Two new shops are getting ready to open soon: N’ice Cream and The Cheese Shop.

Coming down from Los Angeles will be N’ice Cream’s fifth location. Featuring freshly-made organic gelato and sorbet. Every morning, the iced confectioner prepares their gelato and sorbets for sale that day. Nothing they sell in their stores is ever more than 12 hours old at any point in time during the day.

You can have your “n’ice cream” plain or in a milkshake or smoothie. They also have a wide variety of home-made toppings.

Plans at this time is for a March opening date in The OC Mart Mix. In the meantime you can visit one of their other locations in Santa Monica or Venice. More info on N’ice Cream can be found on their website at: www.ilovenicecream.com or on Twitter at @NiceCreamUSA

N’ice Cream is founded by Laura Nielsen and Christian Toxboe, both from Denmark. They moved to Los Angeles in 2008 and opened their first location in the Abbot Kinney neighborhood of Venice.

Now, in November I reported that a new Cheese Shop was moving into The OC Mart Mix.

Well lots of new progress. A new partition wall is now complete and new refrigeration units as well as the main selling counter are now in place.

The Cheese Shop is scheduled to open their doors on Saturday, January 28.

They will be offering a unique selection of cheeses and charcuterie. In addition they will have grab-and-go sandwiches as well as home goods.

“We are excited to be in the oc mart MiX with its collection of eco-conscience vendors and exclusive design stores.” – Dawn Mednick

The Cheese Shop will be operated by Dawn Mednick and Sherrie Jordan. The shop is a sister store to The Cellar (wine and cheese shop)  in San Clemente which opened in 2008.

The Cheese Shop
3313 Hyland Avenue, Suite C
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
949-284-0558
www.cellarcheeseshop.com
@OCCheeseShop

According to Rainer Fruit, the Junami apple is harvested in the Fall like other apples, but made available in January for flavor and marketability. The Junami has the ability to build flavor while in storage.

The Junami is best described as having a special crisp, fruity character and is a real thirst quencher with its invigorating flavor. It is especially popular with young adults, or those who love delicious, juicy apples. The flavor is slightly perfumed, with a nice balance of a fresh, tangy taste and crispy bite. It’s beautifully round with eye-catching red color.

The Junami, while not new to the world, is fairly new to the U.S. The fruit originates in Switzerland. General grown in Northwestern Europe under the most strictest guidelines. Eastern Washington has similar conditions and that’s how Rainer Fruit came to be the exclusive grower and shipper of the Junami apple here in the U.S.

So how do you get one of these apples? Well, here in the California it seems to only be available in Northern California – in most Safeway stores. Unfortunately, it hasn’t made its way down to Safeway’s sister stores, Vons.

Perhaps in the next few weeks we will see the Junami here in the Southland.

Rainier Fruit Company
Selah, Washington
Facebook: facebook.com/RainierFruit
www.rainierfruit.com

This is exciting! I don’t have any details on opening dates or even the name of this new shop, but hopefully they will be open before the holidays!

The “Cheese Shop” joins other culinarians in the OC Mart Mix like Portola Coffee Lab, We Olive and Wine Bar and the Savory Spice Stop.

In addition, don’t forget the OC Mart Mix’s weekly Saturday Farmers’ Market and various Food Truck gatherings.

When more details come, I’m sure to get it out to you! Stay tunes!

The “Cheese Shop” in the OC Mart Mix
3313 Hyland Avenue Suite C
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Well after a couple of building permit glitches, they have finally opened! Classes started on Monday, November 7 and they will be offering classes almost every day of the week.

I stopped by the school tonight and it was their third night as a school. 16 students were gathered around work tables learning Essential Knife Skills. During my visit, students were learning how to brunoise or how to dice vegetables into tiny dice. I watched Resident Chef, Stacy Horn, instruct a student on how to properly cut bell peppers. She informs the student that it’s easier to cut with the skin side down, then shows her how to “rock” her knife along the board for better control. The student takes over and starts to cut and after a few rocking movements of her chef’s knife she has a look of surprise on her face as she understands her new found skill. The class then moves onto how to cut leeks and the students get a lesson on how to cut and cleaning techniques to get rid of the pesky dirt that is always present in leeks.

