Good Food
A Valentine's Love Feast; Tet; Durian; Hearts for Haiti
To celebrate Valentine's Day, Good Food has tips for making a sexy feast for your sweetie. Plus, KCRW staff and volunteers share what they really want to do on Valentine's Day; and Eddie Lin celebrates Tet or Vietnamese New Year.
By Evan Kleiman • • 57m ListenValentine's Day is often a holiday of expectation and disappointment. We asked KCRW staff and volunteers how they would prefer to celebrate Valentine's Day. If you're preparing a meal for your sweetheart, Amy Reiley has a sexy menu that will put you in the mood for love. Haitian-born chef Ron Duprat is celebrating the holiday with Hearts for Haiti, a benefit at restaurants across the country. Nat Bletter loves fruit - and he's tried over 250 kinds. He shares some of the best, and worst. If you're planning on going out to eat, Lesley Balla knows where to go. She's got a list of great date places. Chinese and Vietnamese New Years fall on Valentine's Day. Eddie Lin and Ann Le compare notes on the two celebrations. Jonathan Gold of the LA Weekly and Robert Sietsema of New York's Village Voice square off with an East coast / West coast throwdown. Chris O'Brien calls himself a beer activist. He explains just what exactly that means. Plus Supermarket Guru Phil Lempert has "koodies." What exactly that means, today on the show. And, Laura Avery has the scoop on what's fresh at the Santa Monica Farmers Markets this week.
In this episode
10 storiesMarket Report
It's all about the chanterelle mushrooms this week. Farmer Louie Mello of San Luis Opispo is bringing in lots of chanterelles that grow wild on his property. These mushrooms have a firm texture that holds up well to poaching, sauteeing and grilling. Some are as large as dinner plates while others are much smaller.
Read the story7 minHearts for Haiti
Ron Duprat is a Haitian-born chef living in Hollywood, Florida. He recently appeared in Season 6 of Bravo's Top Chef . He is organizing a Valentine's Day benefit in support of Haiti earthquake relief efforts.
Read the story3 min250 Varieties of Fruit
Nat Bletter is an ethnobotanist living in Hawaii. He travels frequently to Thailand where he samples a wide variety of exotic fruits. On a recent trip he tried Durian, a very smelly fruit that is banned in a lot of places.
Read the story5 minNY vs. LA Throwdown
Robert Sietsema is the restaurant critic for the Village Voice . Jonathan Gold writes the Counter Intelligence column for the LA Weekly . They are good friends and frequently dine together.
Read the story8 minA Valentine's Love Feast
Amy Reiley is the author of Fork Me, Spoon Me .
Read the story4 minWhat We Really Want on Valentine's Day
These are the voices of KCRW staff and volunteers, gathered during KCRW's winter pledge drive. Music break: Squatty Roo by the John Buzon Trio
Read the story4 minHappy New Year!
Eddie Lin writes the blog DeepEndDining.com and he is the author of Extreme Cuisine . He celebrated Tet, or Vietnamese new year with Ann Le, author of The Little Saigon Cookbook .
Read the story6 minSaving the World with Beer
Chris O'Brien is a beer activist. He advocates the craft beer movement, which he argues is better for the environment and the community. Now there are about 1500 craft breweries operating in the U.S. than there were decades ago. Some small brewers are now even growing their own hops .
Read the story7 minKoodies
Phil Lempert is the Supermarket Guru. He's created a social networking site for kids who are "foodies," also called " koodies ."
Read the story3 minDate Places in LA
Lesley Balla is the Los Angeles editor for Tasting Table LA .
Read the story10 min
