Only in L.A. would a flea market call their first weekend outing an opening. Indeed, the folks that bring deal-hunters and trend-makers the Fairfax Flea Market will start another flea market downtown. Every Sunday 9am to 4pm, starting this Sunday, a parking lot gets revitalized. Between Olive and Grand, you'll find the entrance on 8th street. DJs and live bands play throughout the day and typical fair food serves the parched. Admission is only $2. Kids and Seniors are free. A Farmer's Market will also be a part of the usual vendors but keep your leashed doggies out of the food section or risk the consequences of a health code violation. There's more info and booth pictures up on the website southparkfleamarket.com. I wonder if they staged a publicity shoot for the booth pics. How L.A.

Sundays - rain or shine
South Park Flea Market
8th & Grand Parking Lot
Downtown, 90014

Labels: events, food, shopping

Check out the buzz on CurbedLA and Eater LA.
plus Daily Candy.
plus Thrillist.

The coffee and cigarette drink intrigues me. That's a fine dark roast with tobacco infused whipped cream. Plus the decor is looking awfully sharp. But I dunno if this will be the best place to park a laptop in my yoga sweats and risk the chance of dirty looks. I dare someone to order a venti cafe con panna.


Lamill Coffee
1636 Silver Lake Blvd.
Silver Lake, 90026
323.663.4441

Labels: food, local

I survived Oktoberfest in Torrance last weekend. Next weekend I'll be dining on Brats once again at Nunchux: The Wine Toast VII's Oktoberfest themed event. Santos, the fearless founder behind The Wine Toast, brings the goods to this monthly speakeasy. He pours the wine at Silver Lake Wine and puts on the sommelier hat at the acclaimed AOC Wine Bar. Rest assured, foodies will not outnumber Oktoberfest fans at this wine event. Alternatively, Nunchux brings the best of both parties. Like the tastings at Silver Lake Wine there's bound to be some very delectable wines and beer along with eclectic and boutique pours. In this case the selection is all German. Santos has also made some tasty munchie selections. (He's promised high quality sauerkraut). Food prices stay around $5. Beer and wine is sold by the glass $4-$12. A cover of $4 ($2 if you RSVP in advance). All in all it won't set you back too much. As this is a true speakeasy - Cash Only.

Oh and did I mention the band I Make This Sound will do a live show? Their dreamy rock vibe pairs with a vibrant red quite nicely but I hope some Oktoberfest enthusiast requests the chicken dance.


Sunday, Oct. 14 7:30pm
Nunchux: The Wine Toast VII
2000 N. Figueroa (San Fernando & Figueroa)
Downtown, 90065
RSVP: nunchux@mail.com

Labels: bars, events, food

Tastespotting.com. I can't get enough of this site. It was recently described to me as the Food Porn Site. Go to it right now and you won't be sorry. In fact, you might just want to cancel your Gourmet subscription 'cuz the food bloggers of the world are taking over. I've never seen so many unique and delicious recipes in one spot. I used to troll Epicurious.com for recipes but after bland search results and flawed results I gave up looking there for cooking inspiration. Sometimes an event just calls for wow-ing food and sometimes you can't put your finger on what you're craving. Then along came the pretty pretty pictures on Tastespotting. Every day there's 36 new finds, complete with pictures, reviews, and recipes. They're collected from some of the hippest food blogs around the web. The recipes have plenty of commentary which makes them easy to follow for new comers and then some blogs provide challenges to the more experienced palate. Examples: Ever wonder what beet ice cream tasted like? Ever want to throw a Willy Wonka inspired picnic? These questions never crossed my mind before but now my recipe file expands with new twists on old standbys and just new inspiring delights. More than recipes, there's kitchen gadget reviews, party ideas, and updates on all food related debates - like designer bottled water. (Fabulous or Ridiculous?) They even have a widget you can place on your own desktop or blog to keep you updated to every new delight the tastespotters find. Just now I got hit with baklava ice cream, the ultimate scone recipe and salami and ricotta pies. My mouth won't stop watering.

Labels: food, reviews, www.internet.com

I don't want any more frozen yogurt shops in my neighborhood. They are taking up valuable retail space that could be gentrified into a delicious, organic salad bar like Mrs. Winston's.

