Coastal: 130 Recipes from a California Road Trip

With his debut cookbook, Clark, chef and owner of Dad’s Luncheonette, wanted to celebrate California’s Central Coast. He succeeds on every count. After a refreshingly open accounting of his own journey as a cook, Clark serves up 130 recipes in a quirky format that begins with his “Go-To” recipes for things like ghee, confit garlic, chile jam, and homemade tortillas, and then offers dishes arranged around experiences, such as “Afternoon at Dad’s,” “Road Trip Snacks,” and “Lunch in the Vineyard.” Written with award-winning journalist Betsy Andrews and generously illustrated with photographs by Cheyenne Ellis, the cookbook exudes a welcoming, laid-back feeling that meshes perfectly with Clark’s culinary philosophy, which is illustrated with his ingenious, interesting touches to dishes, like seasoning potato chips with nutritional yeast to up the umami factor and making a puffed wild rice topping for his version of mac-and-cheese.