165, and pocket the $30 savings. Asterisks? There are a few, including a two-night minimum and a Sunday-Thursday stay. Keep in mind that you won't have to go far for the Annual Mushroom and Belgian Beer Dinner, helmed by Chef Marc Dym, on Friday, Nov. 10: It's at the Little River Inn. For the full (and that's very, very full) roster of mushroom-related goings-on around the region over the week-plus celebration, cease dreaming of mushroomy stroganoffs and morel-packed omelettes for a minute and pore over the festival site.
