Hen of the Woods sandwich excerpted from Coastal: 130 Recipes from a California Road Trip by Scott Clark and Betsy Andrews. Photography by Cheyenne Ellis.
Named a Best Cookbook of Spring 2025 by Eater, Los Angeles Times, and Epicurious
Between lush photos from Cheyenne Ellis, gorgeous descriptions from Andrews, and recipes that make the most of local bounty (think perfect Meyer lemonade and Dungeness crab rice), it’s a treat for all senses.”
—The Los Angeles Times
“With his debut cookbook, Clark, chef and owner of Dad’s Luncheonette, wanted to celebrate California’s Central Coast. He succeeds on every count.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
A celebration of California home cooking with 130 recipes and more than 300 photos that capture the beauty, magic, and bounty of the coast. From acclaimed chef Scott Clark, who flipped his fine dining chops into the ultimate railroad-car diner at the edge of the Pacific.
Coastal is a visual feast of free-spirited Californian cooking and living, set against the surf, peaks, curving roads, and sunsets of the westernmost United States. This inspired collection of crave-worthy recipes, gorgeous photographs, and vivid stories takes us on a road trip beginning at Chef Scott Clark’s beloved sandwich-and-pie shop, Dad’s Luncheonette, in Half Moon Bay and ending in Ventura County. Along the way, it visits the fishermen, crabbers, farmers, winemakers, and foragers who stretch along the Pacific Coast Highway between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Clark’s accessible seasonal recipes deliver the adventure of the coast in smart, creative, unfussy, and delicious ways. They express the breadth of California cooking and its regional and cultural influences, organized into thematic chapters, including:
- Road Trip Snacks (Furikake Popcorn, CA Muddy Buddies, Perfect Meyer Lemonade)
- Fishing and Foraging on the Coast (Dungeness Crab Rice, Lingcod Ceviche, Fries with Eyes)
- Lunch in the Vineyard (Smoked Mackerel with Lemon-Dill Relish, Deviled Quail Eggs, Barley and Wine Grape Salad)
- Back Home with the Kid (Fish Stick Hand Roll Bar, Matcha Mochi Waffles, Watermelon Aqua Fresca)
Coastal is more than your average California cookbook; it brings the Californian table, way of life, and state of mind to home cooks and armchair travellers anywhere.
QUINTESSENTIALLY CALIFORNIAN: Scott Clark’s Californian culinary training shows through in his stellar recipe list, laidback storyteller’s tone, and road trip-oriented approach. With transporting photographs by fourth-generation Californian Cheyenne Ellis, this book captures an outdoorsy, pioneering California spirit on every page.
HOME COOK-FRIENDLY RECIPES: From simple flavour pairings to grilling, Clark’s “aha!” techniques are perfect training for home cooks. He reaches into his deep knowledge to pass along big flavours and teachable techniques with a relaxed and flexible approach. His main goal is to energise food prep for home chefs of varying skill levels.
MULTICULTURAL INFLUENCE:Coastal is inspired by the mash-up of cultures along the west coast: the Chumash, Portuguese, Italian, Korean, Chinese, Latin American, Vietnamese, and Japanese communities who have adapted their cuisines and made them staples of the state. This book celebrates and pays homage to all of these wonderful cuisines.
Perfect for:
- Home cooks who cook locally and seasonally
- Residents and visitors of California or anyone who enjoys California cuisine
- Foodies who collect regional cookbooks rich with history and visuals
- Parents who want to put fun but healthy things to eat on the table for their kids
- Armchair travel readers
- Fans of regenerative/farm-to-table approaches
- Fans of The Bear and tough-yet-well-trained culinary personalities
- Readers of Six California Kitchens, Tartine, Gjelina, and The French Laundry Cookbook
by
Hen of the Woods or Hamburger Sandwich
These sandwiches are the heart and soul of Dad’s. They’re informed by my Wonder Bread days growing up on the East Coast, but they’re executed right here on the West Coast. When I came to Half Moon Bay, I was surfing with the egg farmer and kicking it with the local veg producers. How could I cook the beautiful ingredients my friends here were providing while being less stressed than I was in San Francisco? I knew the answer. Give the goodness to the people in the simplest format: between two slices of bread.
The music is in how you interweave the elements. We make it fresh and alive: tickly with pickled onions and a mustardy sauce but also savoury with ghee-griddled mushrooms or charred beef. For the burger, we use an 80/20 meat-to-fat mix of chuck and top sirloin, and we smash it hard on the griddle. We want it juicy and crusty all at once.
