Food Forward; SF’s Culinary History: Part 12 of 12

Innovation is a chief ingredient in most cuisines today. Fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients are also considered essential among many chefs. In the early 1970s, Chef Alice Waters (of Chez Panisse in Berkeley) and Chef Jeremiah Tower (famed for his near decade success of restaurant Stars) found a way to harness these standards by creating a name for this cooking concept: California Cuisine. The concept is hardly new; European chefs have followed these cooking standards for decades, even centuries, but Chef Waters and Towers found an ingenious way to market this concept by giving it a name. The concept of California Cuisine involves a fusion of global cuisines, using refined ingredients and innovative presentations. The foremost component is that the ingredients are local, from California. Ingredients such as avocados, artichokes, grapes, figs, oranges, Meyer lemons, and dates are all grown locally. A perfect example of a California Cuisine recipe/application is the California Roll. This Americanized version of the sushi roll is constructed inside-out; the rice is on the outside, the nori is on the inside, and the roll is filled with avocado and cucumber — avocado being the western/non-traditional ingredient.

Each and every delicious morsel of San Francisco's culinary history has an addicting affect. Much like tasting something wonderful for the first time, but only getting a single bite; you’re left wanting more.

Countless cuisines representing just about every culture imaginable are available in San Francisco. Among them are Afghani, Argentinean, Brazilian, Cajun, Cambodian, Cuban, Czech, Egyptian, English, Ethiopian, Greek, Indonesian, Irish, Jamaican, Moroccan, Persian, Peruvian, Portuguese, Russian, Senegalese, Soul Food, Swiss, and so many others.

With over 3,500 restaurants and a population that dines out more than any other city in the nation (as a recent statistic proves), that's a fairly concrete indication that many more San Francisco adventures in food lie ahead. Perhaps it's that Bohemian ethos within the people of San Francisco that makes them so eager to explore everything under the sun – from new culinary concepts in fusion to dining-in-the-dark to dining-in-bed. It's all in good fun and part of what makes San Francisco such a food Mecca within the world’s perpetual culinary evolution.

San Francisco's Culinary History: Part 1 of 12

The Iconic Foods of San Francisco; San Francisco’s Culinary History: Part 2 of 12

Culinary Institutions; San Francisco’s Culinary History: Part 3 of 12

Fisherman's Wharf; San Francisco’s Culinary History: Part 4 of 12

North Beach; San Francisco’s Culinary History: Part 5 of 12

The Mission; San Francisco’s Culinary History: Part 6 of 12

Nostalgia; San Francisco’s Culinary History: Part 7 of 12

The Creme de la Crème; San Francisco’s Culinary History: Part 8 of 12

Asian Influence; San Francisco’s Culinary History: Part 9 of 12

The Veggie Scene; San Francisco’s Culinary History: Part 10 of 12

Ice Cream Goodness; San Francisco’s Culinary History: Part 11 of 12

Food Forward; San Francisco’s Culinary History: Part 12 of 12