Food culture of Bakersfield

Many good things about Bakersfield never change - stuffing one's face with food followed by ice cream made the old fashioned way is one of them.

This town may be off the radar screen of most food reviewers, but I love the good old honest downhome vibe of these places :)

Noriega's

Noriega's Restaurant is the oldest Basque boardinghouse and restaurant in the world; it has just been honored as an American classic by the James Beard Foundation.

A Place to Bask in Basque Culture covers the Noriega experience beautifully.

Luigi's

Another Bakersfield classic, always busy, noisy, friendly and happy to see you again. Their BBQ beef sandwich is as good as I remembered it to be. Luigi's just celebrated their 100th anniversary with 5000 happy hungry Bakersfield residents :)

Buck Owen's Crystal Palace

It's at once a stage, show venue, dance hall, restaurant, museum, country store. And much much more. Like it says in the video, even if you are not a fan of anything country and western, you should still come see for yourself at least once. I will have you know cowboy food done well is a culinary experience in a league on it's own.

Dewar's

And finally, like Huell Howser says, "No trip to Bakersfield is complete without a visit to Dewar's".