Monterey

Pepper Jack is an American cheese produced in Monterey, California. This popular variety of Monterey Jack cheese is flavored with jalapeño peppers for a spicy kick. It's made from cow's milk and has a natural rind that hides a creamy, smooth, and open texture. The aromas ... Read more

Monterey Jack is an American cheese made from cow's milk. It originates from Monterey in California, where it was first made by Spanish missionaries under the name queso blanco pais, but it was later taken from them by David Jack, who bought nearly all of Monterey in 1859 and re... Read more

Dry Jack is an American cheese made from cow's milk. It is an aged version of the popular Monterey Jack. The cheese is aged for an additional 6 months or more. Its texture is crumbly and firm, the aromas are earthy, while the flavors are mild, slightly sweet, and nutty. Dry Jack can be s... Read more

Cheeseburger is a natural evolution of the beloved hamburger, the only difference between the two being that the cheeseburger has a slice of cheese added on top of the meat patty. Although American cheese was the original choice, Swiss, Cheddar, and numerous blue cheeses were all used later to ma... Read more

Burrito is a dish consisting of a wheat flour tortilla that is wrapped in such a way that it is possible to fully enclose the flavorful filling on the interior. The filling consists of a combination of various ingredients such as meat, beans, rice, lettuce, guacamole, and cheese, among others. It... Read more

Ranch is a salad dressing or a dip consisting of buttermilk, salt, garlic, onion, herbs (such as dill, parsley, and chives), and spices (such as mustard seed, black pepper, and paprika) mixed into a mayonnaise-based sauce. Today, it is the number one salad dressing in the United States, but it wa... Read more

Avocado toast is a dish consisting of a piece of toasted bread topped with a combination of mashed avocados, salt, pepper, and (sometimes) citrus juice. There are many varieties of this dish, so it can be enriched with ingredients such as salmon, tomatoes, onions, eggs, garlic, cheese, olive oil,... Read more

French dip is a Californian sandwich that, despite its name, doesn't have much to do with France, except for the fact that it is served au jus, a French expression meaning with juice/broth. The sandwich consists of thinly sliced roast beef (alternatively, roast pork, leg of lamb... Read more

A shining example of American ingenuity and creativity, Cobb salad was invented in the 1930s at The Brown Derby, a famous Los Angeles restaurant whose owner, Robert Cobb, found some leftovers in the kitchen - hard-boiled eggs, salad greens, chicken breast, avocado, chopped bacon, tomatoe... Read more

Uramaki, California roll, or upside-down sushi is a unique sushi variety which has its origins disputed between Los Angeles and Vancouver, although most people claim that it was invented in California in the 1960s by a Japanese chef named Ichiro Mashita. This sushi roll is prepa... Read more

The intriguing fortune cookies are crispy folded wafers hiding an entertaining "fortune" inside. The "fortune" is a written note; a proverb or a universal prophecy believed to predict the person’s future. The cookies are made with egg whites, flour, sesame oil, and sugar, and have a slight ... Read more

The first Mission burrito was made either at El Faro taqueria in San Francisco's Mission District on September 26, 1961 or at La Cumbre taqueria on September 29, 1969. The burrito is quite large and consists of a big, press-steamed tortilla that is usually filled with baked bean... Read more

A take on the classic ice cream sundae, hot fudge sundae consists of ice cream, hot fudge, and whipped cream. In this sundae version, a helping of warm, gooey chocolate sauce is poured over scoops of cold ice cream (traditionally vanilla ice cream) - a step that creates a nice temperature contras... Read more

Tetrazzini is an American dish consisting of pasta tossed with diced poultry or seafood in a creamy parmesan cheese sauce. Some cooks like to add steamed peas, mushrooms, or carrots to the dish in order to enhance its flavors even further. The dish is often baked as a casserole and garnished with... Read more

Patty melt is an American sandwich consisting of Swiss cheese and an onion-topped hamburger patty between slices of grilled rye bread. The flavorful sandwich was invented in California in the late 1940s by Tiny Naylor, the owner of Biff's and Tiny Naylor restaurants. It is belie... Read more

Tangelo is an evergreen tree with dense foliage that was first cultivated in Florida and southern California in 1897 as a cross between the Mandarin orange or a tangerine and either the pomelo or the grapefruit. Nowadays, it’s cultivated in tropical and subtropical climates. The fruit is de... Read more

Mission figs are varieties of figs that were introduced to the United States in 1768, when Franciscan missionaries cultivated it in San Diego, hence their other name, Franciscana. They're dark-skinned, which is why they're also called black Mission figs. When fully ripe, the figs have a ... Read more

Humboldt Fog is an American cheese produced in Arcata, California. The cheese is made with goat's milk and has a paper-thin bloomy rind. Inside, there is a semi-soft body with a creamy, smooth, and slightly runny texture, due to the fact that Humboldt Fog ripens from the outside to the c... Read more

Born from California's fertile Central Valley in the 1940s, Calrose rice emerged as a versatile staple uniquely suited to the culinary and agricultural landscape of the American West Coast. Developed by the Rice Experiment Station in Biggs, California, it was the res... Read more

