A dining room at Gaulthier, London, England.

Jill is American but lives in London with her British husband, Malcolm.  We met in 2003 at a dinner held by our Italian friend, Patrizia in an Umbrian hill town.  We became fast friends, and are still very close despite the distance that separates us.  Both Jill and Malcolm enjoy good food, and eating well.  That only solidified the friendship.  I’ve had the pleasure of being at table with Jill and Malcolm in Los Angeles, London and Italy.  Every once in awhile Jill sends me notes, emails, of somewhere she and Malcolm have just been, of the things they ate.  The way she writes about the dishes is like culinary poetry to me.  This is partially due to the way the British write about ingredients, and their use of differing words for the same ingredients we use in the U.S. but it’s primarily Jill’s way of describing a dish that is so captivating.

Jill is a novelist and book editor by trade so she is well-versed in English; she also has a writer’s ear for language.  She and Malcolm recently celebrated a birthday by going out to a couple of London restaurants.   Here in her own words where they went after a visit to an art gallery:

“We had a snackette at Clarke’s before going on to visit Ham House and Garden, south of the river — a nearly intact 17th century historic house.  From there, we walked along the river to Petersham Nurseries, where, oh my, the food was good!  I started with a rose prosecco, then had homemade linguine with meltingly soft cherry tomatoes and black olives, a soupçon of lemon.  The main course was new season’s garlic sliced in cross sections (so it looked like marble) and served with torpedo onions and soft, gooey caprina cheese — like mascarpone.  For pudding I had lemon possett with rhubarb and Malcolm had a blood orange and lemon tart.”

So my questions to the above are: What are torpedo onions?  What is lemon possett?  I haven’t looked up the answers.  I’m not sure I want or need to know.  They sound so exotic.  I also haven’t heard of caprina cheese but it also sounds amazing.  And I already know that pudding means dessert.

The next day Jill went to lunch at Gauthier in SoHo, and this is what she ate:

“I had watercress velouté to start, then duck egg, followed by a cheese selection. Very, very good, and all hosted in a Georgian townhouse in Soho.”

Several years back she and Malcolm were in Rome:

“I must tell you about a meal Malcolm and I had in Rome8 today.  First we went to a gelato place by the Pantheon where I had rose and dark, dark chocolate ice cream.  A marvel, I’m telling you.  At lunch I had pasta (two different types because I couldn’t decide — the nice waiter said he’d get them to make both for me, only one serving) with a citrus and nut sauce, and the more interesting one was with a grape sauce.  Lemon, wine, grape, no garlic or onion.  Malcolm had a pasta with — get this — fig, cinnamon and a clove sauce.  It was truly wonderful.  I had rice pudding with blackberries for dessert and Malcolm had baked yellow plums with a kind of marzipan custard.  The coffee came in tall espresso cups with tiny lids on them.  A religious experience, to be sure.”

*The restaurant in Rome is Ristorante Trattoria.

So tell me, dear readers, don’t her words of food make you want to taste every last morsel?  They do me.  I think I’ll keep on saving these, who knows one day there may even be a book.

100 Miles Shout Outs! Local events, mini-reviews, and mentions of things happening in the world of food:

#1 – Honest Cooking ~ I’m now a Contributing Writer to the new online food magazine Honest Cooking.  My most recent story is “L.A. – Return of the Neighborhood Butcher.” I’ll be writing several pieces a month about the L.A. food scene.

#2 – Saturday, April 23, 11 am – 6 pm ~ The 2nd 8th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational, a grilled cheese cooking competition.  You cook.  Judges vote.  Everybody wins!

#3 – Sunday, May 15, 1 pm – 5 pm, ~ Taste of the Eastside 2011, an all-star regional tasting event with a diverse array of Eastside restaurants at Barnsdall Art Park.

My Status:  Enjoying the gradual arrival of spring in So Cal and the new spring produce: artichokes, asparagus, and the tail end of winter produce: amazing citrus, kale, collard greens.  Continuing to blog, cook, and eat.

Upcoming Posts: More on my great-grandmother’s garden, and my California childhood.  A visit and tour of Ojai Valley citrus grower Friend’s Ranch. More The Local Reports. Cookbook Reviews: Small-Batch Baking for Chocolate Lovers by Debby Maugans.

.8 miles, about 3 minutes (driving), or about 16 minutes (walking), from my home in Atwater Village.

Small, medium or large.  Or maybe it’s just medium and large.  I can’t remember exactly.  The point is they’re not some kind of faux-Italian words made up for coffee sizes.  Very old-fashioned but Kaldi Coffee & Tea is a throw back coffee place.  They roast their own coffee, and it’s good coffee.  You can buy it in bulk, or order it there.  The choices seemingly endless on the very large chalk board.  And if you want tea there’s a really great selection to choose from.

Kaldi sits smack dab in the middle of my neighborhood, Atwater Village, the few blocks that run just east of the 5 Freeway and Silver Lake almost to San Fernando Road.  It’s in the middle of a mish-mash of businesses that are constantly changing, (when the casket shop closed two doors down a marijuana dispensary — I think that’s what it was — opened, it lasted about six to eight months.  The gift shop right next door where I bought several Christmas and birthday gifts recently shuttered, now both businesses sit empty).  There’s a bookstore, a few hair salons, two liquor stores, several restaurants, a Starbucks, a wine shop, a pizza place, a Bikram yoga studio all close at hand that along with Kaldi make up the “village” part of Atwater Village.

I like Kaldi for obvious reasons; it’s a small, localized business, they roast their own coffee, they offer something to the community.  The coffee is stellar and the counter guys are super friendly.  Most every time I stop in every table is taken — granted it’s library-quiet because everyone is on a laptop, some with ear buds firmly planted.  That’s okay, it’s place to go, a refuge for folks in the neighborhood.  Often when I’m working at home, and need a break, I’ll walk over for an afternoon coffee.  Robert and I frequently eat at one of the restaurants along the boulevard, and if we time it right we make it to Kaldi just before they close to grab an end-of-day brownie or cookie that are sold at half-price just before closing.

