Fruits and Vegetables

Feria de los Moles This Weekend: Puebla vs. Oaxaca

Last year's Feria de los Moles (or Mole Fair) at L.A.'s Olvera St. drew 30,000 people -- and with good reason. The annual event, now in its fifth year and happening this Sunday, Oct. 7 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., celebrates this classic Mexican dish with food, music, dance, workshops, and even a friendl ... More >>

Fruits and Vegetables May Help Smokers Kick the Habit

If you're trying to quit smoking, you might want to take a trip to your local farmers market: According to a study conducted by University at Buffalo researchers, eating fruits and vegetables may help smokers kick the habit. One thousand smokers 25 years or older were surveyed about their smoking ... More >>

Jonathan Gold Reviews Guisados

Recipe: Birria de Borrego Estilo Sinoloa y Norte Africano

Medardo WinklerBirria de Borrego​ This birria de borrego, or lamb birria, comes from Test Kitchen Assistant and master of dried chile sauces, Medardo Winkler. His education in birria comes directly from his family, who run birria stands in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Winkler is also entrusted wi ... More >>

A Recipe From the Chef: Alex Moreno's Turduckenizo Albondigas

courtesy of CASATurduckenizo Albondigas at CASA.​ As a huge football fan, CASA owner Mario del Pero and executive chef Alex Moreno were inspired by John Madden's annual turducken cookout to make a turducken of their own. Only this one is made in meatball form with a blend of Mexican spices. ... More >>

Hsi Lai Vegetarian Buffet: Chew With Purpose

Ben CalderwoodClimbing the hill to the temple entrance​ Most people visiting Hsi Lai Temple, the 15-acre Hacienda Heights campus of Taiwan's Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order, seek spiritual rather than culinary restoration. This is born out by the contents of Hsi Lai's vegetarian lunch buffet, ser ... More >>

Happy Summer: Top 10 Paletas and/or Popsicles

J. KoslowPopshop Creations​ With Southern California's sunny climate and proximity to Mexico, the paleta has been alive and well for decades. Now that the NYT has conveniently proclaimed that ice cream sandwiches are out and frozen-treats-on-a-stick are back in, we thought we'd look around L ... More >>

Market Report: A Photo Gallery of What's In Season at the Farmers Market

Summertime -- okay, technically give it a few more days -- is a glorious time at Los Angeles farmers markets. The marine layer burns off, the sky is cornflower blue and perplexingly clear, the heat hasn't been turned up as high as it's going to get in, say, September and October, and the market stal ... More >>

A Recipe From the Chef: Dorie Greenspan's La Palette Strawberry Tart Recipe

Walk around any Los Angeles farmers market -- or head to Oxnard this weekend -- and you'll see strawberry season in full display, the baskets and flats of Gaviotas and Albions, Chandlers and Seascapes, arranged like ad hoc garnet jewel cases. And after you eat your fill, take an extra few pints home ... More >>

Market Report: A Photo Gallery of What's In Season at the Farmers Market

A. ScattergoodRamps at Clearwater Farm​ The Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market is one of those places in Los Angeles where it's nice to have a crowd, unlike, say, Hollywood Boulevard during summer vacation, with its jumbled claustrophobia of tourists, mimes and people dressed up like Jack ... More >>

Treat Her Right: Mother's Day Dining Options

Flickr user Bakerella​ Mother's Day in Los Angeles always brings the gift of good May weather, and the perennial foolproof option of a Sunday farmers' market visit followed by a home cooked meal. But here are a few other suggestions on how to treat a deserving lady right, since chances are th ... More >>

What's in Season at the Farmers Market: Sweet Spring Onions

Felicia Friesema​ So do we call them scallions? Or spring onions? We call them a pleasure, especially raw, especially copiously, especially now. But let's clear up a little of the confusion. Are scallions and spring onions the same? We turn to Elizabeth Schneider, author of Vegetables fro ... More >>

Deborah Madison's New Fruit Cookbook A Killer Yogurt Ice Cream Recipe

​Seckel pears poached in red wine with pepper and star anise. Green rhubarb tarts in corn flour crust. White peaches in lemon verbena and lavender syrup. Yes, please. When you see a copy of the gorgeous new dessert cookbook by Deborah Madison, she of Greens Restaurant and vegetarian cookbook ... More >>

