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What does Southern California really mean?
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Is it an apartment with a view of Griffith Observatory?
What about the perspective from that very mountaintop, the far-reaching urban sprawl?
Certainly, it could be the car culture...
...and the traffic that inevitably results.
And what about Old Hollywood, the tourist traps, the Sunset Strip?
Of course, Southern California wouldn't be Southern California without the rich infusion of Latino culture, the melting pot of many dialects, the influence that is found in every element of life, the eternal soundtrack of Spanish in your ears.
Perhaps it's something simpler, like the wave of a palm tree...
...or a long, lazy afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
Some might suggest the meaning lies closer to the earth, along the many miles of hiking outside the city limits....
...or in the lush, verdant, brilliantly bright plant growth found on every corner, the belief you quickly come to hold that anything, anything at all, could be grown here.
Meaning could be found in the Starbucks-like expansion of Medical Marijuana stores since I last visited here, now free from the threat of federal prosecution.
And what of the hipsters and out-of-work actors found drinking in fashionable cafes at 10 in the morning?
At times, it seemed that Southern California was best represented by the straw hat I found myself almost constantly wearing, delighted by its functionality and only slightly concerned that it made me look like one of those aforementioned hipsters.
This is not to say that all is well in Southern California, however -- a walk down any street revealed far too many abandoned storefronts and apartments...
...and the ever efficient Metro system remains almost always empty.
None of this, of course, takes into account the changes that occur at night, the juxtaposition of twilight settling over the Hills...
...and the breakneck rush of driving on the freeways after dark.
Of course, the one thing that I haven't really talked about is the food -- the picture below was about as close as I got to thinking about photography when the promise of a good meal lay before me.
You might assume from the picture above that all I ate were tacos, and certainly, I could have been well satisfied by simply hopping from corner shack to corner shack for the two weeks I spent out there -- tacos lengue, carne asada, pescados, cochinita pibil, enough varieties of hot sauce and pepper-infused carrots to boggle the mind. I can still smell the onions and cilantro on my fingertips.
The truth of the matter is, however, that Southern California satisfied me in terms of every and any dining experience I desired -- white tablecloth dinners at Church & State and Osteria Mozza, both thoughtfully planned by the Pasta Burner, a debauched amount of pickles and raw meat at Soowon Galbi Korean BBQ, catching my own dinner out at sea on a sportfishing boat off Marina Del Rey, salty, umami-packed soup at Santouka Ramen, late-night snacks at the Kogi truck, even a decent slice at Pizza Port in Carlsbad.
Now, of course, those meals only scratch the surface of the many culinary adventures I had out in Southern California. Does that mean that Southern California means, above and beyond all else, great food? Without any doubt, of course, it was a big part of my trip -- I have no doubt that this website, over the coming months, will feature many new recipes inspired by what I ate and saw there.
That being said, I think the inability to distill Southern California to one thing, the futility of searching for one unified meaning -- that, perhaps, speaks to the spirit of the region best of all. Truly, Southern California should not be picked apart; it cannot be picked apart -- it must be plunged into, it must immerse you, it must seep deep into your body and take hold, it must constantly whisper: "Come, come back."
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We'll return to our usual format this weekend with a recipe. See you then.
Music: Jackson Browne -- "The Load Out / Stay" (Live)
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