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Traditional California Food - What to eat in California
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Mar 29, 2025
What to eat when you visit California. From California burritos and carne asada fries to In-N-Out Burger and Del Taco to healthy options as well. There is so much to eat and enjoy when you visit California for a foodie vacation. The wine, the restaurants, your tummy will love California. Filmed in Los Angeles, California Copyright Mark Wolters 2021 Visit Our Amazon Store for Drinkware, cookingware, travel gear, and other necessities of life. http://www.amazon.com/shop/woltersworld Follow Jocelyn on Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/jocelynwoltersworld Follow Simply Jocelyn on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Simply-Jocelyn-A-Globally-Inspired-Life-100312851709273/ Follow Our Shorts Channel for quick travel tips: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmSIWRrLCcqamLlTEEBLFLA
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Hey there fellow Hungry Travelers, Mark here with Walter's World and today I'm here helping Jocelyn
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with the eats of California and we're here on Venice Beach and we're having a fun time
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eating our way through California and I thought it was time for you to know what you should have
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when you're here so you too can look as buff as me and not quite like the awesome looking
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Californians that are here that work out a lot and somehow do a better job of managing their food
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and exercise intake. But anyway, I digress. Look, the first thing you need to have when you do come
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here to California is the one thing that I really think is actually a religion here in California
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and that is going to In-N-Out Burger. Now, In-N-Out Burger is a fast food burger chain
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and I know you're probably thinking, Mark, it's California. They've got seafood. They got coast
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They got the sourdough bread I heard about. They've got all this great Mexican food. Why are you
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starting with In-N-Out Burger? They only have four items on their menu, a double-double, a cheeseburger
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a hamburger, and fries. That doesn't seem like much. Well, look, In-N-Out Burger is so much more
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than just four menu items, okay? The thing about In-N-Out burger is the secret menu. You know what
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Ask for it animal style, okay? If you get animal style and do it with your fries, it'll come with
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cheese on it and it'll have this like, I guess like Big Mac sauce almost. It's California sauce
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I guess, and grilled onions. It's awesome. The burgers are fresh. I mean, it's super friendly
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super fun, but they make it like you want. So you really need to special order when you go there
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And that's why people say it's a secret menu. It's not a secret menu. Just people know what
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they can order to add on. So definitely do that. So look up secret menu items for, you know
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In-N-Out Burger before you go there, because then you'll enjoy it. Because you'll notice online
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there's a lot of people that kind of are disappointed about In-N-Out Burger. And most
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of the times because they don't realize there's a secret menu. And that's why the California people
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love it because it's kind of like their secret restaurant with their own secret menu. Okay
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Now, for those of you that really love fast food, there's a second fast food joint I want to tell
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you to make sure you visit when you come here to California. And I know I'm not going to just talk
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about fast food in this, but I think these are two ones that are really important. And that is Del
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Taco. Now, I know when you go around the US, you see Taco Bell. Do not put Del Taco and Taco Bell
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in the same sentence. That's an insult to Del Taco. Though I will say Del Taco do have prices
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just like Taco Bell, but their quality of their fast food tacos and burritos and quesadillas are
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actually really good. And if you're looking for a late night post-party snack, you know, if you're
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anywhere in California, Del Taco will hit the spot. And what's crazy is they even have good fries
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Yeah, fries at a fast food Mexican place? Yeah, Del Taco is that cool, okay? So hit up a Del Taco
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when you're driving around. Now, go into some of the more real food that you should have when you're
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here in California, and one that's not from LA, it's actually from up by San Francisco, is sourdough
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bread. If you've ever had sourdough bread at a restaurant, you know it's like the fancy bread
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Yes, it is fancy. Definitely has a crispier crust, a denser kind of denser body to it, and it's so
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good to have. Whether you're just putting butter on it, or what I recommend, if you can get a
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sourdough bread bowl and get clam chowder in it. Yeah, there you go. We're done. I think I can go
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now. But seriously, getting the clam chowder inside of the sourdough bread bowl, it's a winner
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winter chicken dinner greatest thing you want to have So that a definite must for you here in California Now the next thing I think you should have when you come here and this is more of a San Diego thing is a California burrito and carne asada fries
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Maybe not at the same time because you literally will look like me after one meal
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So what a California burrito is, it's a burrito with carne asada, you know, like chunks of beef in there
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And then it's got French fries, guacamole, sour cream, cheese. Oh, my God
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It is just amazing. It's a calorie bomb, of course, but it's so good
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So if you can get a California burrito, get one. But honestly, if you're in San Diego, and you'll see this other place around the state
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but it's really a San Diego thing, go get yourself carne asada fries
