FINE LIVING IN THE GREATER PASADENA AREA NOVEMBER 2014
FOOD Union’s Bruce Kalman Dukes it Out on Bravo Micro-distilleries for California palates Nancy Spiller’s Sourdough Journey
arroyo
VOLUME 10 | NUMBER 11 | NOVEMBER 2014
PHOTOS, TOP: Courtesy of Union, BOTTOM LEFT: Courtesy of Sugarfina, BOTTOM RIGHT: Courtesy of Stark Spirits
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FOOD 12 SWEETS FROM THE SWEET(HEARTS) A Pasadena couple bring their love — of each other and the planet — to the business of producing super-premium, single-origin ice cream brand Choctál. —By Lisa Dupuy
17 CAPTURING CALIFORNIA IN A BOTTLE Arroyoland spirits producers join the global micro-distillery craze. —By Lisa Dupuy
41 THE COUNTRY’S BEST NEW RESTAURANT? Union’s Bruce Kalman vies for the title in a new Bravo TV show. —By Carole Dixon
46 SOURED FOR LIFE How I learned to love sourdough and discovered Pasadena’s community of bakers —By Nancy Spiller
DEPARTMENTS 11
FESTIVITIES Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Glendale Memorial Hospital and more
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ARROYO HOME SALES INDEX
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KITCHEN CONFESSIONS Smart strategies for slashing your own food waste, while saving money and the planet
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THE LIST The PMCA’s “Kosmic” carnival, Diana Krall at Disney Hall, a tomb tour in Altadena and more
ABOUT THE COVER: Photo of Bruce Kalman courtesy of Union 11.14 ARROYO | 7
EDITOR’S NOTE
THIS IS ARROYO’S ANNUAL FOOD ISSUE, BUT THIS YEAR IT’S ALSO ABOUT something else — the lack of food. As Kitchen Confessions columnist Leslie Bilderback reports in her two-part series on food waste, Americans toss 40 percent of our food supply at a time when 870 million people around the world don’t have enough to eat. Combine a growing population with the depredations of climate change and the numbers are only going to get worse — much worse. Of course, we don’t hear much about the food supplies of other countries, since we take our own for granted. Food shortages are relatively low on our own current list of worries, but they shouldn’t be. The Environmental Protection Agency has forecast grim possible scenarios if climate change continues apace, and they range from lower crop yields to infestations of weeds and pests that thrive in warmer temperatures. Thankfully, there’s a lot you can do about food waste now, which Bilderback enumerates in this month’s enlightening column. I read it shortly after I dumped half a bag of spinach because it wasn’t salad-friendly anymore, only to learn that I should have recycled it into cooked dishes. Check out her column for many more useful tips. Union’s chef, Bruce Kalman, is someone else who thinks about current food supplies. As Kalman explains to Carole Dixon in this issue, he’s a huge proponent of using the entire animal instead of tossing parts that offend our tender sensibilities. “Some people think it’s weird to see the head and think that pork comes in a package from the grocery store,” he says, adding that intrepid gourmets will be rewarded. “The meat on a pig’s head is probably the best meat on the whole animal.” We also look at Pasadena’s growing status as home base for producers of artisan food and drink. Read on for reports on the city’s burgeoning community of bakers, a new micro-distillery, a super-premium ice cream maker and more. —Irene Lacher
EDITOR IN CHIEF Irene Lacher CREATIVE DIRECTOR Kent Bancroft ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Carla Cortez PRODUCTION DESIGNERS Tim Oliver, Stephanie Torres EDITOR-AT-LARGE Bettijane Levine COPY EDITOR John Seeley CONTRIBUTORS Leslie Bilderback, Michael Cervin, Scarlet Cheng, Carole Dixon, Lisa Dupuy, Lynne Heffley, Noela Hueso, Tariq Kamal, Kathy Kelleher, Rebecca Kuzins, Elizabeth McMillian, Brenda Rees, John Sollenberger, Nancy Spiller ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Dina Stegon ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Brenda Clarke, Joseluis Correa, Leslie Lamm ADVERTORIAL CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Bruce Haring ADVERTISING DESIGNERS Tim Oliver, Stephanie Torres HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER Andrea Baker PAYROLL Linda Lam ACCOUNTING Alysia Chavez, Kacie Sturek OFFICE ASSISTANT Ann Weathersbee PUBLISHER Jon Guynn 8 | ARROYO | 11.14
arroyo FINE LIVING IN THE GREATER PASADENA AREA
SOUTHLAND PUBLISHING V.P. OF FINANCE Michael Nagami 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 ©2014 Southland Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.
