Arroyo July 2016

FINE LIVING IN THE GREATER PASADENA AREA

July 2016

COOK LIKE JAMIE OLIVER With a raw meal kit and chef-driven recipe Leslie Bilderback’s

GUIDE TO GLOBAL SALTS

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD CLAUD BELTRAN Pasadena’s native top chef opens Perry’s at the Constance

TERRY MCMILLAN Returns with a boomer romance

2 | ARROYO | 07.16

Photo by David Gatreau Lic.653340

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4 | ARROYO | 07.16

arroyo

VOLUME 12 | NUMBER 7 | JULY 2016

PHOTOS: (Top) courtesy of Hotel Constance; (bottom left) courtesy of Paul Martin’s American Grill; (bottom right) Matthew Jordan Smith

11

31

35

FOOD 11 CHEF CLAUD BELTRAN His latest restaurant, Perry’s, is spicing up the landmark Hotel Constance.

—By CAROLE DIXON

27 THINK INSIDE THE BOX That’s where you’ll find raw chef-inspired meal kits delivered to your door.

—By DENISE ABBOTT

31 BITES Food news around Arroyoland and beyond, freshly picked for you —By RICHARD CUNNINGHAM

35 SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST? With I Almost Forgot About You, bestselling novelist Terry McMillan turns her lens on the life and loves of a boomer professional woman..

—By BETTIJANE LEVINE

DEPARTMENTS 8

FESTIVITIES GLAZA’s Beastly Ball, L.A. Chamber Orchestra performs Disney “Silly Symphonies”

9

LÉON BING Halfway home after an unfair sentence

16

ARROYO HOME SALES INDEX

37

KITCHEN CONFESSIONS A brief guide to salts around the world

39

THE LIST The Pasadena Pops plays Billy Joel, American Ballet Theatre returns, AmericaFest at the Rose Bowl

ABOUT THE COVER: Claud Beltran, photo by Matfer Bourgeat USA. 07.16 ARROYO | 5

EDITOR’S NOTE

Food, glorious food! Forget that this is bikini season. Isn’t a juicy hamburger with black pepper aioli and hardwood-smoked bacon reason enough to hang it all and throw on a light tunic?

Or pop by the chic Hotel Constance for dinner at Perry’s, Pasadena über-chef Claud Beltran’s latest restaurant. Beltran is truly a native son — after all, why else would an ambitious young chef turn down mentor Thomas Keller’s invitation to join him in Napa Valley when he took over the famous French Laundry? But we don’t like to look a proverbial gift horse (okay, so this one comes with a bill) in the mouth, especially when it comes to what we put in ours. Because Beltran has been delighting foodies at the various acclaimed restaurants in his hometown for years. Carole Dixon talks to Beltran about his latest venture on page 11.

If you’re a cook-at-home type — or aspire to become one — you can whip up dinners like a professional chef with a meal kit delivered to your door containing a recipe and only the raw ingredients you need. No more passing off Julienne’s sublime take-out as your own, thanks to Blue Apron and other companies that deliver meal kits to Arroyoland. As Denise Abbott reports, these are sophisticated meals you really can take credit for because you’ve cooked them yourself. And if you’d like to add a pinch of salt or two, check out Leslie Bilderback’s guide to colorful salts around the world.

Bestselling novelist Terry McMillan is currently exhaling in an airy loft near Old Pasadena, home base when writing her 13th book, I Almost Forgot About You. As Editor-at-Large Bettijane Levine reports, McMillan, who’s famous for illuminating the inner lives of African American women, explores the options facing many successful boomers in her new novel, as her protagonist decides whether to follow the road not taken.

—Irene Lacher

EDITOR IN CHIEF Irene Lacher ART DIRECTOR Carla Cortez ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Stephanie Torres

6 | ARROYO | 07.16

arroyo

FINE LIVING IN THE GREATER PASADENA AREA

PRODUCTION DESIGNERS Rochelle Bassarear, Richard Garcia EDITOR-AT-LARGE Bettijane Levine COPY EDITOR John Seeley CONTRIBUTORS Denise Abbott, Leslie Bilderback, Léon Bing, Martin Booe, Michael Cervin, Scarlet Cheng, Richard Cunningham, Carole Dixon, Lisa Dupuy, Lynne Heffley, Kathleen Kelleher, Rebecca Kuzins, Elizabeth McMillian, Brenda Rees, John Sollenberger, Nancy Spiller, Leslie A. Westbrook ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Dina Stegon ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Lisa Chase, Brenda Clarke, Leslie Lamm ADVERTORIAL CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Bruce Haring HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER Andrea Baker PAYROLL Linda Lam CONTROLLER Kacie Cobian ACCOUNTING Sharon Huie, Teni Keshishian

SOUTHLAND PUBLISHING V.P. OF OPERATIONS David Comden PRESIDENT Bruce Bolkin CONTACT US ADVERTISING dinas@pasadenaweekly.com EDITORIAL editor@arroyomonthly.com PHONE (626) 584-1500 FAX (626) 795-0149 MAILING ADDRESS 50 S. De Lacey Ave., Ste. 200, Pasadena, CA 91105 ArroyoMonthly.com

OFFICE ASSISTANT Ann Turrietta PUBLISHER Jon Guynn

©2016 Southland Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

07.16 | ARROYO | 7

FESTIVITIES

Ed Begley Jr. with Patti and Stanley Silver

Linda Kaplan, U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff and Gary Kaplan

Rich Lichtenstein, Melanie Cotton, Slash and Meegan Hodges 8 | ARROYO | 07.16

Scene from "LACO @ the Movies: An Evening of Disney Silly Symphonies"

More than 700 animal lovers converged on the Los Angeles Zoo June 11 for one of SoCal’s most popular benefits — the Greater L.A. Zoo Association’s 46th annual Beastly Ball. After an evening of casual eating, drinking and visiting bestial residents, including the Dinosaurs: Unextinct exhibit dwellers, GLAZA honored wildlife and zoo philanthropists Patricia and Stanley Silver as well as actor/environmentalist Ed Begley Jr., who took home the Tom Mankiewicz Leadership Award. Guests included GLAZA Co-Chair Betty White, Slash, Jane Leeves, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, Federico LaDene of Glendale, Gary Kaplan of La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadenans Ethan Eller, Diann Kim, Stephanie McLemore and Alex Garcia. The event raised $1.1 million… Some 1,200 fans of the L.A. Chamber Orchestra (LACO) and Disney animation savored the rare opportunity June 4 to watch the studio’s vintage “Silly Symphony” shorts accompanied by live music, conducted by Emmy-winning composer Mark Watters at downtown L.A.’s historic Orpheum Theatre.

After the rollicking show, donors dined on a lavish buffet.

Dustin Hoffman co-chaired the event, which benefited LACO’s education and concert programs.

Joe Brown and Dru Garcia Richardson

Mahnaz Newman, Shaheen Nanji, board President Dana Newman of Altadena and Ahsan Aijaz

LACO Executive Director Scott Harrison, Alex Rannie of Pasadena and Mark Watters

PHOTOS: (Top left) Tad Motoyama (Beastly Ball); Jamie Pham (Beastly Ball/ LACO); (top right) ©Disney

GLAZA President Connie Morgan, GLAZA Co-Chair Betty White and L.A. Zoo Director John Lewis

LÉON BING

HALFWAY HOME “When I was younger I was a straight-up killer. They’d have me killin’…everythin’.

And when you 11 years old and get you a gun, you got to be a little shook up.

Then you get used to it, no problem. You got to prove a lot when you first start, see.

Gotta prove that you down. Then you get used to it — it ain’t no thing.”

PHOTOS: Gareth Seigel

T

he young man speaking was an 18-year-old member of the Bloods in Altadena. We were in the park at the Jackie Robinson Recreation Center, and he was the initial interview for my fi rst book, not yet titled, about L.A. gangs. It was 1988 and he would be killed in a drive-by shooting two months later.

Later that year, I met Keshon Cooper, who had just turned 16, on a quiet residential street in what was then known as SouthCentral L.A. We were introduced by a 17-year-old girl wearing a tiny gold automatic pistol on a chain around her neck. Keshon was not in the mood to socialize: one of his homeboys, another Crip, had just been stabbed by a Blood. To break through the fog of tension, I suggested that we have lunch at a Mexican restaurant.

Keshon was unsure about what he referred to as “that foreign food,” but he grudgingly went with the plan, and as we drove along Western Avenue, he pointed to the entrance of a hospital.

“I got shot last year for drivin’ through the wrong ’hood and I drove myself to that hospital right there. Bled all over the damn steps. They couldn’t take me, but they had an ambulance drive me to another hospital across town.” He pulled up his T-shirt and pointed to a dime-size scar with a number of other, smaller scars orbiting it. “See? That big scar’s where the bullet went in and them little ones is from the drainage tubes. I only got one lung now.” His voice is so young, his tone so casual, he might have been describing a high-school football injury. Then, remembering the pain and the “enemy” gangbanger who shot him, “Dag, it was crazy. Dag!” There is a brief silence in the car and Bianca, a Crip homegirl, reaches out and pats his arm. It’s quiet in the car for a moment. Then Keshon’s lips curve into a narrow smile. “They caught the nigga, though, and tried him as an adult — give him 19 years.” He shook his head in wonder; that amount of time is inconceivable to him; it is longer than he has been alive.

I found myself liking this kid. I met his family and saw his love and respect for his mother. Saw him drive through his neighborhood to collect toys for kids who otherwise might not have gotten Christmas presents. Watched him with a puppy, his hands feather-light and soothing on the tender new fur and I couldn’t find anything of the hard-core gang member about him. I decided to devote a chapter to Keshon; he represented another side of gang life, where kids with single working parents — latchkey youngsters — gravitate toward a new kind of order with a strict set of rules and a sense of belonging to the world of gangbanging. Many of them do not realize that shooting — and often killing — other gang Keshon Cooper and Léon Bing –continued on page 10 07.16 | ARROYO | 9

LÉON BING

Keshon Cooper and Léon Bing –continued from page 9

members is an integral part of that world.

Two years after my book Do or Die was published in 1991, Keshon Cooper was arrested as the perpetrator in a gang murder. It was a strange case from the outset: the single eyewitness described the killer as “a light-skinned black male with a goatee.”

Keshon’s complexion is the color of bittersweet chocolate and he had not yet begun to shave. It was a short trial. Keshon admitted to having been one of a crowd of gang members at the scene but denied being the shooter. The eyewitness was confused about what he had seen and the public defender saw no reason for further investigation. Keshon was convicted and sentenced to a term of 26 years to life in a state penitentiary. He had just turned 19 and he had no criminal record. This is how justice is meted out to the poor.