Kaldi Coffee & Tea, 3147 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90039, (323) 660-6005

*The Local Report(s): are occasional blog posts on restaurants, and/or businesses that either support the idea of one-hundred miles, and ‘living life locally’; or are small, localized businesses in my neighborhood, and/or within one-hundred miles of my residence, that I prefer to support over the larger, national, corporate chains. For other The Local Report(s) please go the Archives section of this blog. Also, I’d love to hear from my readers about businesses that they support in their neighborhoods: write to me at charlesgthompson@100miles.com, or leave a comment here.

Follow The Local Report on Twitter: @TheLocalReport

Update: A follow up to my post on Graham Kerr ~ his new book “Growing at the Speed of Life,” all about starting his first kitchen garden, was published on March 1, 2011 if you’d like to learn more about what he’s been up to lately.

100 Miles Shout Outs! Local events, mini-reviews, and mentions of things happening in the world of food:

#1 – Sunday, March 6, 2011 ~ 7th Annual Cassoulet Night ~ Lucques Restaurant, 8474 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA  323-655-6277 ~ http://www.lucques.com/

#2 – Monday, March 14, 2011 – Blood, Bones and Butter ~ A Dinner in Honor of the Publication of Prune Chef, Gabrielle Hamilton’s First Book ~ Lucques Restaurant, 8474 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA  323-655-6277 ~ http://www.lucques.com/

My Status: Still enjoying winter in So Cal and the lovely winter produce: amazing citrus, kale, broccoli, collard greens, beets and fennel.  Trying to bone up my citrus knowledge so bought a pomelo and some Sumo mandarins (aka the Dekopan in Japan), a new crossbreed of citrus recently introduced to the U.S.  Continuing to blog, cook, and eat.

I’m published!! My recipe “Chef Wally’s Baked Papaya” was selected to be in the cookbook: “Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook: 100 Great Recipes, Photographs, and Voices.”  You may order it here.

Upcoming Posts: More on my great-grandmother’s garden, and my California childhood.  A visit and tour of Ojai Valley citrus grower Friend’s Ranch. More The Local Reports coming soon. Cookbook Reviews: “The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook” by Rachel Saunders, “Grilled Cheese, Please! by Laura Werlin, and Southern My Way by Gena Fox.

Image from iStockphoto.com

Coffee cups, those old-fashioned very thick ceramic ones, sit upside down on their saucers as you slide into a booth, or sit down at a table.  A waitress named Bernice turns over your cup, and before you can answer in the affirmative to: “Coffee, hon’?” she skillfully fills it up right to the edge without over pouring.  Before you know it everyone’s cup is full.  All good except that it’s dinner not breakfast.  This might be a diner, a cafe or a restaurant.  As antiquated as it may sound to some this still goes on in American restaurants.  People do drink coffee with their dinners.

Odd Food Habits?

I love dissecting odd food habits like this one.  Since I started writing this blog food has been on my mind more than it used to be.  I find myself thinking of the strangest things involving food and eating (as some of my regular readers have already noticed).  The scene I described in the first paragraph could easily be my mother, sister and me out with my great-grandparents.  They always had coffee with their meals including dinner.  Their son, my grandfather, carried on the tradition.  My father was also an inveterate coffee drinker.  He drank it all day long, dawn to dusk.  It wasn’t until I was older (and went to Europe) that I found the American coffee culture I grew up with strange.  Most people I know now would never dream of drinking coffee with their dinner.

Coffee With Lunch, Maybe

I don’t drink coffee with dinner but a few times recently I did have it with lunch.  The reason I did was because I had not had my daily three cup quota and didn’t quite feel fully myself (a true caffeine addict speaking).  For whatever reason the morning got away from me before I was able to drink the third and lunch was suddenly upon me.  Coffee with lunch.  Coffee with my Hyperion Submarine sandwich at Say Cheese — a local cheese shop and sandwich place.  But wait, could I do this?  Drink strong coffee with savory food and salad?  I felt like I was breaking some kind of cardinal eating rule.  The desire (need?) for caffeine won out.  I went for it.  It was fine.  The sandwich and the salad tasted like they always do.  I don’t do it often but on occasion I’ll drink hot coffee with my lunch.  Something’s shifted.  I would never have done this ten years ago.  Coffee is for first thing in the morning, a coffee break, or at the end of a meal in the form of an espresso.

Bottomless Pot of Coffee, Truly American

What I’ve come to realize is drinking coffee with dinner is a uniquely American thing (at least I think it is).  It’s a bit old-fashioned, and I always think of my great-grandparents when I see it, or do it.  I also think the habit is much more prevalent in states between the coasts, and in older generations.  Possibly it’s due to the “diner – coffee shop” culture that exists in the U.S. that you don’t find in Europe or other parts of the world.  It’s something ingrained in our way of life.  Changing, yes but still a part of the get-up-and-go “American spirit.”  Somehow Bernice and the bottomless pot of coffee that never leaves her hand is a comfort.

Do you drink coffee with lunch, or — Gasp! — dinner?

100 Miles Shout Outs! Local events, mini-reviews, and mentions of things happening in the world of food:

#1 – Sunday, March 6, 2011 ~ 7th Annual Cassoulet Night ~ Lucques Restaurant, 8474 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA  323-655-6277 ~ http://www.lucques.com/

#2 – Monday, March 14, 2011 – Blood, Bones and Butter ~ A Dinner in Honor of the Publication of Prune Chef, Gabrielle Hamilton’s First Book ~ Lucques Restaurant, 8474 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA  323-655-6277 ~ http://www.lucques.com/

My Status:  Still enjoying winter in So Cal and the lovely winter produce: amazing citrus, kale, broccoli, collard greens, beets and fennel.  Trying to bone up my citrus knowledge so bought a pomelo and some Sumo mandarins (aka the Dekopan in Japan), a new crossbreed of citrus recently introduced to the U.S.  Loved the Sumo, haven’t tried the pomelo yet.  Continuing to blog, cook, and eat.

I’m published!! My recipe “Chef Wally’s Baked Papaya” was selected to be in the cookbook: “Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook: 100 Great Recipes, Photographs, and Voices.”  You may order it here.