The South Coast Plaza location is hosting a full set of classes with classes filling up quickly. Most of their classes are hands on, with classes in the evenings and 4 classes over the weekends. You can visit their class schedule at:

http://www.surlatable.com/browse/storeCalendar.jsp?storeId=079
or click on the pic below:

I was watching the class as another customer was walking by and noticed the class. She said that she was looking forward to the new school but didn’t know if she was going to have time to take a class. I said the have classes on the weekends and after work during the week. She saw that it was a knife skills class and I said she should take a class. She saw Chris who works at the store and immediately signed up for a couple of classes! How awesome is that!

Take a look at their schedule and learn something new or refresh some existing skills!

Sur La Table
333 Bear Street
1st Floor across from the Apple Store
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-241-0118

I’ll need to stop by next week and check it out. They sell all their spices from bulk supplies there in the store. In addition they also have Spice gift boxes ready for wrapping this holiday season.

They are located in the South Coast Collection in the OC Mart Mix building with neighbors Portola Coffee Lab and the We Olive and Wine Bar.

I can’t find their website, but they have a Facebook page setup at:

https://www.facebook.com/SavorySpiceStopCostaMesa

Savory Spice Stop
OCMart Mix
3313 Hyland Avenue
Costa Mesa, 92626
949-717-7776

Years later, I met fellow foodie Ben Winnick thru his food blog. We would develop an online friendship and later meet. I come to find out via his Facebook page that he had a name that was oddly familiar to me. It was Zach! Zach and I re-connected and find out that he has started a “foodie” adventure of his own.

Zach is the co-owner and founder of SoNo Trading Company – a company specializing in mustard. Now known as the Official Mustard of Southern California, they have moved from the Hillcrest Farmers’ Market to the shelves of Whole Foods and other specialty stores in San Diego and Los Angeles.

But Zach wanted to grow. He found Kickstarter. There, we put out a video and asked folks like you and I to make an investment in SoNo and help them make it to the next step. He was asking for $4,000 in “seed” money to have the ability to purchase mustard seed and to start marketing to stores to sell his mustards. It was an awesome success. He asked for $4,000 and got over $15,000! A true Kickstarter success story. They used the money to concentrate on two flavors of mustards, Hong Kong Habanero and Champagne Garlic. As a pledger of the project we received one or two bottles of this magic mustard.

His dream has come true and his mustards have hit the store shelves.

SoNo’s Champagne Mustard brings a two great tastes together, champagne and garlic. Made with organic ingredients and no preservatives whatsoever – only the best. Their other popular mustard is the Hong Kong Habanero a perfect blend of “hot” and tanginess.

Zach also has the support of the local restaurant business in San Diego and has his mustards highlighted in several dishes.

Take the time to visit SoNo Trading and check it out. Order a bottle and tell them FoodieInDisguise sent you. I will have another post soon with a recipe of my own using their mustards – look out for it!

SoNo Trading Company
www.sonotrading.com

Two little cake discs with a sweet cream cheese filling.

A little pink from my tea and a little red from my whoppie pie.

Perfection for a Sunday afternoon break.

I had an awesome time at the OC Foodie Fest yesterday. Over 50 Gourmet Food Trucks were in one place at the Anaheim Honda Center. Watch my video!

If you’re on an “iDevice” you can watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7uDZnTMlG4

What?!

Why is the Mayor of Los Angeles following me? I logged onto Twitter and started reading his Tweets. He attended the LA Food Fest yesterday and talked about all the good food, but it was on the 20th that I saw a tweet from the Mayor about a Good Food Initiative that his office launched.

The Los Angeles Food Policy Task Force convened in November 2009 to identify a Good Food policy agenda and the steps to get there. The Task Force has worked to develop a Good Food for All Agenda with specific action steps and recommendations for how to advance the Agenda. The Agenda seeks to increase access to Good Food for everyone, improve public health, create quality jobs and small food enterprise opportunities, increase equity in our communities, and improve environmental sustainability throughout the region.

