Touring the Malibu Family Wines' "Taste of the Tour"

I was lucky enough to attend that Taste of the Tour (that being the Amgen Tour a bike race which rides through the Conejo Valley for those who are not sure what tour they are referring to, which was me up until the time I arrived at the event…) at Malibu Family Wines last weekend. Turns out the Amgen Tour is the biggest cycling event this country, Lance Armstrong (the only name I know in cycling, hey the only name most of us know in cycling) was there riding with Team RadioShack. And that wasn't the only thing I was ignorant about.

Now I knew there were vineyards in Malibu, but truthfully I was thinking that they were little rinky-dink tasting rooms. So now I am totally eating crow. I was, definitely, a little out of the loop on this one because I was absolutely blown away by the beauty of Malibu Family Wines (not to be confused with Malibu Wines, yeah it's confusing...) breathtaking location. You definitely don’t have to go to Santa Barbara to experience wine country because believe it or not it lives in the heart of Malibu.

Malibu Family Wines hosted the Taste of the Tour at their 1,000-acre Saddlerock Ranch Estate. Along with 60,000 vines of grapes on 65 acres (with varietals including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Malbec, Grenache, Mouvedre and Viognier) this estate has extensive horse pastures and exotic animals (they’ve got Buffalo, Camels, Zebras, Llamas, and Peacocks to name a few). Let’s just say that it’s not surprising that along with making wine, and boarding horses, they do a booming (booming!) wedding business.



The Taste of the Tour featured wines from Malibu Family Wines' vineyards, Saddlerock and Semler, and a bevy of booths from restaurants in the Ventura area. I ended up making the tale end of the event so I wasn’t able to sample as much of the food offerings I was would have cared to (although the Saddle Peak Lodge sure makes a mean (and by mean I mean a refreshing light for a hot summer day) Sweet Pea and Peekytoe Crab Soup.)

Luckily a few food booths pushed through right till the end, including the wonderful Novy Ranch Grass-Fed Angus Beef. As someone who tries to avoid the corn-fed factory-farmed meat, I was in heaven. All of their beef is grass-fed free-range with no antibiotics or growth hormones. In layman’s terms: beef as it was supposed to be eaten. The lovely people of Novy Ranch were offering out samples of their New York Strip, their Pepperoni Sticks, and their Sausages.

All were great tasting, but the New York Strip was definitely the highlight. Dusted with just a tad of pepper the steak was lean (grass fed is pretty much always going to be leaner than corn fed) but still had a deliciously round flavor in my mouth. I highly recommend checking them out!

Another end of the event treat I was able to sneak in was Olive Oil Ice Cream drizzled with their Balsamic Vinegar from the people of the We Olive, Venture Store. We Olive is one of the premier retailers of California extra virgin olive oil in the US with 8 retail outlets throughout California. The Ice Cream was uber-creamy (most definitely helped by the fat molecules in the Olive Oil) which contrasted perfectly with the sweet tangy taste of the Balsamic Vinegar.

Luckily was able to get my hands on one of the last glasses of Saddlerock Rose. Crisp and cool with hints of watermelon it was the absolute perfect wine for a summer day.
Grass-fed Beef, Olive Oil Ice Cream, and a glass of Rose, it was the perfect celebration for my now absolute favorite bike tour!

Explore. Think. Eat
The Edible Skinny

La Cachette Bistro

Wrote an article for the SM Observer on Santa Monica's restaurant La Cachette Bistro:

La Cachette Bistro:

The Art of French Cooking in Santa Monica:

In the last couple of years everyone seems to be channeling their inner Julia Child.  All you need to do is look around Santa Monica where the classics (Melisse) are getting a run for their money from newcomers (Anisette Brasserie).  Last year an old favorite of the Los Angeles French dining scene, La Cachette, followed Horatio Alger’s example and moved westward. “We wanted to move venues for awhile.   We actually auditioned for this location and were lucky enough to get the space,” notes Fabrice, La Cachette Bistro’s manager.  Cachette means a “hiding place,” and with that in mind La Cachette’s move was more on the sly than some other dining eateries in the last couple of years (read… forget it, I’m going to be good on this one).   

Before its westward expansion La Cachette had be located in Century City for fifteen years, but years of the roadway in front of the restaurant being torn up like wrapping paper had taken a toll on their patrons.  Chef Jean Francois channeled his roadblock frustrations into a sweeping move to Santa Monica’s Ocean Ave., right across the street from the beachfront hotel alley, and right down the street from the Viceroy. The repositioning happened late in 2009, and with it a transformation into a more casual beachy atmosphere.  Thus, La Cachette became La Cachette Bistro. “It’s a great move, “ Fabrice continues, “when I sit here in the morning sipping my espresso on the outside on the patio I feel like I’m in Nice,” a compliment indeed since it’s the Francophile’s hometown.