The instant he hit the yard Keshon was surrounded by his homeboys, many of them imprisoned since the ’70s. These older inmates advised him not to make trouble with rival black gang members; it took a while for that advice to penetrate, but in a few weeks Keshon dropped the gang mentality and became, in his words, “a soldier for the black race and taking on another set of hate.” This toxic attitude was directed toward Hispanic and Caucasian inmates, and it earned him 15 months in the security housing unit (SHU): a form of solitary confinement. The time spent alone offered Keshon a chance to reflect on the past. He worked at forgiving rival gang members, including the boy who shot him. He tried to forgive himself for the pain he caused his mother, Bonnie. He studied and earned his G.E.D. certificate. When he was released from SHU, he took classes in masonry, carpentry and electrical service and became proficient in all three.

At some point during the first year or so of Keshon’s imprisonment, I was invited to a 10th–birthday party in his former ’hood. Just before the cutting of the cake, a young gangbanger swaggered into the house with a present for the birthday girl, the daughter of a woman I’d interviewed for the book. After we were introduced he said, “I know who the real shooter was that Li’l Spike [Keshon’s gang name]’s doin’ the time for.” I asked him why he hadn’t told the authorities and he looked at me with something near contempt. “Y’all crazy? Think I wanna get myself killed?” He turned away and my only thought was “so much for homeboy love.”

Keshon kept in touch, always referring to me as “Momma.” He asked for nothing beyond a reciprocation of love, a rarity among inmates. He never forgot to send cards, often beautifully drawn, for my birthday and Mother’s Day. He met a young woman, Star, during a telephone call to a mutual friend. They spoke often after that and Star signed up for regular visits (nearly a four-hour drive from L.A.). They were married at Calipatria State Prison in 2013, five years after that fi rst conversation.

Keshon was granted parole on April 25. A few days later, at the beginning of May, Star brought him to see me. There was a long, silent embrace and the three of us wept.

Keshon is living in a halfway house and adapting to freedom. He tries not to think about the hard time he has served; he’s happy to be with his wife, see his family, look for work and breathe free air again. |||| 10 | ARROYO | 07.16

Claud Beltran

CHEF CLAUD BELTRAN His latest restaurant, Perry’s, is spicing up the landmark Hotel Constance.

BY CAROLE DIXON

HIDDEN OFF A COLORADO BOULEVARD SIDE STREET IN PASADENA’S SOUTH LAKE BUSINESS DISTRICT, THE NEW DUSITD2 HOTEL CONSTANCE FEELS LIKE IT’S IN AN ART

PHOTO: Frank C. Girardot

DECO–MEETS–MEDITERRANEAN REVIVAL TIME WARP. From the modern blue-hued cocktail bar, aptly called the bluRoom, to the 60-seat dining room swathed in white with pops of yellow (banquettes) and black (marble tables), the vibe is sophisticated yet low key — a perfect setting for Pasadena native and celebrated Executive Chef Claud Beltran as he launches his fl agship restaurant Perry’s, named for the Jazz Era socialite who built the original hotel.

If you have spent any time dining in Arroyoland, you are probably very familiar with Beltran’s other two Pasadena restaurants: Bacchus’ Kitchen is a seasonally changing, farmers’ market–inspired neighborhood bistro, while at The Eatery on Allen, the menu switches monthly from German fare to Argentine to Mad Men dinners — the two restaurants have cooked up more than 37 different themes so far.

“Who doesn’t love a shrimp cocktail?” quips Beltran of the ’60s-inspired menu.

Beltran introduced a California-Asian menu to Perry’s about six months ago, spanning dishes from Thailand, Vietnam and China, such as crispy spring rolls encasing braised duck, pork dumpling soup and green curry arancini. “Th is type of food is underserved in Pasadena,” he says. “No one is doing Cal-Asian — lots of sushi and pizza but nothing like this.” The wine list is dominated by California vintages. The food is fresh, clean and international, while giving a nod to the San Gabriel Valley’s plethora of top quality Asian eateries. “I thought this would be an interesting direction to take, and it’s what I like to eat,” says Beltran, 52.

The hotel’s management brought in Beltran because of his sterling reputation in his hometown. “We have the most unique hotel in Pasadena and wanted to develop a great culinary program,” says Phil Anderson, general manager of the Constance (a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts). “Claud has a great reputation in Southern California and particularly in Pasadena. His two restaurants — Bacchus’ Kitchen and The Eatery — are fantastic. He has great energy and creativity. He was the –continued on page 12 07.16 | ARROYO | 11

Perrry’s Arcade leads to a bright outdoor patio.

–continued from page 11

natural choice to collaborate with on Perry’s.”

And collaborate they did, designing a main dining room where you could envision savoring long, leisurely business lunches, a drink after work or a romantic dinner near the Spanish-tiled patio. Original crown moldings and tiles remain amid the glamorous décor — but it wasn’t always like this. The property had fallen into disarray during its many years as a retirement home, but that all changed in the summer of 2014. That’s when the Bangkok-based dusitD2 hotel group (the avantgarde arm of Dusit International, Thailand’s premiere hotel management company) partnered with businessman Kin Hui’s Arcadia-based Singpoli Group to open the chain’s fi rst North American inn in the historic building.

The original 124-room hotel was built in 1926 by prominent socialite Constance Perry, and dusitD2’s reported $60 million-dollar makeover, designed by Pacific Design Group architects and Hong Kong designer Joey Ho, added on 24 suites, meeting spaces, an outdoor deck, a pool and two more restaurants, which Chef Beltran hopes to open by early 2017. Recognized as a historic landmark, the hotel served as a backdrop for scenes in Woody Allen’s new fi lm, Café Society, and everyone from January Jones to Dr. Drew has been spotted there recently. “The happy hour here is one of the best deals in town,” Beltran says. In addition to staples from the lunch and dinner menus, a kogi Philly cheesesteak with kimchi fries keeps the cocktail hour menu in tune with the Cal-Asian theme.

Beltran’s status as one of Pasadena’s top chefs came naturally. “Th is is my city, where I live, and, I practically grew up at Santa Anita with my parents,” he says with a laugh. He worked in aerospace, building X-ray equipment, but when the industry contracted in the 1980s, he decided it was time to move on. His wife, Julie, was working at Trader Joe’s when they started experimenting at home, collecting wines and trying new foods for their dinner parties. That led Beltran to a UCLA Extension culinary course where he delved deeper into an appreciation of truffles and foie gras, brought in by his teacher, a former sous-chef at the esteemed Le Gavroche in London. Now Beltran’s car sports a cheeky custom license plate, “GOT FOIE.” When he was ready to hunt for a culinary job in the early ’90s, Beltran set his –continued on page 14 12 | ARROYO | 07.16

PHOTOS: Courtesy of Hotel Constance

The Hotel Constance, named for Jazz Era socialite Constance Perry

07.16 | ARROYO | 13

The green curry arancini appetizer comes with yuzu mayo, shiso leaves and citrus hoisin sauce.

Perry’s glamorous décor uses a white palette accented by yellow and black.

Cocktail shrrimp is a Mad Men –style classic.

–continued from page 12

sights high. L.A.’s top chef then was the renowned Thomas Keller, who was running the kitchen at Checkers in downtown L.A. “It was the top dining room of that time,” Beltran says. After six months of calling repeatedly and dropping by, Keller finally called him back personally to offer a coveted kitchen job. Beltran initially thought the caller was a prankster friend. “You’re not Thomas Keller,” he said. Persuaded that he was, “I told him, ‘Just give me two weeks. If I can’t make it, you can fi re me.’” Th ree years later, Keller was so impressed with Beltran’s culinary skills that they collaborated on a catering company, run out of Beltran’s home and Keller’s apartment, for more than a year. They didn’t serve up your typical ladies-who-lunch salads or buffets but elaborate affairs with Margaux Bordeaux for $1,800 per person or dinners paired with lavish Romanée-Conti reds. They also ran an olive oil and red-wine vinegar company together until 1993, when Keller moved to Napa Valley.

Beltran recalls a key piece of advice from his mentor: It’s all about “technique and zero compromises on anything. That’s hard, and a level of commitment to quality that few chefs running a restaurant can afford.”

But Beltran was not prepared to move to Northern California. “I stayed on down here doing some catering gigs for the Beverly Hills Wine Merchant and others while continuing to run the catering company we started in L.A.,” he says. After parting ways with Keller, Beltran launched his fi rst Pasadena restaurant, Dickenson West (with restaurateurs Derek Dickenson and Barbara West). Other notable eateries followed, from Cayo and Madeleine’s to the acclaimed Noir Food & Wine, which closed in 2013 despite being crowned Zagat Best New Restaurant in L.A. in 2011.

Beltran still runs his busy catering business, Claud & Co., which operates out of the ample kitchen at Bacchus’. “That kitchen is huge,” he says. “We do weddings, galas and charity events. I’ve been in Pasadena a long time so I know every charity in town. I’m very involved and ingrained in the city, and it all comes back to you.”

The bustling chef isn’t planning to open up in other cities anytime soon. “I think it lessens the brand and I certainly don’t want to do that in a fi ne dining capacity,” he says. As for the menu at Perry’s, “People love salads; the branzino and sea bass all sell well.” What he does see in his future is a casual concept restaurant, like a sandwich shop or taco place, in Pasadena.

When the chef has a rare night off at home, he likes to cook in his outdoor kitchen and throw dinner parties with plenty of wine. “My wife is a teacher now, so there is an ending to what she does,” he says. My life [in the kitchen] will just keep going forever.” We can only hope. |||| Perry’s is located in the dusitD2 Hotel Constance, 928 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena.

Hours are 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Friday and Saturday. Call (626) 898-7900 or visit dusit.com.

14 | ARROYO | 07.16

PHOTOS: (top left) Courtesy of Hotel Constance, (top right and bottom two) Frank C. Girardot

Perry’s cheese plate has candied fruit and crostini.

07.16 | ARROYO | 15

arroyo

™

~HOM E SALES I N D EX~

+7.72% ALHAMBRA ALHAMBRA (NEW) Homes Homes Sold Sold Median Price Median Price Median Ft. Median Sq. Sq. Ft. ALTADENA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. ARCADIA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. EAGLE ROCK Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. GLENDALE Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. LA CAÑADA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. PASADENA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. SAN MARINO Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. SIERRA MADRE Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. SOUTH PASADENA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. TOTAL Homes Sold Avg Price/Sq. Ft.

MAY ’15 ’15 MAY N/A n/a N/A n/a N/A n/a MAY ’15 35 $626,000 1434 MAY ’15 30 $1,108,750 2140 MAY ’15 15 $665,000 1429 MAY ’15 101 $675,000 1482 MAY ’15 29 $1,695,000 2624 MAY ’15 145 $650,000 1441 MAY ’15 16 $2,990,000 2955 MAY ’15 11 $938,000 1563 MAY ’15 17 $1,128,000 2104 MAY ’15 399 $557

MAY ’16 MAY’16 49 $540,000 $498,750 1409 1320 MAY ’16 35 $745,000 1580 MAY ’16 35 $775,000 1716 MAY ’16 26 $816,000 1422 MAY ’16 95 $680,000 1497 MAY ’16 20 $1,655,000 2450 MAY ’16 107 $735,000 1557 MAY ’16 10 $2,094,000 2273 MAY ’16 12 $948,500 1861 MAY ’16 13 $850,000 1825 MAY ’16 353 $601

HOMES SOLD

2016

353

AVG. PRICE/SQ. FT.

