Last week, this farm girl packed her bags and headed west, trading burgers for sushi and country for city.
We entered new land with little expectation, and with that, everything became wonderfully fresh in our eyes.
And as South Dakota became less and less through the small window overlooking the sky, I said goodbye to prairie, goodbye to farming, and goodbye to Country Man, for one whole week.
Thank goodness California welcomed me with my sister’s embrace. Her beautiful smile, the streets of activity, and the food.
California cuisine is quite tasty. See?
Grilled Cheese (with the fancy shmancy cheese)
Oysters
Octopus
Uni
The Sushi Guy
Sushi
With my sister’s help, this sushi experience was much better than my last!
Salmon eggs
*drool*
California food was glorious. California wine, spectacular. More on that Wednesday. WordPress might crash and burn if I post every photo in one post, so this will be a three-part series.
Have you been to California? Tried sushi? I would love to hear about it!
~~~
California: yes (3 times)
Sushi — never (sorry… I’m a grilled cheese girl, myself!)
Every single one of your food photos looks absolutely delicious! Is the first photo some sort of seafood stew? I wish I could eat it through the screen
Yes! My sister ordered that, and it was amazing. The octopus was a part of her soup, and I tried it. It’s a must if you’re ever that way!
What restaurant was this??? What was it called??? OMG it looks amazing!
Hi there! The restaurant is called Hog Oyster I believe, and it was the seafood something. I can’t remember the actual name. It was awesome!
Love the look of your grilled-cheese. Sushi–not so much…especially the egg stuff that you showed. I’m heading to California in a few weeks and hope they’ll have some decent poutine and fish’n chips and turkey deluxe for this ole Canuck! LOL.
The grilled cheese was yummy! Hope you have safe travels and a wonderful time during your trip. Such a lovely time of year to go, isn’t it?
California-not yet. Sushi-not yet and no desire but I like trying things so maybe. Grilled cheese-YES!!!!!
The grilled cheese is a good choice!
Wow!! the grilled cheese and the oysters look really delicious. But was that octopus or sepia?
I think it was octopus. I’ve come to realize I will pretty much eat anything. Loved anything with salmon, and the grilled cheese was amazing!
How wonderful that you get to see something so different for awhile! Yes, I’ve been to California several times. My brother was Curator of Mammals at the San Diego Zoo for ten years when we were living in Texas, and we drove out to visit. I’ve also been to LA and San Francisco and Napa. I love California, but I wouldn’t want to live there because of the congestion, expense, and earthquakes. Great food and great climate, though.
I have eaten sushi and enjoy it, but I don’t experiment with too big a variety. I’d like to branch out with my children’s help. They are all big sushi eaters. Loved your food pictures.
Thanks! We spent most of our time in Napa and loved it. And you’re right; the food and climate are wonderful. The expense and congestion was another thing. I very much appreciated coming home to an empty road!
I’m heading out to CA too – pretty soon now – also for a week’s vacation. Your food pics are grand, tho I’m not much for sushi. Have fun and write us all about it!
I hope you have a wonderful vacation! No doubt you will… such a beautiful time of the year to go.
Welcome to The Republic! I have come to love my adopted home state. I also love sushi — the Ikura (salmon roe) is my favorite.
Ok, I think the salmon roe was my favorite one, too. Each morning for breakfast we’d go to a local coffee shop and order bagel and lox. So good! I miss that.
Yum, I’d eat it all… mostly. I’ll pass on the salmon eggs… gross… and the Octopus really needs to be breaded and fried, aka calamari (squid). But good for you for branching out! That soup in the top picture looks fabulous, hard to see exactly what’s in there but I definitely see some mussels, my fav!! Although a Michigan guy now, I grew up on the East Coast. Miss me some seafood!
The soup was soooo good. Silly me for ordering the grilled cheese. Oh well, that was good, too, but thankfully my sister shared. I bet you do miss the seafood! Hope beef is treating you well.
