California restaurants: a rich history of innovation and excitement.Restaurant dining is as much a part of the California lifestyle as El Nino weather patterns, tanning clinics, and earthquake readiness. Since their origins as public eating establishments in the 18th century, restaurants have come a long way--and their evolution has never been so profound or prodigious since opening their doors right here in California. The Golden State boasts perhaps the largest assortment of restaurant concepts and cuisines than any one place in the world, mirroring both the cultural diversity of its population as well as its reputation for creative fertility. Thanks to its history and geography, California might even be called the first fusion cuisine Fusion cuisine combines elements of various culinary traditions while not fitting specifically into any. The term generally refers to the innovations in many contemporary restaurant cuisines since the 1970s. This type of restaurant's success depends on a number of factors. . It's a complete melting-pot culture from the Mexican and Spanish influences in the south and the Asian and Italian influences in the north, to an international influence throughout the rest of the state. The state's gold rush attracted miners and others to California. One of the exciting things that happened is that these people brought seeds, such as artichokes. So influential were the habits of the settlers that nearly every artichoke artichoke, name for two different plants of the family Asteraceae (aster family), both having edible parts. The French, or globe, artichoke (Cynara scolymus eaten in the U.S. today is grown in Castroville, Calif., and much of our garlic comes from California's town of Gilroy. Despite a crush of new restaurant concepts and cuisine offerings in recent years, the Golden State still includes as its existing restaurants such cherished chestnuts as San Francisco's Fior D'Italia (America's oldest Italian restaurant, established in 1886) and L.A.'s Musso & Frank Grill, an 80-year bastion of Old Hollywood that has outlived such greats as Romanoff's, The Brown Derby, and the original Chasen's. Through the years, California restaurateurs also introduced many once-foreign concepts into the American mainstream. The Caesar salad, Mandarin and Szechwan cooking, and Mexican and Thai food were all popularized here. The terms "blush" wine and "grazing" were coined originally in California. The Golden State lays claim to the pasta bar, San Francisco sourdough bread, the Screwdriver cocktail, wine bars, the steak-and-lobster (or surf and turf surf and turf n. Seafood and beefsteak served as the main course of a meal, as in a restaurant. ) concept, as well as originating the practice of servers identifying themselves to customers. More significantly, California restaurants are the birthplaces of many foodservice innovations of which we now couldn't imagine a world without. Within the past century alone, these concepts and creations have included: 1900: cioppino ciop·pi·no n. pl. ciop·pi·nos A stew made of several kinds of fish and shellfish, tomatoes, and white wine. [Italian, perhaps variant of northwest Italian ciuppin.] (Italian fish-and-tomato stew), San Francisco 1905: the cafeteria, Helen Mosher A mosher is a person who is crossed between goth/punk/skater they have long hair and listen to music like slipknot and metal music. Some people call them headbangers. At certain music shows they have something called a mosh pit, basically its a fight pit with loads of people bashing each other. , "The Cafeteria," Los Angeles the Popsicle, Frank Epperson, Oakland 1906: hot fudge sundaes, C.C. Brown's, Los Angeles 1908: Chicken Tetrazzini, San Francisco 1910: Celery Victor, Victor Hirtzler, St. Francis Hotel The Westin St. Francis is a luxury hotel in the Union Square district of San Francisco, California. The hotel opened on March 21, 1904. The interior was destroyed in the 1906 Earthquake but the structure survived and the hotel re-opened in late 1907. , San Francisco 1914: Crab Louis, Solari's, San Francisco 1915: Green Goddess dressing Green goddess is a salad dressing, typically containing mayonnaise, sour cream, parsley, chives, anchovy, tarragon, lemon juice, and pepper. Before the advent of ranch dressing, green goddess was possibly one of the most popular salad dressings in the West Coast of the United , Palace Hotel, San Francisco The current ("New") Palace Hotel (opened in 1909) is an historic hotel located in San Francisco, California, at the SW corner of Market Street and New Montgomery Street, immediately adjacent to BART's Montgomery Street Station. 