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OPPOSITE, CHEZ PANISSE; FRANCES BACA; MARK HOLTHUSEN; COURTNEY UTT; STATE BIRD PROVISIONS spring when it's at its peak. Legendary for its innovative use of ingredients (salad of Dungeness crab, apple gelée and fines herbes, ripe figs atop sweet onion flan), The French Laundry has delivered superlative food since it opened in 1978, earning three stars from Michelin and was pronounced "best restaurant in the world, period" by Anthony Bourdain. The rich soil of the Santa Cruz mountains grows many of the fruits and vegetables that inspire the menu at Los Gatos restaurant Manresa. Founder David Kinch uses fresh ingredients from Love Apple Farms in Ben Lomond. All restaurant compost goes back to Love Apple Farms, creating a "closed circle" between farm, restaurant guests and kitchen. The food is dynamic, and dessert can even sound like a late summer evening: exotic citrus with honey and spices featuring granité of oroblanco pomelo beneath spearmint ice cream and a crown of orange tuile. Luckily for those in California, however, remarkable food can be found almost anywhere, reservations not required. Meals on Wheels California's love affair with cool cars and the open road resulted in the drive-thrus often romanticized in classic movies. In-N-Out claims to have built the first drive-thru restaurant, complete with intercom and carhop, in Baldwin Park, California (near LA) in 1948. Close on their buns came Jack in the Box, Carl's Jr. and Big Boy. Nowadays, if the patron can't drive to the diner, the diner will drive to the patron. Restaurant experts point to the current economy as the impetus for the boom in popularity of food trucks. With offerings such as Kobe beef sliders, double cream Brie grilled cheese sandwich, or creampuffs filled with bourbon vanilla cream and topped with chocolate glaze, the reason for the trend is secondary to the mouthwatering array of offerings. Baby's Badass Burgers, a hot pink truck that prowls the LA streets, is a sort of Hooters on wheels whose tank topsportin' servers dish up suggestivelynamed burgers: She's Smokin!, or The Cougar. Nom Nom specializes in zingy, organic dishes, and has trucks STATE BIRD PROVISIONS was named best restaurant of 2012 by Bon Appetit magazine and has won many other awards; chef-proprietors Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski at work in the kitchen, above; dim sum carts present delectable offerings in their restaurant that started with a recipe for preparing quail, California's state bird, above right. in Northern and Southern California. Chances are, no matter how small the town, a food truck has rolled in and is parked close by, ready to wow the locals with toothsome goodies. They also love a good party, and many are readily available to cater private events. Look for the Cop Cars Experienced chow hounds (in diner lingo they're never called "foodies") know there are three things to look for when seeking a bona fide diner: pickups or law enforcement vehicles parked out front; a missing neon light or letter from the restaurant's sign; and a screen door or linoleum floor. When nothing will do but straight-ahead food served with a big wink to the past, Californians don't need to go very far. Every town has a neighborhood diner that fuels hungry patrons with generous portions and a special timeworn comfort. Places like It's Tops Coffee Shop in San Francisco, serving burgers with honest fixings like mayo, lettuce, tomato and grilled onions, don't try to impress and don't need to. The Red Hut Waffle Shop in South Lake Tahoe nourishes with banana waffles cloaked in whipped SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA FOOD It's been true for decades and it's still true today: San Francisco has more restaurants per capita than any other U.S. city. The majority of them are also good, so it's not a stretch to say that the SF Bay Area is the best region in the country for dining out. The old standards are still thriving, some for more than a century, but new, innovative restaurants are joining the scene all the time. The once rough-and-tumble Valencia Street in SF's Mission district is now a foodie haven, while surrounding communities from Palo Alto to Berkeley to San Rafael (and of course Sonoma and Napa! ) have their share of superb establishments. For more on this area, see pages 84-100. 2 0 1 3 t r av e l g u i d e to c a lif o rnia 2 1