I've had the fortune of working at two different office buildings which were both within steps from a Mrs. Winston's Salad Bar. Like a Whole Foods or City Bakery salad bar, they will rob your pocketbook. Unlike the aforementioned their selection is consistently stellar. My favorite aspect that sets Winston's on top is every cup of delight on the salad bar is finely chopped. No more messy cherry tomatoes. No more ginormous cucumber slices invading your lunchtime delight. And there are vegan options galore. I constantly crave the dairy free pasta salad choices, of which there are normally at least 4 varieties. Even if you go the omnivore route that's all the comfort with none of the guilt from mayo or processed animal bi-products.

After some time on the Winston's weekly fix and wearing out just about every possibility I stand by two original recipes. Start with the three compartment to-go container. Go in order on the salad bar line. Add a scoop of each ingredient.

Sunshine Salad
1. Mixed greens (that's your salad's base)
2. Dandelion greens
3. Cilantro
4. Shelled snap peas
5. Finely chopped cauliflower-broccoli mix
6. Broccoli sprouts
7. Shredded carrots
8. Corn kernels
9. Golden beets
dressing: Mustard Flax Oil
sides: Classic or dairy-free potato salad, Smoked vegan chicken pasta salad

I Heart Asian Salad
1. Romaine mix base
2. little spinach leaves
3. Purple basil leaves
4. Chopped red kale
5. Soy sprouts
6. Golden beets
7. Red beets
8. Hearts of palm
9. Cubed chicken pieces
dressing: Ginger Sesame
sides: Wasabi ramen noodles, Sugar snap peas

Items that make any salad better:
a. Purple basil
b. Finely chopped cauliflower-broccoli mix
c. noodles - crunchy or pasta
d. Tabasco (really!)


Mrs. Winston's Green Grocery only at these 3 Westside locations:

2901 Ocean Park Blvd.
Santa Monica, 90405

Water Garden office food court
2450 Colorado Ave.
Santa Monica, 90404

Century Towers office food court
1999 Avenue of the Stars
Century City, 90067

Just who is Mrs. Winston? I have yet to find out. All I know is she is one dedicated lady to providing all the flavorful healthy stuff. No stale brown rice cakes on her shelf! Still not organic-converted? Check out a song written by one very happy customer on Yelp.

Labels: DIY, food, reviews

Sunday evening Night Hawks alum Pedra Furmall shows her colorful figurative and plant studies along with photographer Yoshihiro Makino and painter Eszter Csaki in a mellow coffee house. Pedra and I cased the joint a couple weeks ago. I can finally say I've had a decent cup of espresso on the East Side. Atwater Village's Kaldi Coffee roasts all their own organic beans on the premises. The quiet easy-going vibe makes me think the laptop workers could actually get some work done in here too. With a couple small shops to the side and an authentic Cuban cafe a couple doors down, the old strip of Glendale Blvd. is finally living up to its Boho potential.

A reception with wine cheese and DJs will be held in Kaldi's courtyard. The art will adorn the walls until May 27th.

Sunday, May 6 6:00-10:00pm
GREEN art opening and reception
Kaldi Coffee
3147 Glendale Blvd.
Atwater Village, 90039

Labels: art, events, food, freebies

Did you know every year Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream has a free cone day? They do and it's today. Let the taxes filing go down easier with Cookie Dough or Cherry Garcia on the house. Today only at any Ben & Jerry's ice cream parlors. Click here to find one near you.

Labels: food, freebies

Today I had a double helping of gelato in honor of a double celeb sighting.
Sunday started off with brunch at Cliff's Edge. Also brunching on the shady patio, the natural and newly single Mandy Moore.
Then Night Hawks fliers. They're all over Sunset Blvd. now.
Then Gelato. Try almond flavored anything at Pazzo Gelato and you won't be sorry.
Dinner at Cha Cha Cha. Especially spicy everything tonight and no one was complaining.
Gelato for dessert. Also at Pazzo Gelato, Patrick Renna, best know as the funny fat kid from The Sandlot. My whole gelato-eating posse agreed The Sandlot is the best movie made about baseball. Also agreed, lemoncello sorbet = heaven in a dish.

Labels: celeb sighting, food

While I was away on turkey day, visiting family and friends back home in Encinitas, I came across some pleasant surprises in my sleepy home beach towns. It's definately worth a trip down south when the holiday pressure comes on.