2015

may

HOMES SOLD

-11.53%

may

399

HOME SALES

HOME SALES ABOVE RECENT HOME CLOSINGS IN THE PASADENA WEEKLY FOOTPRINT ADDRESS CLOSE DATE ALHAMBRA 20 North Bushnell Avenue 05/26/16 26 North Hidalgo Avenue 05/10/16 ALTADENA 2017 Midwick Drive 05/10/16 2163 Midwick Drive 05/20/16 3024 Zane Grey Terrace 05/17/16 428 East Mariposa Street 05/19/16 2847 Reposa Lane 05/18/16 1683 Harding Avenue 05/18/16 1285 East Palm Street 05/18/16 900 East Mt. Curve Avenue 05/10/16 938 East Poppyfields Drive 05/02/16 4400 El Prieto Road 05/20/16 ARCADIA 659 Hampton Road 05/16/16 1328 Oaklawn Road 05/12/16 1715 Watson Drive 05/17/16 1283 Oakglen Avenue 05/25/16 1700 North Santa Anita Avenue 05/09/16 1206 South 10th Avenue 05/18/16 110 East Camino Real Avenue 05/06/16 2130 Louise Avenue 05/19/16 2219 El Capitan Avenue 05/17/16 1050 Woodacre Lane 05/13/16 320 Diamond Street 05/20/16 31 East Floral Avenue 05/04/16 1327 Linda Way 05/11/16 235 East Longden Avenue 05/04/16 33 California Street #D 05/17/16 2419 Lee Avenue 05/26/16 EAGLE ROCK 1325 Saginaw Street 05/19/16 5232 Vincent Avenue 05/12/16 5013 Mt. Royal Drive 05/17/16 5208 Rockland Avenue 05/13/16 5326 Argus Drive 05/11/16 4886 Hartwick Street 05/27/16 2343 Las Colinas Avenue 05/20/16 1453 Hepner Avenue 05/04/16 1336 Hepner Avenue 05/13/16 GLENDALE 1423 Glencrest Terrace 05/10/16 652 Robin Glen Drive 05/13/16 750 West Kenneth Road 05/13/16 3032 Honolulu Avenue 05/24/16 727 Porter Street 05/20/16 1528 Moreno Drive 05/03/16 3310 Beaudry Terrace 05/05/16 2812 North Verdugo Road 05/16/16 3615 Mesa Lila Lane 05/02/16 2123 Lenore Drive 05/17/16 904 Cherokee Lane 05/20/16 3218 Kirkham Drive 05/11/16 1532 Moreno Drive 05/06/16 1018 West Glenoaks Blvd.

05/27/16 413 Wing Street 05/02/16 1612 Virden Drive 05/23/16 1648 North Verdugo Road 05/12/16 1555 Parway Drive 05/17/16 438 West Kenneth Road 05/09/16 3812 Los Amigos Street 05/17/16 2066 Chilton Drive 05/27/16 753 Foxkirk Road 05/06/16

PRICE

source: CalREsource

BDRMS.

SQ. FT.

YR. BUILT PREV. PRICE

PREV. SOLD

$1,180,000 $910,000

8 6

4470 3311

1930 1911

$275,000 $893,000

05/20/1999 07/25/2014

$2,495,000 $1,150,000 $1,030,000 $952,500 $908,000 $896,000 $872,000 $870,000 $869,000 $856,500

4 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 3

3012 1878 2264 2337 1725 1964 1741 1403 1798 1086

1937 1951 1961 1965 1946 1941 1950 1947 1959 1956

$1,600,000 $400,000 $365,000 $385,000 $835,000 $614,000

04/15/2014 07/28/1999 10/20/1997 10/18/2002 04/03/2008 01/15/2010

$560,000 $625,000

09/04/2015 03/29/2012

$3,680,000 $2,785,000 $2,180,000 $1,380,000 $1,237,000 $1,200,000 $1,160,000 $998,000 $970,000 $945,500 $905,000 $885,000 $880,000 $875,000 $873,000 $850,000

5 4 3 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 2 3

5543 5039 1444 2799 2862 1707 1920 1805 1461 2062 2006 1881 1834 2042 748 1768

2011 1954 1951 1966 1948 1937 1937 1963 1953 1976 2000 1940 1963 1958 1931 1959

$1,200,000 $1,125,000 $917,500

06/03/2009 12/03/1991 10/09/2014

$956,000

03/08/2005

$415,000 $320,000

10/21/1991 08/07/1991

$768,000 $838,000 $280,000

03/26/2009 08/01/2014 02/21/1992

$855,000

04/28/2016

$1,500,000 $1,450,000 $1,232,000 $1,150,000 $1,080,000 $1,080,000 $1,055,000 $975,000 $880,000

6 2 3 2 3 2 2 3 2

2490 1471 1434 1629 1766 1410 1784 1006 1232

1911 1924 1923 1921 1958 1955 1932 1913 1910

$525,000 $707,000

09/16/2003 04/17/2015

$605,000 $665,000 $780,000 $590,000 $536,000

09/24/2014 10/05/2015 07/08/2009 02/12/2004 11/19/2015

$3,450,000 $2,250,000 $1,690,000 $1,425,000 $1,327,500 $1,250,000 $1,200,000 $1,140,000 $1,130,000 $1,095,000 $1,070,000 $1,025,000 $1,010,000 $1,000,000 $960,000 $955,000 $952,000 $940,000 $930,000 $930,000 $900,000 $889,000

6 4 3 9 4 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 3 8 7 4 5 2 2 4 4 4

8069 3391 2615 3626 4592 2018 2697 4070 2492 2696 3822 2187 1852 4136 2903 1670 2606 2214 1718 1885 2354 1550

1938 1977 1937 1940 1927 1940 1976 1948 1966 1977 1992 1975 1935 1946 1927 1965 1949 1962 1923 1955 1925 1991

$1,150,000

03/27/1986

$535,000 $1,040,000

02/28/1996 03/04/2005

$700,000 $800,000

09/26/2008 04/03/2015

$430,000 $272,000 $699,000 $80,000 $720,000 $500,000 $370,000

04/11/1989 12/16/1983 07/15/2003 12/19/1975 03/26/2004 03/30/2001 11/21/2002

$925,000

09/27/2006

$750,000 $345,000 $675,000 $765,000

11/30/2012 11/30/2001 04/13/2005 06/06/2008

The Arroyo Home Sales Index is calculated from residential home sales in Pasadena and the surrounding communities of South Pasadena, San Marino, La Canada Flintridge, Eagle Rock, Glendale (including Montrose), Altadena, Sierra Madre, Arcadia and Alhambra. Individual home sales data provided by CalREsource. Arroyo Home Sales Index © Arroyo 2016. Complete home sales listings appear each week in Pasadena Weekly.

16 | ARROYO | 07.16

ADDRESS CLOSE DATE GLENDALE 3031 Paddington Road 05/19/16 1313 Hillside Drive 05/23/16 3356 Dunsmere Road 05/04/16 3745 Burritt Way 05/09/16 4421 Rockland Place 05/06/16 1406 North Pacific Avenue 05/27/16 LA CAÑADA 5126 Greencrest Road 05/04/16 4071 Dover Road 05/02/16 4358 Beulah Drive 05/18/16 841 Greenridge Drive 05/24/16 5127 Oakwood Avenue 05/26/16 4917 Hampton Road 05/25/16 1136 Green Lane 05/18/16 4714 Vineta Avenue 05/04/16 5179 Castle Road 05/12/16 5227 Alta Canyada Road 05/17/16 1118 Olive Lane 05/05/16 4952 Alta Canyada Road 05/20/16 5127 Solliden Lane 05/09/16 4808 Crown Avenue 05/27/16 5112 Crown Avenue 05/20/16 5508 Rock Castle Drive 05/24/16 4620 Ocean View Blvd.

05/25/16 2032 Orchard Lane 05/04/16 5311 Palm Drive 05/10/16 763 Starlight Heights Drive 05/27/16 PASADENA 545 Madre Street 05/04/16 883 South Oakland Avenue 05/13/16 1160 South Oakland Avenue 05/23/16 969 South Madison Avenue 05/24/16 3171 East California Blvd.

05/16/16 363 West Del Mar Blvd. #101 05/18/16 3660 East California Blvd.

05/18/16 367 West Del Mar Blvd. #108 05/19/16 179 Annandale Road 05/10/16 625 Old Mill Road 05/10/16 1501 Normandy Drive 05/10/16 1447 Parkview Avenue 05/24/16 1735 Outpost Lane 05/17/16 1460 North Michigan Avenue 05/24/16 411 South Berkeley Avenue 05/04/16 1220 Charles Street 05/10/16 1043 Atchison Street 05/20/16 616 South Los Robles Avenue 05/03/16 243 Annandale Road 05/18/16 1220 Wabash Street 05/20/16 3657 Thorndale Road 05/18/16 3815 Fairmeade Road 05/06/16 3289 George Circle 05/03/16 979 Brentnal Road 05/20/16 336 Redwood Drive 05/10/16 262 South Berkeley Avenue 05/24/16 111 South De Lacey Avenue #109 05/13/16 2040 Loma Vista Street 05/20/16 2115 Oakdale Street 05/16/16 1030 Lunada Lane 05/09/16 475 Cliff Drive 05/10/16 639 South Los Robles Avenue 05/16/16 1650 North Holliston Avenue 05/09/16 1785 Casa Grande Street 05/06/16 944 Roxbury Drive 05/09/16 241 North Mar Vista Avenue 05/09/16 742 Locust Street #202 05/11/16 SAN MARINO 900 Oxford Road 05/03/16 05/26/16 1271 Roanoke Road 1864 Windsor Road 05/03/16 1420 Bellwood Road 05/18/16 2151 Melville Drive 05/11/16 1867 Windsor Road 05/24/16 828 Sierra Madre Blvd.

05/03/16 574 Los Arboles Lane 05/18/16 1964 San Salvatore Place 05/02/16 2920 Lorain Road 05/18/16 SIERRA MADRE 189 Sycamore Place 05/05/16 556 Camillo Road 05/03/16 126 North Sunnyside Avenue 05/13/16 365 Toyon Road 05/26/16 90 South Michillinda Avenue 05/20/16 471 West Grandview Avenue 05/06/16 SOUTH PASADENA 1817 Spruce Street 05/25/16 05/17/16 805 Montrose Avenue 1611 Marengo Avenue 05/13/16 1625 Oak Street 05/16/16 1231 Monterey Road 05/06/16 1906 Mission Street 05/19/16 166 Monterey Road 05/26/16

PRICE

BDRMS.

SQ. FT.