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PHOTOS: Jamie Pham (Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Sunset Safari), Melissa Manning (Snyder Diamond), Courtesty of Glendale Memorial Hospital (Glendale Memorial), Aaron Gil ( Pasadena Museum of History Gala)
FESTIVITIES
LACO flautist David Shostac and The Honorable Axel Cruau
Ned and LACO President Dana Newman
Richard and Susan Sager
Robert and Katie Johnson
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra suppporters sipped champagne and dined on continental preparations of salmon and beef at France à la Carte, held at the Beverly Hills home of the Honorable Axel Cruau on Oct. 9. It was one of five intimate fundraisers at the homes of European consuls general, which also included private concerts of music from their home countries. The evenings were sponsored by Pasadena-based East West Bank and hosted by Altadena resident and LACO board President Dana Newman and her husband, Ned...Snyder Diamond, the high-end kitchen-and-bath retailer with a location in Pasadena, celebrated its 65th anniversary Oct. 18 at its Santa Monica showroom, where designers and architects drank, danced and savored a European-style dessert buffet...The Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn.’s Safari Society donors (who give $1,500 to $25,000) strolled among wildlife, sipped cocktails and enjoyed a buffet dinner at its after-hours Sunset Safari on Sept. 20...Dr. Santo Polito, a cardiologist, was honored by Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital and the Glendale Memorial Health Foundation on Oct. 5 at the institution’s 27th annual Evening of Wine and Roses fundraiser at the Langham Huntington, Pasadena... The Pasadena Museum of History raised $85,000 for its education programs at its annual Contemporary History Makers dinner Sept. 19 at the Langham HuntingAssemblyman Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) and Rose Bowl Operating Company CEO Darryl Dunn
Tournament of Roses President Richard Chinen and PMH Trustee Sally Bixby
ton — one of its three honorees, which also included the Pasadena Tournament of Roses and the Rose Bowl Operating Company.
Dr. Onkarjit Marwah and Claire H. Hanks, vice president patient care services and chief nurse executive
Honoree Dr. Santo Polito and event Co-Chair Haig Youredjian
Diane Kooken with keeper Sam Abundis and Audrey, an Angolian python
Dawn Petersen-Amend and her husband, Eric Amend 11.14 | ARROYO | 11
Sweets from the Sweet(hearts)
Choctรกl owners Nancy Hytone Leb and Michael Leb take a break from making ice cream with a biking trip in Solvang. 12 | ARROYO | 11.14
A Pasadena couple bring their love — of each other and the planet — to the business of producing super-premium, single-origin ice cream brand Choctál. BY LISA DUPUY
PHOTOS: Courtesy of Choctál
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n a world where ice cream flavors are becoming more and more exotic (cranberry–goat cheese or lavender? honey anyone?), Pasadena residents Nancy Hytone Leb and Michael Leb are taking their premium brand of ice cream down to its roots. Their company, Choctál (a nod to the ancient Aztecs’ discovery of xocolatl), currently produces eight ice cream flavors — four varieties of Choctal co-owner Michael Leb and colleague Bob Michero display their wares at a fancy food show. chocolate and four vanilla. But these are not your everyday run-of-the-mill chocochocolate evokes raisins and other fruit. The Costa Rican brought back memories lates and vanillas. These premium ice creams are made from single-origin ingredients of the best Fudgsicle ever, wooden stick included. The funny thing is, these are not sourced from the far corners of the world. necessarily the flavor profi les set forth by the owners of Choctál. That’s what makes So what’s so great about single-origin ice cream? What is single-origin, anyway? tasting these ice creams so much fun. As with wine, it’s a personal thing. Similar to fine varietal wines (as opposed to blends) in which a wine is made from a Choctál uses two to three times more chocolate or vanilla than most ice cream single grape variety, Choctál’s ice creams are made from one variety of cacao or vanilla brands, so the flavor is profound. But the creaminess is also remarkable, especially harvested from a single region. Choctál’s Papua New Guinea Vanilla, for example, considering that there are no eggs involved. According to Leb, the smoothness is a would be more akin to a California Chardonnay than to blended French table wine. result of how little air they put into the ice cream; also, the natural stabilizers impart Like the Chardonnay grape, the Papua New Guinea vanilla bean has nuances unique a creaminess but leave the pure flavor of