houndofmusic's Profile
Santa Monica Farmers Market (Saturday)
I should add that if you want porcini, you should try to get there as early as you can. David West is the vendor and he does sell out.
Santa Monica Farmers Market (Saturday)
You mean Kathy Lindner? She's a delight. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of bison meat and have only tried the ground bison. FWIW, her product seems better than any bison meat I've seen in grocery stores.
Santa Monica Farmers Market (Saturday)
I hope you understand that the premier farmers market in LA, by far, is the Wednesday SM market and not Saturday. Saturday is good but there are a number of key farmers who only come to Wednesday. If you can only make it up here during the weekend, I would rate the Sunday Hollywood farmers market above the Saturday SM market. I would avoid the Sunday SM market like the plague.
For tips on what's in season, Laura Avery gives a weekly market report which you can hear at the start of Evan Kleiman's Good Food show on kcrw.com. Laura is the manager of the Wednesday SM market. David Karp also writes about specific fruits in season in the LA Times. Good luck and enjoy.
California Olive Oil in Los Angeles
Evan Kleiman had a good discussion of California olive oils on her show a couple weeks ago. Here's a link to her site where you can stream the podcast.
http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/gf/gf100529seed_bombs_boysenber
McEvoy is probably the best known California olive oil. Bristol Farms sells it as well as a number of other California oils. I think Joan's on Third also has it.
The problem with buying olive oil at the farmers markets is that your choices will obviously be far more limited than at a retail store. Adams Ranch sells at SM and Hollywood and I think their arbequina is decent. There is another olive oil vendor at the north end of the Hollywood market, but their oil is atrocious.
One night for dinner- West Hollywoodish
I live in West Hollywood and know the area restaurants quite well. Personally, I would stick with your reservation at the Bazaar. That place is hard to beat for interesting, innovative cuisine. The French restaurant in the Andaz, RH, is ok but I was underwhelmed by it.
Going to Conan Show, Need Recs for Universal City --
Haven't been to Cafe Sierra, so I cannot say for certain. But I have been inside the Universal Hilton and it's nothing to write home about. I would opt for Ca del Sole if you're looking for a reasonably nice restaurant.
Going to Conan Show, Need Recs for Universal City --
Ca del Sole is the nicest restaurant in the immediate vicinity of the Universal lot. This is not "up on the hill," however. There really aren't any nice places in Citywalk.
Disney Concert Hall neighborhood recommendaitons for tonight?
Ciudad is my standby for dinners before performances at Disney Hall.
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Ciudad
445 S Figueroa St Ste 100, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Nook
Haven't been there in a couple years, but I used to get the tofu rice bowl. I'm not a vegan or vegetarian but I thought this was just a great dish with an interesting, mediterranean take on tofu.
Favorite Korean Market in Ktown?
I like Hannam on Olympic and Berendo which I find to be larger and cleaner than its competitors.
Good source for medjool dates? (Pasadena area)
You can get much better dates at the local farmers markets, since virtually all dates in the US are grown in the Palm Springs/Indio area. I would recommend Bautista, which comes to Hollywood and Santa Monica or Flying Disc which I believe is only at the Wednesday Santa Monica market.
Need a sure thing celebrity spotting restaurant
I agree with the point made a few posts above that your main problem is that Monday is a bad day for dining out -- for celebrities as well as us normal folk. Worse yet, you are planning to do this the day after Valentine's Day.
So I would eschew restaurants per se, and just focus on casual hang-outs, like the Marmont patio, the bar at the Sunset Tower, Urth Caffe, etc. (If your niece is an Entourage fan, she will at least recognize Urth.) You could easily hit all 3 of those places, having a drink or coffee at a couple places and dinner at Urth, which will save you a lot of $$.
Sushi Near Cedars-Sinai (3rd and Robertson)
I really like Hirozen. Fat Fish on Robertson just north of Melrose has very reasonable prices and is an easy walk from Cedars.
Olive Oil Tasting in LA
If you really want an organized tasting, Monsieur Marcel in the Farmers Market on 3rd and Fairfax occasionally has olive oil tasting classes.
However, I wouldn't bother with an organized tasting. I would recommend reading the section on olive oils in Lynn Rosetto Kasper's "Italian Country Table" where she discusses specific olive oil producers at some length. Then I would just go out and buy a few oils and try them. Not the cheapest approach, but probably the most educational. Bay Cities has a great selection of oils, as does Joan's on Third.
Downtown (or downtown-convenient) for dinner tomorrow night
Ciudad is my favorite downtown restaurant. Great food and a good bar scene.
Indian food / Near Beverly Center
Surya (on 3rd Street) and its takeout place, Holy Cow which is right across the street from the Beverly Center.
