The last remnant of the Nut Tree, its iconic green and white sign that stood along Interstate 80 for 70 years was taken down in March 2015 and protesters got the city of Vacaville to agree to preserve the 3-panel Nut-Tree-Right-Lane sign in an as-yet undetermined museum. The 72-foot sign was seen by drivers both coming and going from Tahoe and was a welcome stop for valley residents on their way to and from San Francisco and the Bay Area — a beacon of hope for bored backseat kids who were ready to jump out of the car and explore the Nut Tree wonders.
The actual family-owned Nut Tree business which began as a highway fruit stand in 1921 and developed into a tourist attraction visited by many — including the Queen of England — has been gone for a long time, (it closed in 1996), but it delighted my parents, my brothers and me, and our children — at least three generations of valley travelers. Some of the Nut Tree wonders included a miniature railroad you could ride in, a toy store, an airport for private planes, a sit-down restaurant with soaring aviaries and unique California entrees, a cold-cuts and beer bar, a tamale counter, a gift shop, a decorated honey cookie shop, a pie shop, handmade rocking horses on the front patio, a bank of clean restrooms that assured no waiting in line, and later an outdoor casual sandwich garden eating area between the toy store and the main building.
One of my favorite Christmas presents this year was The Nut Tree cookbook from Hanna. It’s available through the Vacaville Museum, and I’ve just recently had time to read and enjoy it. The vision of the Nut Tree founders, Helen and Ed “Bunny” Power, was to be the “best peddlers” at their roadside fruit stand, and that goal — to offer people the best quality food and ambiance — to present food with style and taste, to exceed expectations was embraced by their children, the second generation who became partners with their parents in 1948.
From the beginning, Bunny and Helen started new traditions — serving salad and a hot entrée on the same plate, a first for California, after enjoying a similar combination on a trip to the Yucatan. Equally creative, their son Bob adapted their grandmother Harbison’s bread recipe to be served as individual loaves at the table and introduced western wheat berries to the menu.
“The Nut Tree’s contributions to the California food scene were referred to as “Western Food” … America’s newest cuisine … shaped by climate, tempered by many nationalities and improved by ingenuity.” By the late ’70s, food critic Raymond Sokolov identified the Nut Tree as one of the three crucibles of California style: the region’s most characteristic and influential restaurant.
Our family didn’t eat often in the main dining room, because it took some time, but when we did it was a treat! There were always appetizers, either fresh pineapple with marshmallow sauce, a bowl of green ripe olives, fresh cherry tomatoes or fresh cherries in season. Along with the appetizer were a couple of round wooden bread boards with two small loaves of freshly baked bread, one wheat and one white, each with a small serrated bread knife and a ramekin of butter.
As kids, the pineapple appetizer was the most dazzling, and to quote from the cookbook, “an example of Helen and Bunny Power’s original philosophy of giving the customer a little something extra, a pleasant surprise.” Their son, Bob originated the idea of serving the pineapple in the shell, and at one time the Nut tree was the third largest importer of pineapple on the West Coast — 50 cases of pineapple a week in the summer of 1958.
Pineapple Appetizer
To prepare fresh pineapple, Central American-style as served at the Nut Tree, cut off top and bottom of a chilled, thoroughly ripe pineapple and discard the bottom. Working from the bottom of the fruit, with a long, thin sharp knife, cut around fruit inside shell, leaving a thin but firm wall. Push out the cylinder of fruit and slice it in ½” slices. Put slices back into the shell in original order and position. If half slices are desired, cut down through the stack inside shell. Turn the filled shell upside down (so the sweeter slices of fruit are at the top) and place green top alongside on a serving plate. Serve marshmallow sauce separately in its own container.
