These 4 Salads Capture the Essence of California Cuisine Right Now Pluots topped with pistachio suya, heirloom tomatoes dressed with a fish sauce vinaigrette: The state’s chefs are taking a freer yet more curated approach to global flavors. What’s changed is the menu: The chef Keith Corbin turned Alta Adams’s original “California soul food” lineup into “seasonal California cuisine.” But he’s also redefining California cuisine, along with other chefs throughout the state, and nowhere is that more evident than in salads that taste like endless summer. But you don’t need California roots to cook new California cuisine, especially since part of its identity is the influx of new styles. The new California cuisine doesn’t demand excessive seasonings, modernist techniques or rules around crossing cultures.