The Good Food Agenda is a 93 page report developed by the Mayor’s office. I didn’t read thru the entire report, but from what I have read it is a very ambitious goal to bring the City of Angels to the forefront of being a model city in regards to creating a new regional food system. They have identified six key areas in the initiative:

1. Promote A Good Food Economy
2. Build A Market for Good Food
3. Eliminate Hunger in Los Angeles
4. Ensure Equal Access to Good Food in Underserved Communities
5. Grow Good Food in Our Neighborhoods
6. Inspire and Mobilize Good Food Champions

It sounds very exciting. You can download a copy of the Mayor’s Good Food Agenda here. You can also visit their website at http://goodfoodla.org/

Even if you aren’t a resident of the City of Los Angeles, it’s a very well researched document and anyone in ANY city will walk away with something.

Tonight’s meal was another grocery find. Buitoni (we’ve all seen the commercials) has released a line of frozen meals. I was shopping at my local market and they caught my eye as I have never seen them before. Buitoni has a Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli with a Garlic Butter Sauce.

The instructions are simple. The sauce is in a plastic pouch. You warm the frozen packet in boiling water. Meanwhile you add the frozen ravioli to the water and bring to a boil. When the ravioli floats in the water (about 5 minutes) both the sauce and ravioli are ready. I was pleasantly surprised to find nice chunks of real lobster and shrimp. My slight disappointment is the sauce packet that came with it. Way too much garlic for my tastes. I would have been happy with a simple cream sauce. If Garlic is not your friend, make your own sauce. As for the ravioli themselves, the pasta was firm, yet light. Each ravioli had a good amount of filling, which surprised me. A tip, drain these well as they retained alot of water. This made the sauce a bit watered down, but the garlic still came through quite well.

So for $9.99 you have enough for 4 (1 and 3 leftover meals)! :)

“I always tell my employees to do the right thing for the right reason,” said Jack H. Brown, Chairman and CEO of Stater Bros. Markets. “Helping families in need this Holiday Season is definitely the right thing to do.”

Throughout the months of November and December, Stater Bros. Charities will be presenting over $350,000 in total donations to various Southern California food banks and self-help organizations. Over 100 organizations will receive donation checks to assist with the larger needs they are already facing this Holiday Season. From bottles and blankets to food and program support, each of these cash donations will go towards the fight against hunger.

In addition to cash donations, all 167 Stater Bros. Supermarkets will have food barrels in the front of the store to collect non-perishable food items for families in need in the local communities. Some of the products in greatest demand include canned fruits and vegetables, whole grains (such as oatmeal, crackers, cereal and pasta), canned meats, canned or dry beans, and shelf-stable dairy products. This food will be shared with regional food banks and charities to assist those families who are struggling to make ends meet.

All Stater Bros. check stands will offer yet another opportunity for Stater Bros. customers and employees to make cash donations to the “Harvesting Hope in our Community” campaign. “Harvesting Hope” Donation Canisters will be located at the end of every check stand for loose change. Every check stand will also have $10 “Harvesting Hope” Scannable Donation Cards, and each $10 donation will provide 30 full meals. Then at the conclusion of this campaign, Stater Bros. Charities will be making further monetary donations to fight hunger.

“It’s our hope that every person living in our community will be cared for this Holiday Season,” said Brown. “Because of this, Stater Bros. Charities and Stater Bros. Markets are honored to help in a larger way this year by making substantial contributions to the organizations that serve on the frontlines.”

Stater Bros. believes in being a good neighbor, and the “Harvesting Hope in our Community” campaign winds up Stater Bros. year-long efforts to support nonprofit organizations in the communities it serves. Each year, Stater Bros. contributes over $15 million to assist those in need, with an emphasis on worthy programs that benefit hunger relief, health and nutrition, and education. Stater Bros. also donates over 3 million pounds annually of food and products to the local food banks.

Stater Bros. was founded in 1936 in Yucaipa, California, and has grown steadily through the years to become the largest privately owned Supermarket Chain in Southern California and the largest private employer in both San Bernardino County and Riverside County, with annual sales in 2008 of $3.74 billion. During the past ten years, Stater Bros. has contributed $100 million in support of nonprofit organizations in the communities it serves. The Company operates 167 Supermarkets, and there are over 19,000 members of the Stater Bros. “Family” of Employees.