Cali girl, born and raised and I have lived here for all of my 60 (ahem-cough) years except for a brief stint in Africa (and people think OUR food is weird!)… Ikura (salmon eggs) is my absolute favorite – and no, they don’t taste like Pautzke’s. I didn’t grow up eating this way, and I certainly didn’t marry into it, but am so thankful I live in a place that celebrates so many food cultures and they are readily available for the whole branching-out experience! (Just wish I wasn’t allergic to shellfish, some of your photos look positively inviting!)
You are a lucky woman for sure! The salmon eggs was tasty. One of my favorite foods was the bagel and lox we ate every morning for breakfast. Oh that things was good.
California… yes, three times.
Sushi… absolutely! It was one of the best things about living in Japan for a year. Alas, here on the Canadian prairie, good sushi is not to be had.
My sister won’t eat the sushi in South Dakota. But she sure loves uni! It wasn’t my favorite.
Thank you for reading and commenting!
Love sushi! And I love California. For visiting, of course.
I agree!
Your photographs are delectable. The soup stew looks like quite a meal.
California is a beautiful state and how wonderful you can visit your sister. Daughter #1 and grandson live there…how I miss them.
The soup was so delicious. I hope you get a chance to visit your daughter and grandson in the near future. I think I will be making this trip on a yearly basis now… hopefully with my husband next time!
Beautiful pics. I have tried sushi three times and have resigned myself to the reality that I will never like it. Oh well…
Love the tattoo on someone’s forearm. Is that yours?
Thanks, Jo! That’s my sister’s arm in the photo. She is still working on it!
I’ll be visiting California for the first time ever in January. I will not be partaking in the octopus. That picture scares me.
Fun! How long of a flight is that for you? Mine was about four hours. If you come face-to-face with octopus, I hope you try it!
There’s an hour stop inbetween flights, but it’s about 8 hours.
Sushi is my favorite! So glad your second experience went better than the first
So much better this time around — my stomach thanked me!
My goodness but that cream puff looks delicious! So flaky. I’ve always wondered how to eat one gracefully. Whenever I try, I end up getting cream all down the front of my chin and shirt. But totally worth the mess.
Also I should mention that grilled cheese and tomato soup = best lunch ever.
You are soooo right on all that, the cream puffs and grilled cheese/tomato soup combo!
I bought one of those fancy $3.50 cupcakes, and then managed to drop it on the floor. It was sad.
Your pics get me pumped for my upcoming trip
Oh, it was so good. Have a wonderful vacation with great food and company!
You are the third person I know in California last week — well, not counting the ones I know who regularly live there. That food — wow. Give me one of those cream puffs and a fancy grilled cheese!
My last sushi experience (in California nonetheless) is one for the books. It wasn’t the sushi’s fault — but after I ate it, I later, um, saw it appear on the sidewalk. I had taken some cold medicine earlier — and later two glasses of wine. Not good. I’ll spare you the other details. Sorry you asked?
The food was heavenly. Your sushi experience – not so much! Thank you for sparing the details, lol. But always good to see you!
Just got back from Southern California and I have to agree — ALL the food is so delicious and fresh and beautiful out there!! Your sushi looks glorious although it’s not really my thing (at all) — and I’m so happy you are having a week with your sister. What a perfect time of year (but you’re missing hunting season back in SD! ) … what a contrast … I bet Country Man misses you plenty!!
I’m so glad your second sushi experience was better than your first! I’ll bet you’re enjoying that trip and some time with your sister, but I’m sure you’ll be glad to get home too.
Uni! OMG – my favorite
It’s so good as a crostini with pig fat, believe it or not…Re: California, yes…I’m moving back there in a few weeks – can’t wait!
My sister loves Uni! It was not my favorite right away, but I gotsta take it slow. I am slightly jealous you are moving there!
It looks to be an exciting but slightly scary adventure – moving to SF, I mean – kind of like trying uni for the first time
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I’ve been to California once, in High School. Haven’t tried sushi yet though…I have a hard time getting over the fact that it’s raw. I’ve caught too many sick fish to like that!