One of the biggest changes to note is the inclusion of the word Bistro (noun: small or unpretentious restaurant) in that title.   Although the new space is more open and large than your typical dark wood French bistro, the gently priced rates are right on par.   In celebration of this change La Cachette Bistro is introducing their fifteen dollar Daily Lunch Bistro Prix Fixe Menu.   For the same price as parking on Sunset Boulevard on a Friday night partakers can enjoy a three course meal.  Starting options  

begin with either the Butternut Squash and Corn Soup or a Mixed Green Salad.  This is followed by three options for the main course including Roasted Chicken Breast with Mustard Sauce, Corn and Spinach, Zucchini and Swiss Cheese Omelette Triple Deck Turkey Meatloaf Bacon and Avocado Sandwich.   This is, naturally, followed by the requisite Sucre fix of a dessert that changes daily.    

And for those gourmands who wish for dinner dining, La Cachette Bistro does not disappoint. The French are known for their adoration of pairings: they take finding the perfect compliment to an item to an art form.  From pairing rich ingredients with simple contrasts so the dinner is not overwhelming, to the pairing of wine with a course (let’s be frank we are talking about the French, they pair wine with any and everything).  As we started with a round of appetizers Fabrice appeared with a Gewurztraminer from the Alsace region of France, the Domaine Klipfel was light and floral, with clover overtones.  It completely complemented our first selection:  Homemade Fois Gras Terrine with Rhubarb Pearls and Gelee.   The Fois Gras was rich and creamy, while the Rhubarb Pearls exploded in my mouth reminding me of a sweet version of caviar.   The Brioche was simple.  Sweet, yet strong enough to hold up against the richness of the other ingredients. 

This was followed by the appetizer special of the classic French vegetable of Leeks.   Delicate in taste, almost to the point of lace, they were prepared with only the whites of the stem along with white pepper, truffle oil, and a light dusting of chives.  The only drawback that my dining guest noted was the difficulty in cutting them since they were served in one large hard to navigate piece.  But, this issue was completely forgotten as we were presented with the Organic Beef Tartar with Baked Potato Chips.   The New York cut was soft and tender with hints of wostershire and capers.   Upon deeper inspection of La Cachette Bistro’s menu we noted the inclusion of numerous organic items on the menu.  Always a bonus these days, especially for anyone who has recently had Food Inc. in their Netflix queue (read “me”). 

While we waited for our next course the subject turned to approaches towards food and dining.  For the French dining isn’t just food, it’s a cuisine, a lifestyle.  A large majority of its offerings might be rich, but they are not overtly decadent (there is quite a difference)  (huge).  Smaller portions, and a savory approach to enjoying every bite make French dining an art of the senses. For some unfathomable reason French restaurants in America always seem to have an older clientele than other cuisines.  The young folks might think that Sushi is sexier, but a note to everyone who is at the courting stage of their relationship, this is perfect environment for great, and impressive, date.  

Fabrice appears with a Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire region,  Henri Marionnet, before we even think to ask.  This is followed moments later by my personal favorite dish, classic French dish, Moules and Frites.  Made with mussels, white wine, shallots, cream, parsley, garlic, chives, and cream.  “It’s a very traditional French dish,” notes Fabrice, “what makes ours different is we add saffron to it.”  It is heaven to me, creamy and crisp.   I take a sip of the Sauvignon Blanc and, I have to say, it is perfectly paired with my mussels and fries. 

This is then topped by appearance of Spare Ribs in a red wine sauce.   At this point Jean Francois appears from the kitchen.  “What is it?” he quizzes the two of us.   We both shrug our shoulders, tipsy on its heavenly smell, and multiple wine pairings.   “Buffalo,” he answers with a Santa Clause grin, “cooked with mire pois and rubbed with coffee.”  We take a bite and all my dining partner can say on an exhale is, “that is insane.”  The depth of the coffee taste creates a syrupy smoothness to the dish.  This course is harmonized with a side of Pot Croquettes, which are best explained as mashed potatoes shaped into the size of tater tots than fried.   Light and airy, it recalled the flavoring of Funnel cakes at a State Fair.  