What's in Season at the Farmers Markets: First Zucchinis

Felicia FriesemaNear black 'Aristocrat' zucchini​ When we saw the first big pile of zucchini at the market this past weekend, we thought of two things. One, it's an undeniable marker that summer is sneaking up on us, just when we'd started celebrating spring. And two, it reminded us of a story ... More >>

Dumpling Station Food Truck Launches

Los Angeles has plenty of Thai food, but what about Tai food? Outside of the San Gabriel Valley, it can be hard to find Taiwanese dumplings. Hoping to bring these delicate balls of meat, vegetables, and dough to the masses, Helen Pan, 25, and Chris Aragon, 28, launched the Dumpling Station food truc ... More >>

Passover Planner: Restaurant Seders Around Town

Photo: J. RitzEvan Kleiman's matzo ball soup at Angeli.​ The two nights of Passover seder 5770 fall on Monday, March 29 and Tuesday, March 30. Our local, trusty, sophisticated Passover mavens honor the broad Jewish culinary diaspora while hewing to some familiar traditions as well. Bottom lin ... More >>

Into the Abyss

Another week in the life of Jonathan Gold's belly

Go Geaux Go for Super Bowl Food and Drink Deals & Meals

Sprinkles​Even for some people who generally don't give two hoots about the Super Bowl, this year's game is interesting. At the very least it's an excuse to gorge on gumbo and beignets. Or look to the following local restaurants, delis and bakeries for game appropriate meals and snacks. Who s ... More >>

What's in Season at the Farmers Markets: Pomelos and Romanesco Broccoli

California was initially built on two things: the Gold Rush and citrus. And this month the granddaddy of all citrus - the pomelo - rolls in and takes over whatever space it can. It's pretty giant - its genus/species names are citrus grandis and citrus maximus after all. And currently, the U.S. le ... More >>

What's in Season at the Farmers Markets: Sweet Cherimoya

Of the traditional winter fruits of California, the cherimoya is increasingly sharing space in the fruit bowl. While generally considered a native of Central and South America, the cherimoya exemplifies the sometimes spoiled spirit of a native Californian - it likes cool weather, but not too cool. ... More >>

10 Best Breakfasts: Out of the Bowl and Into a Brioche

Day in and day out, many of us are hooked on the following routine: the drape over the kitchen sink to slurp up our cereal, or the dodging of speed bumps and monitoring of traffic signals between spoonfuls of yogurt or--if we're stuck in the 80s--cottage cheese. It's easy to forget that breakfast ca ... More >>

A Recipe From the Chef: Alain Giraud's Provencal Vegetable Soup Au Pistou

Not a bad weekend to stay at home and make soup, all things considered. This recipe for Provençal vegetable soup au pistou, from Anisette Brasserie chef-partner Alain Giraud (see yesterday's interview with Giraud), would be just the thing: a meal in a bowl, and pretty as the spring we'll have one o ... More >>

Top 10 Places To Work on Your New Year's Food Resolutions: (Healthy) Dishes That Won't Kill You

Come January, after the caloric blow-out of the holidays, everybody decides they need to start eating healthier. It doesn't really last, since most people equate healthy with things like undressed salads and unmarinated tofu. But it doesn't have to be like that. Eating healthy can mean lots of India ... More >>

What's in Season at the Farmers Markets: Carrot Overload

Whether it's doing the heavy lifting in a mirepoix or getting a casual chomp in hand, green fronds dangling cartoon-style, the common carrot is anything but these days. It's one of many market vegetables that we're lucky enough to see year round, but it really hits its stride in January. Available ... More >>

Joe Miller Talks Green Garbanzos Jill Davie's Garbanzo Guacamole Recipe

Chef Joe Miller of Joe's restaurant in Venice used to sprinkle green garbanzos, the fresh version of dried chickpeas, sparingly over his dishes. "Garbanzos can get so expensive at the farmers market because farmers often use them more like black-eyed peas -- as ground cover and fertilizer for their ... More >>

A Recipe From the Chef: Suzanne Tracht's Pot Roast

Jar's pot roast​Since Suzanne Tracht, opened Jar, her Los Angeles chop house, in 2001, there has been one recipe that epitomizes her approach to comfort food more, perhaps, than any other: the Jar pot roast. It has never been off the menu, even in L.A.'s blistering summers when pot roast, you' ... More >>