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It is French fries, and honestly, any Mexican restaurant will make amazing French fries
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I know it sounds silly, but they do. Huh, gel taco. Makes sense now
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But no, honestly, amazing fries. And then what you have is like the cheese and the guacamole and the sour cream, the carne asada is on there as well
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And it's like a meal in your fries and it's just so dang good
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So my buddy Spencer in San Diego, they got me hooked on those. I love you, man
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Though I don't think my waistline does, but I certainly do. So that's definitely something you need to have in San Diego
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But if you can find it other places, it's definitely worth trying when you're here
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Now, if you want to have something a little bit healthier than all these calorie and greasy and maybe not the most healthiest things bombs
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you can always get yourself a Cobb salad actually invented here in California
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And, you know, what's cool is if you don't know what a Cobb salad is, you know, it's lettuce, egg, avocado, tomato, chicken, onion, bacon, and blue cheese
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You know, it could be lined up. People do it differently. But you have that. It's a really refreshing, healthy option to have
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And what's cool is around L.A., you'll get people that will spice it up. Maybe it's a Southwest Cobb salad
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Maybe it's a Mexican Cobb salad. Maybe it's a California Cobb salad, which I always found funny because I thought it was kind of rhetorical since it's from here
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But that's actually a really nice, healthy alternative if you're looking for something, because it really isn't a lot of the menus here in California
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Also, just in general, I think it's really important to mention that here in California, it is super easy to find really good vegetarian food and vegan food and organic produce throughout the state
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I mean, it's not one of those, oh, we put a salad on the menu to give us a vegetarian option
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No, it is, you know what? I'm not getting the meat dish. I'm getting the vegetarian dish because, oh my God, that sounds amazing
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And so that's what's so cool. When you come here, it's very easy to eat healthy
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I know I've talked about all these unhealthy options, but honestly, it's one of the easiest
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places to eat healthy anywhere in the US because of all the options, the vegetarians, the vegans
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the organics, and just the healthy nature of the place that's here. I mean, heck, go grab yourself an acai bowl
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You know, it's the acai, like ice kind of stuff with the granola on top for breakfast. Oh, see, I think the plane is going to pick me up some right now
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And if you want to find some really fresh produce, go hit up a farmer's market
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It's literally from the north to the south of California. There are farmer's markets every weekend and usually a couple days during the week
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in what seems like almost every single city or every single town throughout the state
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And you will get amazing produce when you're here. And two of the produce you really have to get
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I mean, I had fantastic peaches when I was here and the farmer's market I went to
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It was funny because the farmer's market was between an In-N-Out burger and a Del Taco
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which kind of cracked me up. So I had fruit on my way between the two Anyway the two you really should have oranges Obviously here in California you big So have that orange juice of breakfast or have some oranges You will notice the freshness difference
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Having them fresh here versus back home. If you're on the East Coast or the Midwest or someplace else, that freshness makes a difference
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But more importantly, you need to have avocados. Because people in California love avocados
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And that's why you see it in a Cobb salad. You see it on toast sometimes
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You see it in all kinds of things, on burgers. and you do want to have avocado and yes i do need to mention avocado toast a great snack but also
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another great thing to have for breakfast which is just a slice of really good toast okay and then
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i'll have a avocado maybe avocado on top it'll make like almost like a guacamole spread an avocado
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spread and spread it over there and they'll put different stuff on top i had one the other day
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it was this was it like a it was this multi-grain toast and then there was the the avocado spread
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and then they had thinly sliced radishes and pickled onion on top
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Oh, it was amazing. Okay, so I start to understand why they love the avocados so much
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because they use a lot, but also they're really good from here. Now, another place you might see the avocado pop up is actually in Mexican food
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And that's another thing that California does extremely well. Okay, I know this is going to upset some people
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but I actually like the Mexican food in California better than the Tex-Mex you get in Texas because I just do
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I just do. And whether you're getting the street tacos or you're getting tacos and burritos or
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whatever you're getting when Mexican food, do experiment with Mexican food when you are here
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in California, because it is excellent. You know, I'll talk to friends that are from here and they'll
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go have Mexican food different places around the U.S. and like, meh, it's not really worth it. And
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I'm like, I understand having had Mexican food here in California. It is next level good. Okay
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So definitely check that out. Also, it's really fantastic when you're here is a lot of Asian
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cuisines are really awesome here. And you'll have whether you want pho from Vietnamese food, you want Thai food, Chinese food
