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.

Italian, Mexican, a cafe and bakery, Korean BBQ, a gelateria, and Lucifers Pizza are just a few of the eating options along a four or five block stretch of Hillhurst Avenue in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles.  The stretch that is becoming a sort of neighborhood food mecca runs between Franklin Avenue and Los Feliz Boulevard.  To the south at Franklin Avenue sits the Loz Feliz Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library (the corner it sits on was once the childhood home of Leonardo DiCaprio).  As you move north you will come across the very popular Alcove Cafe & Bakery, across the street from the Alcove is the newly owned and re-opened Gelato Bar, the sister store to one in Studio City owned by Gail Silverton, Nancy Silverton of Mozza fame’s sister.  Further up from Gelato Bar is the subject of today’s post: Lucifers Pizza.

I recently attended a pizza tasting at Lucifers as a new menu was about to be introduced, and I have to say I really liked this pizza.  Not only does founder and owner, Adam Borich, make a point of using locally sourced produce and ingredients, he also makes the eating experience fun by adding a little heat to his pizzas — hence the name Lucifers.  When you order a Lucifers pizza you have the option of requesting spice level ranges of ‘Zero,’ ‘Medium,’ ‘Fiery,’ and ‘Blazing’.  The new menu includes five new pizzas: the Sopressata (Sopressata, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella), Tradizionale (Sliced fresh plum tomato, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella), Prosciutto-Pollo (Prosciutto, chicken, fresh basil, caramelized onion, fresh mozzarella), Quattro Formaggio (Fresh parmesan cheese, romano cheese, fresh mozzarella, feta and garlic), and the Spagnolo (Jumbo shrimp, chorizo, fresh spinach, chili, garlic).

A large pizza, 'medium' heat, half Roast Pumpkin & Prosciutto (left side), half Spagnolo.

We tasted the new five plus some of those already on the menu.  One from the original menu that stood out for me was Roast Pumpkin & Prosciutto (Pumpkin, prosciutto, roast garlic & spinach) — a genius idea to put pumpkin on a pizza and to combine it with prosciutto, garlic and spinach.  A sweet and savory pie all rolled into one.  Another off the original menu that caught my attention was the Greek Lamb & Rosemary (Lamb, caramelized onions, feta cheese, kalamata olives, rosemary, garlic, lemon pepper & chopped parsley).  I thought, ah ha, Adam is showing his Auckland, New Zealand roots in this pie as New Zealand is known for its lamb, and for its large Greek community.   I like lamb, Greek food and this pizza.  The Spagnolo off the new menu was another favorite.  Seafood and cured meats together on a pizza are a wonderful thing, and a little heat’s not bad too.

This was my first time eating Lucifers pizza; I pass by the shop often as I spend a good deal of time on this stretch of Hillhurst but I’d never made it in.  I am glad I finally ate Lucifers pizza.  I will definitely go again, or order for delivery.  I might even consider the Ringburner (Pepperoni, jalapenos, black pepper, bell pepper & hot chili sauce) but then again I might be too much of a wimp for that much heat.

Lucifers Pizza, 1958 Hillhurst Avenue, Los Angeles, CA  90027, 323-906-8603, www.luciferspizza.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

Recommendation:  Let Me Cook For You ~ for my Marin County, and Bay Area readers.  My sister, Traci Thompson, has started a personal cooking service.  She’ll devise menus, do the shopping, come to your house, and cook for you and your family.  She’s an amazing cook and prepares ‘healthy homemade meals for everyone’.

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: 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.

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.

Najat Kaanache, left, and Chef Akasha Richmond.

Najat Kaanache is the Wonder Woman of stagiaires/chefs-in-training.  To date she has ’staged’ in the kitchens of Grant Achatz (Alinea), Thomas Keller (The French Laundry, Per Se), René Redzepi (Noma), and will end her stagiaire stints at Feran Adrià’s elBulli.  A stage is an unpaid internship, or culinary apprenticeship, very common in the kitchens of Europe.   Kaanache, 32, has taken the concept around the world from Copenhagen to Chicago, to the Napa Valley, to New York and finally to Roses, Spain.  Through her own indefatigable industriousness she has been away from her native Spain for two years.  With the help of Facebook and Twitter she finds someone local willing to offer her a place to stay while she spends one to three months working in some of the best kitchens in the world.  Her adventure began after she attended culinary school in Holland, and after working for a year as a line cook at Chef François Geurd’s Restaurant Ivy in Holland.  Wanting more training she sent letters to fifty top chefs in the world requesting an apprenticeship.  She received twenty-seven responses.  Currently she is in the kitchen at Per Se in New York.  Chef Thomas Keller insisted she spend a month there after she finished a three month turn at The French Laundry, his Napa Valley restaurant.  Her next and final stop is back home in Spain where she will spend a year with Chef Feran Adrià at his famed elBulli restaurant which closes permanently in 2011.

