Jolon
California’s wave of grocery store closures is growing again. Tawa Inc., the operator of 99 Ranch Market, has filed plans to permanently close supermarkets in Chino and Pleasanton, affecting 103…
Searching for wacky restaurants in California where dining is downright fun?. These 11 restaurants bring bold themes, great food, and seriously good times!. 1. One Piece Cafe (Los Angeles) If you’ve been looking for a dining experience that goes way beyond just sitting down and ordering food, the One Piece...
California’s list of beloved restaurant losses has gained one of its oldest names. Cook’s Seafood, the Menlo Park market and restaurant that served generations of Peninsula families, abruptly closed on…
One apple orchard on this list stays open 363 days a year. I have to admit, that makes me curious what pie lovers do on the other two. That same farm has worked the land for over 100 years and is run by its fifth generation. Another stop on the list started as a simple fruit stand back in 1950.
One Thanksgiving feast on my list takes place inside a replica farmhouse beside an airport, complete with a military theme. Another restaurant has served roasted duck and whole lobster alongside traditional turkey. I love that kind of holiday plot twist. California restaurants clearly don’t treat Thanksgiving as a one-bird show....
One California bakery sells its cookies in tubs, and those tubs have become famous enough that people plan trips around them. Then I found a shop baking cookies that taste like pancakes, bacon, and maple syrup. Another bakes for just one day a week, on Sundays, up in the mountains.
I have a few beefs with In-N-Out Burger (bun intended), but I, like so many with ties to California, grew up eating here. Founded in Baldwin Park in 1948, the fast-food chain feels like it's woven into the fingerprint of the Golden State at this point. And with generations of my mom's side born and raised in Southern California, it should be no surprise that it was a family tradition to eat at In-N-Out when we were visiting our loved ones. With these meals marking our gatherings, reunions, and Disneyland trips with everybody, In-N-Out Burger has never just felt like some random fast-food joint to me. It feels personal.
Northern California and the Central Valley are agricultural hubs, so it’s no wonder that local farmers markets rank highly. The nonprofit American Farmland Trust just released its list of the top farmers markets based on nationwide votes. They’ve also drilled down to the top farmers markets by state. It is the third year in a row Sacramento’s Midtown Market claimed the No. 1 spot in the state. The Historic Folsom Farmers Market nabbed No. 2 spot. Here is how the rest of the state stacked up. Top 10 farmers markets in California Midtown Farmers Market | Sacramento | 2422 votes Historic Folsom Farmers Market | Folsom | 210 votes 29 Palms Farmers Market | Twentynine Palms | 159 votes State Street Farmers Market | Carlsbad | 110 votes Diablo Valley Farmers Market | Walnut Creek| 62 votes San Leandro Farmers Market at Bayfair | San Leandro | 43 votes Fort Bragg Farmers Market | Fort Bragg | 43 votes Mountain View Farmers’Market | Mountain View | 42 votes Morgan Hill Farmers Market | Morgan Hill | 39 votes Romano’s Certified Farmers Market | Beckwourth | 36 votes Topping the nationwide list was the Sarasota Downtown Farmers Market.
Welcome to Lily Belli on Food, a weekly food-focused newsletter from Lookout’s food and drink correspondent, Lily Belli. Keep reading for the latest local food news for Santa Cruz County – plus a few fun odds and ends from my own life and around the web. Check out all of my food and drink coverage here.
Baba’s Hot Chicken is planning three more restaurants in California, with Irvine, Roseville and Napa on the list. The Riverside-born chain is joining a state where other fried-chicken brands are…
Some of the best meals in California hide behind doors you would walk right past. You expect a quick plate of fried fish, and instead you find crispy snapper, warm hush puppies, and a family that treats you like a cousin who finally came home. When a beloved little kitchen...
California is adding another longtime location to the grocery store closures reshaping 2026. The Safeway at 6150 Bollinger Road in San Jose is expected to close permanently on or around…
California has a Basque food tradition that many people have never heard about, and it is one of the most fun ways to eat in the state. Basque immigrants came to work as sheepherders, and the boarding houses that fed them grew into restaurants where food arrives in big shared bowls.
Weebly co-founder Chris Fanini saw something worth saving in a California roadside stand with more than a century of history. After the business changed hands, his hospitality group spent about a year restoring the property and preparing it for a new chapter. The location first welcomed travelers as a root...
Ready to explore magical wineries in California that look like they belong in a storybook?. These 8 wineries offer stunning scenery and incredible wines worth discovering!. 1. Castello di Amorosa (Calistoga) There are places you visit, and then there are places that genuinely take your breath away the moment you...
When most of California is asleep, a whole other crowd is just clocking in or heading home. Nurses, bakers, airport crews, and delivery drivers all need fuel, and for generations a lot of them have found it in a pink box. The shops on this list keep the fryers going...
CALIFORNIA STATE – California is introducing new nutrition requirements for children’s meals at major restaurant chains, and the changes could mean healthier choices for families ordering at drive-thrus and restaurant counters across the state. Under a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on September 28, 2026, large...
Phil’s Fish Market & Eatery is on the market. Known nationally for his cioppino—and for beating celebrity chef Bobby Flay in a “throwdown”—Phil DiGirolamo opened the popular restaurant in 1982 in Moss Landing, moving to a historic downtown Castroville location in 2022. DiGirolamo also listed...
Once solely focusing on cuts of pork and beef from well-known purveyors, including Stemple Creek Ranch and Niman Ranch, along with Mary’s organic chicken and Schwarz sausages, the newly expanded and renamed Carne in the Santa Cruz neighborhood of Live Oak is making visitors’ keto-inspired dreams come true.