YR. BUILT PREV. PRICE

$880,000 $875,000 $870,000 $869,000 $850,000 $850,000

3 2 2 3 3 3

2257 1824 2111 1425 1726 1722

1976 1954 1961 1959 1925 1929

$3,055,000 $2,700,000 $2,669,500 $2,575,000 $2,450,000 $2,350,000 $2,298,000 $2,200,000 $1,850,000 $1,660,000 $1,650,000 $1,560,000 $1,500,000 $1,461,000 $1,355,000 $1,325,000 $1,300,000 $1,250,000 $1,106,000 $910,000

4 4 5 4 4 2 4 5 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 3 3 1 2 3

3843 3911 2602 3793 2867 1237 3233 4205 3725 2068 2298 2662 1934 2020 1480 1980 2639 2287 1799 1932

$3,360,000 $3,100,000 $2,475,000 $2,400,000 $2,280,000 $2,056,000 $1,899,000 $1,868,000 $1,825,000 $1,780,000 $1,660,000 $1,600,000 $1,600,000 $1,592,500 $1,500,000 $1,415,000 $1,400,000 $1,380,000 $1,302,000 $1,250,000 $1,150,000 $1,130,000 $1,100,000 $1,026,000 $1,000,000 $970,000 $962,500 $957,500 $950,000 $935,000 $900,000 $885,000 $880,000 $879,000 $870,000 $860,000 $850,000

3 6 5 6 3 2 5 3 4 4 3 5 4 5 6 3 5 2 2 2 3 4 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 3

$6,380,000 $2,390,000 $2,265,500 $2,219,000 $2,100,000 $2,088,000 $1,960,000 $1,665,000 $1,500,000 $1,491,500

PREV. SOLD

$545,000 $299,000 $449,500

10/17/2008 11/24/1998 12/30/2002

1952 1947 1950 1991 1948 1948 1950 1949 1949 1941 1941 1959 1953 1947 1951 1958 1949 1929 1949 1974

$2,050,000 $1,500,000 $2,065,000 $2,500,000

10/28/2011 10/30/2001 04/10/2008 08/06/2008

$920,000 $1,150,000 $920,000 $740,000 $785,000 $108,000 $1,350,000

10/03/2014 06/22/2006 07/19/1999 04/30/2002 10/28/1999 02/13/1981 07/18/2007

$1,033,000 $301,000 $885,000 $700,000 $265,000

05/30/2012 07/11/1988 10/26/2015 08/02/2006 06/25/1990

$294,540

06/19/1995

2692 3848 3340 4134 3612 1910 3408 2540 2467 2479 2336 2606 2992 3340 3885 1829 2685 2180 2083 1671 2117 2734 1734 1493 1480 1760 2010 1811 1691 2862 2007 1560 1327 2061 1684 1360 1983

1957 1920 1922 1909 1947 2014 1949 2014 1932 1947 1955 1926 1981 1885 1927 2004 1905 1982 1937 1946 1941 1951 1950 1952 1947 1925 2007 1929 1927 2010 1951 1901 1927 1929 1947 1905 2002

$1,030,000 $2,000,000 $980,000

08/05/2003 08/14/2015 07/15/2002

$1,765,000 $1,239,500

11/12/2014 08/29/2014

$1,701,500 $1,300,000 $1,499,000 $1,305,000

12/31/2014 06/06/2005 09/06/2012 10/12/2005

$552,500 $469,000 $128,500 $1,350,000 $1,055,000 $1,190,000 $831,000 $182,500 $680,000

07/10/1998 03/01/1991 01/30/1978 08/27/2008 02/05/2013 06/07/2013 09/21/2011 12/04/1980 08/26/2010

$680,000 $358,000 $925,000 $939,000

05/29/2008 03/26/1999 03/11/2014 07/27/2007

$665,000 $157,500

06/05/2015 09/01/1983

$479,000 $255,000 $695,000 $325,000 $745,000

06/06/2003 10/14/1997 04/11/2013 12/21/2001 05/09/2013

$799,000

07/20/2007

5 4 4 2 5 4 4 3 3 2

4546 3000 2538 2257 2638 2048 2288 1914 1431 2072

1961 1926 1927 1955 1932 1926 1960 1941 1941 1940

$600,000 $1,600,000

11/03/1992 12/28/2012

$1,255,000

07/22/2011

$2,900,000 $1,409,000 $1,159,000 $1,060,000 $1,052,000 $1,049,000

6 5 3 3 3 4

5312 2912 1732 2155 2702 2186

1927 1965 1924 1941 1916 1921

$915,000 $475,000 $815,000 $178,000 $802,000

01/23/1998 04/21/1998 10/13/2005 07/27/1989 05/01/2014

$1,960,000 $1,925,000 $1,880,000 $1,750,000 $1,350,000 $985,000 $850,000

4 3 4 5 5 2 5

2846 2315 3052 3908 2493 1169 1875

1925 1914 1910 1908 1904 1922 1890

$439,000 $1,048,500

02/17/1995 04/03/2014

$85,000 $1,300,000 $505,000

05/02/2003 06/26/2014 05/22/2003

07.16 ARROYO | 17

HOME & DESIGN SPECI SP SPECIAL ECIAL CIAL ADVERTISING ADVERT ADV ERTISI ERT ISI S NG SUPPLEMENT SUPPLE SUP SU PLEMEN PLE MENTT MEN

BATHROOMS GO HIGH-END But think about how you use the and in the future rroom oom now now a

BY BRUCE HARING TH THE HE AX AXIO AXIOM IOM M IN R REA REAL EALL ES ESTA ESTATE TATE TE IIS S THAT A HOME’S VALUE IS ALL ABOUT LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO REMODELING THE BATHROOM INSIDE THAT HOME, IT’S ALL ABOUT AMENITIES, AMENITIES, AMENITIES. Spa showers, double vanities, radiant heat, vessel sinks, unique lighting and elegant furniture are just some of the features popping up in Pasadena area bathrooms. No longer confined to resorts and high-end hotels, these unique features are becoming musthaves for homeowners who wish to change up their décor.

It’s not all trendy, though. There’s a practical side to these former luxuries. Every homeowner now knows that their bathrooms are one of the features that add value when it comes time to sell the house (thanks, HGTV!).

That means there’s a lot of pressure to meet the expectations on the part of the buyer, who is looking for modern design and unique functions that will justify the huge investment they are planning to make.

That’s why area bathroom vendors say it’s best to dream big when you are creating a new design. Choose fixtures and finishes that you love, decide which features you must have (warmed floors are a big must for many, unimportant to others), and choose whether you want a big shower space with multiple nozzles, an Olympic-sized bathtub, or both.

–continued on page 20 18 | ARROYO | 07.16

PHOTO: Courtesy of Saxum Tile Design Studio

ARROYO

07.16 | ARROYO | 19

PHOTO: Courtesy of Surfaces USA

—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—

–continued from page 18

It’s your space, so make it an area that you will luxuriate in for years to come, and one that will still be relevant to the next person that occupies your building - or may offer features that will accommodate you far into your senior years.

But even if you aren’t planning on moving for a while, it’s wise to spend time and carefully think about what kind of experience you wish to have on a daily basis in your bathroom.

As you might expect from a room where some of life’s most personal functions occur, the ideal bathroom is all a matter of individual taste. Is it a room that’s used quickly? Or are you the type that loves scented candles and an oasis of relaxation during a long, luxurious bath? Do you need to share the space with a spouse or partner? Will there be a logjam at certain moments of the day?

All of these questions should be answered in your own mind before beginning to assess how your bathroom will be redesigned. The next step is where the professionals come in.

CHOOSE WHAT YOU LOVE Stephanie Laney is the lead designer for Surfaces USA, a Southern California company that specializes in natural stone and tile in all sizes and forms.

The biggest challenge in bathroom redesign, Laney says, is getting a customer to understand what their personal style is and not to be overwhelmed by a bathroom redesign. “I normally tell them even though you are remodeling a small portion of the home, you want to give it an updated look, even if the rest of the home is a bit dated,” she says.

Laney advises remodelers to pick out a slab first, since “everything works around that. That tells the most story.” Although everyone has a budget, homeowners should not “get wrapped up in the dollar amount” when choosing which patterns and materials to use. “You will spend the same money putting in a $3 tile and an $8 tile,” Laney says. “We all have budgets, but we’re talking 50 square feet (in most bathrooms), and if the tile is $1 more, that’s $50 more. We want them to pick what they love.

That’s the point of what they are doing.”

Frank Rojas, the general manager of Ultra Bathroom Vanities in Valley Village, recommends that customers decide on the layout of the room as one of their first steps. “Focus on where the shower, tub and vanity will go,” he says. “By getting these large items out of the way first, you can more –continued on page 25 20 | ARROYO | 07.16

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PHOTO: Courtesy of Ultra Bathroom Vanities

—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—

–continued from page 20

easily visualize where best to place the remaining items.”

In many cases, moving pieces around the bathroom may not really be necessary. A remodeled bathroom may “just need a face lift, as compared to a complete overhaul,” says Rojas. “However, if a project requires more than just replacing items, the layout may need to change.”

Rojas recalled a recent favorite project involving a customer who was building their home from the ground up. “Although several bathrooms needed to be completed, the showcase of the project was the master bathroom,” he recalled. “That featured a walk-in steam shower with gorgeous fixtures, including an over-sized rain shower, a beautiful wall hung vanity, and an LED illuminated medicine cabinet. The final result was a bathroom retreat with the perfect combination of function and style.”

THE BIGGEST MISTAKE Kim Gould, the showroom manager of Saxum Tile Design Studio in Pasadena, is another vendor who admits that a remodel can be overwhelming for homeowners. While you can get a great idea of trends by looking online, “there is no substitute for shopping for materials in person,” Gould says. “There are so many different parts of a tile order, and it is important to be able to put the pieces next to each other to compare colors, thickness and touch.”

Gould says it’s tempting for homeowners to go the DIY route and not ask for professional help in an effort to save on costs. “But in the long run, minimizing mistakes and making the best use of your time is invaluable,” she says. “We have the experience to direct people to make the right choices for the needs of their project. If they come in with a concept that is not suitable for the application, our response will be to educate them and present options with their ideas in mind.”

In the Pasadena area, customer trends include incorporating freestanding vanities, rain showers, stone, framed mirrors and a combination of LED recessed with decorative lighting, according to Debbie Kowalski, the co-owner of Modern Lighting in Temple City.

One caution in your remodeling plans: tearing up a bathroom can expose underlying issues in the house. “On a remodel, it ALWAYS happens,” says Kowalski. “Adapt and overcome. You are not the first to have this happen, no matter what it is.” If the budget is strict and the underlying issue costly, “you have to make choices on other things that may have to be downgraded or eliminated, or at least put off until later.”

