Good Food
Food on the Screen: Los Angeles
This week, we continue our conversation about food on the screen closer to home, in Los Angeles. Chef Niki Nakayama discusses how life has changed since being featured on the first season of Chef's Table on Netflix. Also on the show: how the pluot was born, Sichuan food in the SGV, the Lone Star State's many styles of BBQ, taking over the tap at LA Beer Week and vegan baking tips from a teen.
By Evan Kleiman • • 58m ListenPhoto: Chef Niki Nakayama of n/naka (Zen Sekizawa)
In this episode
6 storiesLife before and after 'Chef's Table' at n/naka
This time last year, it's possible you did not know the names Niki Nakayama and Carole Iida. Then the dynamic duo's restaurant, n/naka , was featured in the first season of Chef's Table on Netflix.
Read the story15 minHow the pluot was born
In the natural world, we depend on birds and bees to carry pollen from tree to tree to create new seeds of life. When two trees share the same species or genus, horticulturalists cross them to produce hybrid varieties that arguably yield deeper flavors and more robust physical features than the original breeds. That's how the pluot was born. When botanist Floyd Zaiger famously crossed a plum with a plumcot — a plumcot being a 50-50 hybrid of plum and apricot — a succulent fruit that looks like a plum but tastes of apricot was born. Ziegler called it a “pluot.” If you're in Santa Monica on a Wednesday or Sunday, stop by the Murray Family Farms ' stand and taste the pluots. Farmer Sean Murray will walk you through the farm's 16 varieties and the fruit's family tree. Luke LA pastry chef Joy Cuevas likes pluots in her cobblers because they retain their vibrant hues even after they're baked. Find her recipe on the Good Food blog . Music: "Bird of Paradise" by Fly By Pony
Read the story7 minJonathan Gold dines Sichuan-style at Dongpo in Arcadia
Jonathan Gold is no stranger to Sichuan cuisine. Now it's time to add another restaurant to the list: Meizhou Dongpo in the Westfield Santa Anita mall in Arcadia. Jonathan recommends the crispy Beijing duck that is carved before your eyes, the violently sputtering scarlet mapo tofu and the fish floating in a sea of chiles.
Read the story7 minBBQ in the Lone Star State
Kansas City, the Carolinas and Memphis have all got their own styles of barbecue. Then there's Texas. The Lone Star State has at least four kinds of 'Q all by itself, says Robb Walsh, three-time James Beard Award-winner and member of Foodways Texas.
Read the story12 minTaking over the tap at LA Beer Week
LA Beer Week kicks off this Saturday. The seven-day celebration of all things malty and hoppy moved us to ask Jolie Myers to fill us in on the latest trends in beer. Myers is the managing producer of KCRW's Press Play and covers the local beer scene for LA Magazine . Music: "Groove Holmes" by Beastie Boys
Read the story7 minHow to make that Elvis cake vegan (and other baking tips from a teen)
Fans of vegan food can get their fix this Saturday in Pasadena at the Vegan Beer and Food Festival . Clara Polito is one of dozens of vendors selling their goods at the fest this year. But her story is unique. Polito became a vegan when she was just a tween. Seeing a void in the vegan dessert market, she started baking.
Read the story8 min
