Old Town consists of little antique shops, tasting rooms, restaurants and touristy shops with a western feel. There's even a little place called the Gambling Cowboy that I've been told serves liquor out of glass boots!
Here are a few of the more interesting shops we stopped into on our recent trip to Old Town Temecula:
American Prospector Treasure Seeker28900 Old Town Front Street #101
Temecula, CA 92590
(951) 676-2555
My husband has just picked up a hobby of gold prospecting. No, seriously. He and his buddies head out to the river with a pack full of tools like pans, sluices, shovels and buckets and comes back with dirt filled with flecks of gold. (Ok, filled might be overstating.) There's a whole community of hobbyists out there!
In southern California there's a handful of gold prospecting shops like American Prospector Treasure Seeker. It has one of the larger selections of dry and wet prospecting tools, books, and a friendly Native American statue that greets customers at the door.
The shop is family owned and ran by avid prospectors who are members of numerous local clubs who own land claims and know how to find the shiny gold nuggets.
It's a little far outside of the main part of Old Town (about 1/3 a mile) but still a short walk.
Temecula Valley Cheese Company 42072 5th Street #101
Temecula, CA 92590
(951) 693-9500
Not one to pass up a opportunity to buy cheese, I scoped out this little shop that turned out to be more like someone's home. A home with Freedman & Cash playing Eric Clapton hits in the casual dining room where the most delicious of cheeses and wines were served.
Originally, I was just going to stop in and buy a small block of cheese and ended up sitting down for a 4 cheese and wine paired tasting. It was relaxed, calming and thoroughly charming. A must visit for anyone craving the wine country lifestyle on a trip to Temecula.The dining room is relatively small with an occupancy of about 15 people but there's an adorable outdoor seating area for those who want to enjoy the breeze.
41925 5th St # 101
Temecula, CA 92590-2739
(951) 587-2223
On a search for pink peppercorns to use in a Parisian macaron recipe, Spice Merchants was our last and my favorite stop of the entire trip.
It was like Willy Wonka decided to sell spices instead of candy! A dozen types of peppercorns (including long Balinese), fragrant teas and rare spices and grains. I could have spent hours smelling and tasting all the spices (which Spice Merchants encourages), sipping on tea samples and chatting with the sales people and customers about recipes.
I can completely understand why early trade was based on rare spices! Why aren't there more of these shops? Must we be relegated to stale spices in sad little plastic jars down cold megamart aisles?
In the end, we picked up bamboo rice (a grain in a pretty jade green color), habanero powder, long and pink peppercorns.They also have an extensive collection of Hilmalayan pink salt plates and blocks. I already bought a 6"x6"x2" brick on Overstock.com for $17 but Spice Merchants prices were very competitive.
So there you have it! All the highlights of my trip from Temecula without any details about the terrible time at Pechanga. I do not understand the joys of gambling.