A Recipe From the Chef: Collin Crannell's Lobster Salad

Chef Collin Crannel took over Santa Monica's seafood standby, The Lobster, just one month ago, and has already begun to infuse the menu with some surprising new dishes. Here is the recipe for one such dish, his lobster salad-- but as you can see from the photo below, it does not contain mayonnaise ( ... More >>

Top 10 Christmas Dining Options If You're Going Out This Year, For Whatever Reason

Because your mother-in-law is critical of your cooking. Because your mother-in-law always burns the roast. Because you've been finding Pepperidge Farm bread crumbs scattered about your kitchen since Thanksgiving. Because this year you just don't have time. For whatever reason you're not cooking or ... More >>

Top 10 Places to Grab Your Gyro and Go

If you're hankering for a little Greek food in the near future, then the quintessential meal on the go is the gyro, what some call the original wrap. The ingredients are deceptively simple, like good tacos al carbon, but Mediterranean style. It's composed of roasted meat, usually spit-roast lamb; m ... More >>

What's in Season at the Farmers Markets: Cured Onions and Sapote

There isn't really a wrong time to eat an onion. You can eat them at the sprout stage as thin light green whisps with their black seeds still attached. And everyone knows the value of a young spring onion here--either green or red--with their bright and savory punch. Mid-summer we get those giant ... More >>

What's in Season at the Farmers Markets: Carrots and Greens get Sweeter

Wintertime in Southern California requires our farmers to dig a little deeper than usual. While carrots, beets, and other root veggies are available across multiple seasons, they reach their peak flavor when hit by a little colder weather. Carrots and root vegetables are especially sweeter now tha ... More >>

A Recipe From the Chef: Walter Manzke's Cassoulet

Cassoulet is a great winter bistro dish, a homey baked casserole from the south of France that is absolutely nothing like the bland casseroles of most American childhoods. (Unless you happen to have French relatives or have won the food lottery and grown up nextdoor to Paula Wolfert.) Walter Manzke ... More >>

It's All Fours at Checkers: $4 Margaritas This Week

A classic Partida margarita​You don't have to write anything in your date book. Just remember the number 4. Then you'll know that on the 4th day of the work week, Thursday, you go at 4 p.m. to FOUR at Hilton Checkers Los Angeles. From 4 until 8 (which is twice 4), you can buy drinks and small ... More >>

Todd Allison Debuts at Checkers With A New Menu Allison's Recipe for Cranberry Pistachio Pesto

Checkers chef Todd Allison​The scaffolding outside the Hilton Checkers this week is just one sign of what has been going on there. The hotel has not only revamped guest rooms and downstairs lounges but has redesigned its restaurant, Checkers Downtown. The idea is to make it a top spot for dinn ... More >>

What's in Season at the Farmers Markets: Root Vegetables, Citrus, More Persimmons

In other parts of the country -- the parts with blustery, wintery, freezing weather -- the farmers markets are depressingly closed this time of year. Not so in LA, thanks to dozens of micro-climates that produce year-round artichokes (Suncoast Farms in Lompoc), asparagus (also Suncoast, plus a few ... More >>

Make It & Take It Party: Beer, Live Music, Pies YOU Make Jennie Cook's Stuffed Squash Recipe

Need to learn how to make a really good pie -- and fast -- but don't have $80 to $150 to spare on those fancy cooking classes around town? Neither do we. Enter Jennie Cook, this year's Best Of LA penny-pinching caterer. Cook is hosting her second annual Thanksgiving "Make It & Take It" party this Su ... More >>

Turkey Dinners Around Town: A Thanksgiving Round-Up

While Thanksgiving should be a time of celebration and unrepentant gluttony, if you're the one stuck in the kitchen burning your fingers and mopping bread crumbs and eggs off the floor, maybe you'd be happier just going out or ordering in. From a $10 holiday tasting menu at Akasha to a $68 buffet a ... More >>

Market Report: Pineapple Guavas from Sycamore Hill Ranch

Amidst the barrels of apples, persimmons, and squash at last Sunday's Hollywood farmers market, a new fruit was up for grabs. Tucked between oranges and pomegranates on Sycamore Hill Ranch's table, green pineapple guavas caught the eye of more than a few shoppers who wondered just what the fruit was ... More >>

