MetaChat - Native cuisine

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26 April 2007

Native cuisine What IS the cuisine of my native culture? →[More:]My coworkers have started a round of taking everyone out for, or cooking, their native cuisine.

I'm a native northern Californian. As the only non-immigrant in my office, I'm having a hard time coming up with what the hell my native cuisine is.

Most of the stuff we ate growing up was either pretty boring (grilled fish, brown rice, and salad with balsalmic vinaigrette? Roast chicken and potatoes?) and therefore not what would be fun to serve to guests, or was native to other parts of the world already, (tabouleh? tacos?) and therefore is viewed as cheating by my roommates.

This question might be answered best by people who aren't from Northern California but who live here or visited here. What did you eat here that you liked that you haven't generally eaten any place else? (No burritos, please.)

post by: small_ruminant at: 12:48 | 44 comments

Fresh, local produce prepared relatively simply. Fresh, local fish. Fresh, local oysters. Wonderful local wines.

You can get that stuff elsewhere, of course, but the produce, especially, is so ridiculously abundant and diverse in California that I'm still sometimes astounded even going into Safeway. Northern California cuisine, to me, is pretty much defined by Alice Waters and her philosophies, and in abundant evidence at the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market every Saturday.

posted by occhiblu 26 April | 12:57

I was thinking of Alice Waters also.

Why don't you do American cuisine? Apple pie, fried chicken, hot dogs or hamburgers? Or, even more authentic, some hideous casserole made with Velveeta or Campbell's soup.

posted by LoriFLA 26 April | 13:01

I fondly remember chowing down on Dungeness crabs at a joint in Eureka on a couple of occasions. Not strictly unique to N. California, but you and your colleagues could do a lot worse.

This is such a Californian's question.

posted by paulsc 26 April | 13:03

Great question!

People tend to de-value their own heritage and see it as too common to be interesting. My grandmother never thought of her barbecue or homemade pickled jalepenos as exotic...

But maybe you could take this approach - which RAFT Nation are you part of? Here are regional foods on Slow Food's Ark of Taste for Salmon Nation, which takes in part of Northern CA. But maybe you overlap a bit with Acorn Nation.

posted by Miko 26 April | 13:04

When I think of California cuisine, I think of avocados on sandwiches. It's much more than this of course, but it's what I think of.

posted by LoriFLA 26 April | 13:05

I'm going to agree with fresh, well-prepared fish, fresh vegetables and fruit, simple desserts.

(One of the biggest shocks for me, moving to Texas, is the relatively poor quality of produce here.)

posted by muddgirl 26 April | 13:05

When I was a kid visiting relatives in northern California, I can remember them being very proud of serving up fresh avocados to us mid-westerners.

posted by Otis 26 April | 13:09

Maybe this is more a Southern California thing, but friends from there were also proud of steamed artichokes dipped in butter.

posted by Miko 26 April | 13:14

Hmm. Miko's probably right. The Alice Waters techniques seem so common as to be pretty boring to me.

The crab's an idea, but I always serve crab so I am hoping to think of something new. Of course, I always serve crab because I'm not a great cook and it's hard to screw up, so maybe I should stick with it. Crab and bok choy maybe?

on preview- I do notice that anything labelled Californian seems to have avocados in it somewhere. (Fine by me- I love them.)

posted by small_ruminant 26 April | 13:21

Alice Waters sprang immediately to my mind, too.

M.F.K. Fisher wrote eloquently about avocados and artichokes as the identifying marks of her early years in California.

Although it's not specific to California, Laurie Colwin wrote an essay (in either Home cooking or More Home Cooking)about the difficulty of defining American cuisine when so much of it is a melding and redefining of traditions.

posted by Elsa 26 April | 13:23

Miko- artichokes are very Northern Californian, but I didn't figure anyone else liked them- they're so much work for such little pay off. I love them, but my friends from elsewhere haven't really understood the point of them.

posted by small_ruminant 26 April | 13:23

i think "California Cuisine" too, California rolls and gourmet pizzas. The West Coast 80s culinary mishmash should be allowed.

posted by ethylene 26 April | 13:23

and somehow I've always thought of artichokes as Italian. Not sure where I got that idea.

posted by small_ruminant 26 April | 13:24

Ooo, Miko! That's very cool! I definitely grew up Acorn Nation with a lot of Salmon Nation thrown in.