Where can I find Purslane?
You can definitely find it at the farmers market in Santa Monica or Hollywood. Try Flora Bella farms. I don't think purslane is in season now, however. I'm not entirely sure of the season for purslane, but I think it's summer.
Chocolate Almond Croissant
I really like Breadbar's chocolate almond croissant, but it is quite large (more American size than French size).
Any Korean vegan recs?
I'm almost afraid to ask . . . was the vegetarian soon dubu at Tofu-Ya any good? I haven't been there in a while but I pass by there a lot and have thought about stopping in again.
Any Korean vegan recs?
Thanks, this is actually very helpful. Also, do you know whether any of the tofu places can prepare soon dubu with a vegetable broth?
Any Korean vegan recs?
I have a vegan sister who will be visiting for the holidays and am looking for recommendations for a vegan-friendly Korean restaurant. By "vegan-friendly," I mean that they have a decent variety of vegan dishes -- not just, say, bibimbap. They can also serve dishes with meat, but I would exclude any restaurant that specializes in meat, such as BBQ places, chicken places or that goat restaurant on Vermont for that matter. Ideal location would be Koreatown but I'm flexible on that. Thanks.
The Best Breakfast Sandwich
Clementine in West LA is by far the best I've ever had. Fred 62 in Los Feliz is good too. I like Joan's on Third for many things but their breakfast sandwich is not one of them. Ditto for Breadbar.
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Fred 62
1854 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Good Mexican Food Deprived New Yorker coming to West Hollywood area
West Hollywood is not ideal for Mexican. If you're willing to drive, then you should check out the places listed by Das Ubergeek in his post. If you want to stay close to West Hollywood, you might try Pinches Tacos on Sunset near Havenhurst or Loteria Grill in the Farmers Market or in Hollywood.
Blenheim Apricots?
You can get dried fruits at the Santa Monica farmers market on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Not sure if they specifically have Blenheims but it's quite likely that they do.
Incidentally, the best Blenheims in southern California are grown by Force Field farm, which is run by a Swedish woman. These are dry-farmed apricots.
Coffee shop/Tea House in West Hollywood?
La Conversation on Doheny just north of Santa Monica. It's a scene on weekends during brunch, but is quite laid back and pleasant at other time.
Banana Leaf
I love this place but cannot attest to its authenticity as I don't know Singaporean food well enough. The owners are from Singapore so they at least know what Singaporean food is like.
As for service, I hope you realize that we are talking about a stall in the Farmers Market (NOT the Grove) with a couple tables in front of it. This isn't the sort of place for white glove service. That said, I've been coming here for years and have rarely encountered a problem.
Need recommendations for decently priced restos in West Hollywood area
Having small kids with you will be the major limiting factor in the West Hollywood area. I think from a kid-friendly perspective (rather than a foodie perspective), you may want to try the Farmers Market on 3rd and Fairfax which has been the subject of extensive posts here. Ketchup on the Sunset Strip might also be fun -- I seem to recall that they had a kids' menu although this place is far hipper than you would expect for a place with a kids menu. My memory could be wrong. Cheebo, located in Hollywood on Sunset and Sierra Bonita, has very tasty, organic comfort food and is very welcoming of kids.
Need a spot to watch some college football...near NoHo...
I second the Henry's Hat rec. Henry's Hat does very good takes on traditional bar food -- i.e., burgers, sandwiches, mac and cheese with locally grown, organic ingredients. They seem to have plenty of beers on tap although I've only been during the day and haven't actually had a beer there yet. Plenty of new, flat screen TVs. Looks like they have a giant projection TV in one room.
Great Indian Food in Los Angeles?
I would love to find a good Indian place close to the West Hollywood/Fairfax areas. I tried East India Grill a few times several years ago and found it extremely disappointing. I don't think I tried the Korma, however.
Need mid-range recommendations for first-time trip (staying in WeHo & Santa Monica)
I live in West Hollywood in the same Norma Triangle neighborhood where the Montrose is located. For breakfast/brunch, I would suggest La Conversation on Doheny which does excellent egg dishes. Dan Tana on Santa Monica is old school Italian and very much an industry hangout. If you like hanging out with Euro-trash types driving Lamborghinis, there are a number of cafes near Sunset Plaza which are moderately priced such as Cafe Med and Le Clafoutis, although that's a bit of longer walk.
Most of the places in easy walking distance from your hotel are either going to be rather pricey (Palm, Gordon Ramsay) or night-clubby (Eleven, Abbey, Ketchup) or both. There are also a lot of places that provide a bite to eat for people going to the straight or gay bars on Sunset and Santa Monica, respectively, and that leave much to be desired from a culinary standpoint.