Farm Fresh To You

I have to say that I have been very happy with my deliveries. All the deliveries have been on-time and I have not been disappointed in my delivery. They literally FILL the box to the brim with fresh produce picked right off the fields. I have had wonderful rainbow chard, carrots, apples, pears, plums, broccoli, heirloom tomatoes, potatoes and more. They have several delivery options and I have opted for the Small Mixed Fruit and Vegetable box which is $23.00. My delivery schedule is every two weeks.

Here is an example of their pricing, and remember the price includes delivery:

Mixed Fruit and Veggies

Small $23.00 – Feeds 1-2 people
Regular $31.50
More $44.00
Monster $55.00

They also have an option called Easy To Eat, mostly fruits but also includes vegetables that can be eaten without cooking. You can also choose an All Fruit or All Veggie selection. Go to their website to check out all their options.

You can choose the frequency of delivery, once a week, every two weeks or monthly – YOU CHOOSE and you can change at any time. If you want to get a bigger box, no problem, just let them know 48 hours ahead of your delivery day. They are very accommodating and if there is something that isn’t to your liking in your delivery, they will bring you something you do like. How awesome is that? Yes, you can even select a permanent list of exclusions from your delivery.

In addition, you can log onto their website a few days before your delivery and see what is scheduled for the next bounty. If there is something you don’t like in the next delivery, simply add it to your exclusion list and they will substitute it with something else. That’s awesome!

I have always wanted to join a local farm’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, but it was the cost commitments that held me back. Yes, there is no price on fresh, locally grown produce and supporting local farmers, but I have always shyed away. Now there is an affordable model that works with my schedule and with my tastes in food.

So I signed up and asked how do I pay. They invoice you! It gets even easier. You can pay with a check or with a credit card when they invoice you. They will deliver to you on your designated day and will arrive around the same time each week. Billing occurs monthly.

Go to www.farmfreshtoyou.com and sign up right now. Check out their affordable pricing model and choose a box size that is right for you and your family. There are no long term commitments and if you aren’t satisfied with your order, let them know and give them a chance to make it right. You will see that each box contains 100% organic produce and raised on farms from either Capay Farms or their new farms in Ventura County and the Inland Empire. Support your local farmers.

Special for FoodieInDisguise readers:

Get $10.00 off your first delivery!! That’s right, use PROMO code 5171 to take advantage of this offer.

Farm Fresh To You
P.O. Box 391
Anaheim, CA 92815
1-800-796-6009
www.farmfreshtoyou.com

Tell them Scott from FoodieInDisguise sent you!!

Well now you can! In partner with Amazon, FoodieInDisguise can now be your online store for most things kitchen related! Visit the store by going to www.foodieindisguise.com/store. There you will see a category called As Seen On FoodieInDiguise. Here, you will find items that are specifically mentioned on the site. Amazon has some great discounts, so take advantage of them while you can! Plus free shipping on most orders over $25.00.

You can also search thru categories like Cookbooks or Kitchen & Housewares. If you’re looking for software like a recipe program or even the latest Top Chef video game, check out the Food Related Software link.

I’ve added a couple of new categories to the store and now you can purchase Gourmet Food items like olive oils, vinegars and other speciality foods. I then took it another step forward and you can purchase some everyday grocery items as well!

So check it out and help support FoodieInDisguise.

Don’t forget to bookmark the store and if you want to see additional categories, let me know.

The site has limited

I’m still waiting for my review copy, but if it’s like George’s other books, it is full of information and organized well. A screenshot of one of his pages on Amazon.com show’s a nice clean layout for each sauce with measurements in US and Metric.

So in addition to sauces, George also has a section on rubs and marinades. While a grilled steak is awesome on it’s own, it’s even better when you can have it with a rich mushroom sauce.

Let’s not forget that sauces can be sweet too! Learn how to make a milk chocolate sauce, raspberry coulis or a foundue!