Eureka is a lemon variety that originates from Los Angeles, California, 1858, as a descendant of the Italian Lunario lemon. It was introduced to the public by Thomas Garey in 1877. The lemons are large and elongated, with a vibrant yellow skin and a rind that's loaded with essen... Read more

Arnold Palmer is a non-alcoholic cocktail that combines unsweetened iced tea and lemonade. It is mainly made with three parts iced tea and one part lemonade, though half and half versions are also common. It was named after a famous American golf player. The most common explanation is th... Read more

Mt Tam is an American cheese hailing from California, where it's produced by Cowgirl Creamery. This soft triple-cream cheese is made from organic cow's milk with the addition of cream. It has a bloomy rind and the texture is firm, smooth, dense, and creamy. The flavors are rich ... Read more

Breakfast Cheese is an American cheese hailing from California, where it's produced by Marin French Cheese Company. The cheese is made from pasteurized cow's milk and it's usually sold at a very young age of 3 days. The texture is firm and dense, slightly clay-like, and ivory white in co... Read more

Purple Haze is an American cheese produced in California by Cypress Grove. It dates back to the 1970s, when Mary Keehn found herself with excess goat milk and invented the cheese in the process. Nowadays, the milk is pasteurized in vats with coagulants and cultures, and t... Read more

Spot prawns (lat. Pandalus platyceros) are a type of large, cold-water shrimp native to the North Pacific Ocean, especially abundant along the coastlines of British Columbia, Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Spot prawns are prized for ... Read more

Bacio is a high-quality pizza cheese made from a combination of mozzarella and the trademarked Kiss of Buffalo Milk. As a result, the cheese melts and stretches exceptionally well. When reheated, it comes back to life perfectly, making it an ideal pizza cheese for shops that ser... Read more

Truffle Tremor is an American soft-ripened cheese made in Arcata, California by Cypress Grove Chevre. The cheese is made from pasteurized goat's milk. Underneath the rind, the texture is dense, smooth, and creamy, mottled with small pieces of black truffles. As the cheese ages, the body ... Read more

Tequila Sunrise is a classic cocktail that evokes a summer sunrise in a glass. It is made with three basic ingredients: tequila, orange juice, and grenadine syrup. The cocktail was invented around 1930 with a base of tequila and lime juice, soda water, and crème de cassis... Read more

Mai Tai is a popular rum-based cocktail originating from Oakland in 1944. Its name means good in Tahitian. In addition to rum, which can be both spiced and coconut flavored, the cocktail contains lime juice, orgeat syrup, and orange liqueur, typically curaçao, bu... Read more

Zinfandel is a red grape variety that was introduced to California sometime in the 1850s. For a long time, its origins were unknown, but recent findings have shown that this flagship Californian grape, as well as the well-known Italian Primitivo, are genetically identical and descend fro... Read more

Zombie is a Tiki cocktail that was invented in the late 1930s in Los Angeles by Donn Beach. The cocktail is named Zombie after the way it affects the drinkers. The drink is made with demerara rum, golden rum, dark rum, 151 proof Lemon Hart, falernum, lime juice, grenadine, Pernod, Angost... Read more

American pale ale was developed in the 1980s as an American counterpart to British pale ales and bitters. These beers are typically clean and crisp, and they will have more hop character than their British equivalents as well as higher alcohol content, usually around 4.4–6.0% ABV. ... Read more

American amber ale originates from California and the Pacific Northwest, where it appeared in the 1980s. The style was modeled on pale ales and strong bitters, but it eventually grew as a separate and distinctive category. Amber ales are brewed with crystal malts, which provide toasty an... Read more

Shirley Temple is a non-alcoholic cocktail made with grenadine and equal parts ginger ale and lemon-lime soda. Grenadine is first poured into a glass filled with ice cubes, and it is then topped with ginger ale and lemon-lime soda before getting stirred and garnished with a cherry. The l... Read more

West Coast India Pale Ale is a style of craft beer that originated on the western coast of the United States, particularly in California, and has become a defining expression of American hop-forward brewing. Characterized by its clear appearance, crisp bitterness, an... Read more

Petite Sirah is a common name for a red grape variety mainly cultivated in California. The grape produces dark, powerful, and full-bodied red wines with medium acidity and good aging potential. The aromas and the palate are dominated by plum, blueberry, cherry, licorice, and peppery note... Read more

Appletini consists of vodka and one or more of these beverages: apple juice, apple cider, apple liqueur, or apple brandy such as Calvados. This modern cocktail was invented in Los Angeles in 1996, and it is also known as Apple Martini or Adam's Apple Martini. Vodka may ... Read more

White Russian cocktail is made with a combination of vodka, cream, and coffee liqueur. To prepare it, vodka and coffee liqueur are poured into an old-fashioned glass over ice. Cream is then floated on top, and the whole combination is gently stirred with a straw. The drink is named after... Read more

American barley wine originated from the original British style of barley wines—bold brews with strong malty flavors. The first examples of American-style barley wines appeared in 1975 with the first version that was released by Anchor Brewing Co., which was then followed by Sierra... Read more