This artful dinner is capped with two contrasting desserts.   The first is the light and airy Ile Flottante, Floating Island for us anglophiles, a soft meringue served with crème anglais, almonds, and pistachios.  This is contrasted with a denser Cheesecake made with crème cheese, orange zest, honeycomb, and orange sauce.  Incredibly rich, there was a Smokey flavoring to this dish that made just one bite enough.   Naturally Fabrice showed with a Muscadet to pair with our sweets, Eric Chevalier Cotes du Grand Lieu Loire Valley. The sweet orange flavorings complimented the Ile Flottante to a T.

As we sipped our last drops of our dessert wine we reflected on how although we both felt enjoyably satiated we did not feel heavy.   But when food is approached as an art form that is never a dilemma.  All I could think with the onset of La Cachette Bistro to our beach town is Viva the Santa Monica French cuisine.     

Kat Thomas writes on a variety of subjects.  She is very lucky one of them is good food.  

Grapefruits, Lemons, and Volunteering, Oh My!

On Sunday I was lucky enough to spend some time helping out one of my favorite LA do-gooder organizations: Food Forward. If you haven’t heard about them, Food Forward is an all-volunteer grassroots group who convene at properties they have been in invited to and glean the excess fruit on their trees, donating 100% to local food pantries.



This organization has an energizing spirit, allowing Angelenos to feel awesomely great about helping out someone else while enjoying the great outdoors. It’s an absolutely wonderful group because it’s a win-win for everyone: the people who allow their trees to be picked get a charitable tax deduction and a clean tree (it’s actually healthier for it to get picked like this) and the food banks get some fresh fruits or vegetables (something that they are usually very short on). This spirit is so contagious that Food Forward now knows people who are planting fruit trees in their backyards so they will be able to donate in about 5 years (the standard time it takes to get good fruit off a tree).



On Sunday I traveled to a backyard in Sylmar and attacked a grapefruit and lemon tree with vengeance. The result: 14 boxes of citrus that were donated to the SOVA Community Food and Resource Program. Along with SOVA, Food Forward also partners with Mend Poverty to distribute the produce they glean to a total of over 30,000 clients a month across Southern California.



Truthfully I volunteer for this organization for selfish reasons, it quenches my insatiable thirst to climb trees and pick fruit. The fact that we are helping people reconnect to their food system and combat urban hunger is icing on the cake.

Food Forward is always looking for trees and/or volunteers so check them out if you want to spend an inspiring weekend afternoon outdoors (tree climbing not necessarily a requirement).

Explore. Think. Eat
The Edible Skinny

Menu Minuet - Restaurants and Farmers at the SMPL

Last Thursday Santa Monica held its Farmers Markets 2010 Quarterly Library Panel Series. This panel, entitled “Menu Minuet,” focused on how chefs and farmers keep seasonal produce on the plate while maintaining consistency on the menu. As always there were some heavy hitters of the panel:

• Mark Peel- Chef of Campanile, Tar Pit, and the Point
• Akasha Richmond- Chef of Akasha
• Romeo Coleman- Farmer of Coleman Family Farm
• Alex Weiser- Farmer of Weiser Family Farms

The event was moderated by Pulitzer Prize winning writer Jonathan Gold, who had just returned from New York after receiving the Craig Clairborne award in restaurant reporting from the James Beard Society (just think of it as the Oscars of the food world). Gold began by celebrating the clout of the famers noting that Weiser Family Farms’ potatoes were “the Rock Stars of the plate, that with one bite you know it’s a Weiser potato,” and of Coleman’s herbs “that they make my editor’s weak in the knees.”

When looking at the philosophy of a seasonal menu Mark Peel, who was the dominant force on the panel noted “I’m lazy. It’s easier dealing with food in season. It’s easier to take something that’s beautiful from the Farmers Market because it tells you what to do. “ That being said, today’s culture holds certain expectations for getting any food year round. Melons, tomatoes, and basil all have a specific season, but that doesn’t stop restaurant customers from demanding them. Everyone had their limits, Coleman noted how if you asked for Basil in February “you’d better be wearing a bikini.” But other items were a necessary evil. “You’re not going to get Heirloom Tomatoes in the winter, but people expect tomatoes,” explained Akasha, “I’m pretty freaky with my produce, but tomatoes are tough. In the winter I use Cherry Tomatoes for the burgers. I use canned organic tomatoes for the pizza. But I would never serve Mozzarella and tomatoes in February.”

