You’re staring at the New York Times crossword puzzle, pen hovering, and the clue "brand known as the San Francisco treat" is staring right back. It’s one of those bits of trivia that’s so lodged in the American collective consciousness that you don’t even have to think. Rice-A-Roni.
The answer fits perfectly. But honestly, how did a box of dry rice and broken pasta pieces become the definitive "treat" of a city famous for sourdough, Dungeness crab, and Michelin-starred dining?
The story isn't just a marketing win. It’s actually a wild, beautiful, and slightly tragic tale of an Armenian genocide survivor, an Italian immigrant family, and a Canadian bride who just wanted to learn how to cook.
The Secret Ingredient was an Armenian Pilaf
Most people think Rice-A-Roni was just a corporate invention from a lab. Nope. It actually started in a kitchen in 1946. Lois DeDomenico, a young Canadian woman, had just moved to San Francisco with her husband, Tom. They were living in a tiny apartment and renting a room from an elderly Armenian woman named Pailadzo Captanian.
Mrs. Captanian was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide. While Tom was away working at his family’s pasta company, Golden Grain Macaroni, Lois spent her afternoons with "Grandma Cap."
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The old woman taught Lois how to make authentic Armenian pilaf. It wasn't the stuff from a box; it was a labor-intensive dish made by browning rice and broken vermicelli in butter, then simmering it in a rich chicken broth. Lois made it for her husband’s family one night, and Tom’s brother, Vince DeDomenico, had a "lightbulb" moment.
"This would be great in a box," he supposedly said. He wasn't kidding.
Turning a Recipe into the Brand Known as the San Francisco Treat
It took about four years for the DeDomenicos to figure out how to dehydrate that chicken broth and make the whole thing shelf-stable. They finally hit the market in 1958.
The name "Rice-A-Roni" is basically a literal description. It’s rice plus "roni" (from macaroni/pasta). Simple. But the marketing was where the genius happened. In 1961, they launched the famous TV commercial featuring the San Francisco cable cars and that infectious jingle: "Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat!"
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The jingle was actually set to the tune of a 1923 song called "Barney Google (with his Goo-Goo-Googa-ly Eyes)." Catchy? Yes. Annoying after the 50th time? Probably. But it worked. It linked a budget-friendly pantry staple to the romance and hills of San Francisco, even though most San Franciscans at the time were probably eating fresh seafood at Fisherman's Wharf.
Why it became a NYT Crossword Regular
Crossword constructors love this brand. Why? Because the letters are flexible, and the brand known as the San Francisco treat NYT clue is a "gimme" for most solvers. It bridges the gap between older generations who remember the original commercials and younger folks who recognize the yellow boxes on the grocery store shelves.
Is it still "San Francisco" anymore?
If you're looking for the factory today, don't look in the Mission District. The DeDomenico family sold Golden Grain to Quaker Oats in 1986 for about $300 million. Quaker was later gobbled up by PepsiCo.
Today, Rice-A-Roni isn't even made in California. It's mostly produced in Illinois. For a while, the company actually dropped "The San Francisco Treat" from its packaging, trying to modernize. People hated it. There was this weird sense of loss, even though the product hadn't changed.
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By 2006, they brought the slogan and the cable car back. They realized that the "San Francisco" part of the identity was the only thing keeping them from being just another generic rice box.
The Real Heritage You Can Taste
If you want to move past the box, the real "treat" is the history. The fact that a recipe born from the resilience of an Armenian immigrant ended up in almost every American pantry during the 60s and 70s is pretty incredible.
Next time you see the brand known as the San Francisco treat NYT clue, remember Pailadzo Captanian. Her specific ratio of rice to vermicelli—roughly $7/8$ cup rice to $1/8$ cup pasta—is what gave that box its soul.
How to actually eat like a DeDomenico
If you want to experience what Lois and Vince were actually talking about, skip the "just add water" instructions for a second and try these small tweaks to the boxed version:
- Sauté longer: Don't just lightly brown the rice and pasta. Let it get a deep, nutty golden color in the butter before adding the liquid.
- Use real broth: Even though the flavor packet is there, using a splash of high-quality chicken bone broth instead of just water adds back some of that 1940s richness.
- Fresh herbs: A bit of fresh parsley or even a squeeze of lemon at the end cuts through the saltiness of the seasoning packet.
You've got a piece of culinary history in that yellow box. It's a mix of Italian pasta-making, Armenian tradition, and mid-century American marketing. It might not be "fancy" by today's standards, but it's a hell of a lot more interesting than your average side dish.
Next Step: Dig through your pantry and check the expiration date on that box you bought three years ago. If it’s still good (and let’s be honest, it probably is), try browning it in real butter instead of oil—it makes a massive difference in mimicking the original recipe.