As for the mushrooms, here’s a secret: Dad’s is a vegetarian restaurant that serves a hamburger. We have this thing that everyone wants, and then we have all this other stuff people don’t know they want, and those are the vegetables. If you make them right, people come back for them. The mushrooms are grown in hoop houses near us. We char them until the moisture releases, and if you were farsighted, you’d barely know them from the beef patty. Flavour, backbone, texture, earth, punch—you get all that when you cook vegetables right.
TIME
45 minutes
YIELD
1 sandwich
Toast
1 Tbsp ghee, preferably homemade (page 42)
2 slices good-quality white bread
Mushroom Option
3½ oz [100 g] hen of the woods mushroom
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1½ Tbsp ghee, preferably homemade (page 42)
2 or 3 slices sharp Cheddar cheese
1 large egg
Burger Option
4 oz [115 g] grass-fed ground beef
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp canola oil
2 or 3 slices sharp Cheddar cheese
1 large egg
Sandwich
1 Tbsp Dad Sauce, plus more as needed
2 lettuce leaves
Pickled Onions (page 48), for garnish
To make the toast: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the ghee. Add the bread and toast it, without flipping, until golden and crunchy on one side only, 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.
If you’re making the mushroom option: Heat a grill pan or large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the mushroom with salt and pepper, then add it to the pan and drop in the ghee. When the ghee is melted, spoon it over the mushroom, basting it until it’s golden brown and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the mushroom and use a spatula to press it into the pan. Move the mushroom to the side of the pan and top it with the cheese. Crack the egg into the open space in the pan and cook it until the white is set and the cheese is melted, 1½ to 2 minutes. Flip the egg and kill the heat.
If you’re making the burger option: Form the ground beef into a ball and season it with lots of salt and pepper. In a grill pan or large skillet, heat the oil until it’s close to smoking, then add the beef, smashing it down into the pan. Cook the burger until it’s charred on the bottom, 1½ to 2 minutes, then flip it. Move the burger to the side of the pan and top it with the cheese. Crack the egg into the open space in the pan and cook it until the white is set and the cheese is melted, 1½ to 2 minutes. Flip the egg and kill the heat.
To make the sandwich: Spread about 1 tablespoon of Dad sauce on the untoasted sides of the bread. Add the lettuce and some pickled onions. Top one slice with the mushroom or burger (whichever you’ve cooked). Top it with the egg. Close the sandwich and cut it in half to serve.
Dad Sauce
2 egg yolks
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp freshly ground black
pepper
1 cup [240 ml] canola oil
To make the Dad sauce: In a food processor, a blender, or with an immersion blender in a container that’s just wide enough for it to fit, blend the egg yolks, Worcestershire, mustard, honey, vinegar, salt, and pepper until they’re fully combined. While blending constantly, slowly stream in the oil to emulsify the sauce into a mayo-like consistency. You’ll have about 1½ cups [360 ml] of sauce. It keeps, in the fridge in an airtight container, for about 1 week, so you can spread it on franks and sammies, dip in raw veggies, dab it on eggs, whatever you like.
Pickled Onions
TIME
15 minutes active; overnight total
YIELD
About 4 cups [860 g]
1½ Tbsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp peppercorns
1 garlic clove
1 bay leaf
2 cups [475 ml] white balsamic vinegar
2 cups [400 g] sugar
3 large red onions, cut into
½ in [13 mm] thick slices
On the Hen of the Woods or Hamburger Sandwich (page 91), Pickled Onions are part of the whole. But they’re also the smallest member of the chorus. How do you make them sing loudly enough, so that everything’s in harmony? With pickles, it’s easy: Just remove the water that most recipes include. You’re pretty much pouring vinegar simple syrup over the onions, and that’s why they’re so crispy-crunchy and candied. They’re also fully injected with flavour. Bring them along to the Falafel Party (page 181) and the Taquito Party (page 364). They will also amp up the dressing for the Salt-Roasted Purple Potato Salad (page 238).
In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, toast the red pepper flakes, peppercorns, garlic, and bay leaf until you can smell them, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the vinegar, increase the heat to high, and bring it to a boil. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve it. Put the onions in a heatproof container, then pour the hot liquid through a fine-mesh strainer over the top of them. Cool the onions to room temperature, then cover them and chill them overnight. They’ll keep, in the fridge, for up to 1 month.
Recipe published with permission from Chronicle Books.