The cuisine of California reflects the diverse culture of California and is influenced largely by European American, Hispanic American, East Asian and Oceanian influences, and Western European influences, as well as the food trends and traditions of larger American cuisine.
In-N-Out Burger is an American regional chain of fast food restaurants with locations primarily in California and to a lesser extent the Southwest from Oregon to Texas. It was founded in Baldwin Park, California, in 1948 by Harry (1913–1976) and Esther Snyder (1920–2006). The chain is headquartered in Irvine, California and has expanded outside Southern California into the rest of California, as well as into Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Colorado, and Idaho, and is planning expansions into New Mexico and Tennessee. The current owner is Lynsi Snyder, the Snyders' only grandchild.
Olive Garden is an American casual dining restaurant chain specializing in Italian–American cuisine. It is a subsidiary of Darden Restaurants, Inc., which is headquartered in Orange County, Florida. As of 2022, Olive Garden restaurants accounted for $4.5 billion of the $9.63 billion revenue of its parent, Darden.
Steak 'n Shake Operations, Inc. is an American casual restaurant chain concentrated primarily in the Midwestern United States with locations also in the South, Mid-Atlantic, Western United States, Europe, and the Middle East. The company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Biglari Holdings. As of 2018, 628 Steak 'n Shake restaurants were in operation; of those 414 were corporate-owned, and 214 franchised. The company has since attempted to convert to a fully franchised model.
Chevys Fresh Mex is an American chain of Mexican-style casual dining restaurants located in the United States. The chain was founded in 1986 by Warren Simmons in Alameda, California. The chain's headquarters are currently located in Cypress, California. The chain is owned by Xperience Restaurant Group.
Jamba Juice, doing business as Jamba, is an American quick-service restaurant and juice bar chain that sells blended fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies and other food products. The first Jamba Juice location, originally named Juice Club, opened in 1990 in San Luis Obispo, California. Jamba is owned by Focus Brands, an affiliate of private equity firm Roark Capital Group, which completed its acquisition in 2019. The company has more than 850 locations operating in 36 states in the United States, and also has locations in Australia, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia.
Original Joe's is a local chain of restaurants in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco and the Westlake neighborhood of Daly City. They serve a wide variety of foods, mostly Italian-American cuisine with some mainstream American favorites. Their "signature" dishes include Joe's Special, Chicken Parmigiana, the Joe's Famous Hamburger Sandwich and a variety of steaks and chops.
Romano's Macaroni Grill is a casual dining restaurant chain specializing in Italian-American cuisine. As of March 2024, the company operates 31 locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.
Westfield Valley Fair, commonly known as Valley Fair, is a prominent shopping mall in San Jose, California. Valley Fair is the largest mall, by area, in Northern California and has higher sales revenue than all other malls in California, including the two in Southern California which have larger area than Valley Fair. Valley Fair is the thirteenth largest shopping mall in the United States. It is located on Stevens Creek Boulevard in West San Jose. The mall features Macy's, Macy's Men's and Home Store, Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's.
Cafe Gratitude is a small chain of restaurants serving organic, plant-based (vegan) food, founded by Terces and Matthew Engelhart. In addition to vegan food, honey is served with some options. There are three locations in Southern California, including Venice, Larchmont Village, and Newport Beach. A separately-owned location exists in Kansas City, Missouri.
Chris Cosentino is an American celebrity chef and reality television personality known as the winner of Top Chef Masters, a competitor on The Next Iron Chef and for his appearances on Iron Chef America. He is known for his haute cuisine offal dishes, and was chef-partner at Incanto in San Francisco. Forbes Traveler called Incanto "perhaps America's most adventurous nose-to-tail restaurant … On offer are lamb's necks, pig trotters and a five-course nose-to-tail tasting menu perhaps including venison kidneys and chocolate-blood panna cotta." Incanto closed on March 24, 2014. In December 2014, he opened Cockscomb, a restaurant centered around his updated interpretations of classic San Francisco dishes.
The Wendy's Company is an American holding company for the major fast food chain Wendy's. Its headquarters are in Dublin, Ohio. The company's principal subsidiary, Wendy's International, is the franchisor of Wendy's restaurants.
Jack's Restaurant is a historic building and a former restaurant in the Financial District of San Francisco, California. Opened in 1863, Jack’s was the third oldest restaurant in the city, following Tadich Grill and The Old Clam House.
Anna Ayala is an American fraudster and convicted felon. She is most known for bringing a fraudulent tort lawsuit against a Wendy's restaurant in San Jose, California in 2005. Ayala’s claims cost the chain more than US $21 million in lost revenue. This led to a felony charge of attempted grand larceny against her, to which Ayala pleaded guilty in September 2005. She was sentenced to nine years in prison on January 18, 2006 and served four years. In 2013, she received another prison sentence for an unrelated incident regarding filing a false police report and felony firearm possession.
Christopher Kostow is the executive chef at The Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa Valley, California. Under Chef Kostow, The restaurant was awarded three stars from the Michelin Guide in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. In 2013, Chef Kostow was awarded the James Beard Foundation Award for "Best Chef: West".
Thomas McNaughton is an American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook writer. He is the chef and owner of Flour + Water, Penny Roma and Flour + Water Pasta Shop in San Francisco, California.
Anya Fernald is an American entrepreneur, chef, and sustainable agriculture expert based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She founded Live Culture Co., a business and marketing consulting company, the Eat Real Festival Company, and Belcampo Meat Co., a producer of sustainably sourced meats headquartered in Oakland, California, of which she was founding CEO. She has published a cookbook and appeared as a judge on the Food Network's Iron Chef America, Iron Chef Gauntlet, and The Next Iron Chef.
Old Mandarin Islamic Restaurant is a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco's Sunset District that specializes in Uyghur cuisine.
