California

California is famous for tacos, sushi, and avocado toast, but its soul food scene deserves just as much…

By Evan Cook · Oct 3

Egg tarts are small, but they pull big crowds in California. Some of the best ones come from…

By Evan Cook · Oct 3

Some restaurants sell you a meal. Others hand you a front-row seat to one of the most scenic…

By Evan Cook · Oct 2

Some places never bother to sleep, and this little corner spot in San Francisco is one of them.…

By Evan Cook · Oct 2

Some weekend outings promise fresh food and end up delivering a full-on morning adventure, complete with a little…

By Evan Cook · Oct 2

Fried chicken has quietly become one of California’s favorite comfort foods, and the state is packed with counters…

By Evan Cook · Oct 2

A slice of pie tastes different when the apples came from trees you can see out the window.…

By Evan Cook · Oct 2

Yosemite draws crowds by the carload every summer, and finding a calm place to sleep nearby can feel…

By Evan Cook · Oct 2

Some people spend their whole lives within a few minutes of the Pacific, and then they do something…

By Evan Cook · Oct 1

Some bakeries lock their doors at dusk, but one little spot in Modesto never does. At 4 a.m.…

By Evan Cook · Oct 1

Some restaurants chase every new trend, and then there are places that simply refuse to change what works.…

By Evan Cook · Oct 1

Somewhere between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, big billboards along the interstate start calling to hungry drivers. They…

By Evan Cook · Oct 1

Some people retire and buy a boat. Others buy a patch of desert sand and wait for a…

By Evan Cook · Oct 1

California used to get teased for its bagels, and honestly, some of that teasing was fair. Things have…

By Evan Cook · Oct 1

Most restaurants hand you a menu that reads like a novel. This San Francisco dining room hands you…

By Evan Cook · Sep 30

Some road trips are measured in miles, and some are measured in bowls of soup. Along the long,…

By Evan Cook · Sep 30

Santa Monica has plenty of quick lunch stops on the way to the beach, yet one counter in…

By Evan Cook · Sep 30

Some towns pick a slogan, and Castroville actually earned one by calling itself the Artichoke Center of the…

By Evan Cook · Sep 30

Some burger joints come and go faster than a lunch break, but one spot on Route 66 in…

By Evan Cook · Sep 30

Some meals are worth planning a whole day around, and a classic Basque dinner in California is one…

By Evan Cook · Sep 30

Los Angeles tears down and rebuilds itself so often that a business lasting ten years feels like a…

By Evan Cook · Sep 29

California has a long coastline and an even longer love affair with clam chowder poured into a hollowed-out…

By Evan Cook · Sep 29

Most lunch spots last a few years. This one in Bakersfield has lasted more than a century, and…

By Evan Cook · Sep 29

Carmel-by-the-Sea has a habit of hiding its best stories down narrow passageways, and one of its most famous…

By Evan Cook · Sep 29

Los Angeles loves to reinvent itself. Restaurants open with big buzz and vanish before the paint on the…

By Evan Cook · Sep 29

Plenty of California road trips include a stretch over Pacheco Pass on Highway 152, and a surprising number…

By Evan Cook · Sep 29

Some of the best carne asada in California is served by people who fully expect you to walk…

By Evan Cook · Sep 28

Dim sum is a meal where you point at a passing cart, grab a few small plates, and…

By Evan Cook · Sep 28

Grab a tray, pick up the tongs, and get ready to make some tough choices, because California is…

By Evan Cook · Sep 28

In a lot of California homes, the holidays do not officially start until someone walks through the door…

By Evan Cook · Sep 28

Some people plan road trips around beaches or ballparks, but garlic fans plan theirs around roasted cloves, garlic…

By Evan Cook · Sep 28

California has more ramen shops than anyone could visit in a lifetime, so picking just one bowl can…

By Evan Cook · Sep 28

Lumpia tends to vanish first at any Filipino party, and garlic rice is the quiet hero sitting right…

By Evan Cook · Sep 27

Well before most of Glendale has finished its first cup of coffee, a small group is already standing…

By Evan Cook · Sep 27

Some Los Angeles restaurants chase trends, but one downtown counter has been doing roughly the same thing since…

By Evan Cook · Sep 27

Long-haul drivers know the middle stretch of Interstate 5 can feel like it goes on forever, with little…

By Evan Cook · Sep 27

There is a spot in downtown Ojai where locals send every hungry newcomer, and the directions usually come…

By Evan Cook · Sep 27

Some restaurants change their menus every season. Others plant their feet and refuse to budge for six decades,…

By Evan Cook · Sep 27

Near the far end of a busy California wharf sits a candy shop where the sweets are still…

By Evan Cook · Sep 26