Marshmallow Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup hot water
- 2/3 cup light corn syrup
- 2 egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- Dash of salt
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon grated orange rind
Directions:
Combine sugar, corn syrup, and hot water. Heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Then boil, without stirring, to firm ball stage (244-248 degrees Fahrenheit on candy thermometer, in humid weather cook to 248 degrees). Beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Slowly add hot syrup, beating at high speed until thick and fluffy. Add salt and vanilla. Gently fold in mayonnaise and orange rind. If thicker than desired, fold in 1-2 tablespoons mayonnaise, or 1-2 teaspoons water. Keep refrigerated until served. Makes about 3 cups.
My parents liked the tropical fruit with breast of chicken and Western Wheat, Nut Tree-style entrée — a hot and cold combination plate with sliced fresh tropical fruits, pineapple, papaya, orange, grapefruit, coconut, avocado, banana and tomato arranged around the plate on a large fig leaf, forming a frame for the hot entrée, a small shallow baking dish of hot buttered Western Wheat topped with a golden fried boneless chicken breast. A fresh orchid atop the fruit completed the plate.
We always bought a couple of packages of Western Wheat to take home and enjoy later.
Western Wheat, Nut Tree Style
A whole grain wheat, it is also called wheat berries, red wheat or soft wheat berries, and makes a great pilaf.
- 1 cup raw whole grain wheat
- 5 cups water
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
For 3 servings, add wheat to boiling water, cover and bill gently 1 hour. Add salt and continue cooking about 1 ½ hours, or until tender. Drain and season to taste. Serve hot or store in refrigerator or freezer for later use. (Add ½ cup hot water when re-heating).
Nut Tree style was its own unique combination of items and the arrangement of those items on the serving plate. That’s what attracted my brothers to the Dutch Plate, a sandwich plate of imported sausages, pastrami, Gouda cheese, tomato, cucumber, dill pickle, crisp coleslaw, onion and pretzels, your own loaf of bread, along with butter, mustard and mayonnaise to create your own masterpiece.
I loved the chicken curry with mandarin fruit — as much for how it looked as anything. This recipe shows how seasoning and ingredients have changed from the ’50s. Now we would skip the MSG and use more curry powder, maybe add sautéed onion to the curry.
Chicken Curry with Mandarin Fruit
Recipe serves two people.
Ingredients:
- 1 large or 2 medium chicken breasts (about ¾ pound all together)
- 1 tablespoon each butter and oil
- 1 – 3 teaspoons curry powder
- ¾ – 1 cup boiling chicken broth
- Dash of monosodium glutamate
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2-3 teaspoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons cold water
Directions:
Bone the chicken breasts and cut meat into larger than bite-size pieces. Heat butter and oil in skillet, add curry powder according to your taste, and cook gently, stirring 2 or 3 minutes. Add chicken to coat with curry mixture, then add enough boiling broth barely to cover meat. Cover skillet; cook gently 8-10 minutes. Mix cornstarch with cold water, add, and cook stirring, 1 or 2 minutes until liquid is slightly thickened and glazed looking (if too thick, thin with a little hot broth or water).
Serve on a mound of fluffy, cooked white jasmine rice, surrounded by slices of fresh pineapple, grapefruit, orange and banana with touches of spicy chutney, plumped raisins, green onions and fresh coconut.
It was the attention to detail that made the Nut Tree so pleasant to visit. From the railroad which featured an engineer in full engineer overalls and hat to the train cars that were glossy with fresh enamel, to the miniature farm landscapes planted along the train tracks; from the blooming flowerbeds and shade trees in the parking lot, to the thoughtfully presented table.
“Since most of the fun of eating is found in surprises, we make it a point to provide extra seasonings and accompaniments that diners-out are not accustomed to being served. On our fruit salad plates there are fresh limes to add tang and taste to the fruits. Zesty pickles ride on every sandwich plate. Generous jars of homemade jams go with the breakfast breads. Jars of a special type of green-ripe olives are brought to the table with luncheon and dinner orders. And on every table, you find, along with a polished wood salt shaker, a matching peppermill, so that fresh-ground black pepper can be added to suit the taste.”
I have to say; I’ve never tasted fresher pepper. Thanks Nut Tree for so many memories and your contributions to California style and farm-to-table Western cuisine.