California practically invented American food culture — from the farm-to-table movement to the street taco revolution — and eating your way through the state is one of its great pleasures. Many of these culinary landmarks are right on our doorstep in Monterey County, where world-class produce, wine, and seafood meet.
81. Eat a Fish Taco
The Baja-style fish taco — battered and fried white fish, shredded cabbage, crema, and salsa in a warm corn tortilla — is one of California’s greatest culinary gifts to the world. You’ll find outstanding versions everywhere from San Diego taquerias to casual spots along the Monterey waterfront. It’s simple, fresh, and perfect: the quintessential California bite. Learn More →
82. Taste Wine in Napa Valley
Napa Valley is one of the world’s greatest wine regions — a 30-mile stretch of vineyards producing Cabernet Sauvignons, Chardonnays, and Merlots that command top prices and critical acclaim globally. The scenery is stunning in every season, from flowering spring vines to the golden crush of harvest. Many family-friendly wineries offer picnic grounds, food pairings, and non-alcoholic grape juice tastings for the kids. Learn More →
83. Tour a Winery in Sonoma Valley
Sonoma Valley is California’s other great wine country — arguably more laid-back and family-friendly than Napa, with farm stands, cheese shops, and artisan food producers woven between the vineyards. Many Sonoma wineries offer hands-on cave tours, barrel tastings, and estate picnics in beautiful settings beneath the Mayacamas Mountains. The historic Sonoma Plaza is a perfect lunch stop surrounded by tasting rooms and local restaurants. Learn More →
84. Eat Sourdough Bread and Clam Chowder at Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco
San Francisco’s legendary sourdough — with its distinctive tangy crust, born from a unique local wild yeast — meets the Bay’s briny best in a bread bowl of creamy New England clam chowder at Fisherman’s Wharf. It’s one of those quintessential California food moments that earns its iconic status completely honestly. Grab a loaf from Boudin Bakery and watch the sea lions bark at Pier 39 while you eat. Learn More →
85. Try an Animal Style Burger at In-N-Out
In-N-Out Burger is a California institution — founded in 1948, still family-owned, still making fresh burgers from never-frozen beef. The “Animal Style” secret menu option — a burger with extra spread, mustard-grilled patty, pickles, and grilled onions — is the stuff of legend among California families. You’ll find In-N-Out locations from Redding to San Diego, with several locations right on the Monterey Peninsula. Learn More →
86. Eat a Mission-Style Burrito in San Francisco’s Mission District
The Mission-style burrito — a massive, foil-wrapped cylinder of rice, beans, meat, salsa, sour cream, and guacamole — was invented in San Francisco’s Mission District in the 1960s and remains one of the city’s defining food traditions. Taquerias like La Taqueria and El Farolito have been serving these legendary burritos for decades, and the debate over which is best is taken seriously by Mission residents. It’s a delicious argument to get into. Learn More →
87. Taste Artisan Olive Oil in the Central Valley
California produces over 99% of America’s commercial olive oil, and the Central Valley — particularly the areas around Corning and Oroville — is home to some of the finest olive orchards in the world. Artisan producers offer tastings, tours, and pairings that reveal the remarkable complexity of freshly pressed California olive oil — buttery, peppery, grassy, or floral depending on the varietal and harvest date. It’s a wonderful foodie detour on any Central California road trip. Learn More →
88. Eat Fresh Uni or Poke at a Coastal Seafood Market in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara sits at the convergence of the warm Southern California current and the cold, nutrient-rich waters of the Santa Barbara Channel — producing sea urchin (uni) so fresh and sweet that local sushi chefs prize it above all others. The Santa Barbara Fish Market and the harbor seafood stalls sell fresh-caught fish, poke bowls, and local shellfish that showcase the bounty of the Channel Islands waters at their very best. Learn More →
89. Visit a California Farmers Market
California’s farmers markets are among the finest in the world — overflowing with stone fruits, heirloom tomatoes, microgreens, artisan cheeses, and flowers grown just miles away. The Santa Monica Farmers Market (Wednesdays) is famously beloved by LA’s top chefs, while the Sacramento Central Farmers Market is one of the oldest and largest in the state. Here in Monterey County, the Old Monterey Marketplace and Pacific Grove Good Old Days markets showcase the extraordinary agriculture right in our own backyard. Learn More →
90. Try Santa Maria-Style BBQ Tri-Tip on the Central Coast
Santa Maria-style BBQ is California’s own unique barbecue tradition — tri-tip beef rubbed with garlic, salt, and pepper, then cooked over red oak coals and served with pinquito beans, salsa, and garlic bread. Born in the Santa Maria Valley of Santa Barbara County in the 1950s, this regional style has a devoted following up and down the Central Coast. On any visit to San Luis Obispo County or Santa Barbara, finding a Santa Maria BBQ pit is practically mandatory. Learn More →
91. Tour the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield
The Jelly Belly Candy Company’s factory in Fairfield offers free self-guided tours along an elevated viewing platform where visitors watch the famous jelly beans being made — and sample dozens of flavors along the way. The factory store, café, and a remarkable collection of Jelly Belly “portraits” of historical figures make this a full family adventure. Kids absolutely love it, and the jelly bean samples at the end of the tour are the sweetest reward in California. Learn More →
