Just like pretty much anyone of my generation, as far as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by America and the idea of the great American road trip. The TV and films I watched growing up have always had me dreaming of taking to the open road: stretches of tarmac without a car in sight; stops in both big cities and small, sleepy towns; the shimmering coastline and majestic national parks. Of course, all sorts of American foods have always featured heavily in these visions.
Kate being similarly enamoured with the idea of a Stateside drive, we decided to make this our ‘main’ honeymoon plan after our more covid-friendly trip to San Sebastian and Bilbao in 2021: an epic few weeks going from stop to stop around central California. Our American dream finally became a reality in May 2023, when we hopped on the long flight to San Francisco.
What follows are the culinary highlights of each of our stops, from arrival in SF through to our last hurrah in Santa Cruz.
San Francisco
The first stop of our trip and the biggest city on our itinerary was one of America’s foremost food destinations, San Francisco, where we’d take in the sights and sounds of Mission, Haight, Fisherman’s Wharf and visit Alcatraz. We couldn’t wait to discover the city’s legendary dive bars and sample the delights of Chinatown.
Bob’s Donuts
We soon discovered that the best way to start a day in SF is at Bob’s Donuts. That’s right, we had doughnuts for breakfast! In my defence, I went for the most breakfasty choice – the maple bacon cruffin – which was as much of a taste sensation as that sounds. Paired with a cup of joe from Sightglass Coffee, we had a formula for a great first morning, taking in the colourful spectacle of the annual Bay to Breakers race. This tradition is peak SF, with participants dressing up in weird and wonderful outfits (if any) to run from SF Bay to the Pacific Coast along streets lined with people enjoying a carnivalesque atmosphere.
We visited the Baker St Bob’s branch, across Alamo Square from where we were staying. In fact, we lucked out with our last minute booking at The Grove Inn. The surrounding area is super-vibrant, with some cool bars including Brass Tacks and Fool’s Errand and eateries like 4505 Burgers and BBQ, whose glorious smokehouse smells lured us in immediately on arrival.
Corazon Maya at Anchor Public Taps
While we enjoyed the much-loved La Taqueria in the city’s colourful Mission District, our favourite SF Mexican food came courtesy of a truck parked outside the Anchor Brewing taproom. We opted for Corazon Maya’s pastor pork quesadillas, which were succulent, full of intense cheese and pineapple flavours and served with some punchy salsas.
These were perfectly paired with a tasting flight of Anchor brews. Sadly, this proved to be one of the last served at the taproom as the brewery recently announced its closure after 127 years in operation.
Z&Y
We knew we had to go for Chinese food in SF’s iconic Chinatown, knowing this wouldn’t be a huge feature of the rest of our trip. As Szechuan cuisine is a relative rarity in the UK, we decided to head down to the much-recommended spot Z&Y. We started with the most amazing kung pao chicken, zingy with szechuan pepper and super umami flavour, before moving on to the house speciality of tea-smoked duck piled into pancakes.
After dinner, we headed around the corner for drinks at Vesuvio Café, a favourite bar of the Beat Generation and one of SF’s classic saloon bars. It’s a treasure trove of memorabilia from a bygone era adorning the walls and shelves among mahogany fixtures, stained glass and dim lighting.
San Fran Dive Bars
The beer scene in SF is incredible, with some great craft breweries and local brews on tap at most bars we visited. However, the most quintessential SF drinking experience is to be found in the city’s legendary dive bars. Zeitgeist is one of the most famous and popular, which we found blaring punk rock tunes and slinging cheeseburgers in its huge backyard. Another top spot is Toronado, where we discussed the merits of the UK craft beer scene with the bartender late into the night while sampling plenty of local brews to make a fair comparison.
Lodi
We stopped off in little Lodi as a way to enjoy the Californian wine experience at a much smaller price than in nearby Napa or Sonoma. We found Coche Vino a few months before our trip, who specialise in small group mini-bus tours of local wineries. This was a great choice, stopping off at four different locations, with lunch, snacks and tastings included, all without the hassle of working out how to get between them all safely.
Durst Winery and Estate
Our favourite stop of the tour was at Durst, a family establishment with huge green gardens and surrounded by farmland. We were joined by the winemaker, who talked us through how his delicious wines compared to others in the area, as well as the family’s two lovely chunky labradors. We were even treated to various fruits grown on-site by the friendly staff. Their old vine zinfandel was deep in hue and rich in cherry flavour. We made sure to pick up a bottle to take with us on our ongoing journey.