the bean intact. The final product is a dense, to the region where it was grown. These nuances become gloriously apparent as your rich concoction with 16 percent butterfat (most ice cream has 10 percent) that satisfies mouth, tongue and mind navigate their way around each exquisite, creamy spoonful. after a few spoonfuls, as opposed to a massive, airy bowlful. Is that cherry I taste? Almonds? Flowers? None of those flavorings are added. The In 2013, Nancy and Michael Leb purchased Choctál from Mark Boatwright, essences float up out of the vanilla itself, a result of the terroir in which it was grown. founder of Old Pasadena’s Birdie’s Cafe, who had launched the company in 2007. The The concept holds true for all the other vanillas: the clean woodsiness of the Inhusband-and-wife team started producing Choctál in 2013 to realize their shared donesian; the soft, spicy, classic taste of the Madagascar Bourbon; and the cinnamondream of finding a vocation that would mix business with pleasure. “What we’re really coconut-tinged Mexican. The vanilla ice creams entertained me thoroughly, perhaps trying to do,” says Nancy Leb, “is combine a variety of passions — food, travel and because the nuances were easy to detect. community orientation. We want to have a little fun and at the same time promote Then I tried the chocolate. Bam! This, I decided after a small spoon of Dominibetter lifestyles.” can, was the perfect vehicle for dark chocolate. No flour or nuts getting in the way Their commitment to improved lifestyles goes well beyond bringing pleasure to ice of this cocoa, as with brownies. No eggs sullying the flavor, as with most ice creams. cream connoisseurs. Ensuring that cocoa and vanilla beans are sustainably produced Choctál’s Dominican has hints of coffee, walnuts, maybe even cloves. The Kalimantan from Southeast Asia has a dark intensity that finishes like caramel. African Ghana –continued on page 14 11.14 ARROYO | 13
Sugarfina founders Rosie O’Neill and Josh Resnick
Sugarfina
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Choctál owners Nancy Hytone Leb and Michael Leb serve free ice cream at Union Rescue Mission’s Veteran’s Day event in November 2013.
and workers are fairly treated is of utmost importance to them. Here at home, the Lebs donate product or offer a percentage of sales at numerous community events that benefit such organizations as Kidspace Museum, Pasadena Arts Council, Pasadena Symphony & Pops, Union Station Rescue Mission and the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA, whose supporters get to chow down at the annual Wiggle-Waggle Walk. “It’s important to us personally,” Michael Leb says, “and it breeds good karma.” While Leb admits to being a “recovering attorney,” his wife worked in the nonprofit sector, so their eco-friendly approach is a natural for Choctál. “Nancy and I had these values long ago,” Leb says. “We operate Choctál as a triple-bottom-line company: people, profits and planet.” Consider their upcoming partnership in 2015 with One Percent for the Planet, whose member companies donate at least 1 percent of net revenues to environmental organizations. They plan to support environmental nonprofits in the countries where they source product. While plans are in the works to visit their Costa Rican cacao plantation, the Lebs have yet to visit all their source countries, focusing their attention instead on stateside production. This year they’ll produce 48,000 pints of ice cream at their facility in Irvine and 138,000 four-ounce cups in Wisconsin. The future looks bright for Choctál, which has won kudos from such food gurus as former Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl, who called it “the perfect chocolate ice cream.” And new marketing strategies and social media are expanding its reach. Choctál can be purchased at 70 stores across California, including Bristol Farms and Whole Foods. Locally, it can also be found at Porta Via, Fresco Community Market, Ginger Corner Market, Nicole’s Gourmet Market and elsewhere. Of course, it’s always available online at choctál.com for $11 per pint. The Lebs are considering expanding their product line to include crunchy toppings, chocolate sauces and mini-“fl ights” of ice cream. In the meantime, this Pasadena couple is living la dolce vita. ||||
PHOTO: Courtesy of Choctál
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PHOTOS: Courtesy of The Americana at Brand