George is also the author of several other titles including: 125 Best Cheesecake Recipes, 125 Best Biscuit Mix Recipes and The Cheesecake Bible. George is giving cooking demonstrations at the LA County Fair until October 4. Check out George’s website for details on his fair offerings.

I had the fortune of meeting George for the first time when he was teaching classes for Sur La Table. He really knows how to capture the audience and pull them in. He’s got stories to tell, for days, and that just makes each class fun. George teaches locally now in Yorba Linda at the Emanual Danish Cultural Center.

Check out his website at www.georgegeary.com for more information on George, his classes and culinary tours!

You can purchase a copy of George’s book on the FoodieInDisguise Amazon store!

_

I was logging into the Surfas website this morning and saw a notice on the webpage that Surfas, one of the greatest restaurant suppliers in the Southland, is ceasing its web presence and directing customers to CulinaryDistrict.com.

According to the site, all of Surfas’ current offerings will be available thru Culinary District as well as an expanded offering. I visited the Culinary District website and at the top it says it is part of the Surfas Group. I’m not sure if some kind of buyout took place or if the Culinary District is a Surfas funded project. On the Surfas website there is a banner alerting their customers that a Culinary District is opening in Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas.

So I took a stroll in CulinaryDistrict.com and everything Surfas carried is available for sale, including all the Surfas branded materials. The site is a bit more interactive it feels fast today, but lets see if it keeps up with demand. So the first thing I did was to compare pricing. Most of the items I checked were priced cheaper at CulinaryDistrict.com than on Surfasonline.com.

Interesting.

Even shipping is cheaper. I did an experiment and purchased the same Global 8″ Chef Knife from each store. I chose the same shipping method and the cost to ship from Culinary District was cheaper as well as the cost of the knife.

One thing I won’t be able to enjoy is the UPS Ground shipping meant overnight shipping for me since I lived in Southern California. I hope their retail operations in Culver City is continues to stay strong. Surfas has been a staple in the business in California since 1937 and has been in Culver City since 1947.

UPDATE: The Culinary District is the idea of Les Surfas (Owner of Surfas) and his wife Diana, an Arkansas native. They had been formulating a plan for a smaller gourmet grocery and restaurant supply store in Arkansas for many years. “It was something in the back of our minds while we developed our new store in California,” he said. “We wanted to scale it down.”

Both Les and Diana share a love for old buildings and historic districts – so opening the Culinary District was clear for both of them.

The new store will be located in Hot Springs’ Hamp Williams building, in downtown Hot Springs. The Surfas Group is managing the renovation of the 50,000-SF building to restore it to its original 1920s grandeur.

Farm Fresh To You was founded by Kathleen Barsotti and Martin Barnes in 1976 - marking the early stages of the organic foods movement. Graduate students at UC Davis, Kathy and Martin borrowed money from their parents to buy 20 acres of property in Capay Valley. Today, their 4 children run the farm and they have been bringing farm fresh produce to doorsteps in the Bay Area since 1992. Capay Fruits & Vegetables is a second generation organic farm which got its start in the Coastal Range’s Capay Valley 90 miles northeast of San Francisco.

They are now entering the Southern California market. Here is an exceprt from their most recent newsletters to their community partners, from Thaddeus Barsotti:

Yes, I know, LA is not exactly local to Capay. We are working with a land owner in Ventura County to bring the same farming and delivery model to our southern neighbors. Late this fall we will be working with a new grower to plant crops specifically for distribution to the LA area. Much of the first contents to the LA area are coming from our farm in Capay (still relatively local in the grand scheme of the produce world) and the balance of the product is being sourced from organic growers in the South.

The model of local produce production and distribution that we supply you with is something that could happen for Southern California too. They have all of the ingredients – land, a little bit of water and lots of consumers.

I am so excited to have Farm Fresh To You here in the Southland. I signed up right away and it was so easy! They were offering $10 off your first order at the Festival. They have several sizes and varieties to choose from. To start I decided to go with the Mixed Fruit and Vegetable box which is $23.00 a box. A few days before you can log onto their website and see what crops are being picked and what will probably arrive in your shipment. The have a delivery schedule already set up and I’m having my produce delivered to my office for me to take home. Irvine area delivery is on Thursdays and I can’t wait!

