It occurred to me that some of my newer readers may not know why I have Issues(tm) with California Cuisine.
I spent 9 months traveling almost every weekend to research Moon California. During this period, I ate California Cuisine, Wine Country Cuisine, Haute Cuisine, Fusion Cuisine, Pan-Asian Cuisine, and just about every other form of Cuisine imaginable. Much of it tasted amazing. I got great service, cool atmospheres, original menus, and stunning wines.
At the 6 month mark, I found myself standing before a nice inkeeper who desperately wanted me to get dinner at the new high-end wine bar and restaurant in Nevada City, California. My traveling companion had to physically restrain me from grabbing the poor man by the collar of his shirt and screaming into his face, “I just want a burrito! Is that so wrong?!?!!?”
(That night I compromised with a plate of ravioli, then hit the wine bar afterwards for a glass of dessert.)
The bottom line: there is such a thing as too much of a good (or even wonderful) thing. California’s fine restaurants serve some of the best high-end fare you’ll ever eat. But you, or at least I, can’t eat it 2-5 times every week. It’s too rich, too fancy, too *much*. I understand now why all major restaurant reviewers end up waxing poetic about their favorite hole-in-the-wall sushi joints and taco trucks.
Happily, my beloved home state also hosts an endless array of fab cheap ethnic eateries. (“American diner” is an ethnic food, as far as I’m concerned.) And in my ‘hood, the year-round farmer’s markets and sustainable meat and bread purveyors make it easy to cook great food at home.
Okay, I’m hungry now…
