Places To Go

The idea of this page is to highlight interesting fly-in destinations for the San Francisco Bay Area pilot. The numbers in square brackets are straight-lines distance from the Palo Alto Airport (PAO) in nautical miles (NM), eg [53].

Airports with great restaurant options at or near the airport

• • San Carlos SQL [7] - The Sky Kitchen Cafe is on-field and a great place for breakfast or lunch. A popular spot among local pilots.

  • Half Moon Bay HAF [18] - The 3-Zero Cafe is on-field in the main airport building (near the fuel island and transient parking). There are are also many food options in the small town of Princeton-by-the-Sea (Google Maps) near the southeast end of the runway. There is even a tie-down area and a gate specifically for parking and walking into town. Going into town is like visiting small New England fishing village for a few hours (or any small coastal village I guess) -- a must-do trip if you have never done it before.

  • Livermore LVK [20] - Beeb's Sports Bar & Grill is on-field. There are also other options, such as Cattleman's Restaurant, nearby.

  • Petaluma O69 [53] - The Two Niner Diner is a great on-field restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating.

  • Nut Tree VCB [55] - The Nut Tree Plaza (Google Maps) is a very short walk from the airport via a foot path that departs the airport grounds at the very southeast corner of the ramp (back behind the hangers). There are quite a few restaurants in the plaza, but my favorite is Fentons Creamery since I really like ice cream. (Although I guess you could eat at one of the other restaurants and then still get ice cream at Fentons.)

  • Lodi 1O3 [60] - The Lodi Airport Cafe is one of my personal favorites. It's got great food and a great atmosphere, and you can usually watch the skydivers while you eat. Unfortunately, they are currently closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. And the menu on Sunday is a special Sunday Brunch menu.

  • Auburn AUN [102] - The Wings Grill & Espresso Bar is a great on-field restaurant with both indoor and outdoor seating. The weather is often great for enjoying the outdoor seating.