Five Window Beer Co.
Beyond our booked tour, we had little knowledge of what to expect of Lodi, but we were pleasantly surprised by all the city had to offer. Our first stop was at the original A&W restaurant on the edge of town. This memorabilia-packed little diner was a fun place to enjoy an ice cold root beer float fresh from the tanks.
Our favourite bar was Five Window, which served up some of the best brews of our entire trip. A tangerine wheat beer was my top choice among a lineup that spanned the spectrum from cream ales to imperial stouts. It’s a popular spot with locals, packed out on our arrival, though last orders was called at 8.20pm! A bit of a departure for us Brits, it did give us cause to enjoy some time with a few takeaway cans on our Airbnb’s back patio.
Oakhurst
Now, Oakhurst wasn’t a spot we picked on the back of its culinary delights. However, its proximity to Yosemite National Park and abundance of amenities when compared with other nearby towns meant it was an ideal place to spend the next few days. One of the food highlights of our stay came courtesy of our 85 year old Airbnb host, who left a breakfast platter of bacon, eggs and pancakes on our porch on our last morning. An amazing example of American hospitality and a great surprise!
Smokehouse 41
While there wasn’t an abundance of choice in Oakhurst, we did enjoy some of the best BBQ of our trip there. Smokehouse 41 is a roadside joint that deals in trays loaded with house-smoked meats, ranging from the fairly hefty to the Instagrammably colossal. Plenty of tourists from around the globe can be spotted photographing and failing to make it through the $110 Mammoth platter after a day hiking the trails. We ended up sampling a fair chunk of the menu, visiting twice to sit in and also picking up a takeaway meat package to make sandwiches for our hikes. The highlights were the melt-in-the-mouth brisket and the delicious pork ribs.
Santa Barbara
We’d hoped for a little more sunshine as we reached the southernmost point on our journey, but it wasn’t to be the case. Instead of hitting the beach, we ended up spending a lot more time sampling the bars and restaurants of Santa Barbara than we’d expected. Thankfully, they didn’t disappoint!
The Funk Zone
We particularly loved spending time milling about The Funk Zone, the city’s former industrial area which is now home to artisans making surfboards and clothing and many of the city’s coolest places to eat and drink. We loved the beers and branding at Topa Topa Brewing Co, the great coffee at Dart, and the late night buzz of SB Biergarten. There’s a lot of great outside drinking spaces, twinkling with fairy lights and awash with chatter, which make for a truly inviting atmosphere. Food-wise, Shalhoob’s Funk Zone Patio served up the tastiest tri-tip sandwich. A staple of the Santa Maria BBQ style of the region, this cut from just below the sirloin is smoked over oak and served with a tangy BBQ sauce with chunky peppers on fresh bread.
Third Window Brewing Co.
Perhaps our favourite place for both food and drinks in SB, Third Window Brewing Co. sits just outside of the Funk Zone. Its rustic and leafy inner courtyard is equally delightful under the heaters at night as it is in the hazy sunshine.
The beer here is excellent. My favourite of our entire Cali trip proved to be their cognac barrel-aged saison. It was complex, spicy and unlike anything I’ve drank before. Almost as impressive are the wagyu smash burgers they serve up onsite. The patties are crumbly, full of flavour and slathered in cheese, burger sauce and fried onions, making for a delightfully messy mouthful.
San Luis Obispo
Our next destination, San Luis Obispo, or SLO, has a reputation for being one of the happiest spots in America. And we could easily see why. A short drive from the coast, it’s a great base to explore some of the coastal towns at the southern end of Big Sur, while the city is surrounded by rolling hills of golden grass. A big college town, there’s a vibrant food scene here that makes it a bit of an undiscovered gem for tourists.
High St Deli
If there was a single place I was most excited about visiting before our trip, it was High St Deli. Their Instagram account promised ridiculously stacked sandwiches, full of fresh ingredients. You can opt to allow the sandwich artistes to ‘make it stoney’, whacking in whatever they feel will best satisfy the most ferocious case of the munchies.
On arrival at its unassuming suburban location, we were met with a huge gathering of people all patiently lining up for their orders. We ordered one sandwich to share, which we came to regret due to our long wait. Our choice was the CPK – a tiger bread sub piled high with warm chicken breast, bacon, smoked gouda, chipotle mayo, BBQ sauce and tons of fresh salad. It was truly a sandwich of a lifetime and I’d fly back tomorrow for another!