Recently, between stints at the French Laundry and Per Se, Kaanache spent a week in Los Angeles as a guest of Jo Stougaard’s, writer of the popular food and restaurant blog, My Last Bite.  A trip to the Wednesday, chef heavy, Santa Monica Farmers’ Market seemed like a natural outing.   Chef Akasha Richmond (Akasha) offered to take her on a tour.  This writer was lucky enough to tag along.  It was a banner day for chef sightings and Kaanache met most of them.  Josiah Citrin (Mélisse), Mark Peel (Campanile, Tar Pit, The Point), Ludo Lefebvre (Ludo Bites), Walter Manzke, and even food blogger, Javier Cabral, (Teenage Glutster) all wandered through at one point or another.  The Wednesday market is known as a place to see chefs grabbing items that will appear on menus later.

Chefs Walter Manzke, Ludo Lefebvre and Najat Kaanache.

We tagged along as Chef Richmond shopped for a cooking demo/appearance she was doing at the market the next day.  We looked, tasted and bought from such vendors as Wieser Farms, Harry’s Berries, and Tutti Frutti Farm.  As expected from this market the produce was the star attraction and included spring berries, artichokes, asparagus, green garlic and even ramps — a type of leek more readily found on the East Coast.  The outing ended with lunch at Border Grill, bags of top flight produce, and another chef and food experience for Chef-In-Training, Najat Kaanache to take with her back to Spain.

Najat Kaanache, Jo Stougaard and Akasha Richmond.

Green garlic.

Turnips and beets.

'Best Ever' artichokes.

Follow Najat Kaanache – http://www.twitter com/morewhimsy

Follow Jo Stougaard – http://www.twitter.com/mylastbite

Please Join Us!  Taste of the Nation ~ Sunday, June 6, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. ~ Los Angeles chefs cook to benefit Share Our Strength and to end childhood hunger in America.  Eat My Blog ~ Saturday, June 19, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ~ a food bloggers’ bake sale to raise money for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.  We’ll be selling Robert’s (via David Lebovitz) famous Dulce de Leche Brownies (come early!)

Recommendation: ‘Cook To Bang: The Lay Cook’s Guide to Getting Laid’ by Spencer Walker.  Based on the popular food blog ‘Cook To Bang’ where author, Spencer Walker explains how and what to cook for your date of the moment, this tongue-in-cheek book expands on that advice and adds more tips for getting your date, or significant other, into the mood and into bed.  Hey, we can’t be all seriousness around here!  A fun book, and a fun read.

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 went to in Napa. Reviews: The Spirit Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Sara Engram and Katie Luber and Kimberly Toqe, 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.

Food memories, and, or nostalgia, are important to me — as my regular readers know. My own personal food memories are as essential to this blog as are the concepts of 100 miles and ‘living life locally.’ I recently attended an event here in Los Angeles that was a whole-lotta fun. April is apparently a very cheesy month: it’s National Grilled Cheese Month and the Tillamook Cheese Company is on the road with their ‘The Loaf Love Tour.’ They’ve retrofitted three 1966 Standard VW Microbuses to resemble ‘Baby Loafs’ of Tillamook cheddar and are visiting one-hundred cities in nine states throughout the Western U.S., Texas and Illinois to teach consumers about their famous cheese. Tillamook is also the ‘exclusive cheese sponsor’ for the 2010 Grilled Cheese Invitational — ‘a grilled cheese sammich cooking competition’ taking place in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 24th that I will happily be attending.

My friend, Jo Stougaard (of My Last Bite) and I went to a gathering of foodies to taste Tillamook cheddar, to pose with the ‘Baby Loaf’ Microbuses, and to eat cheese-inspired dishes prepared by Chef Akasha Richmond at her Culver City restaurant Akasha Restaurant Bar & Bakery. It was a lighthearted, full-of-laughs evening. And delightfully, it involved a cheese from my childhood. Growing up in California, we took a lot of trips north to Oregon and Washington. Tillamook cheddar is made in Tillamook County, Oregon. That loaf of orange cheese was always around when I was a kid; at home, at relatives, in grocery stores, in advertising. It was a ‘thing.’ For me it was a bit like a favorite pair of slippers. Steady, loyal and comforting. It still is. It was nice to see it again, and to reconnect with it.

