Hello!
I'll be traveling to California in August and would love to get some restaurant recommendations. I'll be in San Francisco, Napa, Monterey, Carmel, San Simeon, Malibu and Los Angeles.
Any advice is much appreciated!! I like all styles of food (Japanese, Italian, American, Continental, Chinese, French, Mediterranean, etc.)
Thanks,
Chrissem

From San Simeon, travel south along Highway 1 for about 5 minutes to Cambria. There are some great restaurants there. My favorites are The Sow's Ear, Robin's, and The Sea Chest.

Gladstones
17300 Pacific Coast Hwy Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

Where Sunset Blvd. meets PCH 1, right on the beach. Beautiful.

In Monterey for seafood, Monterey's Fish House. In Carmel at the Barnyard. Bahama Billy's (think comfort food meets the tropics). In Pacific Grove: Pasionfish for seafood. Toasties Cafe and First Awakenings for Breakfast/ Brunch/ Lunch. Red House cafe for a casual lunch.

trippinkpj got me thinking... I haven't eaten at either of these places for quite a while, but we enjoyed Fishwife and Fandango in Pacific Grove.

We also have enjoyed the Rio Grill at the Crossroads in Carmel.

Fishwife is a great restaurant. Also, there are other threads by this same name if you'd do a search, you find much more information.

In and Out is a hamburger chain beloved by Californians. I don't get the enthusiasm, but you must eat at one to better understand the locals.

Sonic, Fatburger, and even Carl's Jr. are better IMO.

It's ordering off the secret menu of In and Out that so many of us love. Try your Cheeseburger or Fries, Animal Style with extra sauce & grilled onions!

http://www.tiburon-belvedere.com/cgi...cgi?c=In_N_Out

If you are in Morro Bay, Kitty's Kitchen for breakfast and Dorn's Original Breakers Cafe for a seafood lunch or dinner. In Pismo Beach, I like Brad's for seafood or tri tip (lunch or dinner). Mo's for casual BBQ. Splash Cafe if you like your Boston style clam chowder creamy.

trippinkpj - you really have got me thinking about food today!! More places I like: Hoppe's in Cayucos and Fat Cat's Cafe in Avila Beach.

Hi NeverMind, we are on a roll! I second Hoppe's in Cayucos. In fact, Cayucos is overlooked a lot. It's a cute beach town. I like this website:
http://www.beachcalifornia.com/index.html
I've found it a handy resource.

Thanks for the link, Trippinkpj. A trip to the coast is in my near future.

Have a great weekend. 8-)

You too nevermind!

Are you thinking holes in the wall, cheap but good, gourmet, what? Los Angeles has it all, and I'd love to help, but need you to narrow it down.

WAY too broad. There are several THOUSAND restaurants in those cities, of which several HUNDRED will be great to awe-inspiring. California is a huge state. Los Angeles is larger than many countries, so you at least need to tell us what area(s) you'll be in. There are some incredible restaurants in the state of California.

Except for Gladstone's in Pacific Palisades. One of the very WORST restaurants in California. The view's great, but the food is atrocious. ATROCIOUS.

As you so eloquently pointed out rjw_lgb_ca, the OP was not specific as to whether they wanted $100 per person or $10 per person recommendations.

So what she got from me was a reco for a place that is like no other. A CA experience in a great location. My hope was they would then drive up Topanga Canyon Blvd. into the hills or, of course, down Sunset. But they didn't ask for that kind of advice.

I look forward to your recommendations once the OP has provided you further direction.

amaclise, is Gladstone's unique for its view? Why not go to Neptune's Net in Malibu for better, cheaper seafood and killer views? The roadhouse atmosphere is fun, it still has a locals vibe (i.e., tourists haven't taken it over yet) and the food's edible!

For views and great food, Geoffrey's in Malibu comes to mind. Also Splashes or Studio in Laguna Beach, 21 Oceanfront in Newport, One Pico in Santa Monica, even Sir Winston's on the Queen Mary. These are very expensive (Studio is staggeringly so), but the vistas out the windows are wonderful (at Splashes, you're essentially on the sand in Laguna Beach).

There is a Chart House restaurant about a mile from Gladstones on PCH ,towards Malibu that has nice views of the ocean.You can always sit in the bar and have a cocktail if you don't want anything to eat.
http://www.chart-house.com/loc-malibu.html

Versailles- great Cuban restaurant in Culver City and Los Angeles- yummy garlic chicken
Cha Cha Cha- good atmosphere, carribean type food in L.A (featured in Shopgirl)
YangSing for Dim Sum in San Francisco

all of the above are relatively cheap (under $20/person)

In-n-Out Burgers are made with natural beef - no preservatives, no hormones, etc.

Their milk shakes are make with REAL ice cream, not toothpaste.

I like mine "protein style"

with a LARGE strawberry milkshake