KCET FOOD

We Need to Talk About the Sunset Strip Farmer’s Market

“Well, there goes the farmer’s market.”

That was the thought ringing through my mind when a news-blast announcing the June 14th debut of the upcoming “Thursday Night Farmer’s Market on The Sunset Strip” hit my inbox.

This ain’t your grandma’s farmer’s market, that’s for sure. Rows of produce sold in the morning haze of the sun, the only aural accompaniment coming from fellow passersby, local farmers, and perhaps the odd accordion or acoustic guitar playing softly in the distance? Forget it. This one’s from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. (making it a bit more like, a farmer’s market happy hour?) and takes place in the parking lot of the old Tower Records. Oh yeah, and it’s going to rock and/or roll!

“The new Sunset Strip Market is not your typical farmer’s market,” West Hollywood Mayor Jeffrey Prang is quoted in the press release. And that’s certainly true. In fact, the question is: Can this even be considered a real farmer’s market?

Read more here.

Tomorrow!

The ultra popular Delaware-based breweryDogfish Head is taking over the taps at West Hollywood drink spot The Surly Goat. It’s a one night only sort of thing, with some of the brewery’s favorite beers. Highlights include the 90 minute and 120 minute IPA series, their Immort Ale and the salaciously named Bitches Brew. Come early and stay late for a few surprises as well.

Winter Recipe: Olive Oil Pancakes with Walnuts and Pomegranate

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 ½ cups buttermilk
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup honey
1 tbsp pomegranate seeds (these can be purchased already separated at Trader Joe’s and other stores)
1 tsp roasted walnuts, grated (Walnut bits, store-bought or smashed at home, should be just as delicious.)

See more here!

Winter Recipes: Bouillabaisse

Below is the recipe for the bouillabaisse served by David Myers at Comme Ça in West Hollywood and Las Vegas. The seafood combo he uses is excellent, of course, but if something else strikes your fancy feel free to tailor it to your tastes. (I’d personally swap out the mussels for crab, for instance. There is room for delicious improvisation here.)

Bouillabaisse
serves 4
3/4 cup olive oil
Bones and heads (gills removed) from fish for recipe
Shrimp shells from shrimp for recipe
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 shallots, sliced
1 bulb fennel, sliced
3 tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
In a sachet:
1 fennel top from one bulb fennel 
2 sprig thyme
1 bay leaf
1 pinch saffron threads
1 cup Pernod 
3/4 pound mussels, cleaned and debearded
1 pound sea bass filets, cut into 2 inch wide pieces
1 pound snapper filets, cut into 2 inch wide pieces
3/4 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined

See more here!

Midnight Snack: Rainforest Pizza with TJ Miller

 T.J. Miller’s career spans the spectrum, from a one-hour Comedy Central special to a Weird-Al-type music album, The Extended Play, satirizing celebrity culture. Add to that a film resumé that includes polar opposite titles like Cloverfield and Yogi Bear, and you have a man who readily admits, “I have had the weirdest film career that anyone has had to date. I would stake it against even Stephen Root.”

TJ orders his go-to favorite, a pepperoni pizza, and we take a seat on the patio outside.

Henry: How did you find this place?
TJ: Early on, I used to live in this building on Orange and Hawthorne, and it was this shithole drug den. It looked like drug den, at least. There were guys who all had these prison tattoos, these Russian prison tattoos, who would just smoke and read the Bible or weird, long novels. It was very strange. So I was in this neighborhood, and I would walk around, and one time, I just saw that sign. They have the shittiest sign in the world. Look at it. It just says, “PIZZA.” It’s so ugly! And the thing is I didn’t like Los Angeles pizza in general. I lived in New York for a little while. I was just looking for a New York-y style pizza, and I came here, ate it, and it was so f***ing good. The crust was awesome.

Read more here!

Winter Recipes: Chicken Pot Pie

West Hollywood’s Palihouse, with its beautiful crowd and elegant decor, might not seem like the most pot pie-friendly of places. But their rendition is, it turns out, a crowd favorite. They gave us a version for home cooks that keeps the key ingredient: dried apricots.

See the recipe here!

Midnight Snack: Jones with Danielle Bernabe

Laurenne: What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen from your perch? 
Danielle: That would have to be when I sent Topher Grace a drink. On accident.

Laurenne: The guy from That 70s Show? On accident? 
Danielle: Yeah! I thought he was Tobey Maguire, who is a vegan. I’m a vegan chef, so I thought it was destiny. I was too scared to send him a drink, so my three friends each chose someone too. We all sent drinks, and mine just sat on Topher Grace’s table next to his martini. He didn’t even acknowledge that he got it. But all the other people did, and it become a game of the entire bar sending drinks to each other. I have never laughed so hard in my life. All the bar was in on it EXCEPT for Topher Grace. Everyone was cracking up but him.

Read more here!