Harris Ranch trip report
 

A friend flew a couple of us to Harris Ranch this weekend in this plane.

http://www.ksql.com/images/n504ds.jpg

We had some onion rings to start, I had the prime rib for my entree (with soup, vegetables, baked potato). Delicious, huge lunch.

This place is about 200 mi from SF with a small airstrip. About an hour trip in that small plane.

One of the cool things about the menu is that in addition to the Harris Ranch beef, they write on the front what stuff has just arrived from their farms so you can get delicious just picked fresh vegetables and sides.

I wanted to get a banana split but was too stuffed. Next time.

A beautiful clear, sunny day. The plane ride was great. 5500 ft going, 6500 coming back, very smooth ride. The only terrifying part was when we started descending (it was a little choppy around 2000-3000 ft) and then started slowing down a lot as we made our approach for landing. Was pretty sure we would stall and plummet to our death.

Re: Harris Ranch trip report
 

That place looks pretty sweet, nothing like being able to fly out somewhere for the weekend.

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I lvoe how the website makes it tough to figure out where they actually are. Like if you don't already know you must be some kind of heathen. I had to break out Google maps. Man that place is out in the middle of nowwhere. Nice to know you could stop at a nice place if you're driving up the 5 though.

Re: Harris Ranch trip report
 

suzzer,

???

http://harrisranch.com/gettinghere.php

There were TONS of really old people on tour bus stops at the restaurant.

Re: Harris Ranch trip report
 

Masked Man:

I'm too old to be an ardent fanboy, but flying down there is pretty effin' cool.

I've stopped there for dinner 3-4 times on the way back to the Bay Area from SoCal...usually a burger or a small steak. Standard fare, and the food has been good across the board. Prices are reasonable, and you're not eating at a Denny's or the McDonalds at the Kettleman City cutoff.

I find the smell of the area off-putting, though. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] I think it has something to do with the bajillion cows wandering around. Summertime is nearly unbearable.

ETA: Being non-balla, I was referring to the Ranch Kitchen, and not the steakhouse. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Re: Harris Ranch trip report
 

I don't see a link for "getting here" on the home page, or any kind of address. So I clicked Contact, which gives the city and state.

Also there are javascript errors that make IE choke if you're a developer and have script debugging turned on. But a lot of sites have that.

Re: Harris Ranch trip report
 

how does the food compare to a similarly priced SF or NYC restaurant? assume it's a place that's one of your 5 favorites in that price range/type of food.

Re: Harris Ranch trip report
 

[ QUOTE ]
I find the smell of the area off-putting, though. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] I think it has something to do with the bajillion cows wandering around. Summertime is nearly unbearable.

[/ QUOTE ]

Visalia is the worst. I had to go there to set up a network one time. I asked the people who worked in the office if it always smells like that. Their reply: "Smells like what?". Ok, that's my answer.

Re: Harris Ranch trip report
 

ot: We ate at the Ranch Kitchen as well. Normally would just have something basic for lunch, but since this was a special go flying trip, we decided to go all out w/ a huge lunch. Smell was not bad at all this time, but yeah it can def get bad around there.

K: It's very good for the price. $28 for a full prime rib dinner (or new york or ribeye) which includes soup or salad, potato, and vegetables. A very big meal. That's the most expensive thing there. Tons of sandwiches and entrees for $12-15. That is at the Ranch Kitchen, basically a nice mid-range casual "family restaurant." The Steakhouse is their fancier place that is just open for dinner and is a little more expensive.

Re: Harris Ranch trip report
 

I stop by here every time driving to LA and back. However, we never actually eaten there. I dont think anyone would be able to drive after a meal there. Especially for 2 to 2.5hours back to South Bay.

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The food at Harris Ranch is the one saving grace of a route 5 trip from LA to San Francisco. Great place, especially when you consider it's in the middle of nowhere.

Re: Harris Ranch trip report
 

If I'm ever in CA this looks like its on the top of my list of places to eat.

Re: Harris Ranch trip report
 

[ QUOTE ]
this plane.


[/ QUOTE ]This plane is really sweet. I plan on learning to fly soon and that looks like something that would totally rule to fly my friends to the beach for a day. The Hatteras lighthouse in NC has a tiny airport about a quarter mile away and I cannot wait to get my pilot license and fly down there for a day trip. The surfing in the area is not terrible by east coast standards either.

Re: Harris Ranch trip report
 

I went there last time me and my friends drove up to San Jose. At that time (about a year ago) it was the best prime rib I had at that time. We went around 10 PM because they said they were way too crowded before that point. I must say this was a pleasant experience and definitely worth the detour (not that big of a detour)

A catching point people say about Harris Ranch is that when President Reagan was still an actor and the governor of California he would fly there to eat, hence the airstrip.

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sweet...just made 10 harris ranch prime ribeyes for my friends on sunday.

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have you ever flown in a small plane like that before?
IMO you have balls of steel to get into that thing... I don't care what the statistics say.