Tillamook is a farmer owned cooperative. After a cheese from the county won an award at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, Tillamook County dairy farmers knew they had something special. In 1909 ten independent cheese producing plants in Tillamook County banded together and formed a cooperative ‘to control quality and to market the cheese from the county as a whole instead of from individual plants.’ The Tillamook County Creamery Association was born. Today the association consists of 110 dairy families. The cheese can now be found in grocery stores across the country and is used in restaurants from national chains to high-end eateries. The cheddar product line includes Medium Sharp, Special Reserve Extra Sharp, Vintage White, Smoked Cheddar, Mozzarella, Colby and three Jacks — Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack and Colby Jack. They also make ice cream, yogurt, butter and sour cream. Tillamook products are all-natural, and are made from the highest-quality milk from cows not treated with artificial bovine growth hormone –in other words they are both good and safe to eat. This is a company I can get behind; from its humble beginnings to its now nationally recognized status it is still true to its original values. It’s still a cooperative, its products continue to be all-natural, and they make their cheese the way they did when it all began in 1909. Despite their success they are still an old-fashioned company. That’s something to celebrate.

Chef Akasha Richmond’s Tillamook cheese-inspired food was a perfect compliment to the cheese tasting. Photos by Jo Stougaard.

The Cheese

A Mushroom-Crouton Bite

Fried Chicken with Caesar Salad

Fried Chicken & Mac N Cheese

Macaroni & Cheese!

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 went to in Napa. Reviews: The Spirit Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Sara Engram and Katie Luber and Kimberly Toqe.

There’s a new butcher in town and boy am I happy. It seems that the neighborhood butcher has gone by the wayside and that more and more people are relying on supermarket butchers. While the guys at my local Whole Foods are very helpful and knowledgeable, there’s nothing quite like the personal rapport one develops with a local, neighborhood butcher. Like the one I am establishing with chef-butchers, and husband and wife team, Nathan McCall and Karen Yoo. I have been in several times and appreciate the hands on service they have given me. Whether it be advice on what cut to buy, or how to cook it the duo is more than accommodating. McCall and Yoo both have backgrounds as professional chefs; McCall cooked at Los Angeles restaurants Café Pinot and Sona; he also spent time in the kitchen of Spain’s Michelin three star restaurant Arzak followed up with time at Daniel Boulud’s Restaurant Daniel in New York City. Yoo, trained as a pastry chef, worked in the kitchens of Campanile, Sona and Restaurant Daniel. Given their experiences in professional kitchens they should be the go-to-butchers for both the professional chef and the home cook. Who better to buy meat and fish from than those who have the experience cooking it? It’s a great combination.

To add to the package they only source their meat, as they state on their website, ‘from traditional farms where animals are naturally and humanely raised on the best feed without the use of hormones or chemical enhancements.’ Their ‘fish is wild-caught and/or responsibly raised in the most natural environment.’ They stock CAB (Certified Angus Beef) Beef, Kurobuta (Berkshire to us) pork, lamb, locally raised poultry (from KenDor Farms in Van Nuys), eggs, house made sausages (pork-fennel and garlic-paprika), and sushi grade salmon and tuna among other seafood. Check the chalkboard specials for such items as duck, rabbit, squab and leg of lamb. They also sell a hand picked selection of gourmet oils, vinegars, salt and pepper, and other specialty cooking products. Given their propensity to be local and sustainable they could almost be a butcher my great-grandmother went to albeit without the sawdust on the floor and the banging screen door. And that is a comforting thought. I’ll be going to McCall’s often. It is so close to home. Welcome to the neighborhood Nathan and Karen!

Chef-butchers Karen Yoo and Nathan McCall

McCall’s Meat & Fish Co.
2117 Hillhurst Ave.
Los Angeles, California 90027
323-667-0674 (ph.)
323-667-0802 (fax)
www.mccallsmeatandfish.com
www.twitter.com/mcallsmandf

*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

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 went to in Napa. Reviews: My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family and Big Sur by Romney Steele, The Spirit Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Sara Engram and Katie Luber and Kimberly Toqe.

