Good Food
Finding Mumbai in LA; Mercury Poisoning; Beer Chicks
Recession got you anxious? Brew your own beer. Its therapeutic and you can end up with something to take the edge off. How to get to Mumbai in your car. Who regulates canned tuna? You'll be surprised to find out. How high end chocolate improved lives in Ecuador and saving money when you buy wine. Plus a trip to the farmers market for blood oranges and miner's lettuce.
By Evan Kleiman • • 1h 0m ListenChicks are brewing their own beer says bartender and home brewer Nathalie Balandran. Peter Langenstein buys wine from a negociant -- a high-priced name for a bargain situation. Mira Advani says the route to Mumbai from LA is a short drive down the freeway. Restaurants are popping up all over LA and Lesley Balla gives us a few to try. What can happen when you eat a can of tuna every day for five years? Bad things. Stephanie Mencimer traces the beaurocratic maze that regulates canned tuna. Chef Michael Cimarusti loves the fish soup known as boullaibase. Kallari Chocolate's Judy Logback found that small steps can improve the lives of the Ecuadoreans who grow cacao for the company. Plus Laura Avery talks with chef DJ Olsen about blood oranges and she samples Miner's Lettuce.
In this episode
8 storiesMarket Report
Lou Wine Bar chef DJ Olsen always has delicious ideas for how to make the best of local produce. He tells us about a cake made with coarse polenta or cornmeal. He uses a turkey baster to inject this dense but moist cake with lots of juice from blood oranges. It results in beautiful red and orange swirls.
Read the story7 minWomen Brewing Beer
Nathalie Balandran brews beer with the Pacific Gravity Ladies Homebrew Club , an offshoot of the co-ed Pacific Gravity Brew Club. The club meets monthly at Culver City Homebrew Supply store. A basic home brewing system costs $70. Music Break: The Silver Meter by John Patton
Read the story7 minBuying Wine from a Negociant
Peter Langenstein is the owner of Brix 26 , a personalized wine consultation service based in San Francisco. Peter recommends buying wine from a negociant as a money-saving option. A negociant is a merchant who purchases wine from smaller growers and vintners. The wine is sold under the name of the negociant, not the original producer.
Read the story7 minFinding Mumbai in L.A.
Los Angeles is a sister city to Mumbai, India, which explains the rapidly expanding Little India, a section off of Pioneer Boulevard in Artesia . There you can find Indian ice cream -- both the Kulfi and Falooda varieties -- among many other snacks. Mumbai cuisine is known for its seafood and snacks.
Read the story7 minTasting Table Finds
Lesley Balla is the L.A. Editor for Tasting Table , a daily email newsletter spotlighting restaurants around town. Since joining Tasting Table, Lesley has been surprised by a number of spots including Church & State (1850 Industrial St.), owned by Steven Arroyo (of Cobras and Matadors).
Read the story7 minMercury in Canned Tuna
Stephanie Mencimer is a writer for Mother Jones. A recent article she wrote about a woman's mystery illness describes a complex and baffling maze of regulatory bureaucracy. After eating canned tuna every day for years, Deborah Landvik-Fellner's hair began falling out and she experienced painful and strange symptoms.
Read the story7 minBouillabaisse
Michael Cimarusti is the chef/owner of Providence (5955 Melrose Ave.), where they sometimes have bouillabaisse on the menu. This French soup is traditionally from Marseille and contains various types of fish and shellfish.
Read the story7 minConscious Chocolate
Judy Logback is a co-founder of the Kallari Association , a co-operative of 850 indigenous cacao farmers and producers in the Napo region of the Ecuadorian Amazon. The Kichwa people grow, harvest and produce the chocolate under the Kallari label. All the proceeds from Kallari chocolate bars go straight to the indigenous group.
Read the story7 min