Beach Grass Cafe
159 South Highway 101
Solana Beach, CA 92075
858.509.0632
Could not be a more perfect brunch place. The servings are huge but the food is healthy. Something I didn't know: They ranked #7 in the country for the best pancakes by AOL travel. It's no wonder. I had the blue corn pancakes with pineapple. It was like a navajo pineapple upside down cake. So sweet and cripsy you didn't need the butter and syrup. Their turkey hash is a favorite too - nice and spicy and a good combo with a mimosa, served in a large glass.

Grounded
25 East E Street
Encinitas, CA 92024
760.230.1563
The best holiday shopping this year is local shopping. This home & mainly garden shop has the prettiest gifts. They've got all the modern planters I tought I would never find outside of Palm Springs. Last year I was fortunate enough to receive one of their vases made especially for bulbs. The roots can get a little icky, so fill it with pretty pebbles.

Anthropologie
Forum at Carlsbad #4-158
Carlsbad, CA 92009
760.436.9110
Fashion has hit the strip malls. Their sales rack is impressively full with even more discounts being taken at the register (not something I can claim for all of the chain stores). I found the perfect soap dish I will use for collecting jewelry on my desk instead of soap for $4. Not to mention my dream silk dress.

Labels: food, reviews, shopping

That's Day of The Dead- aka All Saints Day aka All Souls Day, celebrated every November 1 & 2. Like a good Mexican Catholic holiday, the day comes with a lot of festive food, meant to be shared with family and friends, both living and departed. The skeletons of Halloween trade in gore for color and vibrancy all celebrating the beautiful mysteries of life and death. Celebrate the day with this recipe for the tastiest sweet bread - Pan de Muerto (Bread for the Dead). This recipe was originally published in the LA Times 1980. It was passed down to me by my high school Spanish teacher who encouraged us to make the bread for extra credit.
Once you get past the tedious hand kneading and rising of the dough, it's really easy to make different shapes, all guaranteed to plump up nicely in the oven, and follow with a sweet orange glaze. Get creative and make calaveras (skulls) with colored sugar and raisins. Don't forget the doves, symbols of souls going to heaven, and marigolds, the official flower of Saints Day.

Pan De Muerto
5 1/2 to 6 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon anise seeds
2 packages dry yeast
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup butter
4 eggs at room temperature
Place 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt, anise seeds and undissolved yeast in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Heat milk, water, butter in a saucepan until very warm. Gradually add milk mixture to the dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Add eggs and 1 cup flour. Beat at high speed 2 minutes. Stir in enough flour to make a stiff dough. Remove dough to lightly floured board and hand knead until smooth and elastic. Will take about 10 minutes. Grease a glass bowl and place dough inside, turning to coat and not to stick to bowl. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in bulk. Takes about 2 hours. Punch dough down and turn in bowl. If the dough feels full and elastic, cut into pieces and mold into the shapes of the skull - two balls for the head and jaw and a braided mouth works well. Or make one large ball into a loaf and decorate with flower and dove shapes on top. After dough is shaped, place on a greased baking sheet. Little dabs of water can help glue pieces together or use toothpicks. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. Bake at 350 degrees 40 minutes, or until bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Remove from baking sheet to cool. Apply orange glaze while still warm.

Orange Glaze
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons grated orange peel (not zest)

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 minutes. Spoon or brush over the bread. Decorate with colored sugar, candy sprinkles, raisins, or additional orange peel.

Labels: DIY, food

Sandra Oh dining at Dusty's brunchtime. Not the first time she's been known to frequent the popular brunch spot. Dusty's serves the finest quiche on Sunset, parking is easier than Brite Spot, and there's even valet for the evening. Get the cute waiters & waitresses to bring you a caraffe of coffee as it does get a little hectic on the weekends.

Labels: celeb sighting, food

Finally! A Friday evening Farmer's Market in our own backyard. While I'm stuck in rushhour traffic, I hear there's great stuff to be found here 3:00-7:00pm every Friday like Japanese dandelion greens and cheap flower arrangements. Made some killer salsa with Jalapenos and fresh peppers from some local gardens from the innagural market last week. Many say, puts the small Saturday farmer's market on Sunset to shame.

