For me, as someone who sees the world food first, the real glory of any road trip is what I’m going to eat along the way. Every time I ...
Devouring the Drive
The Spencer steak (a boneless rib-eye) at Jocko's Steak House in Nipomo, California. Photograph by Dave Lauridsen.

The Spencer steak (a boneless rib-eye) at Jocko’s Steak House in Nipomo, California. Photograph by Dave Lauridsen.

For me, as someone who sees the world food first, the real glory of any road trip is what I’m going to eat along the way. Every time I drive south from the San Francisco Bay Area to visit my folks, who live near Santa Barbara, I have to pull over and eat barbecue in the Santa Maria Valley—I can practically smell meat sizzling over red oak as I get close. And whenever I head north, I try to detour over to Highway 1 for a fish taco or a bowl of chowder, right on the water.

The Marshall Store, in Marshall, California. Photograph by Thomas J. Story.

Brigit Binns is a kindred spirit. No one has a keener devotion to road-trip food than Brigit, the author of 25 cookbooks and a highly entertaining blog, roadfoodie.com. Every fall for six years, she drove from New York to California, and every winter she’d drive back, always in the company of her sweet dog, Stella, and always sniffing out—and writing about—her edible discoveries.

Our newest Sunset book, in collaboration with author Brigit Binns.

Therefore Brigit was the perfect choice to write Sunset’s newest cookbook, Eating Up the West Coast. She ate her way from Southern California to the Canadian border, scooping up prized recipes at off-the-beaten path restaurants—everything from mom-and-pop cafes to white-napkin destinations—and noting other great stops along the way, like gorgeous hikes and one-of-a-kind shops. It’s an irresistible call to join her, both on the road and in the kitchen. She even has a recipe for my favorite fish taco, from the Marshall Store in Marshall, California.

To get a taste of the book, see our excerpt in the March 2015 print and tablet editions of Sunset, and to order a copy, click here.

 

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