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Haha, my friend actually flew me down there a few weeks ago, in a four-seater Cessna. Fun trip.

I had the ribeye with a baked sweet potato - very very good stuff.

Re: Harris Ranch trip report
 

john,

I had never flown in a plane that small before. I was a little scared about going up in it. I was sorta scared during takeoff, and especially as we climbed from about 2000 to 3000 feet, where it was pretty bumpy (bumpier than normal apparently). Once we reached our cruising altitude of 5500, it was quite nice and smooth. When we were doing the banks to start our approach and then slowing down during our descent, that was pretty f'ing terrifying. Oh, Harris Ranch is an especially narrow runway, so he actually did one pass and decided he was coming in too fast and pulled out of it to give it another shot. Surprisingly, that whole process wasn't very scary and actually sorta cool. Apparently there were some very high flying birds that really scared the pilot towards the end of the trip, but luckily I was asleep at that point.

Re: Harris Ranch trip report
 

[ QUOTE ]
john,

I had never flown in a plane that small before. I was a little scared about going up in it. I was sorta scared during takeoff, and especially as we climbed from about 2000 to 3000 feet, where it was pretty bumpy (bumpier than normal apparently). Once we reached our cruising altitude of 5500, it was quite nice and smooth. When we were doing the banks to start our approach and then slowing down during our descent, that was pretty f'ing terrifying. Oh, Harris Ranch is an especially narrow runway, so he actually did one pass and decided he was coming in too fast and pulled out of it to give it another shot. Surprisingly, that whole process wasn't very scary and actually sorta cool. Apparently there were some very high flying birds that really scared the pilot towards the end of the trip, but luckily I was asleep at that point.

[/ QUOTE ]

wow. i am definitely never getting on an airplane that can't withstand the impact of a bird.

this reminds me of ron white's hilarious bit about getting passed by a goose in a plane "the size of a pack of gum" traveling "half the speed of smell" on his 12 minute flight to phoenix from the flagstaff "airport, haircare & tire center" lol

Re: Harris Ranch trip report
 

[ QUOTE ]
you're not eating at a Denny's or the McDonalds at the Kettleman City cutoff.



[/ QUOTE ]

There is an In'n'Out at the Kettleman City cutoff. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Harris Ranch trip report
 

It's in the middle of nowhere. Good only if you're driving up route 5 from LA north, of, like our hero, you have access to your own personal air chauffeur.

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I asked my friend about this place, thinking it would be a perfect place for her and her husband to go. They often fly in their plane from L.A. to Big Bear for dinner, etc. She said that she's never been but has had their steaks, because her husband brings some home to grill:

"Whenever he has to fly 'north', he always stops there for fuel, lunch and brings home steaks....the one time a year we eat steak! They put the steaks in a bag and give you an ice pack to go with it. Pretty cool (and very expensive)."

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I stopped at this place last summer, on a drive from San Francisco to LA. We didn't go to Harris Ranch itself, and instead got Subway from the gas station / mini-mart. This was back when I was manic and delusional and believed that I was about to recieve a positive HIV test result, which belief I had acquired based on someone's hand motions that I believed to be predicting the future. The mini-mart had a little sign at the register saying that Harris Ranch employees could get an employee discount but that they had to show ID. I think the mini-mart was a Harris Ranch property, maybe?

This place really is in the middle of nowhere. I guess enough people do the trip from LA to SF and back to make a highway-side awesome place like this possible and very popular.

Re: Harris Ranch trip report
 

[ QUOTE ]
I stopped at this place last summer, on a drive from San Francisco to LA. We didn't go to Harris Ranch itself, and instead got Subway from the gas station / mini-mart. This was back when I was manic and delusional and believed that I was about to recieve a positive HIV test result, which belief I had acquired based on someone's hand motions that I believed to be predicting the future. The mini-mart had a little sign at the register saying that Harris Ranch employees could get an employee discount but that they had to show ID. I think the mini-mart was a Harris Ranch property, maybe?

This place really is in the middle of nowhere. I guess enough people do the trip from LA to SF and back to make a highway-side awesome place like this possible and very popular.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have no idea what to make of this post.

Re: Harris Ranch trip report
 

May I ask how you do that? Did you drive over there and buy their prime rib and cook it yourself? Or do they sell their beef somewhere in the market?

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I think Whole Foods carries Harris' products (at least in L.A. area. I think you can also find them througout the Bay Area).

I think time or year is key for visiting Harris. Prevailing winds are important. In that spring and summer, I believe the winds blow the stench south onto the property. I had stayed at the hotel one night in May and the smell was all over the place.

However, I have been there in the fall many times, and I didn't notice the smell.

Harris is a good place to stop for a meal if you are driving the 5. However, if you have a little more time to spend, I would recommend going to "Woolgrowers" in Los Banos. It is a Basque, family style, restaurant. Well worth it.

Re: Harris Ranch trip report
 

It would've been pretty cool if instead of landing in the plane, you dudes sky dived down Johnny Utah/Bodhi style.

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lol