Good Food
Chinese New Year; Edible Aphrodisiacs; Eating Snake
Three food lovers share their ideas for celebrating Valentine’s Day. One chooses chocolate roses from the 99¢ Store, another opts for beef heart tartare.
By Evan Kleiman • • 57m ListenThree food lovers share their ideas for celebrating Valentine's Day: chef CJ Jacobson is cooking beef heart, sex therapist Linda de Villers suggests finger foods at home, and independent producer Gideon Brower highlights the heart-shaped offerings at the 99¢ Store. For those celebrating Saint Valentine with wine, New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov has tips for seeking out the bottles that you love. Chinese New Year is this Sunday; food writer and cookbook author Fuchsia Dunlop shares some traditional recipes and Deep End Diner Eddie Lin celebrates the Year of the Snake with seven courses of boa constrictor. Jonathan Gold visits the newly designed Spago and offers a glowing review of chef Wolfgang Puck's new menu. Plus, Laura Avery talks to chef David LeFevre and farmer Pernilla Carpenter about the variety of winter greens at the Santa Monica Farmers Market.
In this episode
8 storiesMarket Report
David LeFevre is the chef and owner of MB Post in Manhattan Beach. He recently visited Coastal Organics, a 15-acre farm in Santa Paula run by the Carpenter family. He is using cavolo nero (Tuscan kale) from Coastal Organics in a salad of quinoa, beets, kale and goat cheese. Pernilla Carpenter is part of the family that runs Coastal Organics.
Read the story6 minSpago 4.0
Spago , perhaps the most famous restaurant in Los Angeles, closed last summer for a renovation. Jonathan Gold reviews the new design and the new menu, which he calls Spago 4.0.
Read the story9 minCooking for the Chinese New Year
Fuchsia Dunlop is a food writer and cookbook author. She was the first Westerner to train at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine. Her new book is Every Grain of Rice : Simple Chinese Home Cooking. You'll find two Chinese New Year recipes from the book over on the Good Food blog .
Read the story8 minSeven Courses of Boa Constrictor
Deep End Diner Eddie Lin attends a dinner where snake is the star of the meal. Chef Lupe Liang of Hop Woo restaurant in Chinatown cooks a seven-course meal for Lin and his family. Snake is eaten regularly in China where it is thought to keep you warm, give you strength and keep mosquitoes at bay.
Read the story11 minValentine's Day at the 99 Cent Store
Independent producer Gideon Brower finds Valentine's Day treats at mini-markets and the 99¢ Stores in Santa Monica. See more of his photos on the Good Food blog .
Read the story3 minEdible Aphrodisiacs for Valentine's Day
Linda de Villers is a psychologist and sex therapist in Los Angeles where she teaches psychology at several local colleges. She is also a self-proclaimed foodie and the author of Simple Sexy Food . Her book is filled with edible aphrodisiac suggestions and Valentine's Day-worthy recipes. Try her Bagna Cauda recipe on the Good Food blog .
Read the story7 minEating Hearts
Chef CJ Jacobson is best known for his appearance on Top Chef. You can also find him at The Mercantile on Sunset and this Thursday through Sunday at this is not a pop-up in East Hollywood. He will be cooking a prix fix dinner on Valentine’s Day and beef heart is on the menu.
Read the story6 minHow to Love Wine
Eric Asimov is the chief wine critic for the New York Times. His recent book, How to Love Wine : A Memoir and Manifesto, encourages wine drinkers not to be intimidated by wine scores and wine culture. He says it's best to find the wines you love and just simply enjoy them.
Read the story7 min