Foraging? There seems to be a new movement afoot in the food and restaurant worlds. Or is it simply an expansion upon sustainable and local eating? Gather what is closest to you versus buying ingredients that come from thousands of miles away. Eat fresh, seasonal, locally produced goods rather than the stuff that sits in ships and trucks for weeks on end. And when possible forage what you can yourself. Go to your local outdoor spaces: fields, mountains, streams and pick the edibles you find there. Harvest your backyard fruit and vegetables, and donate them. There is a mini-movement happening, or at the very least foraging is gaining a more public face. There are more and more Chefs that forage themselves, or rely on foragers to bring them ingredients; organizations that encourage picking public fruit are appearing. Among restaurants Chez Panisse is the most famous for foraging. They have long had a policy of accepting goods at the restaurant’s back door from people who forage in the surrounding area, or grow produce in their backyards. The local person who brings them mushrooms, or backyard strawberries, or edible greens from local mountains that all end up on that day’s menu. On a recent trip to San Francisco we ate at S.P.Q.R. and we had raviolis with locally foraged nettles in them. The chef, Matthew Accarrino, forages his own edibles across the Golden Gate Bridge in the Marin headlands. When he was at Craft in Los Angeles, he worked with forager, Kerry Clasby, to learn the art of foraging. Fallen Fruit is an amazing group that promotes gathering public fruit. Fruit from trees that are in public areas or that hang over sidewalks. The group says this about themselves: “Using fruit as our lens, Fallen Fruit investigates urban space, ideas of neighborhood and new forms of located citizenship and community.” They sponsor Public Fruit Jams, bring your homegrown fruit and participate in communal jam making; Community Fruit Tree Plantings; and most recently they’ve started EAT LACMA in conjunction with LACMA — “a year-long investigation into food, art, culture and politics.” Food as a protest movement? I’ll join up.

Now Los Angeles has a new restaurant that combines foraging and urban harvests: ‘Forage.’ The restaurant actively encourages backyard farmers and gardeners to bring in their bounty to be used in the food they prepare. Since its recent opening it has been very active on Twitter and Facebook; I’ve seen a lot of posts about what has been brought in by customers and how it will be used. They even post who brought what in on the specials chalk board that hangs near the cash register. They see this as a collaboration between the restaurant and the customer. To further this interaction they hold ‘harvest calls’ every Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m. Bring in items from your personal harvest; they will taste them and decide with you how they might be used in an upcoming menu. The Forage website also has a running list of produce they are looking for: garlic, onions, shallots, limes and avocados are on the current list. If you have them, bring them in, they will probably use them.

I have eaten at the restaurant several times and it has been very good each time: fresh, clean, bold. No fancy foams or exotic preparations here; honest food, simply prepared. On my first visit I ordered the Combo Plate — One Small Protein with Two Sides. I chose Chimichurri Rubbed Flank Steak (grilled natural Angus served with nopales tomatillo salsa), Honey Mustard Chickpeas and Greens (sweetly spiced chickpeas with raw mustard greens), and Citrus Beets (citrus marinated beets with goat milk feta and arugula). At lunch today I discovered my current favorite Los Angeles sandwich: P Belly Sandwich (Niman Ranch pork belly on a crusty baguette with cabbage, tomato, fennel pickles and green garlic aioli). The flavors all combined together almost made me swoon. And it was very popular; every other person seemed to order it. For dinner tonight I grabbed one of their roast chickens, Jidori Chicken from Our Rotisserie (here’s the description on the menu: “Jidori, translated from Japanese means ‘chicken of the earth.’ They’re raised locally on a family farm, and we gently roast them with herbs and garlic.”) I added a side of Maryanne’s Broccoli (baby broccoli with chile, shallot, and garlic) and a slice of Chamomile Honey Vanilla Cake. I’ll let you know how it all is tomorrow. Owner and chef Jason Kim, most recently sous-chef at Lucques before venturing out on his own, has the necessary cooking experience to pull this off. It has only been open a short while but so far it has really taken off. There are frequently lines out the door. I like it because it’s local, sustainable, seasonal and most importantly involves the customer in the harvesting and menu planning of the food they will eat. How cool is that to see your backyard fruit or produce become a delicious dish on Chef Kim’s menu? Pretty damned exciting I’d say.

And it’s only three miles from home!