On their third date, sweethearts Rosie O’Neill and Josh Resnick went to a screening of Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, where they had a taste of their future — serving up chic sweet bites to a much-neglected market: sugar-loving grownups. They bring their candy expertise, along with a healthy dose of clever packaging, to their second Sugarfina boutique, which opened in June at The Americana at Brand in Glendale. Entering Sugarfina (the first is in Beverly Hills) is like opening a turquoise jewelry box lined in white satin. Acrylic cubes filled with bright-colored gummies, pastel color-coated nuts, shiny chocolate balls and fruity bits coated in sparkling sugar stack the shelves like so many gemstones. It’s no wonder they call it “the Tiffany & Co. of candy stores.” Like Tiffany’s, Sugarfina is a great place to shop for a gift. They’ve come up with clever collections of candies for every occasion. Take, for instance, the Cocktail Hour Bento Box. In it you’ll find Martini Olive Almonds, Maple Bourbon Caramels, Absinthe Cordials and Pale Ale Pints, to name a few. Getting married? Ask your girlfriends to stand by your side with the “Will You Be My Bridesmaid?” collection of candies that look like pearls. O’Neill and Resnick design their treats for grown-up candy lovers with discriminating palates and an eye for design (not to mention adult budgets). Sugarfina even provides “candy consultants” to help customize boxes based on patrons’ needs and flavor profiles. My consultant guided me to the beguiling Apple Pie, a natural fruit jelly infused with Italian apples, cinnamon and nutmeg. Imported from Italy, it’s sold only at Sugarfina in the U.S. Many of the candies sold here are exclusive to Sugarfina, so you’re sure to find a brand new sweet sensation. Prices range from $2.50 for 1-ounce taster packs to around $8 for 4-ounce acrylic cubes. Gift boxes range from $25 to $250. They donate a percentage to Kiva, which lends money to Third World entrepreneurs, and the Lili Claire Foundation, which supports children with neurological conditions, including autism. — L.D. Sugarfina is located at The Americana at Brand, 779 Americana Way, Glendale. Call (855) 784-2734 or visit sugarfina.com.
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Capturing California in a Bottle
Arroyoland producers join the global micro-distillery craze with distinctive artisan spirits and bitters. STORY AND PHOTOS BY LISA DUPUY
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icro-distilleries are shaking things up all over the cocktail world. Smallbatch artisan spirits are being served in the pubs of London, the bars of New York and the penthouses of Hong Kong. Of the 400 licensed artisanal producers in the U.S., 30 are in California. Northern California leads the pack, but we have a few SoCal producers causing a stir. In fact, local residents Karen and Greg Stark lay claim to Pasadena’s fi rst craft distillery, Stark Spirits. –continued on page 18
Valencia oranges await distillation at Stark Spirits, Pasadena. 11.14 ARROYO | 17
Greg Stark holds a recently bottled sample of Stark Spirits Rye Whisky. –continued from page 17
Stark Spirits is housed in the corner unit of a Pasadena business park. Behind doors more likely to hide reams of paper or boxed import items, a gleaming copper 10-foot pot still commands attention. Pipes run along walls in all directions, connecting steam boiler, auxiliary stills and fermentation tanks. It’s a feat of engineering, a skill that comes naturally to Greg Stark, a skilled craftsman and former Jet Propulsion Laboratory employee. He gets it from his father, Tony Stark, a master machinist at Caltech. Stark the younger modified the kettle of his Still Dragon column still to allow for slower, more accurate distillation. He’s more than a machine nerd, though. Stark has been a home brewer and winemaker for years, winning awards for his beer and mead. “Distilling spirits is the next step in Greg’s expertise,” says wife and co-founder Karen Stark. “I’m in it for the adventure.” As her husband’s brewer assistant for 24 years, Karen Stark knows a thing or two about the chemistry of booze. Both Karen and Greg know what they like in a sipping drink — something not too sweet, with enough depth and nuance to drink on its own — and are out to create it. After licenses were obtained and building and fi re department inspections were passed, bottling began in late October. Their fi rst batch yielded six cases of Sunshine, which were promptly delivered to Mission Liquors in Pasadena. “It’s technically an orange brandy,” 18 | ARROYO | 11.14