92. Pick Strawberries in Watsonville
Watsonville — just over the hill from Monterey County — is the strawberry capital of California, producing some of the finest berries in the world thanks to the cool, foggy climate of the Pajaro Valley. U-pick farms throughout the area let families harvest strawberries fresh from the field, and the bright red sweetness of a just-picked Watsonville strawberry is something supermarket berries simply cannot replicate. Spring through early summer is peak season. Learn More →
93. Tour a Working Oyster Farm at Tomales Bay
Tomales Bay in Marin County is one of California’s great oyster-producing waters — a long, narrow estuary of the San Andreas Fault with pristine water quality that produces sweet, briny Pacific, Kumamoto, and Atlantic oysters. Hog Island Oyster Co. and other producers offer farm tours, shucking lessons, and the chance to eat oysters on the half shell while looking out over the bay. It’s a quintessential Northern California farm-to-table experience at its most elemental. Learn More →
94. Sip Craft Beer in San Diego’s Beer District
San Diego has become one of the craft beer capitals of the world — with over 150 breweries concentrated especially in the North Park and Miramar neighborhoods — producing IPAs, stouts, sours, and lagers that set global trends. Brewery-hopping through the tasting rooms of North Park on a weekend afternoon is one of San Diego’s great family-friendly cultural experiences (most breweries welcome well-behaved families). Learn More →
95. Eat Dim Sum in San Francisco’s Chinatown
Weekend dim sum in San Francisco’s Chinatown — steaming carts of har gow, siu mai, turnip cake, egg tarts, and pineapple buns wheeled through a packed, noisy dining room — is one of the most joyful and communal food experiences in California. The tradition of yum cha (“drink tea”) with family stretches back to the Gold Rush era in San Francisco, and spots like City View and Hang Ah Tea Room have been perfecting it for generations. Learn More →
96. Try Korean BBQ in Los Angeles’ Koreatown
Los Angeles’s Koreatown is home to the largest Korean population outside Korea — and some of the finest Korean food in the world. The tabletop charcoal grills of late-night KBBQ restaurants produce crackling, caramelized kalbi short ribs and bulgogi beef that are best enjoyed with a dozen banchan side dishes and good company. It’s an interactive, festive dining experience that kids find genuinely exciting, and the neighborhood’s 24-hour culture makes it truly unlike anywhere else in California. Learn More →
97. Visit a Sonoma Coast Wine Tasting Room
The Sonoma Coast appellation — from Bodega Bay north through Annapolis — produces some of California’s most distinctive Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, shaped by the cold Pacific fog that rolls in each evening. Small family-owned wineries along the coastal ridges pour wines of remarkable elegance and restraint that are quite different from the richer, warmer-climate wines of Napa. A scenic, unhurried alternative wine country experience for families who love beautiful coastline. Learn More →
98. Eat a Dungeness Crab Dinner in San Francisco
Dungeness crab season on the Northern California coast — typically opening in November — is one of California’s great culinary events, celebrated at Fisherman’s Wharf with the smell of steaming crab pots and the sight of whole, sweet, brick-red crabs cracked open on newspaper-covered tables. The Dungeness crab is sweeter and more delicate than most East Coast crabs, and eating one fresh-cooked at the wharf is a San Francisco tradition that spans generations. Learn More →
99. Taste Wine in Paso Robles
Paso Robles has emerged as one of California’s most exciting wine regions — with over 200 wineries producing bold Zinfandels, world-class Rhône varietals, and increasingly acclaimed Cabernets in a warm, inland valley between the Santa Lucia Mountains and the coast. Less crowded and more approachable than Napa, Paso’s tasting rooms welcome families, many with bocce courts, food trucks, and picnic areas. Just two hours from Monterey, it’s a perfect weekend road trip. Learn More →
100. Sample Artichokes in Castroville
Castroville, on the edge of Monterey County, calls itself the Artichoke Center of the World — and it backs up the claim, producing over 99% of the artichokes grown commercially in the United States. The Giant Artichoke Restaurant’s famous deep-fried artichoke hearts are a local institution, and the annual Castroville Artichoke Food & Wine Festival celebrates the area’s agricultural heritage every spring. For Monterey County families, this is practically a hometown food tradition. Learn More →
101. Taste Wine Along the River Road and Santa Lucia Highlands in the Salinas Valley
Monterey County’s own Santa Lucia Highlands appellation — running along the western bench of the Salinas Valley — produces some of California’s most acclaimed Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, shaped by intense sunlight and cold afternoon winds that barrel in off Monterey Bay. The River Road Wine Trail links family-owned wineries from Soledad to Gonzales through stunning valley scenery, and the tasting rooms welcome visitors year-round. It’s world-class wine country right in our own backyard. Learn More →
Download the Complete Guide
Want all 250 experiences in one place? Download our printable PDF guide — perfect for road trips, planning sessions, or keeping on the fridge as a reminder of everything California has to offer.
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