California

Some places hide in plain sight, tucked behind a busier neighbor, waiting for the curious to find them.…

By Evan Cook · Sep 1

A grand old estate sits quietly above a creek in Santa Cruz County, its windows boarded and its…

By Evan Cook · Sep 1

Some restaurants keep their menus current, and some keep an entire era alive. Just across the street from…

By Evan Cook · Sep 1

Some places hang onto their past instead of tearing it down, and a certain hotel tucked into the…

By Evan Cook · Sep 1

California is full of antique malls where a single afternoon can vanish before you know it. These are…

By Evan Cook · Sep 1

Good fish and chips can turn an ordinary afternoon into a full-on food mission, and California has some…

By Evan Cook · Aug 31

California has no shortage of Mexican restaurants, but the ones that turn nachos into an event are a…

By Evan Cook · Aug 31

Some restaurants earn their place in a city’s memory one plate at a time, and this Outer Sunset…

By Evan Cook · Aug 31

Some restaurants come and go, but a rare few stay open long enough to feed grandparents, parents, and…

By Evan Cook · Aug 31

California has plenty of fancy city restaurants, but some of the best steaks are hiding in tiny towns…

By Evan Cook · Aug 31

Somewhere north of Redding, a wall of water plunges 129 feet and never really stops, fed not just…

By Evan Cook · Aug 31

Some people plan a whole coastal trip around a single sweet stop, and along the central California shore,…

By Evan Cook · Aug 30

Some restaurants keep the lights on for a decade or two and call it a good run. One…

By Evan Cook · Aug 30

California has miles of coastline, and some of the best seafood spots sit right on the piers, with…

By Evan Cook · Aug 30

There is a small shop tucked into a quiet Sacramento neighborhood where the line forms before the doors…

By Evan Cook · Aug 30

Tri-tip is a California thing, and nobody does it quite like the roadside spots that fire up their…

By Evan Cook · Aug 30

California has more than 800 miles of coastline, and some of the best seafood is not found in…

By Evan Cook · Aug 30

There is a corner in Los Angeles where movies still flicker to life the way they did a…

By Evan Cook · Aug 29

Tucked into the busiest shopping stretch of downtown Los Angeles sits a take-out window that regulars have trusted…

By Evan Cook · Aug 29

Tamales and the holidays go together in California like fog and the morning. Every December, families across the…

By Evan Cook · Aug 29

Clam chowder along the California coast is more than a bowl of soup. It is a reason to…

By Evan Cook · Aug 29

Long before the palm-tree logo showed up on highways across the West, a burger empire began inside a…

By Evan Cook · Aug 29

Good pastrami is one of those foods that feels simple until you taste the real thing. California has…

By Evan Cook · Aug 29

A little valley town about an hour and a half north of Los Angeles hides a sweet spot…

By Evan Cook · Aug 28

Some meals are worth a detour, and a few are worth a full hour behind the wheel with…

By Evan Cook · Aug 28

Some road trips are built around a single bowl of soup, and this one has drawn travelers off…

By Evan Cook · Aug 28

Tucked among the warehouses of an unassuming Bakersfield neighborhood sits a restaurant where a simple lunch order can…

By Evan Cook · Aug 28

Tucked into the winding curves of the Santa Monica Mountains sits a former general store that has quietly…

By Evan Cook · Aug 28

A narrow, winding highway hugs the Northern California coast, twisting past cattle country and quiet water until it…

By Evan Cook · Aug 28

California runs on coffee, and some of the best cups do not come from big chains with long…

By Evan Cook · Aug 27

A relish tray is one of those simple restaurant traditions that almost disappeared. It shows up before your…

By Evan Cook · Aug 27

Somewhere along the winding stretch of California State Route 1, there is a town where the pace drops…

By Evan Cook · Aug 27

California has a reputation for sky-high home prices, so the idea of buying a house for under $200,000…

By Evan Cook · Aug 27

A narrow alley in San Francisco’s Chinatown hides one of the city’s most charming little traditions, and plenty…

By Evan Cook · Aug 27

Some meals have been passed down through generations, served the same way for nearly a century. In Southern…

By Evan Cook · Aug 27

Some hot dog spots in California have been slinging the same beloved dogs for generations, and people keep…

By Evan Cook · Aug 26

Some of the best seafood in San Francisco is not hiding behind white tablecloths or a fancy dress…

By Evan Cook · Aug 26

California might be famous for tacos and avocado toast, but the state has quietly built a serious barbecue…

By Evan Cook · Aug 26

Tucked into the hills above Sonoma wine country sits a 3,900-acre stretch of quiet that most travelers drive…

By Evan Cook · Aug 26