Recent Episodes

 

Dwight Furrow, the author of American Foodie: Taste, Art, and the Cultural Revolution, talks about the philosophy of food. We discuss everything the impact of everything from automobile to Alice Waters to the Slow Food movement have shaped the way Americans think about food.
 
 
 
 

 

Inbal Baum, the Founder of Delicious Israel, joins us to talk about where foodies should eat when they travel to her country.

• Shakshouka is a popular dish in Israel
• Israeli Breakfast is a distinct and important meal
• The modern cherry tomato has roots in Israel
• Tel Aviv and Jerusalem top the list of cities you should visit
• Beach season runs from April to October
• Rosh Hashana is a great time to visit Israel
• When you visit Tel Aviv, go to the Carmel Market, the Levinsky Market
• Try the date syrup, Silan

 

 

Food for Thought

• Q: After pita bread, what is the most common food used to “wipe” humus?
• A: Raw onion.

 
 

Out of the Frying Pan

• Favorite Spot for Outdoor Dining: Milgo & Milbar
• Favorite Place to Buy Spices: Cafe Arma in Levinsky Market
• Herbs to Try: Za’atar and Hawaij (in Yemenite Coffee)
• Favorite Winery: Sphera
• Favorite Place for Dessert: The Malabia
• Favorite Food Experience for Kids: Max Brenner
• Chef to Watch: Eyal Shani
• Dish to Try at Different Places: Shakshouka and sabich

Bennet Jacobstein, author of The Joy of Ballpark Food: From Hot Dogs to Haute Cuisine, talks to us about what foodies can find at different baseball stadiums around the country.

• Hot dogs and sausages are not the same thing.
• The quality of ballpark food was elevated in the 90s as new stadiums were built and food television shows took off.
• Stadiums have highlighted regional foods.
• Gordon Biersch‘s founder Dan Gordon introduced garlic fries at Candlestick Park in 1994.
• The song “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” was written in 1908.
• The Yankees replaced Cracker Jacks at one point, but brought it back after a public outcry.
• 

  San Francisco Giant Gordon Biersch Garlic Fries

  Veggie Happy spearheaded the movement to get veggie dogs sold at ballpark stadiums.

• Andrew Zimmern has a stand in the Minnesota ballpark.
• Rocky Mountain Oysters are bull testicles.
• “The Big Six” are the food companies that service the major ballparks.
• As you go from ballpark to ballpark, try the hot dogs at each to see how they’re done differently.
• Proceeds from Bennett’s book go to Second Harvest Food Bank.

 

Food for Thought

• Q: In what year were Cracker Jacks first served at a baseball game?
• A: 1896 in Atlantic City.

 

Out of the Frying Pan

Here’s what Bennet recommends you try at each ballpark:

• Yankees Stadium in New York City: Chicken and Waffles.
• Fenway Park in Boston: Lobster Roll and a cuban sandwich.
• Wrigley Field in Chicago: Chicago-style hot dog with Vienna beef.
• Turner Field in Atlanta: Boiled peanuts.
• Marlins Park in Miami: Cuban dishes.
• Safeco Field in Seattle: The Ivar’s hot dog (with fish) and cream cheese hot dog.
• Nationals Park in Washington D.C.: A cauliflower hot dog and presidential cupcakes.
• 

  Chicago White Sox Chicago-Style Hot Dog

  Busch Stadium in St. Louis: The BBQ.

• Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles: Tommy Lasorda Spumoni ice cream.
• AT&T Park in San Francisco: Crab salad, lamb sausages, and Gordon Biersch garlic fries.

Try a Food Tour

More in this City

Diane Scalia is a self-proclaimed Chefpreneur, World Football Passionista, and Gourmet Storyteller, with credits that include Founding Partner of Melting Pot Tours, the first and premiere walking-tasting food tours company in Los Angeles. She also works as a Mediterranean Tapas Chef in an open kitchen, at BarComida in Redondo Beach, California, where she is known to serve menu items inspired by her soccer passion.
 

1. What is Melting Pot Tours? What tours do you offer?

 
Melting Pot Food Tours, the original company of its kind in Los Angeles, offers walking-tasting tours in select neighborhoods. We offer locals and tourists alike, the unique opportunity to explore our great city through its fantastically diverse and incredibly delicious food.

• Our first tour, running for 6 years now, is the Original Farmers Market Food and History Tour, where we dine around one of LA’s most revered and historic landmarks of the last 80 years.
• Our Old Pasadena Tasting Tour enjoys fabulous cuisine in the original business district of LA’s first suburb, which is also home to the world-renowned Rose Bowl and Tournament of Roses Parade.
• Our East LA Latin Flavors Tour uses our Metro Gold Line trains to travel between tasting stops, where we feature the most celebrated Mexican and Central American foods in our own Latin quarter.
• We also have a fantastic tour of Thai Town, hosted by celebrity Chef Jet Tila, whose father founded the neighborhood. Los Angeles is officially honored by Thailand as their “77th province”.