1916: fortune cookies, David Jung, Los Angeles 1918: French dipped sandwich, Philippe Mathieu, Philippe The Original, Los Angeles 1920s: broiling broiling: see cooking. with mesquite charcoal, San Francisco the cheeseburger, Rite Spot, Pasadena the chili size, Ptomaine ptomaine /pto·maine/ (to´man) (to-man´) any of an indefinite class of toxic bases, usually considered to be formed by the action of bacterial metabolism or proteins. Tommy's, Los Angeles 1926: Cobb salad, Robert H. Cobb, The Brown Derby, Hollywood Orange Julius drink, Willard Hamlin's lunch counter, Los Angeles 1927: chiffon cake, Harry Baker, Hollywood 1928: It's It ice cream sandwich Ice cream sandwiches are handheld desserts consisting of a slice of ice cream (usually vanilla), with a small layer of a soft cake-like pastry (usually chocolate) on the top and bottom. , George Whitney, San Francisco Joe's Special, New Joe's, San Francisco 1930s: grapefruit cake, Brown Derby, Los Angeles hobo steak, Chasen's, Los Angeles rumaki ru·ma·ki n. pl. ru·ma·kis An appetizer of Japanese origin consisting of a marinated piece of chicken liver and a water chestnut wrapped in a slice of bacon and grilled or broiled. , Ernest Raymond Beaumont-Gantt (Don the Beachcomber Don Beach AKA Nichloas PIGGY Lowe Born March 28th 1985 Donn Beach (born Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt February 22, 1907 – June 7, 1989) is the acknowledged founding father of tiki restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. ), Hollywood Shirley Temple "cocktail," Brown Derby, Los Angeles telephone brought to diner's table, Brown Derby, Hollywood Zombie cocktail, Ernest Raymond Beaumont-Gantt (Don the Beachcomber), Hollywood 1935: boysenberries, Walter Knott, Knott's Berry Farm Knott's Berry Farm is a brand name of two separate entities: a theme park in Buena Park, California, and a manufacturer of food specialty products (primarily jams and preserves) based in Placentia, California. , Buena Park the chili dog, Art Elkinal's pushcart, Inglewood 1937: double-decker hamburger, Bon Wian, Bob's Pantry (later Bob's Bog Boy), Glendale 1938: bags for bones, leftovers (more commonly, "doggie bags"), Lawry's, Los Angeles salad tossed at tableside ta·ble·side n. The area beside or around a table, especially in a restaurant. adv. & adj. Made or prepared alongside a table: lamb that was carved tableside; a tableside recitation of the menu. before dinner, Lawry's, Los Angeles single entree on menu, Lawry's, Los Angeles 1940s: drive-thrus, Robert O. Peterson, Oscar's (later Jack in the Box), San Diego Strawberries Romanoff, Romanoff's, Beverly Hills 1944: Mai Tai cocktail, "Trader Vic" Bergeron, Oakland 1946: valet parking, Lawry's, Los Angeles Veal Oscar, Scandia scan·di·a n. See scandium oxide. [From scandium.] , Los Angeles 1947: Moscow Mule cocktail, Cock 'N Bull, Los Angeles 1948: "self-service drive-in" (low prices, small staff, no utensils), McDonald's, San Bernardino 1949: "Googie" coffee shop architecture, John Lautner (later Armet Davis architects), Hollywood 1950s: California-style coffee shops (custom-fabricated equipment, full exhibition kitchen, 24-hour operation) ranch salad dressing, Hidden Valley Ranch, Santa Barbara toasters on the table, Ship's coffee shops, Los Angeles 1952: Irish coffee, Buena Vista, San Francisco 1955: Margarita cocktail, Tail O' the Cock, Los Angeles 1960s: Harvey Wallbanger cocktail, Pancho's Bar, Manhattan Beach 1966: specialty coffeehouses, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Berkeley 1970: fern bars, Henry Africa, San Francisco 1971: California cuisine, Alice Waters, Chez Panisse, Berkeley 1980: Mexican-style roast chicken, El Polio Loco, Los Angeles 1982: gourmet pizzas, Wolfgang Puck, Spago, Hollywood 1985: gourmet home cooking, Fog City Diner, San Francisco 1988: entirely non-smoking restaurant (including outdoor patio), Virginia Mudd, Mudd's Restaurant, San Ramon 2000: mandatory sanitation training for food servers, all California restaurants Throughout their existence, restaurants in the state have had a champion in their corner to ensure the success of their businesses: the California Restaurant Association (CRA See Community Reinvestment Act. ). Founded in 1906, CRA is the largest and longest-serving nonprofit restaurant trade association in the nation. With more than 20,000 foodservice-business members statewide, CRA offers restaurant operators a vast array of services, including state government advocacy, educational tools, local grassroots representation, and informational resources. Headquartered in Sacramento, CRA has regional offices throughout the state. In September of this year, CRA opened its southern California office in Long Beach. The 1,400 square-foot office at 115 Pine Ave. is home to a staff of eight who represent CRA's membership, government affairs, insurance services, and educational foundation departments. The Long Beach office serves CRA members in Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties. This is the first of three regional offices that CRA plans to open this year. The other two--scheduled to open within the next two months--will be located in San Diego and the Central Coast region. Information for this article was provided by the California Restaurant Association. |
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