There’s one other factor to consider when making your bathroom remodeling plans, Kowalski adds. “While we can’t plan for everything, we must be practical,” she says. “It is always best to plan ahead for what your needs will be in ten years. Many people in California move, so plan on what would be a positive, saleable room. I’ve seen countertops set at 40-inches for tall people – not good for resale.”|||| 07.16 | ARROYO | 25

26 | ARROYO | 07.16

PHOTO: Marie-Louise Avery

Think Inside the Box

TIRED OF THE HO-HUM WHAT’S-FOR-DINNER ROUTINE? TOO BUSY TO PLAN MEALS AND SHOP FOR GROCERIES? TIME TO START THINKING INSIDE THE BOX. THE LATEST CULINARY TREND SPRINGING UP LIKE BEAN SPROUTS IS MEAL-KIT DELIVERY SERVICE. UNLIKE FRESH-PRODUCE DELIVERY OR TAKE-OUT, THESE COMPANIES SOURCE FRESH, HIGH-QUALITY INGREDIENTS (ORGANIC WHENEVER POSSIBLE), DO THE MEAL PREP AND PORTION THEM FOR COOKING, THEN DELIVER TO YOUR DOOR. THE ACTUAL COOKING IS LEFT TO YOU, USING EASY-TO-FOLLOW, STEP-BY-STEP RECIPE CARDS.

That’s where you’ll find the recent wave of home-delivered meal kits, with chefs’ recipes and the raw ingredients to make them.

BY DENISE ABBOTT

Whether you’ve got serious chops in the kitchen or are a JV, it’s the joy of cooking distilled to its essence, usually within a half-hour to 45 minutes. And super-chef wannabes who are short on time can still cook like food gurus Jamie Oliver and James Beard Award–winning chef Justine Kelly — they create menus for Hello Fresh and Sun Basket, respectively.

Since Blue Apron and Plated launched meal-kit mania in 2012, the market has heated up with a bumper crop of new offerings. Technomic, a food-consulting firm based in Chicago, predicts that by 2020, the meal-kit delivery industry will have mushroomed 10 times larger than it was in 2015.

“Meal kits are gaining some real traction with consumers and represent a change in the way people –continued on page 28 07.16 | ARROYO | 27

Peach Dish’s shiro ramen

–continued from page 27

think about and source food,” says Technomic strategic advisor Eric Sorenson. “There’s also an entertainment factor involved, so it’s about more than just convenience.”

These are subscription services, but they’re easy to pause, skip or cancel at any time. If you do want to skip a week or more, remember to do so one week in advance or you’ll end up with a fridge full of food to cook that you may not necessarily want. Vegetarian, gluten-free and Paleo diets are available.

The process is pretty much the same across the board. You select from a range of weekly offerings, and they deliver. The cost ranges from $9 per person per meal to about $12 (usually including delivery). Most offer free meals or discounts with your first purchase.

This is definitely a lifestyle upgrade, but it’s not for the faint of wallet. You’re paying a premium for someone else to take care of the planning and shopping for fresher, higher-quality produce than you might find at your average grocery store. The farm-to-table philosophy is that great cooking starts with well-sourced seasonal ingredients, so they work with small sustainable suppliers.

On the other hand, it costs dough to purchase a jar of exotic spices for a dish you might not want to make again. Because all the ingredients are premeasured, you receive just what you need without the waste. (Most assume you have the basic pantry staples on hand: salt, pepper and olive oil are called for in most recipes.)

These services, all catering to Arroyoland, are perfect for anyone who loves to cook, wants to learn or is simply too busy to deal with planning, shopping and prepping. Also, you can feel good knowing that you are eating healthier meals using fresh produce. Many subscribers report losing weight as well. You get to be the chef de cuisine in your own domain and, best of all, there won’t be a bad table in the joint.

Green Chef (greenchef.com), one of only two USDA-certified organic meal-kit outfits, offers 12 options every week. Choose the one that fits your lifestyle, whether you’re part of a gluten-free couple, a vegetarian family of four or a meat-loving household of six. Green Chef makes sure to tick all the nutritional boxes, while leaving you plenty of leisure time to enjoy your evening.

Cost: Prices range from $10.49 per vegetarian meal to $14.99 for a Paleo meal. Each box contains three meals for two people. Delivery costs $9 per box.

Sample dishes: grilled lemon chicken with green-bean and pesto-pasta salad; tabbouleh-stuffed peppers; cumin-crusted tuna.

Special “sauce”: Each entrée has just 450 to 750 calories per serving.

Hello Fresh (hellofresh.com) lets you choose three meals from five options each week — including one created by BBC celebrity Naked Chef Jamie Oliver, famous for mastering the art of super-quick cooking that’s uncomplicated, delicious and healthy.

Cost: Two dinners for two people is priced at $48 plus $6 shipping; three dinners for two people goes for $72 with free shipping.

–continued on page 30 28 | ARROYO | 07.16

PHOTO: P PH PHO TO: Courtesy Courtesy sy off Peach Pe ach Dish P

Blue Apron (blueapron.com), launched in 2012, is considered the leader in the raw meal–kit craze and says it now delivers 8 million meals a month. Founder and CEO Matt Salzberg and his two partners started by making their first meals in their tiny New York City apartments.

Friends and family raved, and the business became smokin’ hot.

Cost: Blue Apron has two plans: two-person and four-person subscription options, both with three meals per week. The two-person plan costs $69 per week ($11.50 per meal) and the family plan is $129 per week ($10.75 per meal).

Sample dishes: center-cut pork chops with warm beet, heirloom carrot and hazelnut salad; chicken meatloaf with mashed potatoes and garlic sugar peas; butternut squash and kale minestrone Special “sauce”: No recipe ever repeats in the same year; Blue Apron uses your saved preferences to pick menus if you don’t specify your choice; it also offers a wine club that delivers 500-milliliter bottles (smaller than standard), selected to pair with the meals.

07.16 | ARROYO | 29

–continued from page 28

Sample dishes: sage-butter pork chops with roasted broccolini and citrusy potato salad; Mediterranean vegetable tostadas; chili-roasted shrimp with spinach, white bean sauté, feta and mint Special “sauce”: A Jamie Oliver recipe, such as salsa spaghetti with black olives and fresh basil, is always on the menu.

Orecchiette from Purple Carrot

Peach Dish’s (peachdish.com) Southern-inspired cooking respects the classics but one-ups them. Unlike other services that typically deliver one-dish meals in which the veggies tend to get lost, this Atlanta-based company includes a main, side and vegetable — a true Southern meal, if you will.

Cost: Prices start at about $12.50 per person per meal, depending on the number of meals ordered (up to 12 a week) and U.S. shipping destination. Regular subscribers receive free shipping and can order a box delivery as often as they like.

Sample dishes: herbed hanger steak with green beans, red onions and grits; panko-crusted chicken with lettuce and herbs; trout with tomato and cucumber salad over wheat berries Special “sauce”: You can order a single box with no further commitment, and it makes a great gift for an anniversary, a couple with a new baby, a housewarming or any other occasion.

Sun Basket’s steak salad with summer squash

Purple Carrot (thepurplecarrot.com) is the only all-vegan service that delivers nationally. It’s heavily influenced by former New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman, who created and tested all recipes until his recent departure.

Cost: Meals for two people, three times weekly, is priced at $68 per week; for four people, twice weekly, it’s $74. Your box is shipped to you on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Sample dishes: linguini with crisp mushrooms and saffron broth; crispy rutabaga rösti with garlicky balsamic spinach; Manchurian cauliflower with sesame-tamarind bok choy Special “sauce”: Purple Carrot is perfect for anyone who is intimidated by veganism or any vegan who has fallen into a boring vegan rut.

Sun Basket (sunbasket.com) is the other service offering organic meal kits certified by the USDA. Sun Basket’s new bicoastal distribution centers allow it to deliver fresh organic, nutritious food to 34 states or “80 to 90 percent of U.S. households,” says Adam Zbar, its CEO and founder.

Last year, James Beard Award–winning chef Justine Kelly wrote 450 recipes for Sun Basket, which sends out about 150,000 meals each month. Each recipe is vetted by an in-house nutritionist for low sodium content, low processed sugars, healthy fats and nutritionally dense ingredients.

Packaging materials are recyclable and reusable.

Cost: Three meals for two or four cost $11.49 per meal. Choose from 10 meals a week.

Sample dishes: Thai steak salad with summer squash and seared scallions; salmon with roasted spring vegetables and tahini; Tuscan bread and vegetable soup Special “sauce”: The only service to offer healthy breakfasts that take just five minutes to prepare as part of a regular subscription; packaging materials are recyclable and reusable.||||

30 | ARROYO | 07.16

PHOTOS: (Top) Eric Tanner; (bottom two) courtesy of Sun Basket

Plated (plated.com) takes you back to the future, offering home-cooked meals like mom used to make. Plated’s dishes are a bit more complex, requiring more dicing, chopping and various other cooking techniques (searing, roasting, etc.) than most other plans. Plated offers the most choice — nine meals each week — and the option of ordering as many meals as you want (in two-, fouror six-plate quantities).

Cost: Prices are based on the number of plates you order, with a minimum of four plates per order each week. For example, three meals for two people would come out to $72 per week. The minimum order is two plates for two people, which costs $48. Plated also offers some specialty dishes (filet mignon or seared scallops) that can run as high as $30 per dish.

Sample dishes: Thai peanut-chicken curry with sticky rice; meatloaf with Parmesan-roasted broccoli; cheesy, Italian-style faro and red rice with roasted kale Special “sauce”: You can see meal options three weeks in advance but, on the downside, if you wait too long to order, some dishes can be sold out.

BITES

Freshly Picked Food News

BY RICHARD CUNNINGHAM

PHOTOS: (Top) courtesy of Wildwood Ovens; (bottom) Aliza Sokolow

Wildwood Ovens owner/chef Michael Gerard is offering three cooking workshops this month at his Eagle Rock culinary school: • Cooking with Wood Workshop, Saturday, July 9, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Wildwood promises to “break out all our culinary guns in this slightly barbaric and mother of all wood workshops” for cooking outdoors. Use rustic culinary techniques, such as salt-crust and rescoldo stone-pot baking (cooking in ash and cinders), to cook meats and veggies in the forno (wood-fired oven) and infiernillo (super-hot oven) or on the parrilla (grill), chapa (portable grill) and assador (spit).

“We will revel in the taste of burnt,” the website vows. The class will cook four dishes, depending on what’s fresh that day. The four-hour workshop costs $200.

• Tapas Workshop, Saturday, July 9, 4 – 7 p.m.

Learn the art of preparing small bites pioneered for sherry drinkers at Andalusian taverns and spread around the world. Wildwood calls this workshop “a class in seduction as we slowly tease your taste buds.” The class climaxes in a tapas buffet. The workshop lasts three hours and costs $150.

• Yakitori Workshop, Saturday, July 23, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Since yaki means barbeque and tori means chicken in Japanese, Wildwood sums up this workshop as being “all about the bird.” By the time you leave this three-hour class with a tummy full of tori, you’ll be able to butcher an organic free-range chicken and make skewered bar bites by cooking over Kishu binchotan komaru charcoal kushiyaki. Curious? The class fee is $150.

