05 Aug 2014
by scolgin
in Eating Out, World's Best Sandwiches
Tags: Bachi Burger, Ballast Point, Father's Office, food trends, gastropub, Greg Berman, hamburgers, Jonathan Gold, Plan Check, Sawtelle
Heading to lunch at a local restaurant called Plan Check with my friend and business associate Greg, we got talking about burger saturation.
The “smokey and spicy PCB” (Plan Check Burger)
Our local Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic, Jonathan Gold, named Plan Check #71 in his 101 Best Restaurants in L.A. 2014. It is the poster child of the now overused designation of “gastropub.” A superb restaurant indeed, it served a delicious selection of craft beers — including my current favorite, Ballast Point Sculpin IPA — a variety of fingery bar foods and artisan pickles, and several carefully curated hamburgers. More
04 Jul 2014
by scolgin
in Eating Out, Markets & Stores, On the Road, World's Best Sandwiches
Tags: Bodie, Ferry Building, Lake Tahoe, Rose Pistola, Route 116, San Francisco, Slanted Door, tri-tip, Wagyu, Wine Guerrilla
Summer is a wonderful time in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley. The days are long and the nights warm, the river languid and inviting.
Relaxing on the river
We typically spend time in the late fall at my mom’s house near the river — hunting mushrooms, sitting by fires and exchanging early Christmas gifts. But when my mom and her partner, Bruce, asked me to come cook for an event at our family winery, I saw the perfect opportunity to extend a one-day event into a nine-day family vacation! More
25 Apr 2014
by scolgin
in Eating Out, Food, Pork
Tags: buffet, food, humor, silent auction, The 1909, Topanga, Topanga Elementary Charter School, Topanga Hustle, wood burning pizza oven
They first approached me about cooking for the elementary school’s silent auction a couple years back. This year, they meant it. And being that it was for the good of the kids, I agreed!
Glass candle baubles dangle from the oaks at 1909
I don’t often do large events — when I cook for others, it’s usually private dinners — and the logistics would be a challenge. The event, 200 or so people gathered to eat, drink, bid on things they really didn’t need, would have a 1970s “Topanga Hustle” theme. More
25 Mar 2014
by scolgin
in Eating Out, On the Road, Recipes
Tags: Anthony Bourdain, black clams, Bodeguita del Medio, Casa Tres Coronitas, Mexican cooking, Mexico, Pancho's Takos, patas, Puerto Vallarta, uni
I had successfully taken over the kitchen at Casa Tres Coronitas — at least for a couple of our nights here. And Marilu actually seemed somewhat relieved.
At the PV Farmer’s Market
Out on the boat with our amigo Mario fishing, looking for whales, snorkeling and loitering on beaches, we’d caught a big red snapper and a couple of smaller fish that appeared to be in the tuna family. The little fish I made into a Mexican crudo with lime, chili, cilantro, onions and Jugo — the Mexican equivalent of soy sauce — while the larger fish I left to Marilu to grill, one of her specialties. (I didn’t want to steal her thunder. And her fish was delicioso, I could’ve done no better.) More
03 Sep 2013
by scolgin
in Eating Out, Recipes, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories)
Tags: Ernie Demontreux, food, humor, Malibu, pop-up restaurant, Topanga Canyon, Topanga Elementary, Trust Ranch, Wine Guerrilla
In cooking, as in many things in life, it’s all a matter of scale.
The chefs — (l to r) your humble author and pals, Ernie and Peri
“That’s not enough gazpacho for 60 people!” my wife declared, alarmed, as I walked through the kitchen with a gallon bag a quarter full of soup. “I have another bag,” I said.
“It’s still not enough!” More
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