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.

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.

Bon Appétit Desserts: The Cookbook for All Things Sweet and Wonderful.  Barbara Fairchild.  Andrews McMeel Publishing.  $40.00. (680p)  ISBN: 978-0-7407-9352-3

I like books a lot.  All types of books.  I really, really like reference books.  The comfort of all those facts, and answers so close at hand.  But I love, love, love cookbooks.  I’m a cookbook collector.  I have so many that my other half thinks I have a problem and need to enter a 12-step program.  Single topic cookbooks are at the top of the list for me.  (I just bought ‘Salted’ by Mark Bitterman, 312 pages on nothing but salt!)  I like having cookbooks on my bookshelves that I can refer to, that I can pull from a shelf when I’m looking for information or a recipe.  When I received Bon Appétit Desserts for review it made sense.  A whole book, a huge book actually (680 pages), devoted solely to desserts.  Every dessert you’ve ever heard of, every dessert you could ever want or need to make.  All in one book.  My kind of book.

The book was edited by recently resigned Bon Appétit Editor-in-Chief, Barbara Fairchild.  In her introduction she writes about how while growing up her family had dessert after every dinner, something sweet was included in her lunch, and how her mother always served a sweet of some kind whenever company dropped by.  I like that.  To me it reveals the sentiment behind this book.  Desserts and sweets as part of the eating process.  The 600 recipes in the book are culled from Bon Appétit’s extensive archives; never-before-published recipes are also included.  Well-known cooks, bakers, and pastry chefs (like Dorie Greenspan, Sherry Yard, and Susan Feniger), and Bon Appétit staff and writers also contributed to the book.  If that’s not enough the book also has the Bon Appétit pedigree.

It’s truly a reference-cookbook — the first three chapters are ‘The Desserts Pantry’; ‘Equipment: The Basics’; ‘Techniques: The Basics,’ at the back of the book are ‘Online & Mail-Order Sources,’ and ‘Metric Conversions & Equivalents.’  Everything needed to make desserts with skill and aplomb.  The rest of the book is all about the recipes.  It has, in addition to the standard and expected American-style desserts, many of the classics: fools, crepes, Linzertortes, napoleons, cannolis, crème brûlées, éclairs, panna cottas, tiramisùs, pavolovas and more.  I was thrilled to see a recipe for bûche de Noël!  Short and to-the-point head notes are followed by well-organized recipes.  A whisk rating system showing the level of difficulty (1 to 4 whisks) is included with each recipe.  An easy reference ‘Index of Whisk Ratings’ at the back of the book allows for quick decisions on which recipe to try.  Food photographer, Con Poulo’s fifty gorgeous photos are sprinkled unobtrusively throughout.  Recipe testing on a book of this size could take months but of the recipes I was able to try all worked beautifully.

I am thrilled to have this book.  There are several people on my Christmas list who may be receiving their own copy.  I can’t recommend it highly enough.  It should be part of every cook’s library especially those who love to make desserts.

My Status:  It’s been cold!  Our winter has arrived.  Time for winter-cold weather cooking.  Maybe something from Julia Child, or Dorie Greenspan’s new cookbook ‘Around My French Table,’ or a warming holiday dessert from ‘Bon Appétit Desserts.’

News! 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.  I am thrilled.

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.

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.