The panel talked about their early approaches to growing, selling, and creating food. Weiser explained how his father bought their farm as a tax shelter. “In the beginning we just jumped in and lost a lot of money,” he noted of their 160 acres, which was originally an apple orchard. “The entire crop was Golden Delicious that we sold to a baby food company. There were no Farmers Markets. We did a roadside stand and U-Pick to help survive, but it was lean. “ In the early 80s a friend knocked on the door and suggested Farmers Markets. “More than anything else it allowed us to diversify. “ And that made all the difference in the world. “We came to the Farmers Market where people appreciated us. It was a great place where they didn’t care if the apple was pink instead of red, where they didn’t have to be waxy like they were in the supermarket.” Akasha, who’s namesake is known as great restaurant that just happens to have vegetarian food, noted that after being a vegetarian, macrobiotic, and private chef for many years that she very specifically chose to create a restaurant that wasn’t “healthy food.” That it would offer vegan food but also where you could get a pork chop. Peel noted how after doing a year in New York, he planned to open up a restaurant there but instead chose to come to Southern California after reexamining the dismal vegetables offering of an East Coast climate.

Diversification was the buzzword of the night. Both Weiser and Coleman noted its importance for their farms, in allowing them to create segmented profit throughout through the year versus one single payday from a large agri-business company (Weiser noted that sometimes it would take more than a year to get paid when they were growing for the baby food). Coleman noted how their farm had just lost their pea tendrils to mildew last week (now a tasty Amuse Bouché for their sheep), but the hit could be managed because of all their other crops. Along with diversification being a survival tactic for the farmers, it also allows the farmers to experiment with different vegetables. Coleman noted how his father started growing Persian mint because a customer brought it to them. Weiser’s father did the same thing in the 80s with the Jerusalem artichoke.

The panel did note how sometimes the customers at the market have grumbled about how some restaurants “buy all the best stuff.” “Sure we buy a lot, but we also get their early,” stated Akasha. “I’ve gotten shut out at Coleman before, that’s why I have a standing order now. Peel noted how it also leads to discovery of unknown. “People want to learn the story about things. If you can sell the waiters and get them enthused about cabbage, then they’ll get the guest excited, who’ll then go to the market and buy it, and then cook it at home for themselves.”

The next free event in the Santa Monica Farmers Market 2010 Quarterly Library Panel Series will be held Thursday August 12, 2010 from 7pm to 9pm. For more info go to www.smpl.org

The Wonderful World of Brewing Kombucha

So if you are a resident of the West Coast (the land of the crunchy granola people as my Dad likes to call it) you’ve probably heard a little bit about Kombucha. For everyone else who doesn’t live or die by their Bio-Diesel car and Vision Board, Kombucha is a fermented tea that us crunchy granola people drink for its multiple health benefits.

Kombucha, like beer and wine, is brewed. The Kombucha culture (SCOBY) ferments sweet tea turning it into a slightly to somewhat acidic drink (depending on brewing time). The culture, sometimes erroneously know as a mushroom, is best know as a SCOBY, "symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast.” It’s not pretty thing, but if we learned anything from the Beauty and the Beast it is that even ugly things are beautiful underneath.

Truthfully the SCOBY, best described as a Blob-y grayish pancake object, looks pretty suspect. For this reason most people who drink Kombucha buy it in brightly colored bottles from health food stores. Synergy and other brands sold at Whole Foods are pretty and nice, but they are not cheap either, especially if you want to sip this tea everyday, as is recommended for its benefits.

So with this in mind, and to learn more about Kombucha as a whole, I invited Dave “Kombucha” Lindenbaum to give me the skinny. Since this whole process ended up being a little bit more expansive than I was expecting it to be (hence the super big post) I have decided to break the wonderful world of Kombucha into 3 separate posts: how to Brew, how to Bottle, and a more extensive interview with Dave about the ins and outs of this world.

Dave is an ex New York finance guy who magically transformed into a Kombucha guy in Los Angeles, CA (all you east coasters can make some joke about SoCal frying your brain… like we’ve never heard that one before). His company Get Kombucha sells bottled Kombucha, but more importantly it also sells all the things you need to brew organic Kombucha at home by yourself.

When I ask Dave about why does this for a living he explains, “When you brew Kombucha you are the one who made it. It might not seem like a big difference, but it is. It’s about taking ownership.”
THE LOWDOWN WELCOME TO THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF KOMBUCHA

The best way to think of Kombucha is as a probiotic tea. Probiotic, now there’s a word that is being thrown around a lot these days. You might have seen Jamie Curtis talking about it to sell yogurt, but what exactly does probiotic mean?

Probiotic adj 1. A live microorganism which when administered in adequate amount confers a health benefit on the host.