Wildwood Ovens is located at 5020 Eagle Rock Blvd., Los Angeles. Call (323) 255-6578 or visit wildwoodovens.com.

Cooking with Wood Workshop

Chicas Tacos, a hot new taco stand in downtown Los Angeles, has a hip, retro vibe and uses only locally sourced, fresh organic ingredients in its made-to-order dishes inspired by the Valle De Guadelupe region. There’s a smattering of indoor seating, but the bigger draw is outdoor patio dining on bright red picnic tables atop a sea of AstroTurf, next to a shiny Airstream trailer. Try the fish taco with beer-battered seafood, smoky morita salsa and Chicas Caesar salad, or the veggie taco with cauliflower chorizo, marinated mushrooms, panela cheese, avocado sauce and chile toreado. Just a block-and-a-half from Pershing Square, Chicas plies downtowners with tasty tacos from 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays.

Chicas Tacos is located at 728 S. Olive St., L.A. Call (213) 896-0373 or visit chicastacos.com.

Tacos line up –continued on page 32

07.16 | ARROYO | 31

Bistro Burger

–continued from page 31

The Royce Wood-Fired Steakhouse at the Langham Huntington, Pasadena has monthly four-course wine dinners planned all summer for the intimate Red Wine Room. The restaurant’s winery partner, providing wine pairings, is Napa Valley’s Miner Wine Estates on July 21; TBA on Aug. 18 and Ridge Vineyards in the Santa Clara Valley on Sept. 22. Dinners begin at 6:30 p.m. and cost $95 per person, excluding tax and gratuity. Each dinner only accommodates 12 guests, so don’t wait to make a reservation by calling (626) 585-6410.

The Langham Huntington, Pasadena is located at 1401 S. Oak Knoll Ave., Pasadena.

Visit roycela.com.

Burger Country Northern N h C California–based lif i b d P Paull M Martin’s i ’ A American Grill, which recently opened its 10th restaurant, in Pasadena, is making a splash with its Wine Nights program, which fortunately doesn’t discriminate among days of the week in offering more than 100 wines served in generous seven-ounce pours (although there’s a wine dinner special on Mondays that includes two entrées and side salads plus one bottle of wine for just $50). Pair your vino with menu stand-outs like the fresh oysters or the Bistro Burger with angus beef, black pepper aioli, hardwoodsmoked bacon, housemade pickles, mushrooms and your choice of cheese. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays.

Paul Martin’s American Grill is located at 455 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena. Call (626) 773-7600 or visit paulmartinsamericangrill.com.

32 | ARROYO | 07.16

Whether they want to prove their personal salsa recipe is “best in show” or just enjoy the tastes and festivities, salsa lovers will gather July 31 for the Great Oxnard Salsa Challenge 2016. The amateur contest is limited to 50 salsas; competition categories include best red, best green, best fruit, best mild, best medium and best hot. The Judge’s Choice winner takes home $100, first-place category winners score a goodie bag. The competition is the main event of the 23rd annual Oxnard Salsa Festival Saturday and Sunday; also on the menu is live music, a salsa-tasting tent, food and merchandise vendors and a dance contest for charity. Salsa combatants can preregister by the July 8 deadline by calling (805) 535-4060 or visiting oxnardsalsafestival.com.

PHOTO: (Left) courtesy of Paul Martin’s American Grill; (right) Z studios

Salsa-tasting tent

252 S.Brand

PHOTO: Courtesy of Caruso Affiliated

The Americana at Brand’s parent company, Caruso Affiliated, is fathering a delicious new development across the street from the Glendale shopping center: 252 S. Brand is the address of a bushel of cult-cool eateries opening this fall. Anchoring the walkable stretch of Brand Boulevard will be New York’s groovy Shake Shack, which serves its gourmet take on fast-food classics, like the venerable burger and crispy fries sauced with a proprietary blend of American and cheddar cheeses.

Another unforgettable name on the new restaurant row is Eggslut, founded by L.A. native son and rising culinary star Alvin Cailin, “inspired by his true love for eggs,” as L.A. Eater put it. The purest expression of that love on the menu is simply called Slut, described as “a cage-free coddled egg on top of a smooth potato purée, poached in a glass jar, topped with gray salt and chives, served with slices of baguette.”

Eggslut’s breads are made fresh locally every day. Next door will be Chef Kayson Chong’s Mainland Poke, serving fresh sushi bowls custom-made with flavorings and toppings you select. Wash it down with guava nectar, lilikoi, luau punch or other fruit beverages from Hawaii. Then amble next door to Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop, the latest entry in “Commander-in-Leaf” Jonathan Rollo’s chain of gourmet fast-casual restaurants around SoCal. You can make your own salad or order one of the chef’s specialty salads, such as lemongrass chicken salad or ahi and faro salad. Rounding out the menu are burgers, pizzas, tacos and other delectables.

Finally, the Masonic Temple down the block will have a new next-door neighbor in San Francisco–based Philz Coffee, described as “a major player in third-wave coffee” (the artisanal coffee movement).

Turning to Arroyoland ice cream news, Sierra Madre’s Mother Moo Creamery has branched out into South Pasadena with the spring opening of The Moo on Mission, also carrying Karen Klemens’ much-sought-after small-batch, homemade ice cream, along with other sweet treats. The Moo on Mission’s hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Saturdays through Thursdays and 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays. Also spreading its wings (and accessibility) is Pasadena-based Choctál, whose growing list of retailers now includes Target along with mainstays Gelson’s, Von’s and Bristol Farms. Pick up one of Choctál’s so-called premium ice-cream “tours,” four-packs of chocolate or vanilla flavors, made from “single-origin” cacao or vanilla beans.

The Moo on Mission is located at 1006 Mission St., South Pasadena. Call (626) 4410744 or visit mothermoo.com. Target is located at 777 E. Colorado Blvd. and 3121 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Visit choctal.com.

07.16 | ARROYO | 33

34 | ARROYO | 07.16

SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST? With I Almost Forgot About You, bestselling novelist Terry McMillan turns her lens on the life and loves of a boomer yearning for the road not taken.

BY BETTIJANE LEVINE

IT IS 8 A.M. ON A RECENT THURSDAY AND NOVELIST TERRY MCMILLAN IS STARTING THE DAY IN HER AIRY RENTED LOFT NEAR OLD PASADENA. SHE APOLOGIZES FOR THE EARLY HOUR AND BREVITY OF TIME ALLOWED (“30 MINUTES EXACTLY”), EXPLAINING THAT SHE HAS SCHEDULED BACK-TO-BACK INTERVIEWS WITH NATIONWIDE MEDIA FOR THE ENTIRE DAY, AFTER WHICH SHE’LL HEAD OUT ON A CROSS-COUNTRY TOUR TO PROMOTE HER NEW

PHOTO: Matthew Jordan Smith

BOOK, I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT YOU.

McMillan’s 12 previous books have all been bestsellers, earning her considerable fame and fortune along with numerous awards, from her very first novel, Mama (1986), which won the Doubleday New Voices in Fiction award, to her blockbuster novels Waiting to Exhale (1992) and How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1996), which became star-studded feature films she co-wrote and executive produced with Ron Bass.

Throughout, she has continued breaking barriers as an African American author, creating black female characters whose warmth, wisdom and romantic escapades have been exported in print and film around the world.

Her own life story, with its dozens of extraordinary ups and downs, would make a blockbuster movie or HBO series, but at 64 she’s not looking back just yet.

In fact, she’s looking forward. I Almost Forgot About You reflects her theory that growing older is a kind of liberation, a chance to shed inhibitions, insecurities and even material possessions and start an exciting new chapter of life.

McMillan’s latest heroine is Dr. Georgia Young, a 55-year-

old divorcee with grown children, a thriving optometry practice and all the trappings of wealth. But after decades of building all this, the daily routine has become a repetitive bore for which the upscale cars, designer clothes and the manse in a posh suburb cannot compensate. Dr. Young has an artistic talent she’s never tapped; she’s tired of living (and sleeping) alone and is thinking of exploring new options before she’s too old to enjoy them. She ponders selling her practice and her house and decides to look up old lovers and tell them how much they meant to her and what she learned from them...and maybe rekindle some old flames. The plotline is McMillan’s special touch of genius resurfacing, her knack for writing popular fiction that strikes at the jugular of black women’s angst, while illuminating the universality of their concerns. This time she turns her lens on boomer professional women who have done everything their parents told them, achieved financial and professional success and yet yearn to chuck it all and explore the roads not taken. At one point in the book, our protagonist’s BFF tells her, “We need to be honest with ourselves and do what excites us instead of what looks good on paper.”

It just so happens that author McMillan recently did some of the same things as her new book’s protagonist. “I never looked up old lovers, but I did sell my house, which was my dream home,” she says. “In 1995, I bought land in a really cool spot in the Bay Area called Sunnyvale, and I hired really hip young people to build it from scratch just the way I wanted it.

–continued on page 36 07.16 | ARROYO | 35

–continued from page 35

Very modern, with colored concrete floors and glass sinks and all sorts of things that people really weren’t doing yet at that time. My house was in Architectural Digest, and I loved it.

I also had a home in Tahoe for 13 years, where I skied like an animal.” But after her son, Solomon, graduated from Stanford University, she figured it was time to pull up stakes, sell her home and start her own next chapter. With a 30-day escrow, she had to move fast and decided to try Southern California, where she’d briefly gone to college and where she has family and friends.

McMillan’s latest book is getting positive reviews. Amy Tan, author of the bestselling The Joy Luck Club, says I Almost Forgot About You “is about what smart women do to reach the pinnacle of success and what they must do to get the hell out before it’s too late.”

The Washington Post’s reviewer wrote, “Self-discovery, second chances and the importance of family are...hallmarks of McMillan’s novels, as is the rich and colorful dialogue that makes her books so much fun to read.” I Almost “checks all the boxes for trash talk, steamy sex scenes, lots of laughs and f-bombs galore...

[It] will have readers of a certain age looking at their own lives and agreeing...that sometimes you know in your heart it’s time for a change.”

McMillan is frequently referred to as “iconic” and “beloved” by fans and fellow writers, in no small part due to the impact of Waiting to Exhale, her third book, which shattered racial barriers in the publishing industry — until the early ’90s, publishing was almost all white and reluctant to publish mass-market books by black novelists. McMillan proved there was a booming market for African American popular fiction exploring the concerns of middle- and uppermiddle-class black women about love, money, sex and success — and that those concerns were universal, transcending race or even gender. L.A.-based African American novelist Tananarive Due, the daughter of two civil rights activists, has compared McMillan’s influence on the publishing industry to producer Shonda Rhimes’ more recent impact on television, for which she cast her hit series like How to Get Away With Murder with a rainbow of actors.