 

2. How did Melting Pot Tours come to be?

 
My sister Lisa birthed the idea in spring 2007, while I was enjoying an extended holiday in Europe. The first day I was home she told me all about it and invited me to sign up as her partner. Although I’d had very little sleep at that hour, I said yes, and the rest is history!
 
Lisa is brilliant and I always say Melting Pot Tours is so successful because “We have Lisa.” She is the true brains behind the operation, and I am the heart, out in front. Our skills are very complimentary, and we genuinely like and love each other, and working together.
 

3. What cuisines is Los Angeles known for?

 
We are blessed that so many immigrants came here, just as our own ancestors did from Italy, and brought their food with them! It is entirely possible in some parts of LA, to walk less than one mile, and find 20 or so different ethnic eateries spanning that distance.
 
So we’re quite famous for our multi-ethnic cuisine – and authentic cuisine, I hasten to add – that not only landed here from six continents (I haven’t found any Antarctic cuisine, yet), it is prepared and served by the multi-generations of master cooks who proudly brought it from their homelands, to share with Los Angeles.
 
We also have a strong, exciting culture of farm-to-table cuisine, made popular by all-star chefs like Nancy Silverton, Suzanne Goin, Ludo Lefebvre, and Ari Taymor. Some of our highest-profile restaurants have opened “little sister” and outpost-style restaurants in the last few years, making “5-star”-style dining affordable for everyone.
 

4. What would surprise people most about the food scene in Los Angeles?

 
Probably how well-priced its amazing food is! And how spectacular the grocery shopping is! These are hallmarks that we are so proud to share on our tours, and we’ve been privileged to be consulted as “experts” by international publications for this type of information.
 
Part of our mission is to play a positive role in LA earning its rightful place on the map, as a world-class culinary destination. We take that role very seriously, and joyfully, on each and every tour.
 

RELATED: What is a food tour?

 

5. You are also a chef. How does leading food tours compare to working in the kitchen?

 

At the restaurant, called BarComida at Chez Melange, I only do the main prep of my Mediterranean tapas and small plates in the back kitchen. For the entire evening, four nights a week, I cook at the Bar in a very small “open” kitchen. Understandably, my experience as a chef out in front, is actually very similar to hosting a tour because I have to be “on” at all times!
 
This feels like the blessing I’m cursed with on occasion, like those under-slept times I mentioned earlier. But in truth, I really do love getting to know who I’m cooking for, the same way I get to know my tour guests. I’m able to share how passionate I am about my recipes, menus, ingredients, and express a huge part of who I am through my cooking. I adore when my tour guests are able to come to the restaurant, and when my restaurant customers are able to enjoy one or more of our tours.
 
Both “jobs” make me feel like I’m doing something(s) very important in life. It is my deepest desire to have my work be all about bringing people to the table, because I believe that peace begins there. Earning a living while perhaps making such a delicious contribution toward peace in our world, makes me love where I’m at in life, that there’s no one else I’d rather be. I love walking in my own shoes.

 

In this episode of the Find Dining podcast, Chef Michael Cimarusti, owner of  Providence in Los Angeles, tells us about his culinary journey.  We discuss his time cooking in France, the secrets of seafood, and his family’s recent culinary travels in Europe.Restaurant critic Johnathan Gold of the Los Angeles Times named Providence on his Top 101 Restaurant List in 2013 and 2014.
 

• Chef Michael and his wife studied under Larry Forgione at American Place


Providence Restaurant

• Compare the formality of Le Cirque to the causal elegance of Spago
• Michael shaped his first menu at Water Grill
• When in England, it’s okay to bring the kids to Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
• Find J Sheekey in the Theatre District of London
• Zio’s is a great old school restaurant
• Head to Seasalter to eat at the pub at the Sportsman
• When in France, dine at Arpege, Le Coquillage, or be a guest at Michel Bras’ inn
• When in Spain, enjoy tapas at Arzak in San Sebastian

 

RELATED: Where to Eat in Los Angeles.

 
 

Food For Thought:

• Q: To what did Julia Child attribute her longevity and good health?

• A: A steady diet of red meat and gin.

