California Cuisine shows the ethnical diversity of the people who make up this state. It mixes fresh ingredients, vegetables, fresh cheeses, grilled meat, fish and seafood, nuts, and various cross-cultural dishes influenced by other international cuisines: Mexican, Chinese, and European.

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California Cuisine – a cultural fusion shaped by history

Over time, California’s cultural history shaped its gastronomy. First, there were Native Americans, with their diet based on fruits, corn, pumpkin, and beans. When the Spanish arrived, they brought garlic, peppers, and olives, adding an exotic note to how people prepared the meals. During the Gold Rush, a significant influx of fortune seekers came to California from all over the world, bringing their own culinary traditions. Foods and dishes from China, Italy, and France, as well as from the East Coast, have merged with the existing West Coast gastronomy, and the California style of cooking began to take shape.

READ MORE: Cannoli – a staple of Sicilian cuisine

Later, in 1971, Alice Waters opened the famous restaurant “Chez Panisse” in Berkley. It focused on fresh and local products, organically and ecologically grown. This was a big difference from the traditional way of cooking, and the restaurant became a great success, first in the Bay Area and soon after in the whole state. That was the beginning of “California cuisine,” an internationally recognized gastronomy style that leveled up how people cook and eat their meals in the Golden State.

Today, eating in California offers a great diversity of tastes, adapted ethnic food with roots in immigrants’ home kitchens, and fusion dishes focusing on freshly prepared local ingredients and constant innovation. 

Typical dishes in California

If you are wondering what the Golden State’s most iconic dishes are, here’s the list of 8 California typical foods:

California Pizza

California Pizza is a light, thin-crust pizza with fresh local ingredients as toppings: artichoke, goat cheese, chicken, and avocado. Sometimes, peanut sauce is used instead of tomato sauce. This type of pizza became very popular on the West Coast throughout the 1980s and is still a Californian signature dish.

Where to try it:

Spago (Los Angeles), Chez Panisse (Berkley), Wolfgang Puck (Los Angeles), California Pizza Kitchen (Los Angeles).

Recipe: The California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook

Cobb Salad:

Who doesn’t know the famous Cobb Salad? But did you know that it originates from California and has almost 100 years? In 1930, the classic salad was invented at Hollywood’s Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant. One night, the restaurant owner came home very hungry, and he made himself a dish with whatever he had in the kitchen at that late hour: Lettuce, Egg, Avocado, Tomato, Chicken, Onion, Bacon, and Blue cheese. And this is how one of the California signature dishes was born.

Where to try it:

Fundamental (Los Angeles), California Pizza Kitchen (Los Angeles)

Recipe: The Complete Salad Cookbook

Cioppino

A fish or seafood stew (squid, Dungeness crab, mussels, clams, white fish) made with tomato sauce, garlic, and sometimes red or white wine. It’s a popular dish in San Francisco and northern California. The best place to have a Cioppino is North Beach, the Italian neighborhood of San Francisco. This is where, during the Gold Rush Era, Cioppino was invented by an Italian immigrant.

Where to try it:

Sotto Mare (San Francisco), Ferry Plaza Seafood (San Francisco)

Recipe: Tadich Grill: The Story of San Francisco’s Oldest Restaurant, With Recipes

French Dip

It may be a surprise, but French Dip is an American dish; the only French thing is bread. The recipe is simple: a French roll with sliced beef meat. But what makes this sandwich special is that the roll was previously dipped in the juice from the meat-roasting process. It is said that it was invented in Los Angeles by Philippe Mathieu, a French immigrant, in 1918. While making a sandwich for a restaurant client, he accidentally dropped the bread into a pan of roasting juices. The client loved this combination and asked for the same sandwich the next day. This is how a classic American dish was born.

Where to try it:

Phillippe’s (Los Angeles)

Recipe: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Burritos & Tacos

You can find some of the most authentic and spicy Mexican Food in California. San Diego and San Francisco feature the best American-Mexican cuisine, with traditional Mexican dishes as well as fusion ones: California burrito—a classic burrito with fries added; Fish Tacos—with grilled or fried fish, lime, and avocado; and Mission Burrito—a huge foil-wrapped burrito with lots of meat and sometimes without rice.

Where to try it:

Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill (San Diego), La Taqueria (San Francisco), Taco Shop (San Francisco)

Recipe: Cali Baja Cuisine 

Dungeness Crab

Like lobster is to the East Coast, this is how Dungeness Crab is to the West Coast.

Named after the port of Dungeness, Washington, the Dungeness Crab is loved for its sweet and delicate taste. It is fished all along the coast, but people say the best crab is from the Bay Area, where the water is warmer.

Where to try it:

Farallon, Scoma’s (San Francisco)

Recipe: The Pacific Northwest Seafood Cookbook

California Roll

Asian food was first introduced to the United States in the mid-1800s, with the first Chinese immigrants arriving in California. After 1920, the popularity of this food, which was considered exotic, began to grow, and many Asian dishes were adapted to fit the American style. California Roll, for example, is a fusion of Japanese and Californian cuisine and originated in Los Angeles in the 1960s’. The roll is made with rice, cucumber, avocado, and fish but is rolled inside out. Practically, it is a Japanese dish made with American ingredients in a new fusion style.

Where to try it:

California Roll Factory (Los Angeles), Akiko’s Sushi (San Francisco)

Recipe: Eat California: Vibrant Recipes from the West Coast

Sourdough Bread

Sourdough Bread tastes a bit more sour than regular bread due to its fermentation process, and the texture is denser. Although it’s said that Egyptians were the inventors of Sourdough Bread, San Francisco is the place that made it famous during the California Gold Rush. At Boudin, the oldest bakery in San Francisco, Sourdough Bread has been baking since 1849. This type of bread goes perfectly with other typical Californian dishes – like Cioppino and Clam Chowder, often served in a bowl made of Sourdough Bread.

Where to try it:

Boudin, Tartine Bakery (San Francisco)

Recipe: Tartine Bread

Did you try one of these unique California dishes? Let me know in the comments below!

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