Forage
3823 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026-1529
323-663-6885
www.foragela.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-hundered 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

Upcoming Posts: Interview with Chefs John Stewart & Duskie Estes owners of Zazu & Bovolo restaurants in Sonoma County. Reviews: Venezia: Food & Dreams by Tessa Kiros, My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family and Big Sur by Romney Steele, The Spirit Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Sara Engram and Katie Luber and Kimberly Toqe.

Chef Suzanne Goin of Lucques, A.O.C. and Tavern at her cooking demo at the ‘Chefs’ Holidays at the Ahwahnee’ in Yosemite.

Uhm, let’s see: three days of celebrity chefs cooking amazing food at The Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite in the middle of winter?! Okay, I’m in. I’ll splurge to watch Suzanne Goin of Lucques, A.O.C. and Tavern give cooking demos and cook the final meal served in the Ahwahnee’s magnificent dining room. Sure I will — and I did. Last week Robert and I spent three glorious days and nights in Yosemite Valley eating our way through food prepared by four chefs: Suzanne Goin; John Stewart and Duskie Estes of Zazu Restaurant + Farm, Bovolo and Black Pig Meat Co. in Sonoma County; and Jody Adams of Rialto Restaurant + Bar in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On a previous trip to Yosemite I’d picked up information on the Chefs’ Holidays events and was more than intrigued. And I was reminded of them often as I get regular e-mails from Delaware North, the company that runs all accommodations, concessions and special events at Yosemite. As you can see by the title of this post the Chefs’ Holidays have been happening at The Ahwahnee for the last twenty-five years. There are a total of eight sessions that take place during January and February. I chose Session 5 for a reason: two of my current favorite chefs were going to be there. I’ve already written about my passion for what husband and wife chefs John Stewart and Duskie Estes do at their two restaurants Zazu and Bovolo in Sonoma County. They live their loves locally; easily within one hundred miles of where they live and work. Their two restaurants embody the local lifestyle and their food is amazing. When I saw that they would be participating I decided to splurge and attend. The extra added bonus of Suzanne Goin as the headline chef was more than I could ask for. And while I didn’t know much about the third chef, Jody Adams, I do now and I am now a fan of hers too.

Mirror Lake, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park

All of this taking place in Yosemite. I love Yosemite in the winter. There’s no one there. It’s as beautiful as it is any other time of the year. We were very lucky on this trip. We arrived on a Sunday and left on a Wednesday; the Thursday before our trip a huge storm dumped a lot of snow. By the time we arrived on Sunday the storm was over and the roads had been cleared. What was left was stunningly beautiful. A nice amount of pristine snow covered everything making for a true winter wonderland. The outside daytime temperature hovered around thirty-five degrees — not too cold at all with our layers of sweaters, scarves and winter coats. When we weren’t at the Ahwahnee eating we were out exploring this amazing place. This was a trip I could easily do over and over and over…

*Chef Suzanne Goin, Lucques, A.O.C., Tavern in Los Angeles, Californa. Author, ‘Sunday Suppers at Lucques’

The event took place over three days and nights. On Sunday night there was a reception to meet the chefs and we did. We chatted with Suzanne, John and Duskie, and Jody while eating hors d’oeuvres and drinking wine. It was a good way to start off the event. All the chefs were very approachable and quite friendly. On Monday at ten o’clock in the morning we met back at the Great Hall of the Ahwahnee for the first cooking demo: Suzanne Goin. Chef Goin prepared ‘Pan-Roasted Quail with Pancetta, Baked Ricotta and Sicilian Breadcrumbs’ followed by ‘Roasted Pear Salad with Endive, Hazelnuts and St. Agur.’ Watching her cook I noticed that Chef Goin was very precise in everything she did. She new her next move; her mise en place at hand. I understood; she’d been trained in restaurant kitchens in France. Most chefs I’ve known exhibit this type of precision. It works, and is necessary, for what they have to do. She was also very giving in how she showed us to prepare the two dishes; answering questions, offering suggestions and making apt comments. Her two dishes were nicely refined, and beautiful to look at. After the demo we tasted the pear salad and it was really delicious. I’ve always loved endive and blue cheese together; the addition of the roasted pears added another layer of flavor and texture.

Roasted Pear Salad with Endive, Hazelnuts and St. Agur, Chef Suzanne Goin

Pan-Roasted Quail with Pancetta, Baked Ricotta and Sicilian Breadcrumbs, Chef Suzanne Goin

Chefs John Stewart and Duskie Estes starting their cooking demo at the ‘Chefs’ Holidays at The Ahwahnee’ in Yosemite.