Upcoming Posts: More on my great-grandmother’s garden, and my California childhood.  A visit and tour of Ojai Valley citrus grower Friend’s Ranch. More The Local Reports coming soon. Cookbook Reviews: “The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook” by Rachel Saunders, “Grilled Cheese, Please! by Laura Werlin.

.2 miles, about 59 seconds by car, or 5 minutes on foot from my home in Atwater Village.

In many places in the world a bakery is often the nexus of a neighborhood.  A place where the locals meet to buy baked goods and bread.  Bread, the so-called ’staff of life,’ is inexpensive nourishment to many people.  Slowly but surely The Village Bakery and Cafe has become the nexus of our Atwater Village neighborhood.  Much like their sisters in Europe, it has a walk up counter with a shelf of various types of bread behind.  When I go in and see the stacks of freshly baked baguettes it feels a bit like it did when I bought the daily loaf while living in France.  The difference here is you can also order coffee, a house-made pastry, breakfast or lunch, then sit and WiFi it up for as long as you want.   Since it’s located very close to the horse stables and riding schools along the Los Angeles River, I’ve seen more than a patron or two wearing English riding boots and jodphurs as well as the occasional cowboy boots.  A bit of local neighborhood color.

Owner Barbara Monderine had a successful career in the music business before becoming a baker and founding co-owner of Auntie Em’s Kitchen in Eagle Rock.  From there she left to buy the Villa Rosa Italian Bakery, a wholesale bakery located in Arcadia, California.  At Villa Rosa she perfected a line of Italian cookies and pastries including an old Sicilian cannoli shell recipe that she inherited from the previous Villa Rosa owners.  She now sells the cannoli shells wholesale along with other baked goods from The Village Bakery and Cafe.

The Village Bakery and Cafe prides itself on selling artisanal breads baked daily, as well as pastries, pies and other desserts made from all natural ingredients.  The menu items are made using fresh, farmers’ market fruits and vegetables.  One of my favorite dishes is the individual chicken pot pies.  When I see them in the case I buy several to take home and freeze.  Voila, a simple meal after thirty minutes in the oven.  I often go to grab coffee and a sweet, for brunch or a quick lunch, or to buy a loaf of the amazing bread.

It seems I am not the only person to favor The Village Bakery and Cafe; while reading up to write this post I noticed on the bakery’s Facebook page this comment:  ‘The Grey’s Anatomy writing staff LOVES The Village!’  I’m going to have to take a closer look at all those people staring at computer screens next time I go in.  I didn’t know the place had gone Hollywood.

The Village Bakery and Cafe, 3119 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90039, 323-662-8600 & http://www.thevillagebakeryandcafe.com/

*The Local Report(s): are occasional blog posts on restaurants, and/or businesses that either support the idea of one-hundred miles, and ‘living life locally’; or are small, localized businesses in my neighborhood, and/or within one-hundred miles of my residence, that I prefer to support over the larger, national, corporate chains. For other The Local Report(s) please go the Archives section of this blog. Also, I’d love to hear from my readers about businesses that they support in their neighborhoods: write to me at charlesgthompson@100miles.com, or leave a comment here.

Follow The Local Report on Twitter: @TheLocalReport

100 Miles Shout Outs! Local events, mini-reviews, and mentions of things happening in the Food World:

#1 – Thursday, February 3, 2011, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. ~ A Tasting Dinner at Mo-Chica with Live Music by Chachaca Nova – acclaimed Los Angeles Peruvian restaurant holds its 17th tasting dinner with music by the bossa nova group Chachaca Nova featuring our very own food blogger Bill Esparza of Street Gourmet LA on saxophone!  Cost $40.  Make reservations at Mo-Chica ~ http://mo-chica.com/

#2 – Mini-Review: A shout out to a recent cookbook I received ~ ‘Everday Grilling: 50 Recipes from Appetizers to Desserst’ by Sur La Table.  Grilling tips and recipes for first courses to desserts all (or part of the recipe) cooked on the grill.  Grilled Quesadillas.  Endless ways to grill vegetables.  Grilled Pizza (!)  Grilled Pound Cake (!?)

My Status: Enjoying winter in So Cal and the lovely winter produce: amazing citrus, kale, broccoli, collard greens.  Continuing to blog, cook, and eat.

I’m published!! My recipe ‘Chef Wally’s Baked Papaya’ was selected to be in the cookbook: ‘Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook: 100 Great Recipes, Photographs, and Voices.’  You may order it here.

Upcoming Posts: More on my great-grandmother’s garden, and my California childhood.  A write up on Jennifer Piette and Erik Stenberg’s local, sustainable grocery delivery service Out of the Box Collective. Cookbook Reviews: The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook by Rachel Saunders, and Italy Dish by Dish: A Comprehensive Guide to Eating in Italy by Monica Sartoni Cesari.

2.2 miles, about 6 minutes from my home in Atwater Village.

Gelato Bar(s) — there are actually two of them — come with a bit of a pedigree.  They’re owned by Chef Nancy Silverton’s sister, Gail, and Gail’s husband, Joel Gutman.  The first one has been open in Studio City for a number of years.  The Los Feliz location opened in May of 2010.  As stated on the Gelato Bar website, the business was inspired by annual visits to Italy that Gail and Nancy made with their families, where Gail noticed the Italian piazza phenomenon ~ how the central town square of most cities and villages drew the local citizens to walk, drink coffee, take an aperitivo, or to indulge in a gelato. Back in Los Angeles Gail wanted to create that sense of community she saw in Italian daily life which she has done successfully at both Gelato Bar locations.  I am thrilled that there is one close to me.  The gelato I get there reminds me of gelato I’ve eaten in Italy in too many piazzas to remember.

Each store stocks twenty-four revolving flavors of gelato and sorbetto some of which are hand-decorated with garnishes of fresh fruits, nuts and spices.  In addition to classics like Nocciola, Straciatella and Pistachio, Silverton has created unusual flavors like Spicey Chocolate with Habañero; English Toffee inspired by the candy made at Littlejohn’s Candies at the 3rd Street Farmers Market; and Cinnamon Basil and Pomegranate.  All the gelato and sorbetto are artisanal, and custom made by Alessandro Fontana, an expert gelato maker from Venice, Italy.  In addition to the frozen confections there is a stand up coffee bar just like those seen in Italy.

