How Fred Flintstone Became One of America’s Greatest Cultural Exports

Earlier this year, a Michelin-starred sushi chef named Masaki Sasaki announced a pop-up fine dining experience in Hillsborough, California. Reservations for the 15-course, $230-per-person meals, billed as “Stone Age Omakase,” were quickly snatched up. But the cuisine wasn’t the biggest draw: It was the venue, a concrete dome known as the Flintstone House. The residence—a temple to the iconic 1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoon, constructed in 1976 using an innovative mix of aeronautical balloons, shotcrete, and steel rebar—was purchased in 2017 by a Chinese millionaire named Florence Fang, who painted it purple and orange and added life-size statues of Fred, Wilma, and Dino to the grounds. She also erected a gigantic sign reading “Yabba Dabba Doo” over the driveway. Diners would not only enjoy a gourmet meal, they would get a personal tour of the Flintstone-themed home and eat in a chic cave dwelling. Read more at GQ.