*Chefs John Stewart and Duskie Estes, Zazu Restaurant & Farm, BOVOLO, Black Pig Meat Co., Sonoma County, California

That afternoon we all met back at the Great Hall at two o’clock for John and Duskie’s cooking demonstration. They made ‘Hazelnut Crepes with Nutella and Blood Orange Syrup’ followed by ‘Brussels Sprouts, Local Apple, and Black Pig Bacon Salad.’ John and Duskie are a little more country to Suzanne’s city. Duskie chose the crepes recipe with Nutella because Nutella is something she likes and because she likes to combine high and low food together. The idea is to use easy to get products with those that are harder to get in the same dish. There’s also a nice playfulness to Duskie and John, evident in this dish. One of the main reasons I like these two chefs is because as mentioned above they live locally, and because one of their credos is ‘no waste.’ They use every part of the animal; any organic waste from the food preparation process is either fed to their pigs or composted for their garden. In their restaurants many of the vegetables for the day’s menus are harvested in the garden outside the kitchen’s back door just before service. At their farm-home they raise pigs, have chickens for eggs and a garden. It’s a full circle lifestyle. During their demo they were relaxed and easy-going; they worked well together but it was also evident that they knew what they were doing. These are seasoned professionals. While the crepes were Duskie’s dish, the Brussels sprouts dish offered John his moment to work with his black pig bacon. Bacon that he cures himself along with other salumi that he makes. We tasted the Brussels sprouts after the demo and they were earthy and wonderful; the bacon, apples and sprouts working together perfectly.

Hazelnut Crepes with Nutella and Blood Orange Syrup, Chefs John Stewart and Duskie Estes

Brussels Sprouts, Local Apple and Black Pig Bacon Salad, Chefs John Stewart and Duskie Estes

Chef Jody Adams starts her cooking demonstration at ‘Chefs’ Holidays at the Ahwahnee’ in Yosemite.

*Chef Jody Adams, Rialto, Boston, Massachusetts. Author, ‘In The Hands of a Chef: Cooking with Jody Adams of Rialto Restaurant’

Our final cooking demonstration was by Chef Jody Adams of Rialto Restaurant + Bar in Boston on Tuesday afternoon. Chef Adams also made two dishes: ‘Orange Dusted Scallops with Sunchokes, Harissa and Olives,’ followed by ‘Scallop Ravioli with Pistachios, Pomegranate and Mushrooms.’ Chef Adams was such a joy to watch; she was funny, smart and also really knows what she is doing. There was a bit of Julia Child’s zaniness to her but she was actually in absolute control. When questions were thrown at her she surprised by breaking down the chemical process in certain cooking scenarios. Both recipes had long ingredient lists and many steps but she made it all seem effortless. She was very open to substituting ingredients; she taught interesting yet useful techniques – like how to cut parchment exactly to the size of your sauté pan. It felt a bit like we were in her home kitchen all around a cooking island pitching in. Chef Adams was unknown to me before this event but she has a new West Coast fan now. If I ever get to Boston I’ll be stopping in to Rialto. We tasted the the orange dusted scallops after the demo and they were among my favorite dishes we ate.

Scallop Ravioli with Pistachios, Pomegranate and Mushrooms, Chef Jody Adams

Orange Dusted Scallops with Sunchokes, Harissa and Olives, Chef Jody Adams

The dining room at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park

*Behind the Scenes Kitchen Tour

On Tuesday morning there was an optional tour of the Ahwahnee hotel kitchens. Robert and I were curious to see the behind-the-scenes of such a huge operation. There’s the beautiful public side but behind closed doors is where all the action takes place to keep the operation going. Sous-chef Beth Brown took us through the huge kitchens, storerooms and baking areas. I’ve been in a lot of professional kitchens, and I’ve seen other hotel kitchens but the size of this one was XXXL. The fact sheet handed out says that the kitchen is 6,500 square feet; the ceiling is 38 feet high at its highest point. The kitchen prepares 1500 meals per day for the dining room not including room service, weddings or special events. The bakeshop produces 400 loaves of bread per day. This is cooking on a massive scale. It was interesting to see what goes on behind-the-scenes in an operation this big.

The line in the Ahwahnee Hotel kitchen.

Bread baked daily in the kitchen of the Ahwahnee Hotel kitchen.

Sous-chef Beth Brown in the Ahwahnee Hotel pastry shop where chocolate truffles for the hotel sweet shop are being made.