Here is an example of their pricing, and remember the price includes delivery:

Mixed Fruit and Veggies

Small $23.00 – Feeds 1-2 people
Regular $31.50
More $44.00
Monster $55.00

They also have an option called Easy To Eat, mostly fruits but also includes vegetables that can be eaten without cooking. You can also choose an All Fruit or All Veggie selection.

You can choose the frequency of delivery, once a week, every two weeks or monthly – YOU CHOOSE and you can change at any time. If you want to get a bigger box, no problem, just let them know 48 hours ahead of your delivery day. They are very accommodating and if there is something that isn’t to your liking in your delivery, they will bring you something you do like. How awesome is that?

I have always wanted to join a local farm’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, but it was the cost commitments that held me back. Yes, there is no price on fresh, locally grown produce and supporting local farmers, but I have always shyed away. Now there is an affordable model that works with my schedule and with my tastes in food.

So I signed up and asked how do I pay. They invoice you! It gets even easier. You can pay with a check or with a credit card when they invoice you. They will deliver to you on your designated day and will arrive around the same time each week.

Go to www.farmfreshtoyou.com and sign up right now. Check out their affordable pricing model and choose a box size that is right for you and your family. There are no long term commitments and if you aren’t satisfied with your order, let them know and give them a chance to make it right. You will see that each box contains 100% organic produce and raised on farms from either Capay Farms or their new farms in Ventura County and the Inland Empire.

Farm Fresh To You
P.O. Box 391
Anaheim, CA 92815
1-800-796-6009
www.farmfreshtoyou.com

Tell them Scott from FoodieInDisguise sent you!!

Upon first glance of the outside it is a slight departure from previous Sur La Table’s in that the exterior was primarily in Black and White. The awnings and decor gave the exterior a distinct Parisian look. Once inside your eyes don’t know where to look. Everything from cookware to tableware to linens to pastry tips, if you can think of it, Sur La Table has it. That’s the magic about walking into a Sur La Table. It’s the variety and assortment that they offer that sets them apart from other kitchen/cookware retailers. In addition sales associates who have a passion for cooking just like you.

The store layout is full, but there is plenty of room for moving up and down the aisles of this new store. The main cashwrap area is in the center of the store like many of their other store layouts. As you walk into the store you have cookware to your right and ceramics, linens and glassware to your left. Behind the cashwrap area is small electrics and foods. In the far right corner you have cookbooks and bakeware, while the left corner has home and kitchen goods.Directly across the cashwrap to the right is cutlery.

As I mentioned earlier, tonight’s opening was a Friends and Family event. Friends and coworkers, Tim and Jennie came with me and Jennie brought a friend, Claudine! It was a fun evening with food provided by Zov’s Bistro. We each walked out of the store a little poorer tonight, but happier!  Claudine, Jennie and Tim had lots of questions tonight and answering their food and cooking questions brought me back to Sur La Table in Pentagon Row in Arlington, VA.  I was on the sales floor in-between cooking classes helping customers and helping them make the best decision for their cookware needs. I felt very much at home there. If you didn’t know it, you might have mistaken me for an employee if you overheard my conversations this evening.

If you get a chance this weekend go to South Coast Plaza West where it will be air-conditioned and where you can walk into Sur La Table and explore. Talk with a store associate about what your cooking passions are and if you are new to cooking, ask them what tools you might need to help you in your culinary journey.

Special thanks to Tia (Store Manager), Stephanie (District Manager). Will (Clientele Specialist) and Carol Wertheim. Thank you for welcoming us into your home, we look forward to coming again and again!

Sur La Table
South Coast Plaza – West Wing (formerly Crystal Court)
1st Level across from the Apple Store
333 Bear Street
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

[Show as slideshow]

The newest Sur La Table in Southern California opens on Friday, August 28th at South Coast Plaza.

The store is over 5,000 square feet of kitchen playground. Not only will you find a wide selection of cookware, tableware and kitchen tools, but you find knowledgeable employees who share you passion for food. Sur La Table prides themselves as the trusted authority.