I like the neighborhood feel of the Hillhurst store.  It sits on a stretch of Hillhurst between Franklin Ave. and Los Feliz Blvd. where there are a lot of shops, cafes and restaurants.  It’s right across the street from the ever-popular Alcove Cafe.  Further up the street are Mexico City, Little Dom’s and Farfalla.  Often after eating at one of those restaurants I’ll walk down to Gelato Bar for a gelato. A few of my favorite flavors have been Alpine Mint, Gianduja, Caffè, Lavanda, Honey Fig Mascarpone, and that’s only a small selection of the endless choices.  With twenty-four revolving flavors I’ll be trying new ones until the end of time ~ and that’s fine by me.

Gelato Bar & Espresso Caffè, 1936 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027, 323-668-0606 & http://gelatobar-la.com/

*The Local Report(s): are occasional blog posts on restaurants, and/or businesses that either support the idea of one-hundred miles, and ‘living life locally’; or are small, localized businesses in my neighborhood, and/or within one-hundred miles of my residence, that I prefer to support over the larger, national, corporate chains. For other The Local Report(s) please go the Archives section of this blog. Also, I’d love to hear from my readers about businesses that they support in their neighborhoods: write to me at charlesgthompson@100miles.com, or leave a comment here.

Follow The Local Report on Twitter: @TheLocalReport

My Status: More blogging, more cooking, and more eating, while enjoying the beginning of a new year.

I’m (still) published!! My recipe ‘Chef Wally’s Baked Papaya’ was selected to be in the cookbook: ‘Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook: 100 Great Recipes, Photographs, and Voices.’  You may order it here.  I am thrilled (still).

Upcoming Posts: a write up on Jennifer Piette and Erik Stenberg’s local, sustainable grocery delivery service Out of the Box Collective.  More on my great-grandmother’s garden, and my California childhood.  Cookbook Reviews: The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook by Rachel Saunders, and Biscotti by Mona Talbott and Mirella Misenti.

Eataly New York, 23rd St. & 5th Ave. Photo via midtownlunch.com

I have fervently been following the opening of the food emporium, Eataly, in New York City.  The reason for my interest is that I was involved in the opening of another Italian food emporium in the early ’80s: DDL Foodshow.  I was hired by film producer, Dino de Laurentiis, to work with the general manager to open the store.  The flagship store was located at 82nd Street and Columbus Avenue, across the street from the Natural History Museum.  It took up the ornate, marble lobby of the Endicott Hotel building which by this time was no longer a hotel but had gone co-op.  The store was quite large for its time.  Much like what Eataly is doing now there were stations spread out around the store: gastronomica, (prepared hot and cold foods), rosticceria (roasted meats and chickens), baked goods, produce, cheese, salumeria, chocolate, coffee and so on.  It was meant to be 1-stop shopping for the upscale neighborhood.  Dino and his team of Italians spared no expense; he brought chefs and managers over from Italy.  Adam Tihany was the designer.  The store had a full on kitchen with an Italian head chef.  Dino wanted it to be like the stores of its kind that he knew in Italy.  Peck in Milan is one such store.  After opening I became manager of the cheese department.  As manager I did all the cheese buying, was responsible for the counter displays, and oversaw a staff.

The Endicott Hotel Building, 82nd & Columbus, NYC where DDL Foodshow was located.

It was an exciting project to be involved in as a twenty two-year old.  The job brought me from San Francisco to New York.  It was my first time living there.  My interview with Dino (who is Giada De Laurentiis’ grandfather) at his film offices in the Gulf & Western Building on Columbus Circle was my first visit to New York.  I was very excited to be working with Dino, and living in Manhattan.  New York was a food mecca then and still is now.  Unfortunately, the store and its satellites (one in Trump Tower on 5th Avenue, and one in Beverly Hills) didn’t last more than a few years.  It never really caught on with New Yorkers.  Zabar’s, Balduccis, and Fairway pretty much had the corner on the gourmet food market.  A lot of people came into the store to look when it first opened but rarely returned more than a few times.  Sadly, Dino was ahead of his time.

The bread counter in Eataly New York.

Eataly is an Italian company with five stores in Italy, three in Japan and now one in New York.  Eataly New York is owned by chef Mario Battali and restaurateur Joe Bastianich, and Joe’s mother chef Lidia Bastianich.  The New York store while similar in concept is much larger than DDL Foodshow, and includes several sit down restaurants.  It is broken up in to a series of ‘eateries’: pizza, pasta, fish, produce, salumi and cheese, deli, rosticceria (with a butcher), bread, pasticceria and gelateria, as well as areas for cookbooks and housewares, and finally a wine shop. All of these are pay as you go.  DDL was more like an old-fashioned grocer.  You took a grocery cart from counter to counter and went through a check out line when you were done shopping.  DDL had no sit down restaurants; it did have the rosticceria where you could pick up a roasted chicken, or piece of meat, while the gastronomica had hot and cold prepared foods.  It was possible to buy a completely cooked meal.

Inside Eataly New York.

I have not yet been to Eatlay but I am anxious to go.  Definitely on my next trip to New York.  A good friend who actually worked with me at DDL has been and her report is that the food is very good, the store nice but that it is massively confusing as to what one is supposed to do where and when.  She and a friend bought things to eat then sat down at an empty table in one of the many eating points and were promptly told they needed to see the hostess to be seated.  A hostess and a host stand that were not readily visible.  As she described it to me: “Right now it’s an uneasy compromise between a food hall and an eatery.  What you have are various specialty shopping departments spotted with seating areas that have table or counter service.”  That does sound confusing.  Another friend ate dinner at one of the sit down restaurants where the prices were not inexpensive.  He said it was the oddest experience eating a nice meal while people were shopping all around him.  This begs the question: is it a sit-down restaurant, a take-out joint, or a high-end grocery store?  It’s trying to be all three.  Will hard-to-please New Yorkers be okay with this?  Only time will tell.  It does however sound like they have a few kinks to work out.

