This Old-School California Dish Has 3 Unique Origin Stories

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From the French Dip sandwich of Los Angeles to the Mission Burrito of San Francisco and Baldwin Park's In-N-Out Burger, California has a diverse, unique array of cuisines. Another old-school dish born in the Golden State is the Hangtown Fry. It may be more unfamiliar to some, but it has a wild history with a legendary impact. Hangtown Fry is an odd mixture of scrambled eggs, oysters, and bacon that came to be during the 1848 California Gold Rush. Then again, its origins are a bit murky. 

Some say a tired miner invented it while cooking in the dark. A recipe in 1971's "Fisherman's Wharf Cookbook" says a prisoner requested Hangtown Fry for his high-maintenance last meal as a way of stalling his execution. Most agree it originated in Placerville, a mining city in the Sacramento metro area. Placerville earned the nickname "Hangtown" during the Gold Rush due to the frequent hangings there. 

One long-running theory about the Hangtown Fry's conception dates back to 1849, when a miner from Shirttail Bend hurried into the El Dorado Saloon, inside Cary House Hotel, claiming he'd struck gold and wanted to celebrate. Offering up a leather poke full of gold dust and nuggets, and sick of the usual miner diet, he asked for a meal made with the most expensive ingredients available. At El Dorado, those items were seabird eggs from the Farallon Islands, European bacon, and Pacific Coast Olympia oysters packed in ice.

While El Dorado Saloon has since shuttered and Cary House Hotel no longer serves it, you can still enjoy the famous Placerville, California dish — and you don't even need any gold. Hundreds of restaurants up and down the Pacific Coast still make the omelet-like Hangtown Fry. The Buttercup Pantry, based in Placerville, has served the dish with melted cheese on top since 1985. An antique yellow buggy outside the restaurant reads, "Home of the Hangtown Fry." Tadich Grill in San Francisco, and the state's oldest restaurant, considers the Hangtown Fry a signature dish. Sam's Grill, established in downtown San Francisco in 1867, also continues to serve the regional specialty.

For those up to the challenge of making Hangtown Fry at home, several recipes are out there. Some keep it traditional with scrambled eggs, flour, butter, milk, crumbled bacon, and fresh-shucked California oysters — though many versions call for breaded shellfish. Others put their own spin on the ingredients, adding mushrooms, cheese, or fresh herbs. It can be enjoyed as an omelet, frittata, or scramble. You could also pair it with a Gold Rush cocktail and a slice of sourdough bread, another staple of the miner's diet.