Gold Rush bacon, oyster and egg scramble. Named for the town of Placerville, then called Hangtown. Served at California brunch counters across Sacramento.
Where to eat it: 6 restaurants across 2 cities.
The Hangtown Fry was invented in Placerville (then Hangtown) in 1849, when a miner who had struck it rich asked the saloon at the El Dorado Hotel on Main Street for the three most expensive things on the menu. The cook brought eggs (rare and shipped from the coast), bacon (rare and shipped from the East) and Pacific oysters (rare and brought up from San Francisco on ice). The combination was scrambled together and named for the town. The El Dorado Hotel later burned in the 1856 fire and the Cary House Hotel was built on the site in 1857. The dish travelled into the saloons of Old Sacramento with the miners after their gold ran out and has been a California brunch fixture ever since.
Common allergens: Egg, Shellfish
Tip from the editors. Use the smallest Pacific oysters you can find. The egg cook must stay loose: take the pan off the heat 30 seconds before the eggs look done.
Fox & Goose on R Street, downtown Sacramento, opened 1975 as the city's English pub anchor, the long-running spot for British breakfast and live folk music.
Signature: British breakfast, Welsh rarebit
Order: The full British breakfast with squaw bread; Welsh rarebit at lunch
Tip: Breakfast daily 07:00-14:00. The bar runs into the evening with live music weeknights.
Magpie on 16th Street, midtown Sacramento, has run a daily-changing California farm-to-fork menu since 2005, the city's quiet seasonal seafood anchor.
Signature: Seasonal seafood, House pasta
Order: Whatever seafood arrived that morning; the seasonal pasta
Tip: Closed Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday dinner only; Friday and Saturday open at noon.
Bacon & Butter on Broadway, Sacramento, runs the Michelin Recommended California farm-to-fork brunch with brioche French toast and chicken and waffles.
Order: Brioche French toast with seasonal fruit, chicken and waffles
Tadich Grill in San Francisco is California's oldest continuously running restaurant, opened in 1849 in the Financial District, still grilling over mesquite.
Signature: Cioppino, Hangtown Fry, Sand dabs
Order: Sand dabs grilled over mesquite, or the Hangtown Fry at lunch.
Tip: No reservations except for parties of six or more; lunch counter seats turn over fastest.
Sam's Grill in San Francisco is the Financial District chophouse running since 1867, with sand dabs, mahogany booths and a midday lunch tradition.
Signature: Hangtown Fry, Sand dabs, Crab Louis
Order: Sand dabs with brown butter and lemon, the room's standard since 1867.
Tip: Book one of the private booths upstairs at lunch; the lower-floor dining room turns louder after 12:30.
Brenda's French Soul Food in San Francisco runs a Polk Street Creole brunch counter, with crawfish beignets, shrimp and grits and a 60-minute weekend wait.
Order: A flight of beignets (plain, chocolate, granny apple, crawfish), plus shrimp and grits.
Tip: Arrive at 09:00 sharp or join the digital waitlist that opens at 08:30; lunch service takes the second wave.
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