I have very fond memories of DDL Foodshow despite the many difficulties of getting a store of its size and kind open.  Dino’s heart was in the right place.  He wanted to share his joy of food and food culture with New Yorkers and Americans.  New Yorkers are a very tough audience; very set in their ways.  Sadly, they weren’t willing or interested enough to make it viable.  I still think Dino was ahead of his time.  This was before the Food Network, and the new Internet-based food movement.  Giada, his granddaughter, has managed to carve out a place for herself.  Time will tell if Eataly is a success.  I’d venture to guess that now is a better time in American food culture to give it a try than twenty-eight years ago when Dino and a group of us attempted it first.

Shout Outs! Fun, Cool, Interesting, Worthy Things Going on Around Town…

Pink Ribbon Cupcake from Magnolia Bakery

Magnolia Bakery (Los Angeles) ~ Purchase a Pink Ribbon Cupcake, (or several!) from Magnolia Bakery during the month of October.  Proceeds go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer Research.  www.magnoliabakery.com

Los Angeles Magazine ~ The Food Event: From the Vine 2010 ~ Sunday, October 24, 2010, 1 pm to 4 pm, Saddlerock Ranch, Malibu, California.  The 5th annual culinary extravaganza hosted by Los Angeles Magazine featuring celebrity chefs, top restaurants and wine tasting.  I’ll be there.  Hope to see you.  www.losangelesmagazine/thefoodevent

Artisanal L.A. ~ A weekend of shopping, tasting, workshops, and hanging out with local artisans.  A celebration of L.A.’s finest local handmade artisanal edibles.  October 23 & 24, 11 am to 4 pm.   I’ll be there (Saturday, 10/23), will you?  http://artisanalla.com/

Out of the Box Collective (Los Angeles) ~ A brand new business that home-delivers boxes of local, sustainably produced groceries.  The food items used in the boxes are sourced from artisans and farmers in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.  Boxes contain meat, dairy, produce, bread, conserves, and regional specialties.  They have a Thanksgiving Feast Box available for the upcoming holiday that will supply you with all the ingredients and a few suggested recipes if you don’t have the time to shop but still want to cook.  Come check them out the Artisan L.A. event on 10/23 & 24 (see above for info).  www.outoftheboxcollective.com

My Status:  Fall weather has arrived to SoCal.  Cool, wet even rainy.  More cooking, eating and blogging on the horizon as always.

News! I am now published!! My recipe ‘Chef Wally’s Baked Papaya’ was selected to be in the upcoming cookbook: ‘Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook: 100 Great Recipes, Photographs, and Voices,’ publish date is October 19, 2010.  You may pre-order it here.  I am thrilled.

Upcoming Posts: Cookbook Reviews ~ Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly by Joan E. Aller; Mary Mac’s Tea Room: 65 Years of Recipes from Atlanta’s Favorite Dining Room by John Ferrell; The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook by Rachel Saunders.

5.9 miles, about 9 minutes, from my home in Atwater Village.

Pazzo means ‘crazy’ in Italian.  In the case of Pazzo Gelato it means ‘crazy good’ Italian gelato and sorebetto.  Pazzo Gelato has been at its Silver Lake location on the corner of Sunset Blvd. and Hyperion Ave. since 2006.  Forage is a couple of doors down, and Casbah Café sits catty-corner across the street.  This intersection is the real nexus of Silver Lake in my opinion.  Sunset Junction is officially one block north on Sunset Blvd. at Santa Monica Blvd. but these four corners are where it all happens, the true heart of Silver Lake.

Now that summer has finally arrived to Los Angeles, ice cream is back on my mind.  Although it’s never really not on my mind.  A favorite summer evening is to go to Silver Lake when it has cooled off a bit, and walk around, window shop, maybe get a bite to eat, then grab a gelato at Pazzo Gelato.  If I’m lucky enough to snag a sidewalk table, I’ll sit and savor my gelato, and watch the world go by — and go by it does.  People are out, enjoying the evening, shopping, eating, or just strolling.

Pazzo Gelato’s gelato and sorbetto is made using fresh, local and organic fruit, dairy products, and herbs and spices.  Their flavors change daily depending on what is available.  According to their website gelato contains 1/2 the fat than most gourmet ice cream (they use whole milk instead of cream) and less air.  The end result is a more concentrated flavor while also being a tad healthier.  By adding herbs and spices with both savory and sweet flavor associations they kick it up a notch.  One of my favorites is Avocado with Cayenne Pepper.  Another I haven’t tried yet but will on my next visit is Chevre/goat cheese to which you can add fig, raspberry, sour cherry or hazelnut swirl.  Others I have tried and loved: Dulce de Leche, Midnight Espresso with Chocolate Chip, and Chocolate Hazelnut.  I love chocolate above all and their chocolate flavor combinations go on forever.

The sorbettos they offer are based on availability of seasonal fruits but can include Fleur de Cactus (prickly pear), Mango, Meyer Lemon, Lychee, Watermelon, Grapefruit, and on and on.  They only use Valrohna chocolate and Intelligentsia coffee in their gelato and sorbetto, and they use no high fructose corn syrup in any of their products.  They also offer dairy free/vegan sorbetto and they sell gelato cakes.  Pazzo Gelato is a true neighborhood business:  they support local farmers markets, and local distribution, are committed to using biodegradable and compost friendly packaging; and they support the local economy as much as possible.  They partner with such local businesses as Intelligentsia Coffee, Susina Bakery, and Strauss Dairy among others.

Pazzo Gelato rocks!

Pazzo Gelato, 3827 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90026, 323-662-1410, http://www.pazzogelato.net/

*The Local Report(s): are occasional blog posts on restaurants, and/or businesses that either support the idea of one-hundred miles, and ‘living life locally’; or are small, localized businesses in my neighborhood, and/or within one-hundred miles of my residence, that I prefer to support over the larger, national, corporate chains. For other The Local Report(s) please go the Archives section of this blog. Also, I’d love to hear from my readers about businesses that they support in their neighborhoods: write to me at charlesgthompson@100miles.com, or leave a comment here.

