Restaurants near Cold Springs

“Enjoyed the Italian sandwiches with a nice salad. Very fresh tasting! I also enjoyed the Margarita Pizza about a week ago. Oh love the Apricot beer. Hope they get more in soon. The tangerine was a close second! The staff are always very nice!”

“Hands down our favorite local breakfast spot--we try to get up there every weekend—I think we’ve managed to get up there every week for the last year except for two or three….and, of course, we’ll have an random special occasion weekday lunch there as well. This is one of the few places where it’s hard for me to decide what to get—usually, I find my favorite thing and then stick with that forever. At Pinecone, nearly everything is spectacular, which is great for variety’s sake, but it definitely complicates ordering. I went through a Chile Verde Omelette phase for about a year, spent a few months trying out new dishes each week, and am now stuck on the huevos rancheros—and I have a hard time believing I will ever want to order anything different from them again since this one is a masterpiece. I absolutely detest black beans—at least I thought i did—but, having learned that nearly everything Robin makes is wonderful, I decided to just order it as-is, no modifications (except sour cream, of course, because, really, why would anyone ever want to put anything in their mouth with a name like ’SOUR CREAM’???)—and I wasn’t disappointed. Meh, that’s not a strong enough statement: I was completely blown away that a breakfast food that doesn’t contain bacon could taste so amazing! And, I hate to admit it, but it’s that magical black bean puree that ties it all together (well, that and the fantastic Chile Verde that’s in there). I’ve even started ordering my other dishes with black bean sauce added. I don’t know what’s in there, but the stuff is fantastic. Other dishes that are amazing that may or may not be quite as amazing as the huevos rancheros or Chile Verde Omelette include the corned beef hash and eggs, the chicken fried steak, the Denver omelette, the breakfast burrito (with or without hashbrown in there), and, if it’s on the Specials List that day, I always love the chorizo and cheese filled bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers that come with a fantastic ensemble of bonuses (several eggs, my beloved black bean puree, country potatoes, toast…). I still wanna try the Italian Omellette and the Country Scramble and a few others….will get there eventually. I love these guys so much that I often can’t resist getting an extra lunch to eat later—even reheated, it’s still better than anything I can make. They have once again managed to make a very boring-sounding sandwich taste incredible—I mean, let’s admit it, it’s just really hard to make a grilled chicken breast sandwich have much flavor at all, but I very often end up getting Pinecone’s Dijon Chicken sandwich—perfectly cooked chicken topped with honey bacon, dijon, grilled red onions, and gouda on a french roll that’s not too crunchy and not too squishy. Strongly recommend getting both the zesty slaw and the french fries with this one—they do both of those shockingly well, that I add them to most any lunch items I order from them. In fact, I drove up there the other day just to get four orders of that slaw! Sometimes, ya just know what ya want…. Other lunch items I commonly end up walking out of there with include the blond reuben—somehow, it’s just as good as their corned beef reuben, which I absolutely love. Again, I have no idea how they manage to pack so much flavor in a meat that is about as boring as they come—but they do! My wife often gets the Brown Bear or the Prime Rib French Dip. Oh! And I almost forgot the burgers! I love most of them—as long as you order them pretty well done, so you get that wonderful charred smell, you really can’t go wrong. My go-to burgers are the Patty Melt, and the Classic Bacon Cheeseburger—the latter has pretty much everything you could want on a burger, no need to modify it. And the bacon! I don’t know where they get their bacon from but it seriously is one of the best bacons I’ve ever had—this definitely ain’t no cheapo Oscar Mayer bacon! Okay, I could go on and on but I think I’m about to break the word limit! Pinecone is good. Pinecone is wonderful. Pinecone will make you happy. Their prices are fair—especially with the cost of eggs an”

“Wow, this spot was incredible. The staff was attentive with the orders and you can tell they take pride in the food they make. Place is well maintained with both indoor and outdoor seating.Highly recommend stopping by here on the way up to the mountains, you'll definitely get your fill. The Fries are the highlight, Real potatoes that complement the burgers really well!”

“A nice little shop! I went on a vacation and I wish we had one back at home! I had a mocha and it was probably the best one I have ever tasted. They have plenty of options. The staff are also super friendly! Prices are 1-5$ per drink which is pretty manageable compared to other stores. Highly recommend this nice little store!!”

“After hiking around Pinecrest Lake, I decided to come by the snack bar to grab a soft serve. It was a hot day so it was perfect. I honestly wasn't expecting a lot but wow was I surprised! It was very creamy and rich but not very heavy. It was sweet but not super sweet which I enjoyed. It was interesting to see a +$1 charge for a paper cup. The sugar cone comes with the original $6 price tag. Seems a bit steep for ice cream but there was a decent amount and it's taste made it VERY much worth it. Probably some of the best soft serves I've ever had! The man working there was kind as well. He sung out loud and gave off such happy energy.”

“Decent sized coffee shop. Tons of space, lots of options in terms of Crepes and Coffee. Staff was very helpful and friendly. Would go back and support their local business. Recommend trying the Nutella crepe ?”

“Seven of us were staying in Strawberry for a work fishing trip and was looking for something to do nearby on a Friday night. So we decided to stop by Diamond Jim's and couldn't of asked for a better night. The crowd was great and the bartender was amazing! Things were a little quiet at first but once the drinks started pouring, and the karaoke going, it was a night for the books. Thanks Diamond Jim's for putting up with our group and hosting such a fun night!”

“Recently tried Dodge Ridge instead of going to Tahoe and overall felt it was a good value. The one-day tickets were among the lowest cost in the Sierras, snow quality and grooming was very good, and the facilities felt clean and not overly crowded compared to many of larger resorts. The mountain is small but still has enough to fill a day without feeling repetitive. The major downsides we experienced were a very slow rental shop and slow lifts. You can mitigate the first by bringing your own equipment or renting elsewhere. The second is unavoidable, but given Dodge's comparatively lower costs, seems a reasonable tradeoff. Food and drink were a mixed bag (good soup, small but well-stocked bar, definitely skip the pizza). One other note, if you're coming from the Central Valley or Bay Area, this location is slightly closer and seems less susceptible to the traffic that plagues the trip to the Tahoe area. But the road up is not in great condition so plan accordingly if the weather looks at all questionable.”

“It's amazing what the chef can do in this kitchen that's the size of a postage stamp. We love the steam donkey and look forward to it for every ski trip. Sam the host/drink taker is always upbeat and fun! The food is always hot, fresh and delish. Don't sleep on the soup!! Every soup I've had has been 10/10!”

“Great pizza, I had the Boss pizza. The dough and the red sauce were absolutely amazing. It's a thicker yet still crispy crust. The only gripe was a little heavy on the cheese for me. Very reasonably priced and as a plus had a live music from a keyboardist outside!”