Sur La Table will be located in the West Wing (formerly the Crystal Court) on the first floor across from the Apple Store and near the rotunda where the Mini-Carousel is. They have the perfect location in the mall and they can’t wait to open the doors for you on Friday (August 28) morning at mall opening.

While their official Grand Opening is on Tuesday, September 1st, they are opening the doors to the store a few days early to celebrate!

Today I met with Clientele Specialist, Will Kornfeld, who is with Sur La Table. They are right in the middle of building the store and putting product on the shelves so I didn’t want to take up too much of his time today, but we talked about how he came to Sur La Table. Will comes from the Sur La Table in Newport Beach and officially transferred to South coast Plaza this week.

As some of you know, I am a former employee of SLT and I have helped open a couple of Sur La Table’s. The “advance” team is making sure that everything is perfect for you on opening day. With less than a week to go, they literally have thousands of items to put out, as well as prepare the many displays that will be in the store. New employees are being trained and other employees from other SLT locations are getting the bearings in their new store. They can’t wait to greet you on opening morning.

So Will’s position of Clientele Specialist is somewhat new for Sur La Table. In addition to providing knowledgeable information on the sales floor, he will be reaching out to the culinary professionals. He will be responsible for reaching out to restaurants, caterers and other food professionals and assist them with the same detail and care he gives to all the new and seasoned home cooks that will be visiting the store. If you are a culinary or food professional, reach out to Will for special professional discounts.

If you live in Southern California, FoodieInDisguise.com is hosting a contest where you can win a $50.00 Gift Card good at the South Coast Plaza store. or more details, click HERE.

I hope to see many of you in line on Friday as we anxiously await the opening of the store!

I arrived at the taste celebration with an empty stomach and a desire to try something new. I’ve lived in the Fairfax area for nearly 5 years and have tried many of the shops at the Farmers Market.

While visiting the Farmers Market you can tour the entire world on your stomach – Japanese, Italian, French, Korean, Brazilian, Greece as well as the more divergent foods from our own country.

But, instead of trying to visit the world, I wanted to try re-creating the three meals of the day. Since this was a tasting menu, I figured 3 small meals might make 1 regular sized one. Right? Well, that’s my reasoning and I’m sticking to it!

Breakfast: Starting the Day off Right!

The yellow and green balloons in front of a shop indicated they were on the tasting menu. I started at the French Crepe Company which had so many people you almost couldn’t see the balloons. I had a savory Ham & Cheese crepe. It was light and tasty and a great way to start the morning…at 6 pm.

I followed the balloons to Farm Fresh Produce and had a selection of raspberries, grapes, strawberries and melons. It was perfect for the hot day—juicy, fresh and so flavorful compared to the local supermarket.

At e’ple I found my ‘something new’–Banana Spinach Juice. I know what you’re thinking, and I thought that too, and even more so once I saw it; a sort of light green, globby sludge in a cup. But the banana and the spinach balanced each other out perfectly and it was actually refreshing. There had to have been some kind of other base juice to make it as liquid as it was, but I couldn’t place it.

Lunch: It’s a little nuts

Breakfast complete and something new tried, it was off to find lunch. It was found at Bryan’s Pit Barbecue in the form of Brisket Sandwich and a side of potatoes. Nothing earth shattering, but a serviceable little sandwich made even better by the brisket smell wafting from the pits behind the counter.

A little afternoon snack was then in order. I came across long time merchant Phyllis Magee serving up an assortment of almonds, cashews and macadamias that hit the spot. Not too salty and very fresh! I plan on going back to buy peanut butter made on the spot. Phyllis’s family has been at the Farmer’s Market since 1934 and Magee’s Kitchen and Magee’s House of Nuts are the only shops dating back to the opening of the Market . Phyllis, a former employee, married into the family and has been running the operations since the early 80’s.

Dinner: Where’s that banana spinach juice?