In any bottle or brew jug of unfiltered Kombucha these strands and strains float (live yeast for anyone who is asking), but what are these health benefits they might confer on us (the host)?
Well on the simplest of levels, we all know that toxins are bad for the body, and when we get rid of them the body gets better.

Now anyone who sells you Kombucha related paraphernalia will become uneasy about it’s specific health selling points (since the FDA gets all weasely eyed about such things without very specific, and expensive, studies backing it up). That being said, Kombucha has been recommended as a remedy against acne, intestinal issues, kidney stones, gout, arthritis, and cancer, the last one being the biggest elephant in the room when it comes to talking about this acidic drink. Whether these claims are all valid or not probably won’t be proven for a very long time, but what is known scientifically is that many of Kombucha’s components have antibiotic and detoxifying characteristics. Whether this is because of the acidity of the drink influencing the GI tract or something more hasn’t been completely mapped out yet. But regardless, in detoxifying the body you’re helping to cleanse it so the possibility of disease is lessened.

But, let’s swing away from this digression and return to how to brew the K-tea.

GET THE STUFF - WHAT YOU NEED
So in the beginning there’s sugar, lots and lots of sugar. But don’t get thrown by this, the sugar will be eaten by the yeast of the SCOBY and converted into acids that are beneficial to your gut, and other parts of your body. Along with sugar there should also be cleanliness, lots and lots of cleanliness (I am hoping this is a given, but just in case…)

Like anything you cook, bake, or brew you’ll need some ingredients. These include: • A suitable brewing container with a 2-gallon capacity or more (some people use glass jars, Dave actually sells this and all the other kombucha items). • A piece of muslin, kitchen towel, cloth napkin, or some other piece of clean porous material. Whatever you use it needs to be a size that will cover the top of the brewing container with some overlap. • A large elastic band to hold the material on the container. • 1.5 gallons of water (boiled and cooled or filtered). • 2-3 teaspoons loose tea in a reusable muslin filter bag. You use a loose bag because this allows the tea to breath more. The tea can be Black, Green or a mixture of both. Please note: it must be tea and not a tea-like substance Herba Mate. • 1-2 cups Sugar (organic is preferred, but ordinary household sugar will do if you must). • A SCOBY (if you have a friend who brews they can cut you one off, otherwise you can buy one from Dave). • 32 ounces of already brewed Kombucha (Dave also sells this (shocker) or you can buy a bottle of premade bottle tea, just make sure to buy plain tea, not flavored).

Note (again): Cleanliness is very important in every aspect: hands, equipment etc. The first thing you should do is to clean everything that you are going to use (please be wary to soap as it can hurt your SCOBY, just wash with water and rinse with white vinegar.)

DOUBLE, BUBBLE, TOIL, AND ... - MAKING THE SWEET TEA BATCH
This is the liquid that feeds the Kombucha culture which is then transformed into Kombucha tea by your sugar chomping SCOBY.

Place your water in a pot (a stainless steel, enamel covered, or heat-resistant glass household cooking pot) and turn on the burner. The water should either be filtered or should already have been boiled for at least 5 minutes.

After boiling for the necessary time, add the tea. Allow it to boil for 5 minutes before stirring in the sugar till it dissolves. Allow the mixture to boil for 15 minutes (creating a super saturated solution for all those chemistry buffs). When finished fish out the muslin bag and allow this solution to cool to room temperature.

Don’t put add your culture yet as it is too hot for your SCOBY! (They are sensitive creatures)

WEIRD SCIENCE - ADDING YOUR CULTURE
Once the solution is at room temperature pour the solution into your brewing container. Then plop the SCOBY on top. Whether it sinks or floats it doesn't matter, it will work either way. To finish it off, pour the Starter Tea on top.

JUST DO IT - BREW TIME
C’est ca; that’s it.

Just cover the top of the container with your kitchen towel, using the elastic band to hold it in place and protect it (your tea needs air, but definitely not flies).

Move the container to a good real estate location. Somewhere that it can be left undisturbed for about a week. You should try and have the temperature somewhere between 68 – 86 Fahrenheit. Since it’s a living thing keep it away from tobacco smoke, strong smells, and fried food (more specifically the grease that gets in the air from frying food).

TIME DELAY- FIVE DAYS LATER
After 5 days, it is time to taste the Kombucha. When you pull off the cloth the first thing you will notice is that the container will probably smell like you’re dying Easter eggs (vinegary).

The best way to tell if it is done is by tasting it. The Kombucha should have a slightly acidic (read: sharp – definitely not sweet) taste. If it isn’t quite there yet, put the cover back on and leave it for another day before tasting again.