High Bar
It’s not often I’d recommend a hotel bar, or even visit one on my travels, but I make exceptions for those on terraces with incredible views. High Bar at Hotel San Luis Obispo revealed itself as we looked up from the Central Coast Pride party going on below. Sipping on an old fashioned and looking out over the rolling hills beyond the city was a perfect way to watch the sunset.
There Does Not Exist / Bang The Drum / SLO Public Market
As much as we enjoyed our time in downtown SLO, many of our favourite places were to be found on the outskirts of the city. Chief among these were two very cool brewery taps. The first, There Does Not Exist, is a very hip affair, as you might expect from its cryptic name and minimal monochrome branding. But the beers live up to the mystique. In contrast, Bang The Drum boasts a very pretty beer garden and down to earth vibe. A seat in the sun with a homemade pretzel snack and some ice-cold brews truly hit the spot.
Located out near TDNE, SLO Public Market proved a great choice to grab a more substantial bite to eat. The building features a plethora of traders with options ranging from tacos to noodle bowls, to pizza and burgers. The highlight for us was a Nashville hot chicken sandwich from Jay Bird’s, a huge burger with the crispiest coating, spicy sauce, coleslaw and pickles.
Santa Cruz
Our final stop was the surf mecca of Santa Cruz, with its big sandy beach and adjacent boardwalk. We loved strolling the streets, browsing for records and vintage clothing, visiting the oddball Mystery Spot attraction and enjoying one of the best beer scenes of any city we’ve visited.
Humble Sea Brewing Co.
We checked out Humble Sea’s outpost on Santa Cruz Wharf on our first afternoon as it seemed the perfect spot to take in a welcoming view of the city. Their line in hazy, juicy IPAs was very much up my street and the next night we decided to head to their main taproom in the city’s West Side. We sat out in the large yard, sampling tacos and empanadas alongside the fuller range of beers available which included sours, DIPAs and TIPAs.
We bookended our time in SC with a return to the wharf on our last day. In the glorious sunshine, the pier was full of life, with people chatting and playing games as they supped their suds. We ordered fish and chips from Scrumptious Fish and Chips, parked up on-site, our initial reservations quelled upon hearing the owner’s Essex accent. We were duly rewarded – they gave any UK fryers a true run for their money with their crispy batter, chunky chips and fresh sauces.
Sante Adairius Rustic Ales
Sante Adairius has a reputation for being one of the top breweries in the world, so we had to check it out. Specialising in Belgian beer styles like saisons and grisettes, they stand out on the hop-centric Cali beer scene and made a welcome change towards the end of our trip. We sampled a few of their mixed-ferm numbers as well as a barrel-aged imperial stout, which certainly would have contributed to us leaving our card behind the bar and forgetting to close our tab… This gave us a ready-made an excuse for us to return for one more as well as the best Detroit-style pizza courtesy of in-house pie-slingers Bookies.
Copal
We decided we hadn’t quite had enough of the amazing Mexican food on offer in Cali, but we wanted our last evening meal to be special, not just your average taco joint. Perfectly fitting this bill was Copal, a chic, modern Oaxacan restaurant and cocktail bar. Oaxaca is thought by many to be the birthplace of the mole sauce, and so we both opted for dishes with these signature slow-cooked sauces. Kate had the enchiladas with a smoky mole coloradito, while I had the chicken with mole negro. The latter features over 30 ingredients and takes 3 days to prepare, making for a seriously complex flavour. We also sampled some incredible drinks creations, including my liquid dessert, the super-sweet and indulgent spiced vanilla rum cocktail ‘And Everything Nice’.
Sam’s Chowder House
Once we’d packed everything into the boot of the Mustang for the last time, we spent our last day taking the scenic route back to SF Airport, via a number of stops for amazing views and great food. We stopped off at a fruit farm to pick up some healthy driving snacks; Pie Ranch for an amazing lemon and blackberry tart; and Dad’s Luncheonette for a delicious cheeseburger toastie. Our very last bite to eat came from Sam’s Chowder House, overlooking Half Moon Bay. There was no debate over our choice: we shared a lobster roll, served warm with butter and celery on a brioche roll. To the side we had a portion of spicy popcorn shrimp to pick upon as a final indulgence.
Gazing wistfully out to sea with some incredible food, it made a fitting end to the trip of a lifetime.
SOUNDS TASTY 