Some food, though great for dinner, just seemed wildly inappropriate for July in Los Angeles, and I’m not sure why the shops chose them. For example, Du-Pars, at the Market since 1938 and recently renovated, was serving up Chicken Pot Pies. In July. In LA. On an 86 degree day.

For dinner I was fancying something a bit lighter, maybe a little surf & turf. I grabbed a Tuna Tartare from the Marmalade Café (not technically IN the Market, but on the same property) It had a spicy citrus sauce and followed it with Jerked Pork from Maronda’s Meats and a small Beef Short Rib with Korean Slaw from La Korea, which was good but being the third spicy dish in a row, just made me crave that banana spinach juice.

Dessert:

Finally it was desert time. Monsieur Marcel, at the Market for 15 years, was serving up Cheesecake Lollipops topped with a raspberry and 75 written in chocolate on the side. Dare I be cheeky and say it was as tasty as the chef? Why not, this is France! The land of lovers! The land of forbidden romance! And…. Apparently the land of really cheesy accordion playing that made me feel I was stuck in Ratatouille.

So, I strolled down the Market with my cheesecake on a stick leaving the Epcot Center-like France behind to travel to the 1950’s and catch The Do-Wop All Stars wrapping up in front of Bennet’s Ice Cream. By the time they were done I had made it to the front of the line. I sampled an assortment of ice creams, all homemade, chocolate overkill, coffee and cookie dough. They were mercifully small because they were extremely rich.

I took my ice cream and moved to another musical era, the 1930’s. The Hot Club Quartet with Janet Kelin (Gypsy Swing and Early Jazz) was cutting a rug at the Market Plaza beneath the clock tower. Everyone was having a great time. Couples that looked as if they probably were teenagers when the market opened were dancing along with the professionals.

And it wouldn’t be an outing in LA without a star sighting. Fran Kranz, Topher on Fox’s Dollhouse walked by sporting a decidedly shaggier look than his TV persona.

And so, as the sun set, I ended my culinary tour, where I began, at the French Crepe Company with a Nutella Crepe, reading the LA Original Farmers Market Cookbook and a smile of my face. Here’s to 75 more years!

For more information on the LA Farmer’s Market, visit: http://www.farmersmarketla.com.

Aaron T. Harvey is a freelance designer, foodie, new contributor to FoodieInDisguise and founder of GeekFilter.net.

I travelled to Laguna Niguel today to check them out. They are in the La Paz Center off La Paz and Pacific Park Drive between Henry’s and Long’s Drugs.

I guess I had hyped myself up to find a place brimming with people, but it wasn’t. The storefront was very plain and dead quiet – not even music to cut the silence. You can’t see the kitchen just a huge blank wall. They have about 20 flavors to choose from and are priced at $3.00 a cupcake.

While they are hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, it looks like Divine has been there for awhile. In fact, according to fellow blogger Nancy Luna at the OC Register, they have been open since at least March.  I walked away with several flavors and sampled them at home.

Liz, a cupcake afficianado, who wrote in on the previous story about Divine said I had to taste their Red Velvet as it was one of the best she has ever had. So I bought two. Initial inspection is a tall cupcake with a nice, rich red color. Upon peeling back the paper I noticed that the cake was very oily. So oily infact, that my fingers were glistening as a result. The icing was about a 1/2 inch thick. The cake was moist (probably due to all the oil) and had a good taste. Is it the BEST Red Velvet I have had? No, that honor falls to an actual Red Velvet cake I had at CakeLove in Washington DC. The creamcheese icing tasted good, but remember I’m not a huge fan of icing.

Next I had the vanilla cake with buttercream icing. This had a large crown. Upon inspecting the backend of the cupcake, it looks like the batter overflowed onto the op of the muffin pan. This too, had about a 1/2 onf icing. The cake however had the consistency of bread. It was kinda dense and once I started to chew it became gummy and was difficult to swallow. As for taste, there was minimal vanilla taste in the cake. Unfortuantely I couldn’t go into the icing.

So did they Divine and Conquer? In this blogger’s opinion, no. Liz, I will go there again on “grand opening” day and see if the Red Velvet is better.

Divine Desserts, Etc.
27261 La Paz Road, Suite G
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
949-305-3355