Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
comfort foods for many people of all ethnicities. Culinary cross-pollination has also yiel-
ded wilder fusion experiments: just witness the Californicized burrito (a mega-meal burst-
ing out of a giant flour tortilla) and the Korean taco, with grilled marinated beef and
picked vegetables atop Mexican corn tortillas.
In SoCal, where ripe avocados, fresh fruits and crunchy nuts grow, there's always
something unusual thrown into the salad bowl. Classics invented here include the Cobb
salad (first made at Hollywood's Brown Derby Restaurant in the 1930s) and the Chinese
chicken salad (popularized in LA during the health-conscious 1970s).
Vegetarians, Vegans & Omnivores
To all you beleaguered vegetarians: relax, you are not an afterthought in California cuisine,
which revolves around seasonal produce instead of the usual American meat and potatoes.
Long before actress Alicia Silverstone (of
Clueless
fame) championed a vegan diet in her
cookbook
The Kind Diet
, coastal California restaurants were catering to vegans. Bakeries,
bistros, cafes, coffee shops and even mom-and-pop counter joints are usually prepared for
meat-free, dairy-free, gluten-free and/or eggless requests and menu substitutions.
Although California may have more vegetarians and vegans per capita than any other
US state, many locals ardently love meat. Trendsetting restaurants' menus proudly herald
the names of local farms that supply grass-fed, free-range and hormone-free beef, pork,
lamb, chicken, duck and even American heritage-breed turkeys. Not only does being
grass-fed improve the meat's texture and flavor, but it's more ecofriendly since livestock
aren't forced to consume a crop that requires vast amounts of water, fuel and electricity to
grow and process into feed.
To find vegetarian and vegan restaurants and health-food stores throughout coastal Cali-
fornia, consult the free online directory at
Happy Cow
(
www.happycow.net
)
, now also
available as a mobile app.
Regional California Specialties
Calculate the distance between your tomato's origin and your fork: chances are it's shorter
than you might think in California. So what are your best bets on local menus? Well, that