 
 

Out of the Frying Pan Picks:

• Influential cooking shows or books: Le Livre de Michel Bras, Simply French: Patricia Wells Presents the Cuisine of Joel Robuchon
• Favorite local merchants/farmers: Sea Stephanie Fish
• 

  Fresh Sea Scallop

  Dish for newly adventurous eaters: uni in champagne reduction

• Favorite beverage to pair with seafood:  wine or sake
• Great place to get dinner for under $20: Pizzeria Mozza
• Chefs to watch in Los Angeles: Josiah Citrin at Melisse, Jon and Vinny at Animal, Jeremy Fox at Rustic Canyon, Chad Colby of chi Spacca
• Advice for up-and-coming chefs: Work hard, stay inspired, and learn the history

To me, coffee is more than just a ritual to wake in the morning, it is an experience. Every coffee shop has a unique personality, sense of style and craft to making the perfect cup of coffee. As a Los Angeles native and passionate lover of gourmet coffee I am very jubilant to share with you my most adored coffee shops in the area.
 
 

1. Go Get Em Tiger

Located on the quaint picturesque street of Larchmont is my absolute favorite coffee spot Go Get Em Tiger! Apart from is delightfully playful name, it is the perfect place to escape to have a sumptuous cup of joe. The decor is clean and modern with a large bar. Instead of waiting in line you walk up to the bar and order your coffee. You can stand European style and have your coffee at the bar or sit at their small geometric shaped tables. My favorite is their Iced Almond Macadamia Latte that are served in glass mason jars. They make their almond milk in house and its absolutely rapturous! They also have a great happy hour from 4-8pm everyday with a delectable assortment of pies like their Black Plum Pie ,Salted Caramel Appel Pecan or Kabocha Squash.
 

$$
230 N Larchmont Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

http://ggetla.com

 
 

2. Sqirl

A tiny gem tucked among the eclectic streets of Silver Lake is my absolute favorite coffee and brunch spot Squirl. The shop is always bustling with stylish hipsters and innovative dishes to tantalize the pallet. Don’t be deterred by the line, this coffee shop and restaurant is worth the wait. While very small the menu is quiet large. My coffee favorites are “The 1 & 1 4” which is a single shot espresso and a single shot of macchiato served side by side, their “Lait ‘N’ Egg” which is a Vietnamese stye iced Cortado shaken with egg whites or the “Al Puccino,”a sweetened iced cappuccino. If your stopping in for coffee you should definitely take a look at the menu as well. Their Brown Rice Porridge with traditional Kokuho Rose Brown Rice , Straus milk, toasted hazelnuts and choice of home made Jam is positively sinful.
 

$$
720 Virgil Ave #4, Los Angeles, CA

http://sqirlla.com/about/

 

RELATED: Top 5 Places to Eat for Less Than $5 in Los Angeles

 
 

3. Coffee + Food

If you love Chi Tea Latte’s then Coffee+ Food has one of the best. Their Chi Tea Latte is the perfect blend of sweetness and tea. I also love their black coffee. Coffee + Food uses a medium roast from Central America, South America and Indo Pacific. The taste is smokey caramel and molasses.
 

$$
5630 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA

https://coffeeplusfood.wordpress.com

 
 

4. Bullet Proof Coffee

Health nuts will be the first to sing the praises of Bullet Proof Coffee. Known for its ability to enhance performance and focus coffee drinking is taken to the next level. Bullet Proof Coffee is thoughtfully crafted with organic hand picked coffee beans in Central America, the strict Bulletproof Process™ minimizes performance-robbing mold, bacteria and toxins and XCT and Brain Octane which is high quality fat. If you have to get your game face on this is the coffee you want to drink. They also have a small food menu there that serves Non Gmo, No gluten, No sugar, Grass-fed, Local! Its such a treat to find a place that features quality products, without even having to study the menu!
 

$$
3110 Main St, Santa Monica, CA

https://www.bulletproofexec.com/bulletproof-coffee-shop/

 
 

5. Sycamore Kitchen

On the trendy LA Brea Avenue, home to many of LA’s trendiest and most unique restaurants , take a trip to Tuscany with Sycamore Kitchen’s Tuscany Latte. Their Tuscan latte is simply delectable. It is made with fresh rosemary, maple syrup and creamy milk. I also love their Iced Cubano with espresso, creamy milk and cinnamon! Sip these sweet savory coffees while listening to hollywood most elite directors, writers pitch movies and tv shows an ear shot away. Its scrumptious and entertaining!
 

$$
143 South La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA

http://thesycamorekitchen.com

 
 

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About Alexandra Catalano

Alexandra is an author, blogger and lifestyle expert in the field of health and wellness. She has been a guest on Good Day LA, WGN Chicago News, CW San Diego, Women’s Forum television Lifetime Network’s Supermarket Superstar with her blog Eat Cute!

http://www.eat-cute.com