In fact, I am so sick of Salmon that even though I cook it well, I don't.

posted by small_ruminant 26 April | 13:27

Yeah, I was going to say artichokes. Figs and plums and avocados too. And I'll second eth's notion of gourmet pizza and sushi.

posted by Specklet 26 April | 13:28

Artichokes are Italian. At least, they exist in Italy. I don't know the history though, so I don't know which way that went. I know a lot of the Northern California coast was settled by Italians/Portuguese folks, so maybe they brought them with?

I, too, love artichokes. And avocados! And crab! Crab is so not boring! Crab is one of those things I really don't know how to begin cooking, so it always seems exotic and wonderful to me.

posted by occhiblu 26 April | 13:29

This claims artichokes are native to Italy and the Canary Islands, were popularized by Catherine de Medici when she went to France, spread from France to Louisiana, and then came to Monterrey with Italian farmers.

So. There you go. Though I can't vouch for the veracity of any of that, but it seems like it should be about right (which is the land of dangerous urban legend, I know...)

The Italian word is carciofi, which sounds very dignified. The Venetian word I don't know how to spell, but is pronounced "artichokey." It was always wonderful to hear merchants in the Rialto markets plaintively calling out, "Aaaaaaaaaartichokey! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaartichokey!"

posted by occhiblu 26 April | 13:33

I love them, but my friends from elsewhere haven't really understood the point of them.

Oy! This actually gave me a little twinge of pain. I grew up in Maine, with a sojourn in Texas during my youth, and ever since I can remember, artichokes were a huge treat for me. I asked for them with every birthday dinner from the time I was five.

posted by Elsa 26 April | 13:33

When I was growing up on the east coast, sourdough bread was always seen as a northern california thing.

posted by JanetLand 26 April | 13:35

I'd never seen an artichoke until I went to California. There's whole restaurants devoted to them. You can't miss 'em.

posted by essexjan 26 April | 13:36

And now I'm craving a sandwich of avocado, artichoke spread, and crab on sourdough bread. Thanks, all.

posted by Elsa 26 April | 13:37

Elsa- come on by. I can set you up!

Occhiblu: boiled crab recipe. (Warning: not for the squeamish.)
Let the water get to a good rolling boil in a big stock pot. And decent whack of salt (a couple tablespoons maybe?). Put in ONE live crab. (put it in headfirst and upside down= nearly instant death) and then put the lid on really quick. Boil for 10-12 minutes unless it's really big, in which case add a couple more minutes. Pull it out and clean out anything that doesn't look tasty (gils plus anything brown).

posted by small_ruminant 26 April | 13:48

Yeah, I'm a native Northern Californian, too, so I probably can't answer this properly.

It's all about the avocados. It's rare to find avocados as heavily used as they are in Northern California, in my experience.

posted by cmonkey 26 April | 14:24

Around here: chicken wings and mediocre beer.

Where I grew up: grits, chitlins, "little smokies" all-beef sausages slow-cooked in BBQ sauce (ugh!), and -- you guessed it -- mediocre beer.

posted by PaxDigita 26 April | 14:25

The first time I had crab (blue crab, in Texas) as a kid, I didn't know from gills, and I just ate them.

Gross.

Yes! I'm sorry people haven't enjoyed the artichoke in the past. I thought they were just great served that way (the only other way I've ever had them is in cheese dip, or as marinated hearts of artichoke, in the jar).

And mmm, sourdough bread. That's a good one.

posted by Miko 26 April | 14:30

I want one of those sammiches too, Elsa!

posted by gaspode 26 April | 14:40

(I've been having a powerful craving for lobster and, to a lesser extent, crabmeat for almost a month now. Gonna break down and have some soon.)

posted by Elsa 26 April | 14:49

Wait a minute, you're telling me Californians eat? I thought they all photosynthesized!