Follow The Local Report on Twitter: @TheLocalReport

Coming Up: International Food Bloggers Conference (IFBC), August 27 – 29, 2010, Seattle Washington.  So much fun last year that I’ll be attending again this year.  Are you?

Upcoming Posts: Cookbook Reviews: Steak and Friends: At Home with Rick Tramonto by Rick Tramonto, Spice Dreams by Sara Engram and Katie Luber, Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly by Joan E. Aller.

Chefs and winemakers can be a rough and tumble crowd.  Throw butchers into the mix and watch out.  Then there are chefs who also butcher.  Time to run the other way.  This spring my friend, Jo Stougaard (of My Last Bite), and I attended ‘Cochon 555 – 5 Chefs, 5 Pigs, 5 Winemakers’ in the Napa Valley.  The name pretty much says it all.  Both of us were curious to learn more about butchering, what goes into the process, and how it’s done.  This event sounded both fun and educational — and it took place in the Napa Valley.  The added incentive for me was that two of my favorite chefs were competing: John Stewart and Duskie Estes of Zazu Restaurant & Farm, and Bovolo in Sonoma County.  So one chilly Friday morning in February we set off on what ended up being a three day food filled adventure which I’ve been meaning to write about ever since.  Hate to use a worn out phrase but where does the time go?  So much went on during our trip, and we took so many pictures, that it would take hours of writing and editing to recount every detail.  This will be a somewhat condensed recap, then I’m going to let the photos that Jo and I took tell the rest of the story.  (For more photos look for the ‘Flickr Stream’ links below.)

Photo by Jo Stougaard, My Last Bite

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Lunch at Chez Panisse, Berkeley, California

Our first stop was on the drive up to Napa from Oakland International Airport:  lunch at Chez Panisse, the café not the dining room.  I had eaten in the restaurant (both the dining room and the café) a handful of times when I worked in the restaurant business in the Bay Area in the 80s and 90s but Jo had never been.  It felt a bit like a pilgrimage.  The restaurant and Alice Waters have become so much more famous since the 80s and 90s.  The fact that Jo, a serious restaurant diner, had not been before made it even more fun.   We ordered a number of dishes so we could really get a sense of the menu and the food.  Everything, the food, the service, the ambiance, was wonderful; we had a primo seat (we also had one of the first reservations); it was the perfect start to the weekend.

Flickr Stream for Chez Panisse

Dinner at Ad Hoc, Yountville, California

Dinner that night was at another hallowed chef’s restaurant:  Ad Hoc. The chef being Thomas Keller.  Ad Hoc being one of many restaurants he owns on both coasts of the U.S., three of which are in the small Napa Valley town of Yountville.  I had heard so much about Thomas Keller’s restaurants but had never been to any.  Finally, I was in one.   It was wonderful.  I don’t think it’s the pinnacle of T.K. hallowed-ness which would have be The French Laundry (down the street from Ad Hoc) but it was a fine runner-up; and it represented perfectly the idea of ‘ad hoc.’  I liked the casual yet professional  atmosphere and service.  The food was hearty and straightforward, no gimmicks, and was prepared with obvious skill and attention to detail.  A garden behind the restaurant provides some of the restaurant’s produce.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Breakfast at Bouchon Bakery, Yountville, California

Yountville is jokingly referred to as ‘Thomas Kellerville.’  He has three restaurants and a bakery in a town that has one main street and a population of 2,916 (based on 2000 U.S. Census figures).  Chef Keller owns Ad Hoc, Bouchon, and the world-famous The French Laundry.  Opposite Bouchon is Bouchon Bakery where we had breakfast the two mornings we were in town.  Beautiful breads,  pastries, sandwiches, chocolates and other confectionery including foie gras doggy biscuits were among the baked goods that people stood in line for.  I wish there was a Bouchon Bakery in my neighborhood.  I’d ‘take’ my coffee there everyday all the while pretending to be in Paris.  It is that good.

Photo by Jo Stougaard, My Last Bite

Stop at The French Laundry, Yountville, California

After breakfast I took Jo on a tour of the Napa Valley, well, a mini-tour actually.  After walking around Yountville where we saw Ad Hoc in the daylight, Bouchon Restaurant, Bottega, Michael Chiarello’s place, and the retail food shop Napa Style, we made another pilgrimage, this time to The French Laundry.  Not that it was open, or that we were eating there, we simply stopped to be food tourists, to take pictures, to peer through windows, and be in the presence of culinary greatness.  We weren’t alone, there were Japanese tourists that asked us to take pictures of them to which Jo naturally obliged.  A side note here: when I was in high school in neighboring Santa Rosa in the late ’70s I took my prom date, Gabrielle, a French foreign exchange student, to The French Laundry in Yountville for a pre-prom dinner.  At the time the building that houses the current The French Laundry was a restaurant also named The French Laundry.  Years later when Keller took it over he kept the name.  The pre-Keller The French Laundry was quite good (at least to my 17 year old palate).  I’ve always wondered if it was one and the same as the place Keller now owns, and has made so famous.  Now I know.  I made my triumphant return.  Now to snag one of those oh-so-hard-to-get reservations!

Snack at the Oakville Grocery, Oakville, Caklifornia

Next we headed further up the Napa Valley to the little town of Oakville where the original Oakville Grocery is located.  I have a personal history with the renowned retail food store in that I worked as a cheese buyer at what was supposed to be the flagship Oakville Grocery in San Francisco back in the early ’80s.  I started just after the store opened and stayed for about a year before moving on to help film producer, Dino de Laurentiis open his gourmet food emporium, DDL Foodshow in New York City.  Those were heady days in the gourmet retail food-iverse.  Oakville Grocery was my introduction to the world of high end, fancy food. My days as a cheese buyer at Oakville are some of my fondest food memories.  It was fun to see the original store again after so many years.

