Once described by National Geographic as "the cornucopia that feeds America," the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys produce much of California’s 350-plus crops, but there are farms all around the state. The produce
is just the beginning of the taste sensations for visitors to enjoy. Dairy farms producing artisan cheeses, organic farms famous for fine meats and poultry, and a full spectrum of succulent seafood, including Dungeness crab, are among the state’s many other culinary highlights. Then there are the omnipresent grapes, the juice behind 90 percent of all wine produced in America.
California’s menu has it all, and for "locovores" pursuing local flavors, the state offers bountiful experiences.
Gourmet Affairs
Imagine a banquet starring representatives of California’s far-ranging restaurant and bar scene—what an eclectic feast it would be.
Heading the table is Berkeley’s Chez Panisse, the fresh food temple where Alice Waters enshrined California Cuisine. Executive power brokers include Belvedere at Beverly Hills’ swank Peninsula Hotel; the celebrated Marinus at Carmel Valley’s bucolic Bernardus Lodge; Quattro at Palo Alto’s Four Seasons Silicon Valley; and X bar at Century City’s stylish Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. Celebrity destinations include Clint Eastwood’s Old West-themed Hog’s Breath Inn in Carmel and Monterey’s Sardine Factory.
Lending their singular outlooks to the dinner conversation are eateries like the 40th-floor Top of the Hyatt Bar at San Diego’s Grand Manchester Hyatt; Orange Hill Restaurant, a hilltop hideaway with spectacular Orange County and Catalina Island views; the Pacific-facing Sky Room at La Jolla’s La Valencia Hotel; and the legendary Top of the Mark sky bar at San Francisco’s InterContinental Mark Hopkins, which commands Nob Hill and features a 100-martini menu.
Enlivening the table with tales of yesteryear are standbys like Anaheim’s White House, a Northern Italian treasure turning 100 this year, and San Francisco’s oldest eatery, Tadich Grill, a seafood staple since 1846. And among the newcomer set: BOA Steakhouse in West Hollywood; Jackalope Ranch in Indio; Suite & Tender in San Diego’s new Se Hotel; and north of the city, the Allison at the new Grand Del Mar resort, which has received rave reviews.
Liquid Gold
First planted in 1769 by missionaries in what would become San Diego, California’s wine grapes are poised to conquer the world. Presently the world’s fourth-largest producer behind France, Italy and Spain, the state is expected to become the planet’s premier wine market by 2010, according to the San Francisco-based Wine Institute. For groups, California’s wine cup merrily floweths over.
"California’s 2,800 wineries offer a wide array of activities throughout the state," says Nancy Light, the Wine Institute’s communications director, adding that the institute’s online database (www.discovercaliforniawine.com) is a great resource for planners. "The site has maps, and you can search by region or amenities offered, including tours, weddings, events and seminars."
It’s no wonder the institute calls California wine "liquid gold." Located in 46 of the state’s 58 counties, vineyards span from southernmost San Diego to the northernmost Trinity Alps. Napa and Sonoma counties roll with over 100,000 vine-planted acres, and in San Francisco’s East Bay, the growing Tri-Valley wine region sets the stage for Livermore’s event-ready (concerts included) Wente Vineyards. Farther south are the viticultural hamlets of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, which landed on the international wine map a few years ago after the movie Sideways. Extending from Malibu down below San Diego, the Southern California wine region comprises Cucamonga Valley and the high plateaus of Temecula Valley.
Best of all, the wine regions are also dining meccas, with everything from top-drawer, celebrity-chef restaurants like Tomas Keller’s The French Laundry in the Napa Valley town of Yountville to more laid-back establishments that are hot spots for their organic, farm-to-table cuisine.
Group activities that take in the scenic and flavorful aspects of California’s wine regions are also wide-ranging, with options such as grape-stomping competitions at Napa’s Westin Versara Hotel, back-country Jeep tours of historic Paso Robles’ wine country, and wine-blending events at Temecula’s South Coast Winery Resort & Spa. A distinctive urban choice is San Francisco’s Crushpad winery, offering corporate wine blendings and other events that allow attendees to create their own wine or enjoy catered events amid the atmospheric barrel rooms.
When not winery hopping, groups can "hop" to California’s beer culture. Brewing since Gold Rush days, Berkeley’s yeast feast includes tours and tastings at the popular Pyramid Alehouse, historic draughts at the Triple Rock Brewery & Alehouse, and jazzy brews at the hopping Jupiter.
In beer-centric San Diego, groups can hit brewpubs like Escondido’s Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens and the Gaslamp Quarter’s Yard House, while Brewery Tours of San Diego and Brew Hop (via private limos) take visitors behind the scenes.
Taste Tests
Pasadena-born chef Julia Child once said, "It’s fun to get together and have something good to eat at least once a day. That’s what human life is all about—enjoying things." For "epicurious" groups visiting "The Land of Wine and Food" (the marketing campaign launched last year by the California Travel and Tourism Commission and the California Wine Institute), that spirit cultivates a range of hands-on experiences.
Chef and corporate culinary consultant Cherie Twohy, owner of Chez Cherie in the La Canada foothills north of Los Angeles, has encountered her share of reluctant participants in her culinary team-building programs and classes.
"They may arrive with arms crossed," says Twohy, a frequent guest on Home & Garden TV, "but they always leave happy."
Sell-outs are the norm at Santa Ynez’s Roblar Winery and Cooking School, where groups go field-to-table with local culinary greats such as French-born chef and food columnist Laurence Hauben. She also welcomes groups to her absorbing Market Forays, which include shopping tours and team-prepared feasts.
Overlooking Monterey Bay on historic Cannery Row, the Culinary Center of Monterey, under executive chef owner Mary Pagan, conducts team-building classes and competitions, and also offers restaurant and event space.
In Berkeley’s famed Gourmet Ghetto, Epicurious Garden’s Kitchen on Fire engages groups in culinary know-how, and attendees can also follow local epicurean Lisa Rogovin on culinary walking tours of Gourmet Ghetto.