*Chefs’ Holidays Gala Dinner, Chef Suzanne Goin

The final event of the three day food extravaganza was a gala dinner served in the Ahwahnee Hotel dining room. As Suzanne Goin was the headline chef she created and prepared the menu for the evening: Arugula Salad with Blood Oranges, Roasted Dates, Almonds and Parmesan; Maine Diver Scallops with Green Garlic Soubise, Chanterelles and Meyer Lemon; Alaskan Black Cod with Kabocha Squash, Golden Raisins, Pancetta and Pedro Jimenez; Braised Veal Cheek with Risotto Carbonara, Pea Shoots and Black Truffle Butter; Bittersweet Chocolate Tart with Mascarpone and Pistachio Ice Cream. It was all incredible, wonderful, amazing — nothing more needs be said.

Chef Suzanne Goin and me. She’s holding her book: ‘Sunday Dinners at Lucques’ which she autographed for me.

Chefs John Stewart and Duskie Estes and me. I interviewed them for an upcoming blog post.

Chef Jody Adams and me.

Snow-covered Half Dome, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park

I love Yosemite but you know that already. Attending this event was truly an experience I won’t soon forget. The setting, the chefs, the food, and the company. Will I go again next year? Possibly. I will give it serious consideration. It was that good.

Upcoming Posts: Interview with Chefs John Stewart & Duskie Estes owners of Zazu & Bovolo restaurants in Sonoma County. Reviews: Venezia: Food & Dreams by Tessa Kiros, My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family and Big Sur by Romney Steele, The Spirit Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Sara Engram and Katie Luber and Kimberly Toqe.

A couple of years ago Robert and I went to the Los Angeles County Fair. I’m not much of a fair person and I wasn’t sure what to expect but I actually ended up having a really nice time. My favorite part of the fair was where a lot of the judging took place. We entered a rather industrial feeling building, cavernous, high ceilings; one of many on the fairgrounds. As we turned a corner there was an area full of dining tables all with elaborately designed, over-the-top table settings. The competition was the best table setting for a party. Some of the tables were so overdone and crowded I doubted anyone would have been able to eat at them. We oohed and ahhed and giggled our way through them. The next area we walked through was definitely more to my liking: baked goods. There was display case after display case full of all manner of baked goods; pies, cakes, cookies and so on. All had identifying information: what the item was, who baked it, and occasionally a ribbon if it had placed. As we got there a pie judging was about to start. People were arriving with their pies and setting them before the judges who sat on a raised stage. Something as old-fashioned as pie judging still happened, and people actually entered pies — in Los Angeles. For a moment the modern world disappeared. I was fascinated.

When I heard this summer that Evan Kleiman of KCRW’s ‘Good Food’ was going to bake a pie a day for one month I was intrigued, in awe, and followed along as she reached her goal. Then when I heard that she was hosting a pie judging contest I just had to go and watch (and next year I’m going to enter). The event, KCRW’s Good Food Pie Contest, took place on Saturday, November 14th at the Westfield Shopping Center in Canoga Park. The judges were all local chefs and foodies: Mark Peel of Campanile; L.A. Times Food Editor, Russ Parsons; Stefan Richter of Top Chef and L.A. Farm; Eric Greenspan of The Foundry; Elizabeth Belkind of the Cake Monkey Bakery; Amy Scattergood from the L.A. Weekly; Amelia Saltsman, author of The Santa Monica Farmers Market Cookbook; Eddie Lin of Deep End Dining and Extreme Cuisine; and Clifford Wright, author of Best Soups in the World and Bake Until Bubbly: Casseroles. No cooking slouches here. I’d long been a fan of Mark Peel’s, having met him several times, and having eaten at his Los Angeles restaurant Campanile on a regular basis. I’d certainly trust him to judge my pie fairly if I entered one. Now that I write this I see that based on the judges it was actually a tad more elite than what I witnessed at the county fair but the spirit was the same. Home cooks presenting their best possible pie creations hoping to take home a winner’s ribbon.