(See below at bottom of post for Flickr Stream for Napa Valley Restaurants & Shops)

Butcher, Ryan Farr of 4505 Meats breaking down a heritage pig. Photo by Jo Stougaard, My Last Bite

Afternoon at Cochon 555, Silverado Resort, Napa, California

The main event, the reason we made the trip, took place on Sunday afternoon.  Cochon 555’s goal is to celebrate and raise awareness of heritage breed pigs like Gloucester Old Spots, Yorkshire, Duroc, and Berkshire Cross.  Cochon 555 events take place all across the country.  5 local chefs are matched to 5 local heritage breed pig farmers and must come up with dishes using their specific heritage pig.  The dishes are then judged by professional judges and the public who is in attendance.  5 local wineries supply the wine.  The chefs competing at the Napa event were Chris Kostow, The Restaurant at Meadowood; Peter Pahk, Silverado Resort, John Stewart & Duskie Estes, Zazu Restaurant & Farm, Devin Knell, The French Laundry and Dennis Lee, Namu.  Each chef created and served several pork-based dishes.  Butcher, Ryan Farr of 4505 Meats held a butchering demonstration where he broke down a whole pig.  Jo and I mistakenly thought the event would be five chefs breaking down whole pigs before an audience of judges and public — so not the case.  It was a tasting event with very good food from all the chefs.  The winner of the Napa event was Devin Knell of The French Laundry.

Flickr Stream for Cochon 555 Napa Event

Late Dinner at Bottega Ristorante, Yountville, California

After the Cochon event ended we still had room to have a late dinner at Chef Michael Chiarello’s restaurant, Bottega.  We both liked the food, the atmosphere and the impeccable service.  Chef Chiarello maintains the high quality that chefs and restaurants in the Napa Valley are known for.   During our three day eating extravaganza I didn’t eat one bad bite.  It was all, every morsel, stellar including the food at Bottega.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Breakfast at Bouchon Bakery, Yountville, California

Again!  Of course!  Where else?!

Stop at Napa Valley Olive Oil Mfg., Saint Helena, California

This was our last day.  We had a mid-afternoon flight out of Oakland International Airport.  I, of course, had a few more things to show Jo.  I’m forever reading articles in magazines and on the Internet, and tearing them out, or printing them.  I’d seen something about the Napa Valley Olive Oil Mfg. somewhere, had never been and wanted to go.  It’s further north in the Valley, up in Saint Helena, and worth the trip.  A tiny place chock full of dried sausages, salame, mushrooms, canned items, and bulk olive oil that is dispensed from a huge metal tank.  A foodie’s treasure trove.  As we were poking around, finding a few things to buy, Jo whispers to me: ‘Isn’t that Cindy Pawlcyn?”  I’d met Cindy years ago, eaten in her Napa Valley restaurant, Mustards, many times but I hadn’t seen her in years.  Sure enough, Jo was right.  We saw her in the parking lot and Jo spoke to her.  It was indeed Chef Pawlcyn.  Oddly enough our last stop before leaving the Valley was her restaurant Mustards.  But first a quick nip into Dean & Deluca – a new addition to the Valley since my regular visits in the ‘8os and 90’s.

Dean & Deluca, Saint Helena, California

I actually remember when Dean & Deluca was one store on Prince Street in SoHo in New York City.  Now it’s a global company with stores around the world including, apparently, one in the Napa Valley.  After we left the Napa Valley Olive Oil Mfg. we quickly stopped in as I wanted to see what this D & D looked like.  All the usual high end food products and produce in a gleaming metal and glass building.  If I lived in the area I’d certainly shop there – in fact as we were leaving Chef Pawlcyn was pulling in and waved to us – but I miss the old store on Prince Street with its uneven wooden floors and overflowing barrels of all sorts of good things to eats.

Photo by Jo Stougaard, My Last Bite

Lunch at Mustards Grill, Yountville, California

When I worked in the retail food and restaurant business in San Francisco during the ’80s and ’90s I made frequent weekend trips to the Napa Valley.  The weekend always ended with a late lunch at Mustards before heading back to the City.  When I first went to Mustards it was Chef Cindy Pawlcyn’s only restaurant.  She went on to open Fog City Diner in San Franciso, the Rio Grill in Carmel, and now has Go Fish and Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen in Saint Helena.  I always thought Mustards felt like an old-fashioned road house both in design and menu.  The food, ‘American Grill food,’ was always good; trustworthy and dependable.  At the end of a weekend it was the perfect antidote for too much Napa Valley wine and the fuel we needed to get us home.  Not much has changed.  A plate of oven-roasted garlic, a perfect cheeseburger with stellar French fries and we were ready for the return trip home.  Our food-filled weekend coming to a perfect end.  Jo and I have been on two food oriented trips together and have had the best time.  She’s a fantastic traveling companion, and I look forward to our next foodie adventure.

Flickr Stream for Napa Valley Restaurants & Shops

Recommendation: Savor Los Angeles, Friday, July 30th, 7pm to 10pm ~ a sweets tasting event of one-of-a-kind bites from an exclusive set of L.A.’s best purveyors of sweet treats.

Coming Up: International Food Bloggers Conference (IFBC), August 27 – 29, 2010, Seattle Washington.  So much fun last year that I’ll be attending again this year.  Are you?

Upcoming Posts: Cookbook Reviews: Steak and Friends: At Home with Rick Tramonto by Rick Tramonto, Spice Dreams by Sara Engram and Katie Luber, Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly by Joan E. Aller.

The 2nd Annual ‘Eat My Blog‘ Charity Bake Sale takes place on Saturday, June 19, 2010 and 100 Miles will be there.  Robert and I will be baking several dozen of his famous (via David Lebovitz) Dulce de Leche Brownies and will be volunteering at the event.  If you live in the Los Angeles-area and/or are a fan of Robert’s brownies (there are already a whole lot of you out there!) please come by Tender Greens in West Hollywood between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and help us support the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank.  All proceeds, 100%, (items will cost between $1 and $4) will go to this very worthy cause.

We will be joining upwards of 70 local food bloggers, foodies, celebrity chefs, and restaurants who are donating their own baked goods and time.  We look forward to hanging out with fellow food blogger friends Jo Stougaard of My Last Bite, Phil Nigash of My Life As a Foodie, Chrystal and Amir of The Duo Dishes, and Cathy Danh of Gastronomy, among others.  Local chefs and foodies also coming out include Evan Kleiman, Chicks With Knives, Debbie Lee, Drago Centro, Starry Kitchen, Bakelab, Cube, Fraiche, Choppe Choppe, Hollywood Corner, Plaisir, Scoops Ice Cream, and Tender Greens.  The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will be pouring a selection of hot beverages.

