SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FOOD

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DECEMBER 14TH, 2023

One of the great things about growing up in Southern California was the kind of food that surrounded us.  The diversity was amazing.  I’ve traveled around the country as an adult, and I have to say the Mexican food found here is second to none.  So many cultures have found some rooting in Southern California and so has their food.  I’m fortunate to have an open palette when it comes to food.  While I really like Asian cuisines, my mother cooked American food more often than Japanese food.  Though we ate rice with practically every meal.

Outside of the home there was a plethora of choices to make. Chili burgers, pastrami dip sandwiches, French dip roast beef, and tons more.  Some of my favorite places were the local bowling alley restaurants run by Japanese people from Hawaii.  They brought their island recipes and created some the greatest soul food for my tummy!  Sadly, some of these places succumbed to changing demographics, recessions, and no heirs to take over the business.  

The graphic above shows some of the eateries I frequently dined at in the 80s, but discovered many of them in the 70s.  Many of these places have been in the Southland for many decades before I discovered them.  New food places continue to sprout up, but there’s something nostalgic about the places my car buddies and I used to go to have some really late meals after doing what car guys do…