With her newest book, McMillan is still breaking ground; she’s one of the first fiction writers to shatter some myths about aging at a time when millions are retaining their vitality and mental acuity until very late in life. “I know this African American couple in their 70s who had a fabulous house and wonderful art collection,” she says. “They sold it all and decided to live their own particular dream, which is to travel the world and see the things they’d always wanted to see, and revisit the places they loved but hadn’t spent enough time in. It just registered with me.

These people are not thinking about dying. They’re thinking about living.”

McMillan says she used that and other true stories as “the launching pads” for her new novel. As for looking up ex-lovers, “that part just seemed to write itself. It’s nothing I’ve ever done, but my character finds that one of her ex-boyfriends has died, and she realizes she never told him that she loved him. That just made me wonder, thinking as Georgia, who is my character, what happened to the rest of them? Are they still alive?

Then Georgia starts thinking what she didn’t say to them, what she did get from them — even if the relationship ended badly, which a lot of relationships do. But as you get older, you really do start to appreciate what you had and how you evolved and, to some degree, people don’t realize that we do grow or don’t grow as a result of how well we leave relationships, the condition that we leave them in. Some people never get over a broken heart, some hold grudges. I just wondered how many people Georgia has hurt...and how many I have in my own life. And I just threw all this in [to the book] and it was very cathartic and healthy for me, even though I pretty much knew how things ended in my relationships.”

36 | ARROYO | 07.16

Is she in a relationship now? “Almost,” she says with a chuckle, and changes the subject.

McMillan, born in Port Huron, Michigan, did not have an easy childhood. Her father reportedly had tuberculosis and other health problems and died when she was 16. Her mother worked low-paying factory jobs to support her five children. McMillan recently wrote in the Washington Post that her love of literature and language was sparked by her discovery of an ancient copy of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, buried under a floorboard in the tiny attic bedroom she shared with a sibling. In high school, she took a library job to help support the family, and it was there that she accessed some of the great books she’d learned of while studying her treasured Bartlett’s.

McMillan left Michigan for L.A. City College, later transferring to UC Berkeley, where she earned her B.A. in journalism. Then it was on to New York, where she briefly attended (and dropped out of) Columbia University’s MFA program. She worked in word processing, joined the Harlem Writers Guild and wrote a short story titled “Mama,” which the group urged her to expand into a novel. After six weeks at the prestigious MacDowell and Yaddo writers’ colonies, she had a 400-page manuscript, part of which she sent to Houghton Mifflin. They published the book in 1987, when she was 35. McMillan knew that debut novels are usually ignored by publishers’ publicity departments, so she used her word-processing equipment at work to write 3,000 letters to bookstores and colleges, hyping her novel and requesting personal appearances. Many complied. She scheduled her own publicity tour, gave 39 readings and, six weeks after publication, Mama went into its third printing.

Waiting to Exhale, published five years later, was the book that put McMillan on the financial map. (Thecelebworth. com estimates her assets at $40 million, ranking her No. 26 among the world’s richest authors.) A 1992 New York Times story, headlined “McMillan’s Millions,” chronicled the huge crowds — some topping 1,000 — that gathered for the Exhale author’s personal appearances. Loudspeakers had to be installed outside bookstores that couldn’t contain her fans.

McMillan earned $2.64 million for the book’s paperback rights; lucrative movie deals followed, attracting stars like Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Whoopi Goldberg, Forest Whitaker and more.

These days, McMillan says she’s just enjoying life and not worrying whether this latest book has film potential. She’s skeptical about that, she says, since “Hollywood doesn’t seem to find older people all that appealing. But those Hollywood people aren’t all 25 or 30, either.

Sometime they’re going to realize that love and sex and joy and beauty and excitement don’t just fall by the wayside after 40 or because you have kids. Puh-leez, I find that insulting.”

But she’s not at all skeptical about her new hometown, Pasadena. “Everybody said, ‘Oh Terry, move west of La Cienega.’ I said, ‘I don’t think so.’ Pasadena is prettier, it’s greener, it’s civilized. Old Town is really charming. There are certain little side streets that remind me of certain places in Europe, and you get a really nice mixture of age groups and ethnicities. It’s this cross-pollination that I really appreciate. And I know it’s growing, but hopefully in a way that’s not detrimental. I love my neighbors and I have friends and family a short drive away.

It’s a great place. For now…” She sees lots more surprises in her future.|||| I Almost Forgot About You by Terry McMillan (Crown; 368 pages) is available at Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena; penguinrandomhouse.com and amazon.com.

The author will discuss the novel at 8 p.m. July 7 in a Live Talk at the New Roads School in Santa Monica. Visit livetalksla.org.

KITCHEN CONFESSIONS

Salt

of the Earth

A BRIEF GUIDE TO THE RAINBOW SPECTRUM OF SALTS AROUND THE WORLD

BY LESLIE BILDERBACK

W

hile it is certainly true that there is not much in the world of food that has been left undiscovered, there is plenty that can be rediscovered. Case in point: salt.

I fell in love with salt on a family trip to Austria, where we visited the Salt Mine Berchtesgaden. There, we rode a tiny train into a mountain, slid down a banister (used by old-time miners before elevators were invented) and sailed on an internal mountain lake. It was super fun and sparked a new passion in me for this ubiquitous, but often overlooked, ingredient.

The first thing I learned on my new quest for salty knowledge is that all salt is sea salt. Some is collected from existing salt water, and some is mined from salt deposits left behind from ancient seas.

Tall mountain ranges, desert salt flats and underground caverns can all contain these deposits, and they all carry unique characteristics.

The age of the deposit, the compression, the surrounding mineral components, local flora and fauna and the method used to extract it all determine the salt’s flavor and texture.

Most food enthusiasts are familiar with fleur de sel — the famous French sea salt. But there are hundreds of other salts from around the world, and they are all just as interesting, if not more so. But what do you do with these interesting salts? Lucky for you, I spent a few years answering that question. As a result, coming soon to a bookstore near you is Salt: The Essential Guide to Cooking with the Most Important Ingredient in Your Kitchen (St. Martin’s Griffin; available now for presale, and in stores this September). It is an exhaustive, encyclopedic reference book on the world’s artisan salts, with history, recipes and a salt tasting.

Yes, you heard right — a salt tasting.

All salts are not the same. They each have unique qualities that enhance foods differently. Though usually cheap in their country of origin, artisan salts in artfully designed packaging can cost a pretty penny here. (Which is why I don’t suggest using fancy salt in your pasta water.) Instead, feature them as an essential flavor element, or finish a dish with a few exceptional grains. To figure this out, a salt tasting allows you to compare a few artisan salts side by side on simple foods that act as a neutral palate.

The first step is to invite some friends over. Then, prepare some simple foods — sliced cucumbers, radishes, grilled steak, a baguette smeared with butter or a hunk of chocolate. Offer enough of these foods so that each guest can try each salt and compare its effects. You can even prepare a score sheet, so your guests can keep track of their preferences.

Of course, you will also need to choose the salts you want to feature. You can find a number of salts at most gourmet grocers, or you can shop online. (Try –continued on page 38 07.16 | ARROYO | 37

KITCHEN CONFESSIONS

–continued from page 37

themeadow.com, or my favorite, kalustyans.com.) Start with just a few easy-to-find salts.

(Take it from me — it’s easy to get carried away.) Some good starter salts might include: Fleur de Sel de Guerande This is the French flower of the sea collected off the coast of Brittany. Seawater is channeled from the Atlantic Ocean, via canals, into shallow marshes where it is left to evaporate. As salt crystals begin to form on the surface of the ponds, they are raked off by hand. Because the aquatic environment varies from year to year, the salt does too. It is certainly the best known of the artisan salts. The same methods are used all over the world, with similar wooden tools, and just as much reverence and tradition.

Maldon Salt has been made in Essex, England, for thousands of years. We know this because archeologists have identified historic salt-making sites. Red mounds of earth (a.k.a. the red hills of Essex) were formed by layers of debris that included red clay vessels used in Iron Age salt production. The Maldon Crystal Salt Company, established in the late 1800s, is the only producer in the area now. Situated at the head of the Blackwater Estuary, the company gathers water only during salty spring tides. The water is filtered and boiled slowly to produce the wide pyramidal flakes coveted by the world’s chefs.

Indeed, this is one of the first salts I fell in love with.

Cyprus Sea Salt Thanks to its two salt lakes, the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus has been a major salt exporter since the Middle Ages, when it was harvested from lakebeds in the dry summer months. Today, seawater is pumped into an industrial facility, where it’s gradually heated for two years, using solar evaporation to create the trademark pyramidal crystals.

Black Diamond This is a black version of Cyprus pyramid salt. It is infused with charcoal and is thought to have detoxifying benefits. Large black pyramidal crystals are very crunchy, yet dissolve quickly. The flavor is milder than its white counterpart, which makes it suitable for more applications.

Himalayan Pink This salt, from the mountains of Northern Pakistan, is a mined marine fossil salt.

Estimated to be over 250 million years old, it formed naturally in an ancient sea, which was trapped and buried by shifting tectonic plates, gradually dehydrating into deep deposits. The modern mine tunnels a half-mile into the mountain range and spans more than 40 square miles. Because it has been buried for so long, it is considered some of the purest salt on earth. The color ranges from white to deep pink and comes in various textures and forms, including blocks, which are fun to use as serving plates. You can also heat them and cook on them, which is perfect when your dinner party needs a theatrical element.

After you have tried these common artisan salts, you can graduate to some of the more obscure varieties, like blue Persian, black kamal namak, red Hawaiian alaea, smoked salt, one of the many Japanese shios, exotic bamboo salt, Incan sun salt or any of the hundreds of salts from hundreds of locations around the world. (I am currently enamored with Australian Murray River salt.) If there is, or ever was, a shoreline someplace, there is probably some artisan salt to be had. If you’re lucky, you will become similarly obsessed, and your cooking will jump to a new creative level. |||| Leslie Bilderback is a certified master baker, chef and cookbook author. She lives in South Pasadena and teaches her techniques online at culinarymasterclass.com.

38 | ARROYO | 07.16

THE LIST

A SELECTIVE PREVIEW OF UPCOMING EVENTS COMPILED BY JOHN SOLLENBERGER Sizzling Summer at Levitt Pavilion

curtain goes up at 7:30 p.m. Friday and

The Levitt Pavilion

start at $34. Dance writer and historian

Pasadena’s free

Elizabeth Kaye gives a talk at the venue’s

summer concert

Stern Grand Hall one hour before each

Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Ticket prices

series features an eclectic lineup

performance.

Thursdays through Sundays. (From Aug.

The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is located

21 through Sept. 25, the schedule shifts to

at 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A. Call (213) 972-

Fridays through Sundays.)

0711 or visit musiccenter.org.

July 1 — Jai Uttal (above) performs world

Spelling Bee Musical Opens in Sierra Madre

music at 8 p.m.

July 3 — Bobby Rodriguez Latin Jazz performs at 7 p.m.

