Overlooked Woodland full of surprises

Kitchen428’s building dates from 1891, an opulently balconied three-story palace — designed by the architects responsible for San Francisco’s vanished Sutro Baths — with a surprising, bullet-shaped turret that rises like an exclamation point into the Sacramento Valley sky.

About 12 miles north of Davis, Woodland may seem unremarkable by its stats: 50,000 people, county seat of Yolo County, center of a rich agricultural region.

Early on,” says Woodland resident and author David Wilkinson, “Woodland was committed to being a special place.

To see just how special, pick up a copy of “Explore Historic Woodland,” the guidebook Wilkinson edited.

At Main and Second streets stands the handsome red-brick Woodland Opera House, still used for theater performances; a block north on Court Street are the Spanish Colonial Revival City Hall and the Mission Revival public library.

Head back to Main Street again and stroll blocks of two-and three-story 19th and early-20th century commercial buildings that announce to the world that Woodland is a solid, prosperous place.

Early settlers discovered that the Sacramento Valley soils nurtured bounteous crops, from wheat in the 1870s to tomatoes and almonds today.

After serving a stint in the Air Force, Hayes found Woodland more or less by accident — “I closed my eyes and put my finger on a map and landed here,” she says.

Hayes began working as hostess and bartender at a longtime Woodland restaurant while attending Cal State Sacramento.

[...] her 428Kitchen features Sacramento Valley-sourced dishes like rack of lamb with mint pistachio sauce.

(Insert joke about the fortunate proximity of wine and beer to reporters here; also insert joke about the brewery’s official location on Dead Cat Alley, a street name with ties to a more raffish period in Woodland life.) Caceres’ next project is the Treehouse, a downtown venue for live music.

Other new or newish restaurants include Common Grounds Coffee for caffeine and carbs, and Morgan’s on Main, a swank steak-and-martini kind of spot.

Shopping ops include a chic home store, White Barn, and a stylish kitchenware store, Well-Stocked, that offers every variety of baking pan known to humankind.

Victorian Italianate, Queen Anne, Craftsman bungalow, Colonial Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, Prairie-style.

In “House Hunters,” for example, the squabbling couple could select from a Woodland Dutch Colonial, a Woodland Tudor or a Woodland Streamline Moderne.

David Wilkinson, who with his wife has restored one of these houses, says the handsome neighborhoods are another sign of the civic pride that makes Woodland unique.