Evan acted as master of ceremonies as 123 pies were set out on long tables. Judging took place in these categories: Best In Show; Fruit & Nut; Cream/Custard/Chiffon/Mousse; Savory; Interpretive (Defies Category). Once the judging started the judges moved from their assigned pies to the next on their list — they didn’t taste every pie entered; each judge had to taste ten to twelves pies. We spectators were held at bay by ropes and stanchions but were close enough to feel like we were in the mix. It was a hoot to watch as they all intermingled, rubbed elbows, and occasionally commented on what they were tasting. An added pleasure of the afternoon was seeing blogger friend Chrystal Baker of The Duo Dishes in the crowd. I knew she wasn’t there as a spectator as she and her blogging partner, Amir Thomas are always cooking. Sure enough she won first place in the savory category for their pie ‘Tarragon Chicken and Grape Pie.’ A pie they had on their menu when they cooked at Canalé a few months back where I met them. Robert and I were very excited for her. The winning pie (Best In Show) was none other than an apple pie baked by Barbara Treves. Once the judging was complete they lifted the ropes and the spectators were allowed in to taste the pies themselves. It was a fun and relaxing thing to do on a Saturday afternoon in November. And, like I said above, next year I want to enter a pie myself. Guess I better get baking so I can perfect my crust and decide what to fill it with.

Mark Peel, chef/owner of Campanile.

Eric Greenspan, chef of The Foundry.

Stefan Richter, Top Chef and chef of Stefan’s at LA Farm.

Robert with Evan Kleiman of Good Food and Angelli Caffe.

Judging is under way.

2nd round judging.

Chrystal Baker of The Duo Dishes with her first place ribbon in the savory category.

Chrystal Baker of The Duo Dishes and me.

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

Upcoming Posts: my personal, childhood food history as told by my mother, Dawn Goodman. Reviews: Cooking Light, a review of the redesign of the Time Inc. magazine. Bread Matters, a review of the new bread book by Andrew Whitley.

89 miles, about 1.25 hours, from my home in Atwater Village.

Lotusland in Montecito, California is a wonder to behold. I had the privilege of seeing it this past Saturday. Faye, a follower of this blog, and a docent at Lotusland, very kindly invited me up to visit. I took Robert and my mother, Dawn, along with me. Lotusland has nothing to do with food but it is so unique that I decided to write a bit about it here. A 39-acre botanical garden containing subtropical and tropical plants from around the world, Lotusland also includes rare cycads (the oldest plant species in the world), cacti, palms and euphorbias. The place is a botanist and gardener’s dream.A well-known Polish opera singer and socialite, Madame Ganna Walska, purchased the estate that would become the gardens in 1941. She spent the next forty-three years designing unusual displays with exotic plants. A series of gardens takes the visitor through a labyrinth of landscape adventures. There are a total of twenty-six uniquely different gardens spread across the thirty-nine acres. Gardens such as the Japanese, the Aloe, the Fern, the Cactus, the Topiary, the Cycad, and the Succulent to name a few. Her original purpose for purchasing the property was to create a retreat for Tibetan monks. The original name was ‘Tibetland’ and after the monks never appeared, she renamed the property Lotusland in honor of the Indian lotus that grew in one of the property’s ponds. ‘Madame,’ as she is and was known, spent a lot time and resources seeking out the most unusual species of plants, and often securing the biggest and the best plants available. She was a demanding, intelligent and extremely creative personality. She had a vision of what she wanted and didn’t stop until she had it. After marrying and divorcing six husbands designing, overseeing, and working in the gardens became her life work. She worked on Lotusland up to her death in 1984 when she was in her late 90s. She left the property to a foundation in her name, and the gardens are now owned by the citizens of Montecito.

The gardens are truly stunning. My favorite garden was the Theater Garden. A theater with stage and seating all in plants. Curved hedges and a raised grassy area formed the stage. Rows of hedges behind and around the stage formed the backstage areas where props were stored and actors changed costumes. Madame actually staged plays there often. I had heard about Lotusland from my mother who had visited before but I didn’t quite grasp the uniqueness of what it was. It’s hard to until actually witnessing it in person. The only way to visit Lotusland is to make a reservation to go on a docent-lead tour. As mentioned above, our docent was Faye. Her knowledge of the plants, and the history of the place was astounding. Not only did she know every plant’s botanical name, she was also able to tell us where it came from, how it grows, and why Madame chose it for Lotusland. It was a vastly interesting two and half hour experience. One I absolutely recommend.

Me, my mother, Dawn, and Faye, our docent.

Pictures don’t really do it justice but here are few we took during our tour.

Lotusland is located in Montecito, California, for reservations call 805-969-9990, or e-mail: reservations@lotusland.org. Website: http://www.lotusland.org/

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: The Berghoff Cafe Cookbook and Cooking Light, a review of the redesign of the Time Inc. magazine.

*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