Downtown Ceres, Ceres, CA

Downtown Ceres is the old center of the city, a small grid around Fourth Street where the cafes, the library and the historical museum all sit within a few blocks of each other. Highway 99 runs through the area and divides it, so the neighborhood feels like a handful of pockets on either side of the freeway. Breakfast is the strongest card. Sam's Cafe on Fifth Street is the kind of diner people drive in for, with omelettes and country fried steak, and it closes after lunch. The Drip Coffee Bar at 2934 Fourth Street is the independent coffee shop, known for flavored lattes such as banana pudding and honeycomb, plus bagels and pastries, and it closes mid-afternoon and stays shut on Sundays. In the evening, the Doghouse Taproom on Central Avenue pours 16 rotating beers and imported wines, with music on its patio. The houses here are among the oldest in the city, and the mix of eras and upkeep changes from block to block. Because the area is so compact, much of it can be crossed on foot. Ceres-Whitmore Park on Third Street is the neighborhood's green space, with lawn, play equipment and walking paths. The Ceres Public Library and the Ceres Historical Society and Museum are in the same stretch, and the city's Street Faire takes over the downtown streets each May. For a bigger outing, River Bluff Regional Park on the Tuolumne River is a short drive east. Viva Market covers quick grocery trips, and larger stores such as Cost Less Foods sit just outside the boundary. Modesto is a drive up Highway 99. The freeway that makes the trip to Modesto easy also brings traffic noise to the whole district. Downtown Ceres keeps a small-town pace regardless, and the walkable blocks around Fourth Street are what set it apart from the car-oriented streets elsewhere in town.