We like living near the desert. Within a couple hours, we can be amongst the roadrunners, big horn sheep, ocotillo and old folks in golf carts. We enjoy navigating the endless tract housing subdivisions with romantic aspirational geographic names like Andalucia, Piedmont, Monticello and Puerta Azul (not a blue port for counties, by the way), set behind impressive walls and hedges on long stretches of grapefruit-tree-lined desert road. And always, looming majestically behind, the gorgeous spindly peaks of the San Jacinto Mountains.
Steak & Sinatra
01 Mar 2011 4 Comments
in On the Road Tags: Andalucia, Coachella, dates, grapefruit, Hula Pie, javelina, Palm Springs, Robert Wagner, Sinatra, surf n' turf, the Thompsons, Tommy Bahama
Responding to the Avant Garde
22 Feb 2011 5 Comments
in Observations, On the Road Tags: avant garde, el Bulli, Ferran Adria, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, modernism, molecular cooking, Picasso, Spain
Ferran Adria & staff on the beach at Cala Montjoi
I once exchanged emails with el Bulli. If you’re one of the increasingly few people on Earth who have not heard of el Bulli, it’s a restaurant on an isolated bay called Cala Montjoi on Spain’s Costa Brava, a couple hours north of Barcelona. And even if you’ve not heard of it, you’ve been eating its influence whether you recognized it or not for years. More
To Market, To Market…
18 Feb 2011 10 Comments
in Markets & Stores Tags: Bay Cities Italian Deli, Chinese, India Sweets & Spices, Indonesian, japanese, markets, Mexican, Mitsuwa, Nijiya, Sanchez Carniceria, Santa Monica Seafood, Simpang Asia, Tehran Market, Vallarta Market
I do a lot of driving around going to markets.
One of the greatest things about living in (near) Los Angeles is the number of great markets we have. (Do YOU have an Indonesian market near you!?) I once told a non-food-obsessed friend about all the markets I go to. He said, “You have a problem.” My biggest problem is that they’re not all lined up next to one another in a strip mall. So like I said, I drive.
I have been accused of being bourgeoise for my relentless proselytizing about eating fresh and shopping often. And I do realize that I am fortunate to work for myself and actually have the time to drive around to markets. More
A Valentine to My Kitchen
14 Feb 2011 3 Comments
in Observations, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories) Tags: kitchen, man cave, valentine
Some of my friends have “man caves.” Converted garages, bonus rooms, dens, workout rooms and tool-sheds where wives and children tread lightly; places where an exasperated male can retreat to play a video game, take a hit of weed, read a magazine or god knows what else… (I’ve never actually been in one, so this is all just speculation.) More
skinny girls & mayonnaise 