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Japanese food, there's so many, there's so much influence, so much immigration from from Asia that you have a wonderful
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collection of restaurants and, and eateries throughout the state that you can enjoy. Probably the biggest kind of
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Asian influenced food you'll see here in California is sushi. And sushi in general here is really good. But I think you need to
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realize this, California did a little twist on it. You ever heard of a California roll? It's kind of the gateway drug into
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sushi life. And basically what a California roll is, it's rice, avocado, shocking, I know, cucumber, and then crab inside
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And, and probably when you're at home, it's not actual crabs, right? Imitation crab, but whatever. It's just nice. But
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what's different is the California style sushi is it's it's on the out the rice is on the outside, and the seaweeds on
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the inside, or there maybe isn't seaweed. And that's the thing is, My kids were like, nah, man, I don't like that seaweed outside
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This is how we got them to start eating sushi. So now we can get it whenever we want because they eat normal sushi now as well
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But California rolls and sushi in general is fantastic here in California
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And then, of course, we got to move back to less healthier options. But I don't know if it's less healthy than other options, but California pizza
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Okay, I'm sure you've seen a chain called California Pizza Kitchen, or you've heard of Wolfgang Puck and his, you know, California pizzas
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Because look when you have California pizza it means it a thin crust okay And they use more I guess you say exotic ingredients for toppings It not just a pepperoni pizza or a cheese pizza or a sausage pizza It is with shrimp with chicken with salmon with God forbid pineapple
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I know, crazy stuff. But you have goat cheese. I mean, there's so many different flavors they'll mix with it that you're like
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I never thought of that combination. But it's so fresh and it's so good
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So definitely have some California-style pizza when you do come here to California
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because it's worth it just for the experience of having not pepperoni and not cheese
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Now, if you want to go for more seafaring stuff, because we have the ocean right behind us
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Dungeness Crab is really big here. If you're used to eating snow crab, they have shorter legs
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They're a little bit sweeter and you can kind of eat underneath their shells. It is really good
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I do recommend having that. And probably the place where you'll have it probably the most, if you're here
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is in Chiapino, which is a fish stew. So it's Dungeness Crab
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It's got shrimp. It's got whitefish. It's got like a tomato base in there
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You might have some mussels in there. I mean, it's just this really great, you know, seafood stew
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And yes, you should probably have some of that sourdough bread to go with it, but you don't have to
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But that's a really, really good thing to have when you're in California too. It's a hearty seafood dish
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And I know not everyone's into seafood and all kinds of other things. Sometimes people just want, I just want some meat
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Well, if you want some meat, I recommend you have a French dip when you're here in California
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No, this isn't some crazy thing the Californians do at a French restaurant
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No, a French dip is just basically French bread cut open as a sandwich
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By the way, the subs here are called grinders, not subs, so just FYI
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And they put roast beef in there, and it's actually dipped in the au jus, so it's like wet bread, and it's just got more flavor
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Because I know for me, if I have like dry bread and meat, I'm like, meh, I need something else
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The French dip, I mean, you can dip it in the au jus, it's wet, it makes it so much easier, and it's so good
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So that's another really great sandwich to have when you're here. And then when you are here, of course, we have to mention a couple drinks
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I think are important to mention when we are here. And they are on the adult beverage side
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One is wine. I mean, California is known for their great vineyards
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Whether you're in Napa Valley or other parts of the state, they've got great wine all over the place
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And what's crazy is when you go to the grocery store, you'll notice, huh, their wine selection is a lot bigger than my wine selection back home
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Yes, it is. And it's really good. So drink the local wine when you're here
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You can do tours of the vineyards and just get sloshed if you want
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But just go and enjoy all the different wines that you have here in California
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It is something fun to drink and enjoy. And it can be an adventure when you do it
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If you're more of a beer drinker, I think you should realize that California is definitely
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an IPA state. I mean, when you go and you look at the local brews, it's like half or two-thirds are IPAs
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The rest are a mix of other things. So just be ready for that. So I hope this got you hungry to come visit California
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If you want to learn more, maybe the don'ts of visiting California, some mistakes that
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tourists make when they come to LA, check us out on our website at waltersworld.com
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And on Jocelyn's channel, because this is simply Jocelyn, she puts out new food travel
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videos like this every Sunday and adult beverages on Friday. Anyway, I'll say bye from here in Venice Beach in LA
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