California

Some restaurants shout for attention with flashy signs and trendy menus. Others just quietly do the same thing…

By Evan Cook · Aug 12

California is famous for big cities and coastlines, but some of its best moments happen on quiet main…

By Evan Cook · Aug 12

Some road trips get planned around beaches or scenic overlooks, but this one starts with a bowl of…

By Evan Cook · Aug 12

Some places seem to freeze a little slice of the past and keep it running for anyone willing…

By Evan Cook · Aug 12

Some sandwiches are worth a road trip, and this one has been pulling drivers off the freeway for…

By Evan Cook · Aug 11

Somewhere along a quiet stretch of Central Valley road sits a wood-trimmed spot that looks like it wandered…

By Evan Cook · Aug 11

There is a corner in San Francisco where deep red booths, dark wood paneling, and cooks working behind…

By Evan Cook · Aug 11

Some drives are worth every mile, and this one ends at a family farm tucked along California’s Central…

By Evan Cook · Aug 11

California and affordable housing rarely appear in the same sentence, yet a small city in the high desert…

By Evan Cook · Aug 11

Tucked along a quiet stretch of highway in California’s Santa Ynez Valley sits a Western-style steakhouse that has…

By Evan Cook · Aug 11

Not many barbecue counters let you watch jumbo jets glide down toward a runway while you sort through…

By Evan Cook · Aug 10

There is a stretch of the Central Coast where the smell of red oak smoke means one thing,…

By Evan Cook · Aug 10

There is a corner of San Francisco where the ovens rarely rest and the line out the door…

By Evan Cook · Aug 10

Some sandwiches build a following. This one built a legend that has lasted well over a century, tucked…

By Evan Cook · Aug 10

Somewhere between Los Angeles and Palm Springs, right off Interstate 10, sits a sprawling open-air shopping center that…

By Evan Cook · Aug 10

Tucked into a quiet corner of the Northern California coast sits a cluster of Victorian buildings that look…

By Evan Cook · Aug 10

California gets a lot of attention for its big cities and busy freeways, but the state is also…

By Evan Cook · Aug 9

Some road trips end with a shrug, and some end with a slice of pie you keep talking…

By Evan Cook · Aug 9

Tucked between freeway exits in Southern California sits a square mile of brick storefronts and shady walkways where…

By Evan Cook · Aug 9

Some meals stick with you long after the last bite, and a plate of golden fish and chips…

By Evan Cook · Aug 9

Deep in the Santa Cruz Mountains sits a vintage steam railroad that has been carrying passengers through towering…

By Evan Cook · Aug 9

Some breakfast spots become the kind of place people plan their whole morning around, and a little corner…

By Evan Cook · Aug 9

Some of the best food in Los Angeles County hides in plain sight, tucked between studio lots and…

By Evan Cook · Aug 8

California has a soft spot for pie, and some of the best slices are hiding in small towns…

By Evan Cook · Aug 8

Tucked into the shadow of one of California’s tallest snow-capped peaks sits a calm stretch of water that…

By Evan Cook · Aug 8

Some fried chicken spots earn a following that stretches back years, and this one in Culver City has…

By Evan Cook · Aug 8

Some restaurants build a following one pie at a time, and this one has done exactly that in…

By Evan Cook · Aug 8

Some of the best coastal cooking in California sits inside a weathered wooden building on a quiet main…

By Evan Cook · Aug 8

A parking lot filled with vintage aircraft is not where most people expect to find smoked brisket and…

By Evan Cook · Aug 7

Some breakfast spots earn a following that stretches far beyond their own zip code, and this one has…

By Evan Cook · Aug 7

California gets a lot of attention for its beaches and big cities, but some of its best places…

By Evan Cook · Aug 7

Some of the best coastal scenery in California does not require a grueling climb or an all-day commitment.…

By Evan Cook · Aug 7

Some places make you feel like a kid again the moment you walk through the door, and a…

By Evan Cook · Aug 7

There is a small taqueria in Santa Barbara where the line often stretches out the door, and nobody…

By Evan Cook · Aug 7

Somewhere between the freeway and the mountains sits a shopping destination so big that some people admit they…

By Evan Cook · Aug 6

Somewhere along a busy stretch of highway in the Salinas Valley sits a small town most travelers zoom…

By Evan Cook · Aug 6

Tucked high in the shadow of a snow capped volcano, there is a small California city where the…

By Evan Cook · Aug 6

Somewhere along the winding roads of the Santa Ynez Valley sits a Western-style restaurant that has quietly been…

By Evan Cook · Aug 5

Somewhere in the San Gabriel Valley, a little corner stand has been quietly feeding hungry night owls for…

By Evan Cook · Aug 5