(I Kid)

I also would like to concur with the crab buffs in this thread. Crab Cakes are one of mankind's greatest culinary creations.

posted by jonmc 26 April | 14:53

hmm. I've haven't ever tried to make crab cakes but my brother has a good recipe.

cmonkey: we even put avocado in our tabouleh growing up (which concept completely weirded out a Lebanese boyfriend of mine).

posted by small_ruminant 26 April | 15:03

When i think crab and shellfish, i think of New England and the East Coast.
i think of California as fresh food fusions and Wolfgang Puck without thinking of the whole Alice Waters thing.

posted by ethylene 26 April | 15:06

jonmc: Northern Californians (around the the Bay Area anyway) live to eat. And drink.

I was about to add "especially wine" the drink sentence, but then I remembered all the aficionados of boutique beers. Also, whiskeys. Also vodkas. Also sakes. Also... Also...

posted by small_ruminant 26 April | 15:15

Although it's not specific to California, Laurie Colwin wrote an essay (in either Home cooking or More Home Cooking) about the difficulty of defining American cuisine when so much of it is a melding and redefining of traditions

*swoon*

omg, I love Laurie Colwin (RIP) and her "Home Cooking" and "More Home Cooking"... I've never heard any other metafolk refer to her (though I haven't searched).

Great answers in this thread. (that are making me very, very hungry.)

posted by taz 26 April | 15:18

jonmc: Northern Californians (around the the Bay Area anyway) live to eat. And drink.

So it's the folks in LA who are the evil plant people then?

(I'm sure they do. I've never been to California, I was just riffing on the stereotype of the beansprout-eating cali spaceshot is all)

posted by jonmc 26 April | 15:22

jonmc: well, we Northern Californians were certainly raised to think of LA-ians as evil, water-stealing, alien life forms.

At least I was. (cmonkey? mudpuppie? How about you?)

posted by small_ruminant 26 April | 15:27

s_r: as I've mentioned here before, I (like many east coasters) don't believe that LA actually exists. It's a mythical land full of halfnaked blond people where the ghetto has palm trees and everybody smiles all the time. It was obviously created in someone's diseased imagination.

posted by jonmc 26 April | 15:33

It's a mythical land full of halfnaked blond people where the ghetto has palm trees and everybody smiles all the time.

Why jon, it's like you grew up there!

posted by muddgirl 26 April | 16:05

Replace the crab with some thin-sliced deli chicken, add a couple ripe tomato slices, a slice of Monterey Jack cheese and I'm there.

On preview: one wonders what people think of people from Orange County. And no, the "OC" I grew up in bears absolutely no resemblance to anything you've seen on TV.

posted by deborah 26 April | 16:26

So it wasn't me who treated you and pips last weekend, hmmm?

posted by brujita 27 April | 01:28

well, we Northern Californians were certainly raised to think of LA-ians as evil, water-stealing, alien life forms.

Oh yes, and I'm not sure how it happens. No one takes a class that teaches you how to be properly disdainful towards southern California, it just seeps in. But LA really did steal my family's water so I think I'm justified in thinking of them as aliens who like oxygen bars and always vote Republican.

posted by cmonkey 27 April | 01:33

I'm a native northern Californian

As in Native American? Because even white people who've been in the US for generations come from somewhere...

posted by scarabic 27 April | 10:05

brujita, you're not a Californian, you're a New Yorker who was dropped in the wrong place at birth.

posted by jonmc 27 April | 10:18

No....Massachusetts feels most like home (but only when I DON'T live there).

posted by brujita 27 April | 11:14

As in Native American? Because even white people who've been in the US for generations come from somewhere...

Well, I'm sure not native to anywhere else.

cmonkey- hey, mine, too! Where are you from?

posted by small_ruminant 27 April | 11:31

I will let you know what mine is as soon as I figure out a non-essay answer to the question: "So where ya from?"

posted by Eideteker 04 May | 05:22

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