The length of brewing time can vary quite a lot depending on location, temperature, and time of year (faster in the summer, slower in the winter), normally it takes between 5 days to 2 weeks.
Once the “kick” kicks in you’re ready to start reaping the K-tea rewards. It’s simple, good for you, and fun (especially for everyone who ever wanted to be a Mad Scientist… Oh wait, maybe that’s just me).

Main Street’s Manchego Going Strong

Wrote an article for the SM Observer on Machego on Santa Monica's Main Street.

Main Street’s Manchego Going Strong

Upon entering Manchego restaurant the first thing that strikes you is the contrast between the bright Santa Monica sky and the dark exotic mystery that is housed inside. Manchego, located on Main Street right off of Oceanpark, serves Spanish food including hot and cold tapas, sandwiches, salads, and a multitude of imported Spanish cheeses.  The atmosphere is deep reds, chocolate browns, and charcoal blacks.   Red silk curtains hang in the windows; the wooden tables, chairs, and bar are deep in color.  You would definitely feel that you had stepped into Don Quixote or Carmen, except for the fact that Radiohead’s In Rainbows is playing on the CD player.  

During the year and a half that this Spanish restaurant has been open, its small space has evolved.   The bar seating has moved from the center of the restaurant to the side, which now allows for better flow for seating and social interaction. Although the Feng Shui as changed, the philosophy of the food has stayed the same. “Keep it fresh, keep it simple, and listen to the customers,” Ash puts in plain words. All of which are driving needs of a small restaurant.  Yes Manchego is small, but those who know my opinions know how I love this in a restaurant (allowing ability to control the menu and having it feel more like an extension of someone’s home).   Luckily it turns out Ash Amir, owner of the restaurant, holds the same opinion.  “Big restaurants always look empty,” he notes, “while a small restaurant always are more homey.”

Ash is an L.A. transplant, like everyone else in this city, but his location of origin is tad more exotic than Kansas.   Ash was born and was raised in Iran, save one year in 1990 when his family moved to Santa Monica. In 1999, almost a decade later, Ash decided he wanted to return to the United States and remembered Santa Monica with its famous Pier, and homeless population.  Once in California Ash studied Finance and Business, first at Santa Monica College and later at Cal. State Northridge.  During these six and half years he worked as a lifeguard for LA County.

Ash’s old roommate Javier designed Manchego’s menu.   “He’s from Spain.  We met on an airplane and became friends.   Later we went to Cal State Northridge and became roommates.”   After school Javier moved back to Madrid and Ash decided to visit his old roommate’s country.   While there he traveled extensively visiting locales such as Madrid, Ibiza, and Malaga.   

It was during his time traveling in Espana that Ash had an epiphany; he should do the thing he always wanted to do, and that was open a restaurant.  “I don’t know why, but I always liked the restaurant thing,” he says smiling with a slight look of wonderment.  “It’s definitely not in my blood, I’m from a family of accountants.”

But regardless of the why, after that moment of enlightenment, Manchego began to fall into place, naturally with the help of some good old fashioned elbow grease.   When the restaurant was starting Ash had his old friend Javier come over to the States to help out in the vision of Manchego.  Authenticity was guaranteed by having someone of Spanish background design the menu.  A year later Javier’s still in the picture, “he still consults for me from Madrid,” notes Ash.

Ash’s food philosophies are all over Manchego’s menu.   Everything is definitely fresh, simple, and authentic.  “All you have to do is look at the size of my kitchen to realize that the food will always be fresh, there’s no space for it not to be,” he explains.  The dishes range from lighter fare like the Gazpacho Andauz, a traditional cold Spanish soup, that is chocked full of vegetables. “It’s got lots of fresh garlic, along with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers.”  The soup is charming, heavily blended giving it almost a fluffy texture. 

Another fresh dish on Manchego’s menu is the Castilla Lechuga.   A salad comprised of aged Manchego cheese, avocado, cherry tomato, romaine lettuce, Spanish green olives, extra virgin olive oil and fresh lemon juice topped with saffron chicken breast.  A great contrast to some of the richer items on the menu.

But don’t worry there are richer classic Spanish dishes like Grilled zucchini, feta cheese and caramelized pecans.  The Feta is really creamy, not having the salty bite that some people associate with this cheese.  Ash notes that this has to do with the quality of the cheese.  “There’s cheap Feta, and then there’s really good Feta.”  The Calamares con tostado tapas is a delight.   The black calamari with artichoke hearts and garlic on bread is absolute fulfillment.  Warm and soft in my mouth, there’s definitely depth to the flavor.  I have to admit out of all of the dishes, this was the one I made sure to finish completely. The goat cheese tostado with a blackberry and sliced strawberry on top.  It’s crispy and smooth with a sweet finish; you might want to even sample it as an after dinner sampling.