Echo Park Farmer's Market
Logan & Sunset Blvd. Fridays 3:00-7:00pm

Silver Lake Farmer's Market
Sunset Blvd. & Edgecliffe Saturdays 8:00am-1:00pm

Labels: food, local, shopping

According to the L.A. Times today, birthday sweets in schools, such as cupcakes, are being banned. In efforts to curb child obesity parents can send their kiddies to school with carrot sticks to share on their big day. How you gonna blow out your candles on carrot sticks? Ants on a log maybe, I guess as long as the peanut butter is fat free. The Times notes other states have sprung similar campaigns in schools with backlashes. I love that there is even a Safe Cupcake amendment in Texas, which guarantees parents' right to deliver unhealthful treats to the classroom. The right to bear conversation hearts and candy corn will never be threatened in the lone star state again! We can't say the same for the calorie conscious south land where the ban is controversial and varies from school to school. But the Times comparison chart of the nutrional value in a carrot stick versus a cupcake is laughable. Obesity among children is a plight directly associated with kids' impressionable eating habits. But I think even Richard Simmons would agree a little sweettooth now and then is a healthy way to not binge. Parents who still want to send their kids to school with sweets can look for alternatives. I'm a big fan of baked goods versus the over-processed super market slop. How about carrot cake instead of tongue staining blue icing? The kiddies can still blow out their candles while their classmates sing "Feliz Cumpleanos". Then, here's a thought, let them run those calories off on the playground.

Raw carrots		Cupcake
8 baby carrots	Serving size	1 cupcake
26	Calories	190
0	Calories from fat	80
0	Total fat, in grams	8
0	Cholesterol, in milligrams	25
0	Sodium, in milligrams	160
6	Total carbohydrates, in grams	26
172%	Vitamin A, daily recommended value	0%
10%	Vitamin C, daily recommended value	0%
2%	Calcium, daily recommended value	4%
0%	Iron, daily recommended value	2%

Low fat, low sugar (almost healthy?) recipes:
Almond Meringues - so simple and light but candy-like texture an 8-year old could love.
Strawberry Pie - what's healthier than fresh fruit and sugar free jello? Kids love jello!
Angel Food Cake - Substitute the berries for some Hershey's syrup and you've got the fave birthday cake of many "angels".

Labels: food, newsworthy

Tomorrow! Friday 9/14! 2 :00-4:00pm! Jane Lockhart, Sweet Lady Jane herself, will be giving away her signature goodies to celebrate the expansion of now available sweets at Gelson's Century City and Vicente Foods. Normally $5-$55 per cake - free for two hours only! They better have those lemon bars and hazlenut cupcakes I covet so dearly.
Vicente Foods
12027 San Vicente Blvd.
Brentwood

Labels: food, random

The summer ain't over yet, but uncomfortably close. So live it up over Labor Day, or any warm day for that matter with a cool glass of sangria. Sangria is a wine and fruit mixture originating in Spain. Supposedly this recipe was born when Spanish vineyards had a bad batch of red wine and couldn't bear to waste it. My recipe was born Easter weekend in college. Best part about Sangria is cheap wine works better and the fermentation just increases the alcohol content after a day - so if by a miracle there's leftovers, don't toss the cocktail.

1 bottle of red wine (Cabernet or Shiraz)
3 fresh oranges
2 fresh lemons
1 fresh lime
1 nectarine or peach
1/4 bag frozen strawberries.
1/4 cup Triple Sec
1/4 cup Orange Juice
1/4 cup Grape Juice

Thaw strawberries over luke warm water, don't toss the juice. Slice the strawberries into halves. Cut up nectarine into little squares (tiny bite size works best). Peel and slice lemons, cut into bite sized chunks - same for two of the oranges - save third for garnishes of thin slices. Place all fruit and juice at bottom of pitcher. Squeeze juice of lime over the fruit. Add wine, triple sec, juice. Stir. Serve chilled over ice.

Labels: DIY, food

Get on this podcast list stat. Two fellas, Matthew & Nathaniel, broadcast Home-Made out of San Diego promoting the music, recipes, art and films of enthusiastic hobbyists. Gathered songs, interviews, and delightfully incoherent stories come from friends from around the country. Find out what a couple of lightweights these guys are live on Friday nights FM 106.9 (San Diego area only) or check out the shows here.

Labels: DIY, food, music