Park Then Chow Down Without Losing That Driving Feeling

Last month, Highway 1 offered a guide to seven motorcycle hangouts. Here is a more general list offering two more bikers’ favorites as well as three other popular gathering spots that combine cars, car-themed ambience and--not least--food and drink.

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Sagebrush Cantina. 23527 Calabasas Road, Calabasas. (818) 222-6062. Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Fridays; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturdays; 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays.

This is a favorite Friday night and weekend afternoon gathering spot for motorcyclists who ride the twisting roads of the Santa Monica Mountains. From racers to custom choppers to full-dress touring bikes, they’re all here, along with their riders.

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Cook’s Corner. 19122 Live Oak Canyon, Trabuco Canyon. (949) 858-0266. Open 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily.

This bar and cafe is an Orange County institution, and on weekends, in particular, it is hard to see for all the chrome glittering in the parking lot. A favorite watering hole and lunch spot for the motorcycle riders who cruise the county’s canyon country.

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Speedway Bistro and Cafe. 353 Pacific Coast Highway, Newport Beach. (949) 675-5900. Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays; 11 a.m. to midnight Fridays; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturdays; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays.

This restaurant caters to the race fan and auto enthusiast. Speedway Bistro has banks of televisions--78 screens, to be exact--that broadcast live races, taped races, race films and other automotive programming. Speedway broadcasts all the NASCAR races and open early on Sundays--sometimes as early as 3 a.m., when live Formula 1 racing is being broadcast from Europe and South America.

Fans drive up from San Diego and down from Santa Barbara to watch and cheer with fellow motorheads. The guy in the seat next to you might be former world champion Formula 1 driver Phil Hill--he’s been known to drop in for a Sunday morning racing fix. The restaurant also plays host to hot rod, muscle car and motorcycle cruise nights weekly; call for schedules.

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Bob’s Big Boy. 4211 W. Riverside Drive, Burbank. (818) 843-9334. Open 24 hours.

The restaurant doesn’t have an automotive theme, but it is an automotive scene: one of the last places in the basin offering car-hop service (on weekends only). It has become a favorite weekend gathering spot for cruisers of all generations, and its Friday night car shows bring out some of the best that L.A. has to offer.

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Deer Park Winery and Auto Museum. 29013 Champagne Blvd., Escondido. (760) 749-1666. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (last admission at 4 p.m.). Admission: adults, $6; senior citizens 55 and older, $4; children under 12, free.

For a change of pace, stop by this San Diego County winery to check out the extensive collection of convertibles, featuring the Crosley Hotshot, Frazer Manhattan and other little-known names from the 1950s. Visitors 21 and older can also sample Deer Park’s San Diego and Napa County vintages. There’s a bookstore and gift shop, the winery and a nice picnic area.