Drop the Bottle Habit

I commend the Florence water utility, Publiacqua, for attempting to break the water bottle habit. Too often I attend environmental meetings and food security meetings to see more than 85% of the attendees are drinking from brand-name, one-use, plastic bottles. This is the exact audience that should be setting an example for others to follow. I refill and bring my 16 oz., BPA-free, reusable bottle with me always. It is crucial that we all take steps to reduce our dependency on water bottles and the commercialization of a resource. Please follow my example and purchase your reusable bottle and remember to use it!

Pie in the Sky

Yesterday, I had the privilege of competing in my first pie contest at the Malibu Pie Festival. This was the 21st Annual Malibu Pie Festival hosted by the Malibu United Methodist Church. There were over eight pie categories. I entered the Fruit Pie category - blueberry pie with a streusel crumble.








I dropped off the pie early in the morning, and I now know how my mom felt leaving me on the first day of kindergarten. It was so hard to hand over my baby to fend for herself in the Fruit Pie category. When I returned for the pie eating and judging, I was very excited to see that my pie was a definite crowd favorite. It was the first pie to sell out! Later that afternoon, I happily accepted a Third Place Ribbon in the Fruit Pie Category. I can't wait for next year!

Thanks, LA Observed!

Yesterday, I became the 5,000th Twitter follower of @LAObserved. Thanks for the shoutout LA Observed! http://bit.ly/co8B7y

A Break from Work

Culver City lunch spots cater to broad audiences from self-acclaimed foodies and health-nuts to deli lovers. The city has a wide-swath of lunch options that will deliver a short respite from the rat race.

Tender Greens

One of the most established restaurants in Culver's downtown revival, this cafeteria-style restaurant serves up hot and cold entrees. The assembly-line, open kitchen serves up food as quickly as your school cafeteria, but with fresh, organic ingredients that appeal to the vegetarian and meat-lover alike.

9523 Culver Blvd. - 310.842.8300 - tendergreensfood.com

Choppe Choppe

The recently renamed (previously Skratch) lunch spot aims to please the on-the-go diner. They have an efficient order and pay system that moves patrons from the chalk board menu to the outdoor seating. This healthful, flavorful lunch option is a surefire pit stop.

3867 Hughes Ave. - 310.558.3400 - choppe-choppe.com

Roll N' Rye

Los Angelenos are deeply dived on the best delis in the city, but here you will find an inviting and satisfying Jewish deli. Diners have the option of booths or stools at the counter and will never leave hungry with large portions and a matzah ball the size of a grapefruit.

10990 Jefferson Blvd. - 310.390.3497

M Cafe

By far teh most health-conscious lunch choice, M Cafe expounds a "contemporary macrobiotic cuisine" which simply means no refined sugar, eggs, dairy, red meat or poultry are used. Some may ask what makes the food so flavorful, but you can taste it in the global approach to seasoning.

9343 Culver Blvd. - 310.838.4300 - mcafedechaya.com

Cafe Surfas

You may already be familiar with Surfas, the famous cooking supply store of the same name. This cafe, attached to the store, rings true with its customer base providing clean, inspired lunch options. The soups, salads and sandwiches remind us why cold cuts just don't cut it.

8777 W Washington Blvd. - 310.558.1458 - cafesurfas.com

Surfas + BeeGreenFarm

Bettina with BeeGreenFarm was at Surfas this morning selling seedlings - tomoatoes, rhubarb, spicy greens, you name it. All of the seedlings were certified organic. I got some beautiful roma and heirloom tomato seedlings. She had some great tips on using ordinary home by-products to increase the health of your garden. The most interesting tip - use ashes from a campfire or firepit to increase the potassium in your plants. I would encourage home gardeners to visit Bettina next Saturday at Surfas from 1 - 4 p.m.

Surfas
8777 W Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90230
(310) 559-4770
www.surfaslosangeles.com/

Colorful Dining

Samosa House East's curries are as colorful as its decor and clientele. The Crayola-colored dining room is filled with families, foodies and tattoo artists. This is the new branch of the original Culver City dining option of the same name. Vegetable curries of all varieties come in an affordable combination plate ($7.99).

There was a line to the door (or out of it) for my entire meal. This was due to popularity of the newest Culver City restaurant, but could have been remedied with an additional person behind the counter dishing out the delicious curries. The counter could also be shortened by about two inches - the height of the counter required both server and me to stand on our tippy-toes to hear each other.

The dining room had both private and community tables which was condusive to fast dining without the guilt of french fries. Samosa House East is a nice compliment to a rather junky area of Culver City. I can only hope it inspire other restaurants to consider developing another downtown.

Samosa House East
10700 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
310.398.6766
http://www.samosahouse.net/Samosa_House/Home.html

Aspen in Moderation

While my boyfriend and I may have felt significantly out-classed in Aspen this New Year's, it wasn't hard to find a place for bourgeois Midwesterners like ourselves. The sparkle of the glitterati often diminished our presence at trendy, food-centric restaurants. We should have expected this, but we didn't have the same experience during our previous summertime visit. However, the winter clientele was certainly a step-up.

On our first evening we visited the revamped Escape. The renovated interior and improved vegetarian menu were an overt effort to attract Aspen's wealthiest. However, we were treated hospitably and enjoyed a great and filling vegetarian dinner.

We continually visited The Main Street Bakery for breakfast. This is a true, greasy-spoon diner where they aren't afraid to offer community tables. Some of the guests chose to wait for private tables (mind you they were less than two feet away from the next closest table). We weren't too proud to mix with the commoners, wait, maybe that's because we WERE the commoners.

One of the newest restaurants in Aspen, Ute City, didn't treat us with the same friendly care. There seemed to be absolutely no cohesion or cooperation between the three hosts at the front. We were made to wait over 25 minutes for our reservation and once seated were practically IN the kitchen - and not at the chef's table. To create ambience, the restaurant had a grand piano and a jazz quartet. The live music made it necessary to yell at my companion - and in my mind, contributed to the 25 minute wait and the pretentious atmosphere.

We discovered the Double Dog Bar towards the end of our visit, but returned twice. This was a relaxing, apres-ski bar with table shuffle board and parlor games available. We rang in the New Year with complimentary hats and noise-makers.

By the end of the week, we had no complex about the women dripping in furs, diamonds and gold. The vacation was what we made of it.

On another note, I must commend the Aspen Valley Hospital, the medic crew on Buttermilk and the cab drivers in Aspen. I tore my ACL skiing and was treated very well by all involved!