Displayed on the South wall of Manchego is a massive dramatic picture of a bull, one of the greatest symbols of Spanish identity.  Nestled next to this red hued picture is a smaller doppelganger version of it.   These identical images serve as Manchego’s logo.   “My sister painted the smaller version,” explains Ash, “the larger version is a blown up version of it.”   Maybe its because he’s a Taurus, but Ash has always had a strong connection with this beast. When asked if he’s visited one of Spain’s famous bullfights, he dismisses the notion. “I couldn’t imagine going to one.  I think they’re the most beautiful animal.”

And you can definitely find some of the stubborn bull tendencies in Ash Amir. Since opening Manchego, one of the most important changes that has occurred is the change in the hours it’s open.   Manchego now is only open for dinner; its hours are from five to ten in the evening.  This is a direct result of Main Street Sunday Farmers Market.   “Sunday is the most popular day to go out for lunch.  But, if you look up and down Main Street the restaurants are empty because of the market.  That’s the main reason we’re not opened for lunch right now.”  For this reason Ash is working hard along with other Main Street merchants to get their restaurants into the food vendor part of the Sunday Farmers market.  

“Yes, we should support the farmers.  But it doesn’t make any sense to support restaurants that aren’t even local to this area, that are located an hour away from Santa Monica.”  And Ash is up to the challenge.  “It’s not easy catering to the size of the market, but I could handle it.   I average about three parties a week varying from thirty to two hundred in size.  Whatever the challenges we need to allow the Main Street merchants the opportunity.”  And who would argue that Jamon wrapped dates with cheese and a red wine sauce and Prosciutto stuffed with goat cheese and dried cranberries wouldn’t be perfect bite size additions to the market. 

“Really, I don’t care how much money you spend.  I’d rather have you spend $5 and have a smile on your face, than $500 and be unhappy.   And that’s why we’ve been really successful since we’ve opened,” explains Ash. “That’s the thing I love most about owning a restaurant being able to put a smile on people’s face while they are eating.”  And that’s something to be stubborn about.  

Kat Thomas is a writer in Santa Monica who is always up for an international food adventure.  

Consider Plastics

Wrote an article for the SM Observer on Santa Monica couple the 5 Gyres.

Consider Plastics

Santa Monica Couple Helps Discover North Atlantic Garbage Patch

Consider plastics.   Most of us don’t, but because of Santa Monica residents Anna Cummins and Marcus Eriksen you should a little more.   The married couple are members of the 5 Gyres, a research team that recently presented their discovery of a North Atlantic Garbage Patch, located in the North Atlantic Gyre, at the 2010 Ocean Science Meeting.  

Before this February presentation in Portland the only “known” Gyre Garbage Patch was the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  Since being discovered ten years ago the Great Pacific Garbage located between California and Hawaii has become infamous as a symbol of all that is wrong with our throwaway culture.  The Garbage Patch is vortex of floating plastic in the Pacific that is estimated to be somewhere between the size of the state of Texas and the entire country of the United States of America.   

Turns out the Great Pacific Garbage Patch isn’t the only one. Depressing yes, but hopefully it will make us think twice about plastics.  

Scientists and environmentalists have reported finding plastic in parts of the Atlantic since the 1970s, but the full extent of the damage wasn’t know until the 5 Gyres began explicitly mapping out the pollution.  As part of the 5 Gyres, Cummins and Eriksen took their sailboat, the Sea Dragon, to the North Atlantic Gyre and collected samples of the oceans surface to quantity the mass, size, color and type of plastic pollution floating.   They sailed across the Atlantic for with a group of scientists who trawled the sea between Bermuda and the mid-Atlantic Portuguese islands the Azores. 

Okay, I have to be truthful that up until a week ago I did not even know what a gyre was, so for everyone else who is undereducated on ocean currents, the official definition of a gyre is a circular or spiral motion or form especially a giant circular ocean surface current.  Think of it as convention currents for the ocean with a whirlpool at the end, all the tides and currents in each ocean move about the seas finishing off in one of the 5 Gyres (one for each ocean).   Thus anything that a current picks up along the way, especially any plastic something that floats, like your old toothbrush, that water bottle you didn’t even finish, or that candy bar wrapper, ends up floating in one of these massive Garbage Patches in the middle of the ocean.  Then these plastic somethings just sit there, never decomposing, never going away.  

