Why California Is Considered The Unofficial Birthplace Of Fast Food

California cuisine is typically defined by fresh ingredients and farm-to-table aesthetics. But California is a big state with a wide variety of populations and cultures. To put it in other terms, California cuisine contains multitudes. On top of upscale cuisine celebrating slow food and the exquisite produce of the Golden State, California is also the unofficial birthplace of the cuisine that could be considered the exact opposite: fast food. How is it that California claimed this honor? Well, it comes down largely to the rise of car culture and the independent spirit of businesspeople out west.

Before we get too far into this, it is important to point out that California is not the real birthplace of fast food. In some form, fast food has been around for millennia. We know that vendors were slinging snacks at the Colosseum in ancient Rome, and there is even evidence that the first "drive-thru" may date all the way back to ancient Mesopotamia. Even what we consider "modern fast food" didn't get its start in California. White Castle is largely considered to be the first modern fast food restaurant, and its first location popped up in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921. So, how is it that California manages to cling to its title as the unofficial birthplace of fast food? Well, despite not being home to the first fast food restaurant, the Golden State has been the birthplace of a truly staggering number of fast food chains over the years.

In-N-Out is one of the stalwarts of California fast food. While the burger chain — home of the famous double-double burger — has now spread to a number of other states, its long reluctance to expand its bounds tied it indelibly to California. But this is not the case for most fast food chains. For the majority of these businesses, expansion through franchising is the model. Given the rate at which they've taken over the country (and the world), there's a good chance that you may not realize just how many of your favorite chain restaurants actually first popped up in California.

For starters, you may have heard of a breakfast chain called IHOP (International House of Pancakes), which originally began in Toluca Lake. Likewise, Jack in the Box got its start in San Diego. Baskin-Robbins slung its first ice cream cones in Glendale, and Del Taco, A&W Root Beer, and Wienerschnitzel are all originally California businesses. Then we get into some of the heavier hitters, like Taco Bell (Downey), Panda Express (Glendale), and Carl's Jr. (Anaheim).

The first McDonald's restaurant was even in California, the drive-in with the golden arches opening on Route 66 in San Bernardino in 1940. For the final nail, it is even claimed that the cheeseburger was invented at a roadside stand called the Rite Spot in Pasadena — though a restaurant in Denver, Colorado, also claims the first cheeseburger. When you start to stack it all up like that, it's no question why California has the title of the unofficial birthplace of fast food. But what exactly is it about this state that created such innovation and success in the field?

The secret to the success of fast food in the Golden State may all come down to Southern California's love affair with the automobile. From the advent of the automobile, Californians have loved driving. Even today, when you visit the massive metropolis of Los Angeles, it is astounding how few make use of public transit. It is, and has long been, a city built for cars.

As a result of the car culture of Southern California, as well as the suburban sprawl and temperate climate, there also developed a culture of drive-in restaurants. These restaurants were not only places where one could grab a quick bite on the way home from work, they were also places for people living in spread-out suburbs to meet up and enjoy some food together on a beautiful evening. The drive-in turned out to be a perfect match for the relaxed SoCal culture, and many enterprising businesspeople got their start with these simple restaurants.

Times have changed, and drive-in restaurants across the U.S. now largely exist only for purposes of nostalgia, but the fast food juggernaut that they unleashed in California was clearly not reined in. Over the decades, one after another, these fast food chains got their start and quickly began their outward expansion. Even SoCal-exclusive burger chains like Original Tommy's have ventured beyond the Golden State's borders. While modern fast food did not technically find its start in the state of California, it could certainly be argued that fast food culture did.