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The roots of San Francisco's celebrated food and drink culture are as diverse as the city itself. A bountiful ocean, rich soil and ingenious residents combined to create unforgettable and enduring gastronomic legacies. Discover the disputed origins of local specialties like the Chicken Tetrazzini, chop suey and the classic martini, along with the legend behind the creation of Green Goddess Dressing. Learn how the abundance of the bay contributed to classics like the Hangtown Fry and Cioppino. Marvel at the introduction of America's first fortune cookie by Benkyodo Candy Factory and how a lack of refrigeration spawned the iconic Anchor Steam Beer. Pile the guacamole on a Mission Burrito and grab an Its-It for dessert. With classic and modern recipes from beloved establishments, author Laura Smith Borrman brings these and other culinary stories to life.

In the early 1890s, farmers Albert Maulhardt and John Edward Borchard discovered Ventura County's favorable conditions for a highly profitable new cash crop: the sugar beet. Not long after inviting sugar mogul Henry T. Oxnard to the area, construction began on a $2 million sugar factory capable of processing two thousand tons of beets daily. The facility brought jobs, wealth and the Southern Pacific rail line. It became one of the country's largest producers of sugar, and just like that, a town was born. Despite the industry's demise, the city of Oxnard still owes its name to the man who delivered prosperity. A fifth-generation descendant, local author and historian Jeffrey Wayne Maulhardt details the rise and fall of a powerful enterprise and the entrepreneurial laborers who helped create a city.

Nevada County's tumultuous wine history includes several booms and busts, starting in the 1850s when gold prospectors brought the first grapevines in their saddlebags. Economic downturns, prohibition and war all tried to kill the fledgling wine industry, but it hung on thanks to gentleman farmers and members of the mining industry who supplied a thirsty clientele. Today, although the mines have gone quiet, wineries are thriving in the hills of the Gold Country, and the pioneering spirit lives on in their distinctive vintages and growing techniques. Join author Mary Anne Davis as she explores the family vineyards of the California foothills.