July 8 through Aug. 21 — The 25th

July 7 — Children’s music by The Wiz

Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,

starts at 7 p.m.

an acclaimed musical comedy about

July 15 — Americana music by

ambitious young spellers, opens at the

Darlingside starts at 8 p.m.

Sierra Madre Playhouse on July 8 and

July 24 — Louie Cruz Beltran plays jazz at

continues weekend performances through

7 p.m.

Aug. 21. Young regional winners vie for a

July 28 — Children’s music by Rhythm

spot in the national bee and a shot at

Child starts at 7 p.m.

further prizes and glory. The contestants

July 31 — Jazz by Billy Mitchell starts at

include a chunky, troubled boy who spells

7 p.m.

with his foot, a girl whose mother lives

Levitt Pavilion Pasadena is located in

overseas, a boy gripped with self-doubt

Memorial Park at Walnut Street and Ray-

DINOSAURS FLY AT NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

and more. As in the original Broadway

July 1 through 3

July 3 through Oct. 2 — Pterosaurs: Flight in the Age of Dinosaurs, the country’s

Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays through

— Chalk Repertory

largest display of the winged reptiles, opens July 3 at the Natural History

Aug. 21. Tickets cost $35, $32 for seniors

Theatre presents a new site-specific

Museum of L.A. County and runs through Oct. 2. Pterosaurs were the first

over 64, $25 for youth 13 to 20 and $20 for

production performed in the garages of

back-boned animals to evolve into powered flyers; using the latest research

children 12 and younger.

private homes — In Case of Emergency,

worldwide, the exhibition explores the vast, newly discovered variations among

The Sierra Madre Playhouse is located

the story of Meredith, a single woman

the creatures, which ranged from sparrow size to that of a two-seater aircraft.

at 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre.

who’s filled her garage with supplies for

The museum is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except New Year’s

Call (626) 355-4318 or visit sierramadre-

any emergency. It’s gotten out of hand, so

Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Timed exhibition tickets

playhouse.org.

she hires help to get organized, but nothing

including museum admission cost $22 for adults, $19 for seniors and students

prepares her for the personal disasters her

and $10 for students; reserved tickets are free for members.

younger sister brings home. The garage-

The Natural History Museum is located at 900 Exposition Blvd., L.A. Call (213) 763-

door curtain rises at 8 p.m. Friday and

DINO or visit nhm.org.

mond Avenue, Pasadena. Call (626) 6833230 or visit levittpavilionpasadena.org.

Innovative Play Staged in Garages

production, audience members will be asked to participate in the contest.

The score is by Tony winner William Finn (Falsettos) and the book is by Rachel Sheinkin. The show opens at 8 p.m. July 8 and continues at 8 p.m. Fridays and

Family Jam, Roaring Nights at L.A. Zoo

Saturday at 7 p.m. Sunday in Pasadena.

July 8 — The L.A. Zoo

Ticket prices range from $20 to $30, with

and $25 for reserved seating; children 5

as Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at

locations provided with purchase.

and younger are admitted free.

the Music Center hosts American Ballet

Jam, an evening of live music, dancing,

Visit chalkrep.com.

Rose Bowl Stadium is located at 1001 Rose

Theatre in four evenings entirely choreo-

food trucks and up-close encounters

Bowl Dr., Pasadena. Call (626) 577-3100 or

graphed by ABT Artist in Residence Alexei

with some of the zoo’s residents, as

visit rosebowlstadium.com.

Ratmansky. Both stars perform in the series

guests get a rare, after-hours view of

kickoff Friday evening, a benefit perfor-

animal exhibits. It starts at 6 p.m. Tickets

American Ballet Theatre Comes to Music Center

mance of Firebird. Tickets for prime orches-

are $25 for adults, $20 for children ages

tra seating and a post-performance party

2 to 12 ($22 for adult Greater L.A. Zoo

cost $500; for the performance only, prices

Association members, $17 for children

Americafest at the Rose Bowl, where TNT

July 7 through 10

range from $50 to $168. Friday through

members).

Motocross riders perform motorcycle stunts

— South Pasadena

Sunday performances also feature Firebird

July 29 — Roaring Nights at the L.A. Zoo

Americafest Fires up the Rose Bowl July 4 — Beatles tribute band Liverpool Legends headlines

hosts its annual Family

and fireworks cap the evening. The annual

native Stella Abrera joins fellow principal

as well as Symphony # 9 set to music by

continue with live country music, a DJ

Independence Day celebration starts at

dancer and SoCal-raised Misty Copeland

Shostakovich and the West Coast premiere

dance party, food trucks, full-service bars,

7 p.m. Tickets cost $13 for general admission

onstage at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

of Serenade After Plato’s Symposium. The

–continued on page 40 07.16 | ARROYO | 39

THE LIST

L.A. FOOD FEST VISITS EXPOSITION PARK July 8, 9 and 10 — The L.A. Food Fest comes to Exposition Park for a tasty weekend showcasing more than 100 of the city’s top chefs, award-winning restaurants and food trucks. Festivities start at 7 p.m. Friday with the chef-hosted, family-style Rose Garden Kick Off Party offering wine, beer and bubbly pairings; tickets cost $150.

On Saturday and Sunday, $69 buys a ticket to VIP Golden Hour with all-you-can-eat dining from noon to 2 p.m. Also on Saturday and Sunday, the Rose Garden Pop-Up Restaurant serves chef-crafted meals with beer and wine pairings. Brunch is served at 11 a.m. for $95 per person, lunch at 2 p.m. for $95 and dinner at 7 p.m. for $125.

All the above tickets include return admission to a subsequent MKT event (where food tastes cost an additional $5 to $9) from 2 to 11 p.m. Saturday or 2 to 8 p.m.

Sunday. For MKT admission only, tickets cost $10 in advance or $20 at the door.

Exposition Park is located at 700 Exposition Park Dr., L.A. Visit lafoodfest.com.

–continued from page 39

pop-up zookeeper talks, visits with zoo

contemporaries in Harmony = Blue and

inhabitants, a game area and a painting

Orange: Paul Klee in Art and Music.

party where guests can paint a favorite

Museum members can secure early

animal on a small canvas to take home.

seating from 4:30 to 4:45 p.m., general

Tickets cost $25 ($22 for GLAZA members).

admission seating opens at 4:45 p.m. and

The L.A. Zoo is located at 5333 Zoo Dr.,

concerts start at 5 p.m. Free with regular

Griffith Park. Call (323) 644-6001 or visit

museum admission of $12 and $9 for

lazoo.org.

seniors over 61; members and youth 18 and younger are admitted free.

Norton Simon Hosts Summer Concerts

Norton Simon Museum is located at 411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 449-6840 or visit nortonsimon.org.

July 9 — Baroque Music for Solo

July 9 — The Pasadena Pops Sierra

return engagement by cellist Maksim

Auto Summer Concert Series at the L.A.

Velichkin (above).

County Arboretum salutes the music

July 16 — Pianist Polli Chambers explores

of Billy Joel, starting at 7:30 p.m. Vocal

works by the Swiss artist and musician and 40 | ARROYO | 07.16

Pasadena Pops Salutes Billy Joel

Cello: Gabrielli and Bach features a

–continued on page 42

07.16 | ARROYO | 41

THE LIST

–continued from page 40

soloist and pianist Michael Cavanaugh,

per week ($350 for members).

hand-picked by Joel for the lead in his

July 14 — Edward Bosley, director of

Broadway musical, Movin’ Out, reprises

Pasadena’s Gamble House, leads a

the soft rocker’s hits, including Piano Man

private tour of the exhibition Yasuhiro

and Uptown Girl. Gates open at 5:30 p.m.

Ishimoto: Bilingual Photography and the

for picnicking (guests can order from food

Architecture of Greene and Greene

trucks or Pops restaurant partners for onsite

at 4:30 p.m. The show of 46 black-and-

pickup). Larry Blank conducts. Ticket prices

white photos of the work of Pasadena’s

start at $25.

famous Arts and Crafts architects

The L.A. County Arboretum and Botanic

continues through Oct. 3. The photographs,

Garden is located at 301 N. Baldwin

produced in 1974 for the Japanese

Ave., Arcadia. Call (626) 793-7172 or visit

magazine Approach, have never been

pasadenasymphony-pops.org.

shown in the U.S. Tickets cost $20 ($15 for members), available on the Huntington

History Lit Returns

website.

July 9 through

July 27 — Facilitator Judith Palarz leads

31 — Unbound

a discussion of Tell about Night Flowers:

Productions revives

Eudora Welty’s Gardening Letters,

its History Lit series at

1941–1949, edited by Julia Eichelberger,

the Pasadena Museum of History with

exploring the Pulitzer Prize winner’s

stage adaptations of two short stories:

previously unpublished letters to two friends

Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden Party”

about gardening, nature, friendship. The

and Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Two Pictures

discussion runs from 10 a.m. to noon. The

in One.” In “The Garden Party,” a stranger

cost is $35 ($25 for members). Register

who lives down the road from the Sheldon

online.

estate is injured in an accident, and the

The Huntington Library, Art Collections

hostess’s life may be changed forever.“Two

and Botanical Gardens is located at 1151

Pictures in One” interweaves the stories

Oxford Rd., San Marino. Call (626) 405-

of two early Massachusetts families: one

2100 or visit huntington.org.

white, during the American Revolution; the

explore ideas of freedom and personal

Hershey Felder Portrays Irving Berlin

consequences during turbulent times.

July 19 through

Performances start at 7 p.m. Tickets range

Aug. 6 — Actor and

from $40 to $65.

author Hershey Felder

other, African-American, living just prior to the Civil War. The play juxtaposes them to

The Pasadena Museum of History is

portrays the great American songwriter

located at 470 W. Walnut St., Pasadena.

Irving Berlin in a Pasadena Playhouse

Call (323) 332-2065 or visit unboundpro-

production, opening at 7:30 p.m. July 19

ductions.org.

and continuing through Aug. 6. Felder explores Berlin’s life story, from the anti-

42 | ARROYO | 07.16

Discoveries for All Ages at Huntington

Semitism he experienced in Czarist Russia

July 11 through 29

Dream. The production includes Berlin’s

— The Huntington

most enduring songs, including “God Bless

to his life on New York’s Lower East Side, where he wrote the score to the American

Library, Art Collections and Botanical

America,”“Always,”“White Christmas” and

Gardens hosts the Huntington Explorers

more. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m.

summer program for children ages 5 to

Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays,

12. Explorers examine the mysteries in a

2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 and 7 p.m.

painting, roam the gardens for specimens

Sundays. Ticket prices range from $25 to

and take classes such as “Mini Chefs at

$125.

Art,”“Geology Rocks” and more. Sessions

The Pasadena Playhouse is located at 39

run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through

S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena. Call (626) 356-

Fridays July 11 through 29. The cost is $400

7529 or visit pasadenaplayhouse.org.

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07.16 | ARROYO | 43