This is the second year of the charity bake sale.  Last December Eat My Blog raised $3,000 for the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank.  “We are excited to partner with the Foodbank again, especially after visiting the facility this winter to see how the money we raised would be used,” said Cathy Danh, author of Gastronomy and founder of Eat My Blog. “It was an eye-opening experience for all of us on the planning committee, and we left that day eager to make an even greater impact this time around.”

Take a look at the Eat My Blog website to see a list of all the participating food bloggers and the delicious items they are contributing.  Then on the 19th come by Tender Greens and buy some amazing baked goods and support the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank — and finally, after you’ve made your purchase(s) consider having lunch.  The food at Tender Greens is really good!

About the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank

The Los Angeles Regional Foodbank is a nonprofit charitable organization that has been mobilizing resources to fight hunger in the community since 1973. The organization is at the heart of a charitable food distribution network that includes nearly 900 agency sites in Los Angeles County. For more information, visit http://www.lafightshunger.org/

About Tender Greens

Tender Greens is a privately held company, started in June 2006, which aims to provide sustainably produced foods to its guests in a relaxed, eco-friendly space. The company continues to expand its environmental business practices and impart a sense of responsibility in the community by leading example. Tender Greens currently has four locations (Culver City, Hollywood and West Hollywood in Los Angeles and San Diego, California), the company plans to expand further within California in the coming year. Tender Greens WeHo is located at 8759 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069. It is open from 11:30am until 10:00pm Sunday through Thursday; 11:30am to 11:00pm Friday and Saturday. Phone is 310-358-1919. http://www.tendergreensfood.com

Coming Up: International Food Bloggers Conference (IFBC), August 27 – 29, 2010, Seattle Washington.  So much fun last year that I’ll be attending again this year.  Are you?

Upcoming Posts: Interview with Chefs John Stewart & Duskie Estes, owners of Zazu & Bovolo restaurants in Sonoma County. Cochon 555 Napa, a write up of the amazing pork festival that I attended this spring. Cookbook Reviews: Steak and Friends: At Home with Rick Tramonto by Rick Tramonto, Spice Dreams by Sara Engram and Katie Luber, Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly by Joan E. Aller.

Non-Food Fun: ‘Secret Stairs: A Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Los Angeles’ by Charles Fleming.  Robert and I recently discovered this fascinating book about the hundreds of  ’secret stairs’ all over the Los Angeles area.  Fleming documents 42 stair walks centered around these secret staircases many of them built when streetcars were the norm and people needed access from their hillside homes, or for those who lived and still live on walk streets, and use(d) them to reach their homes.  ‘Secret’ because most of them are hard to see from the automobiles we all drive.  We have completed 8 walks to date, (3,688 stair steps!) and what an interesting side of L.A. we are seeing.  Robert has started his own blog, Climbing L.A., and is documenting our journey.   Please read along, or join us (details on Climbing L.A.)  Every walk does end with a meal at a local eatery.  Follow Robert on Twitter @ClimbingLA.

Family food history. A slice of Americana. Useful cooking tips. The Berghoff Café Cookbook has it all — and more. Chef, owner, and author Carlyn Berghoff had me at ‘Deviled Eggs with Three Fillings’ (page 3). The three fillings: Caper Deviled Eggs, Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs, and Horseradish Deviled Eggs. These are deviled eggs redux.

This cookbook is full of recipes for things we all know well; food we have eaten with our families as children and as adults. Dishes that bring comfort and are ’simple and satisfying’ like the cover promises. Ms. Berghoff starts off telling the reader how her great-grandfather came over from Germany in the late 1800s eventually opening the Berghoff Café in Chicago in 1898; and how it ended up in her hands several decades later. As she wends her way through the family history she throws in interesting historical tid bits about food, eating and dining from the early days. Like the story of a ’shot and a wash,’ a riff on a boilermaker. A stein of favorite Berghoff beer with a shot of their seven-year old Berghoff bourbon thrown in. It started in previous centuries when water was impure giving whiskey a bad taste. The solution? Drop a shot glass of whiskey into a mug of beer; when drinking it the drinker caught the shot glass with their teeth, the beer masking the taste of the whiskey. The drink is still on the menu albeit updated.

When I first picked up the book I was a little unsure; I guess I am more of a food snob than I want to admit. The design, and the food and recipes inside are more traditional, more down home than where my tastes usually run in cookbooks. I’ve recently seen too many flashy books by well-known chefs. However, after reading through it, and trying several recipes — the Potato Soup being a favorite — I changed my tune. This books embodies the Midwestern lifestyle. It evokes what a downtown, local Chicago restaurant can be. It is warm and homey. Ms. Carlyn’s maxim of ‘reuse, recycle and reinvent’ that she applies in the restaurant works perfectly in the home kitchen.

The Berghoff Café Cookbook offers recipes across the food gamut from bar snacks to paninis and pizzas to yummy desserts. Dishes like Alsatian Onion Soup, Apple Pie Squares with Cheddar Crust, and Westpahlian Ham Panini with Granny Smith Apple and Applesauce are a few of the standouts. Ms. Carlyn has updated the restaurant menu since her great-grandfather’s day while also keeping his spirit and food very much alive. She calls it ‘tradition with a twist,’ and I’d say that is quite apt.

I’d recommend this book to anyone looking for straightforward, comfort food pure and simple. It’s all there. Nothing fancy; nothing pretentious. The next meal I want to prepare is from the Daily Specials section: Classic Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Jus Lié and Spaetzle. Salisbury steak is a dish my Nebraska born grandmother made often when I was growing up. Comfort food.

My Status: Settling into fall, happily. New cookbooks to try, some to review; new kitchen equipment to try out. More cooking, eating, writing, blogging coming soon.

Upcoming Posts: ‘gleaning,’ or the act of gathering public produce, or leftover farmer’s market produce, and giving it to the poor, needy and hungry. A history of the movement, and those that are involved with it. Reviews: Cooking Light, a review of the redesign of the Time Inc. magazine.