Gott’s Roadside Celebrates 25 Years With Specials Year-Long
![The fried softshell crab sandwich with a glass of Bieler Pere et Fils rose (in Riedel stemware, no less) at Gott's.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/soft-shell-crab-sandwich-FINAL-758x1024.jpg)
Gott’s Roadside celebrates a milestone 25th anniversary this year with a rotating menu of specials each month.
Way back in 1999, brothers Joel and Duncan Gott took over this outdoor roadside eatery on Highway 29 in St. Helena. Taylor’s Refresher, as it was called then, was groundbreaking in that it took fast-casual favorites and elevated them with better ingredients. Its menu also included Napa Valley and greater California wines by the glass, half bottle, and bottle — an unheard of addition back then.
All of that helped it earn it a James Beard American Classic Award.
Today, there are eight Gott’s in the Bay Area.
Armed with a gift card courtesy of the restaurant, I checked out some of June’s special offerings.
That included a fried soft shell crab sandwich ($24.99) that was nicely breaded and fried until golden, then topped with a crunchy, lightly dressed slaw.
Fried calamari ($18.99) was another June special. Besides the crunchy pieces of body and tentacles, it came with fried banana peppers and fried wheels of lemon — a nice touch that added more variety.
![The classic cheeseburger.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/cheeseburger.jpg)
![The fried calamari offered during the month of June.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/fried-calamari.jpg)
My husband — no surprise — went with the cheeseburger ($10.99) that included American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and a secret sauce (yes, think Thousand Island-like), all on a toasted egg bun.
Everything was tasty. But my only quibble was that none of the food, unfortunately, was hot or even remotely warm.
![A cherry cobbler parfait worth digging into.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/cherry-cobbler-soft-serve.jpg)
However, the cherry cobbler parfait ($8.99) was perfectly cold, creamy, and on point with Straus organic vanilla soft serve topped with syrupy, house-made Morello cherry compote and a crunchy pecan crumble.
Look for July to bring specials of: Coho salmon sandwich, Coho salmon Nicoise, street corn, watermelon weges, and blueberry shake. And August to usher in: lobster BLT with heirloom tomatoes, street corn, and peach cobbler parfait.
I wonder, how does the softshell sandwich here compare to Bywaters softshell po’ boy?
Hi Reuel: Ooh, I have not had the soft shell crab po’ boy at the Bywater. But I have enjoyed dining there on other dishes, so I’m guessing that po’ boy version would be pretty hard to beat since Owner David Kinch is a Michelin three-starred chef with very high standards.