A Recipe From the Chef: Potato and Reggiano Soup from Eva Restaurant's Mark Gold

Eva Restaurant has only been open a short while, in the former Hatfield's location on Beverly Boulevard, but it was packed last night, the patrons taking shelter from the sudden rainstorm. Slightly damp diners ate bowlsful of warm potato-Reggiano soup as the rain came down, chef-owner Mark Gold ushe ... More >>

Market Report: Pears at Penryn a Persimmon Update (Say That 5 X Fast)

At the Santa Monica farmers market yesterday morning, farmer Jeff Rieger of Penryn Orchard Specialties wanted to talk about persimmons. On the table were crates of Muscat de Hambourg grapes (the last day for them). Yali Chinese pears, with their "hint of star anise" (a couple more weeks). Mutsu, als ... More >>

Market Report: Pears A Recipe for Rustic Canyon's Pear-Fennel Salad

It's finally September, which fact you can tell by the school bus fleets, the onset of Trojan football season, and the resurgence of pears at farmers markets. This morning at the Santa Monica farmers market, the Flora Bella Farm stand was heavy with crates of them: Asian pears, red Bartlett pears an ... More >>

New Cooking Class at Barbrix with Chef Don Dickman Recipe For Roasted Cauliflower Salad

If you're one of those diners who's happiest to eat your meal while watching the chef prepare it, then you'll love what's coming up at Barbrix. You may already know about the small number of counter seats in back at the Silver Lake Restaurant/Wine Bar (or Wine Bar/Restaurant) where diners can watch ... More >>

What's In Season at the Farmers Markets: Prickly Pears, Grapes, and Pluots

Felicia FriesemaHeirloom tomatoes at South Pasadena Farmers Market​As summer begins to wind down (it's mid-August already?), the market tables become a metaphorical sunset of yellows, oranges, pinks, and reds. The most obvious are the piles of corn, peaches, and tomatoes--glut crops that are ... More >>

Your Neighborhood Lemonade Stand: Lemonade Opens a New Location on Abbot Kinney

Lemonade, which opened a third location today on Abbot Kinney in Venice, is not a place for the indecisive. Walking into the airy, two-room restaurant is like walking into a farmers market talent show. Roasted Brussels sprouts tossed with Parmesan, cauliflower roasted with saffron and sprinkled with ... More >>

Il Grano's Tomato Wednesdays A Recipe for Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho

Every Wednesday during summertime's peak tomato season, Il Grano chef-owner Salvatore Marino puts on a show, constructing a menu built entirely around the tomato. These are not your average tomatoes, or even ones he brings back from the nearby farmers market, but tomatoes Marino grows himself and pi ... More >>

Squash Blossoms 101: Barbrix's Don Dickman on Frying Flowers

Behold the squash blossom. Mermaid's Purse of the garden. Princess of perishability. An intimidating proposition for those accustomed to artichokes. A humbling revelation for squash enthusiasts convinced they've mastered all the intricacies of the zucchini. Edible flowers are something curious you w ... More >>

Meyer Lemons: What to Buy Now At the Farmers Market

Amy ScattergoodMeyer lemons at Garcia Farm's stall​A Meyer lemon is something that you might take for granted living in Southern California, the way you can overlook the ocean's permanent composition of place and the (usually) stunning weather. You should not. Leticia Garcia, of Garcia Organic ... More >>

Summer Seasonals: Farmers Market Finds You Don't Want To Miss

Felicia FriesemaMarket tomatoes​All the big summer market favorites are hitting their stride right now - peaches and other stone fruits, corn, and lordy, the tomatoes. Mountains of each line the market alleys at the Pasadena and Hollywood markets this week and all of them grab your attention ... More >>

When the Growing Gets Tough: Take a Workshop with Silver Lake Farms' Tara Kolla

Tara Kolla knows gardening can be daunting. Take her case: She works her half-acre backyard and business, Silver Lake Farms, almost entirely by herself. For the past three years, she's been showing beginners the ropes with semi-weekly workshops in her neighborhood. (The next one is Thu., July 30.) A ... More >>

Platine's Jamie Cantor: From the French Laundry to her Culver City Bakery A Summer Fruit Crisp Recipe

If you ask baker Jamie Cantor, of Platine bakery in Culver City, where she learned to cook, she probably won't mention the prestigious CIA in New York where she attended grad school, or The French Laundry where she worked for a year as a commis and then a chef di partis. Cantor, who grew up in Miami ... More >>