This Week on Good Food: Food Trends, Quinoa, Drinking on the Cheap in Vietnam

Photo by Lisa Hamilton

What makes an effective food trend? Lisa Hamilton tells us about the fight over quinoa in Bolivia. Plus, Jonathan Gold tries a new great spot for paella in L.A.

Highlights from this week’s show:

1. What Makes a Food Trend?–David Sax talks about what makes a food trend stick. Plus, Evan Kleiman and Jonathan Gold sample chia pudding–one of L.A.’s current food trends– and share their thoughts.

2. The Fight Over Quinoa–Lisa Hamilton investigated the worldwide fight over the genetic resources of Quinoa for an article in Harpers Magazine earlier this year.

3. Drinking on the Cheap in Vietnam–Independent producer Christopher Johnson explores drinking culture in Vietnam. Specifically, he looks at the wildly popular Bia Hoi, a draft beer in Vietnam that contains no preservatives.

This segment was made possible by KCRW’s Independent Producer Project.

4. Geography of Tea–The geography of coffee is a frequent discussion among aficionados, but tea production has equivalent distinctions that aren’t as often recognized. California-born, fourth generation, Charlene Wang, has traveled extensively through Asia and this week on the show she shares the subtle and dramatic differences of the tea-growing regions.

5. Jonathan Gold Reviews smoke.oil.salt–Jonathan Gold is the Pulitzer Prize-winning food writer for the Los Angeles Times. This week he reviews smoke.oil.salt, a new Spanish restaurant from Chef Perfecto Rocher on Melrose. Jonathan recommends you go on Sundays, the only night of the week that they serve paella.

Jonathan recommends the Valencian tripe stew, espencat de moixama, seafood salpicon in horchata, artichoke omelet, grilled quail with lentils and chickpeas, grilled Iberico pork with smoked green onions, paella.

smoke.oil.salt

7274 Melrose Ave

Fairfax

(323) 930-7900

All of Jonathan Gold’s restaurant recommendations are on the Good Food restaurant map.

6. Market Report–Laura Avery talks to Elizabeth Poett of Rancho San Julian in Lompoc about how the drought is affecting cattle ranchers.

Farmer Oliver Woolley has been coming to the Santa Monica Farmers Market for many years selling proteas, and a couple of years he shifted to the heritage pork breeding business. He talks about why he made the change.