Taylor's Automatic Refresher: Fast Food for the Wine Country

My favorite restaurant in the Napa Valley is Taylor's Automatic Refresher. It does not have a Michelin Star. You cannot buy a Taylor's cookbook. It's most expensive entree is fish and chips, which will run you about $16. Until recently you couldn't even sit indoors at a Taylor's. But it is, without question, the restaurant I visit most often in the Valley and the one that I would go to if I could only have one final meal here.

So, what's the big deal with this place?

Taylor's originated in an old drive-in restaurant space in St. Helena with a menu comprised of upscale fast food prepared to order using high-quality ingredients, including hamburgers, onion rings, garlic fries, shakes, and chicken fingers. But, there are also some unconventional menu items. One recent special included a New York Kim Chee Burger. However, the one menu item that seems to attract the most attention, especially from the various TV shows that have spotlighted the restaurant, is its Ahi Burger ($14.99).

Until recently I had never had this popular Taylor's creation. Instead, I alternated between two different selections: a hamburger and the chicken club. In well over twenty visits to Taylor's, these were the only two entrees I'd ever eaten. (I also alternate between three different side orders: fries, garlic fries, and onion rings.) Some might call me a "creature of habit." The regular burgers are served on a toasted bun with a secret sauce (probably just Thousand Island dressing) and are perfectly cooked with just a little pink left in the center. They also have a good selection of specialty burgers like the Western Bacon Blue Ring with blue cheese, bacon, BBQ sauce, and an onion ring, and the Texas Burger with salsa, guacamole, and pickled jalapenos.

Last week I had a revelation. While ordering a chicken club at Taylor's new Napa location at the Oxbow Market (there is also a San Francisco outpost in the Ferry Building), I saw one of the cooks breaking down a gorgeous, bright red tuna loin for the Ahi Burgers. It was an absolutely beautiful piece of fish that would have looked right at home at a sushi restaurant. At that moment I decided that I needed to branch out.

Although the lines get obscenely long during the lunch rush on weekends and the tourist season, Taylor's also has a local following. One of my proudest accomplishments while working at Cakebread was establishing Taylor's Sundays (each day of the week had a designated restaurant lunch run - for example, Saturdays were sandwiches from Sunshine Foods). Not only did it mean that I got an extra day of Taylor's for me, but I also realized that most people had their one favorite dish that they ordered over and over. In other words, I wasn't the only boring one.

I can still remember many of them. One of my managers would get a veggie burger; the other would get a chocolate shake and some onion rings; one of the part-time guys loved the patty melt. Everyone has their own favorite at a place like Taylor's. I think that's what makes places like this great.

So, it was a big deal when I decided to try something new. With trepidation, I ordered my Ahi Burger and a side of fries at the Napa location and patiently waited for my buzzer to go off (the introduction of these typical restaurant buzzers for the Napa location diminishes a little of Taylor's charm, but I'll deal). Although Taylor's is upscale fast food, it's not "fast." Everything is prepared to order, which means you should expect to wait about 10 minutes or more.

At last the buzzer vibrated and I leapt up to retrieve my burger. Served on a toasted egg bun, the tuna is seared on the outside but has a rare interior. The tuna is toped with a ginger wasabi mayo and light, crispy Asian slaw. I enjoyed the sandwich overall, but I think that the mayo almost overwhelmed the natural flavors of that great tuna loin. I think a little extra slaw might have better balanced out the strong ginger and soy flavors in the mayo. Still, for a "fast food" sandwich, it was a pretty damn good sandwich.

A few parting notes. Taylor's has a pretty good wine list (it is a wine country restaurant, after all), with some nice selection in half bottles and by the glass. Its food can be a little pricey (it is a wine country restaurant after all). Even though you're eating a burger and fries outside, don't expect to pay less than $13 for it. Also, I'd suggest going either early (before noon) or late (after 2), because the place can be a mob scene at lunch -- even in the off-season.

Finally, if you're new to Taylor's, I'd recommend visiting the original St. Helena location first, even if the weather is bad. In my mind (probably because many of my visits have been during January), part of the experience is sitting outside, regardless of the weather, at one of the picnic tables or long metallic communal tables under large space heaters. While I can certainly recommend the Ahi Burger, I'd suggest checking out the menu and finding your own favorite. As for me, I'll most likely be ordering my burger or chicken club.