Depressing yes, but hopefully it will make us think twice about plastics.  

5 Gyres research expedition is really very straightforward.  The 5 Gyres collect their research using a manta trawl.  The trawl, is slow towed behind the Sea Dragon sailboat, there it collects surface samples of debris greater than 333 microns, one third of a millimeter, about the size of a small piece of beach sand.  These samples are later sorted by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation lab in Redondo Beach into sizes and types of plastic.  After the pieces have inspected, the AMRF will then calculate the total weight of plastic pollution compared to the area and volume of the sea we sampled. 

And with Garbage Patches it’s not just an eyesore issue.   Animals eat these plastics, mistaking them for food sources.   Tiny pieces of the plastic lid on your coffee cup will end up in the stomachs of marine birds, fish and sea turtles.   Smaller organisms like jellyfish eat these plastic particles, they are then eaten by larger fish, who are then eaten by larger fish, slowly working their way up the food chain.  Along with plastic trawling, the 5 Gyres are collecting fish to study the environmental effects of the ingestion of micro plastic particles.

“This throwaway mentality is a relatively recent phenomenon. Just a generation ago, we packaged our products in reusable or recyclable materials, glass, metals, and paper, and designed products that would last. Take a look around you, most of what we eat, drink, or use in any way comes packaged in petroleum plastic, a material designed to last forever, yet used for products that we then throw away,” notes the 5 Gyres.  “Today, our landfills and beaches are awash in plastic packaging, and expendable products that have no value at the end of their short lifecycle.”

The short-term convenience of using and throwing away plastic products carries a very inconvenient long-term truth. These plastic water bottles, cups, utensils, electronics, toys, and gadgets we dispose of daily are rarely recycled in a closed loop. “Knowing the impact of plastic pollution on the world, inaction is unacceptable,” they state.  “We currently recover only 5% of the plastics we produce. What happens to the rest of it? Roughly 50% is buried in landfills, some is remade into durable goods, and much of it remains “unaccounted for”, lost in the environment where it ultimately washes out to sea.”

Depressing yes, but hopefully it will make us think twice about plastics.  

So what can we do about it?   In the opinion of the 5 Gyres, cleaning up plastic pollution from the world’s oceans is impractical. “Our communities manage waste with landfills and recovery centers, screens on storm drains and nets across rivers, but these post-consumer solutions are expensive to taxpayers.”  “Yes, it’s all very depressing and we’d rather look the other way, but if we as a planet focus more on than just today there are solutions.  What works are economic incentives: return deposits on bottles, return deposits on products (EPR), and even a “Plastic Drive” for local schools to collect all types of plastic for $/pound.  Efficient recovery of waste is essential- there is no "away" in throw-away.”  Steel water bottles and cloth grocery bags, biodegradable plastics and green chemistry, closed loop product lifecycles, “these innovations and reinventions move us towards a more sustainable society, where the concept of ‘waste’ has no place,” notes the 5 Gyres.  

Some simple suggestions, you might consider for this Earth Day are:

1. Commit to put your bags in the car, to not use plastic bottles, etc.

1. Support legislative efforts to manage waste in your local community (like banning plastic bags in Santa Monica).  Your voice must be heard! 

1. Bring your own bag, bottle, cup, To-Go Ware, and inspire others to do the same.

1. Be a leader in your industry and community for sustainable living.

Yes it’s all easier said than done, but when you consider the fact that plastic has only been around fifty odd years, and how much damage we’ve already done, just think of how much damage is yet to come if we don’t change. Mindful living is something we all need to do both for ourselves and for each other.  Santa Monica is greener than some cities, but not as green as it likes to claim to be.   It still hasn’t gotten around to banning plastic bags, something it’s been “working on” for years and San Francisco accomplished over three years ago.    

Cummins and Erikson plan similar studies in the South Atlantic in November and the South Pacific next spring, so yes next year we’ll probably be hearing about another Garbage Patch in another ocean gyre, probably in yet another Earth Day article.  It can all be a little depressing if we don’t do anything, if we don’t make a change.  But we can, today, tomorrow, and the next day; because one of the most important things to remember is that you can always make a change.  So take a moment, as depressing as it is, and think twice about plastics. 

It’s almost a cliché to say that every day should be Earth Day.  Almost if it wasn’t true.   

Kat Thomas is a Santa Monica writer who hopes someday her town will really ban plastic bags.   You can read more of her food explorations on her food blog, the Edible Skinny.