Zeno's Bar & Grill

Can I just say: I did it. I lost five pounds. And this weekend I got the reward I’d promised myself. My logic was that instead of paying money to some diet program that probably wouldn’t work anyway, I would take the cash and use it to bribe myself. And it actually worked. So this weekend while we were in Pasadena for my friend Katharine’s holiday cocktail party, I made a detour to Burke-Williams for the Calistoga Getaway treatment.

As a semi spa-neophyte, it was surprisingly educational. I learned all kinds of things. For example: a mud bath does not mean thick, gooey mud like what a pig would roll around in. It means Fango mud (whatever that is) lightly sprinkled in an aromatherapy bubble bath. And a body wrap is not some Marabel Morgan Total Woman-esque saran wrap special, it’s just a warm, damp blanket-y thing with a massage.

My best discovery: the steam room. Never tried one before, although I did lots of saunas growing up in Alaska. Loved it. Gonna try it at my gym next time.

--Melanie