explains Greg Stark, “because it’s made by distilling orange wine.” But this 80-proof concoction has the heart of a fine whisky and the heady aroma of California oranges. Meant to be sipped neat, Sunshine is California in a glass. Adding a single ice cube, however, allows the elements to breathe in the nicest way. The Starks have the equipment and recipes to expand their production to rum and barrel-aged whisky. Karen will take the reins on crafting the gin, redistilling the spirit with a unique blend of 15 botanicals, including juniper, coriander, star anise, orange peel and cardamom. They plan to bottle a gin worthy of the Stark Spirits name. “Our motto is ‘Strength is in the Character,’” Karen Stark explains. “‘Stark’ can mean strong, ‘spirit’ means character.” Indeed, the strength of Sunshine (as opposed to moonshine) comes from the character of the fermented and distilled Valencia oranges, not to mention that of the passionate owners. They plan to work with a distributor who sells to Everson Royce and other fine liquor stores. “We think Sunshine will put us on the map,” says Karen Stark, “but all our products capture the elegance and nuance of handcrafted spirits.” Ten years earlier, when Stark Spirits was just a twinkle in the couple’s eye, another husband-and-wife team, Melkon Khosrovian and Litty Mathew, started Melkon Khosrovian and Litty their own micro-distillery in Monrovia. Mathew at Greenbar Craft Today, Greenbar Craft Distillery repreDistillery’s new tasting room
–continued on page 21
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SIP-tember Cocktail of the Year 2014 –continued from page 18
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VIN DE POMPLEMOUSSE
PHOTO: thinkstockphoto.com
sents the world’s largest portfolio of handcrafted organic spirits, according to the owners. While organic ingredients are important to the make-up of Greenbar’s vodkas, gins, tequilas, whiskies, rums and liqueurs, Khosrovian explains that Greenbar doesn’t use organic ingredients simply because they’re organic. “Taste trumps all,” says Khosrovian. “We discovered over the years that produce from organic farms simply tasted better and created better-tasting spirits.” One of their more recent (and more delicious) releases is Grand Poppy, a rum-based bitter aperitif infused with various California flavorings. Essence of citrus, bearberry, pink peppercorn, California bay leaf and, of course, the bitter California poppy flower blend together harmoniously, resulting in an aperitif reminiscent of European bitter liqueurs, paired with a wonderfully familiar set of aromas — bringing to mind a hike in Griffith Park. But this goes way beyond locally grown: Grand Poppy is practically a California native. Try it mixed with lemon juice, simple syrup and Greenbar’s Tru Garden vodka in their award-winning cocktail, the aptly named Griffith. A few years ago, the expansion of the Metro Rail Gold Line squeezed Greenbar out of its Monrovia business park space, so Glendale residents Mathew and Khosrovian procured sweet new digs in downtown Los Angeles. The distillery offers tours to the public (reservations required), and just last month they added a tasting room. The tasting room is a very new animal made possible by Gov. Jerry Brown’s recent signing into law AB-933, which allows for up to six quarter-ounce tastings of distilled spirits on licensed premises. You can taste them there, but, with a few exceptions, you can’t buy bottles to bring home. No worries. Greenbar products are available at Whole Foods Pasadena, Bar Keeper in Silverlake and Vendome in Toluca Lake. Or put yourself in the hands of a mixologist who knows exactly how to handle these fine spirits at Mohawk Bend in Echo Park.
1½ ounces vodka 1½ ounces Sauvignon Blanc ½ ounce vanilla bean simple syrup ¾ ounce grapefruit juice ½ ounce lemon juice 2 or 3 dashes Olive Heights Grapefruit Bitters Shake over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Recipe courtesy of Benjamin Carpenter and Green Street Restaurant, Pasadena 11.14 ARROYO | 21
Olive Heights Trading Co.’s co-founders, Skyler Champion, Benjamin Carpenter and Scott Winnie, showcase their line of cocktail bitters.
Restaurant recently joined forces to create the grand prize winner of the Pasadena Olive Heights Trading Company, another recent Pasadena start-up, is not techChamber of Commerce’s SIP-tember Best Cocktail Contest. Carpenter’s modern twist nically a micro-distillery, but it does craft products that make cocktails taste better on an old French grapefruit wine recipe, Vin de Pomplemousse (recipe at left), show— small-batch bitters. Started by veteran bartenders Benjamin Carpenter and Scott cases Olive Heights Grapefruit Bitters. Winnie along with colleague Skyler Champion, the two-year-old company began in the California citrus makes an appearance in a number of Olive Heights bitters, including attic apartment of a Craftsman home in the Olive Heights neighborhood. Today, they’re an orange-y homage to Pasadena pioneer Benjamin “Don Benito” Wilson, but most of producing roughly 600 two-ounce bottles of bitters a month in eight different flavors, Carpenter and Winnie’s ingredients come from far corners of the world. Aromatic excelincluding Padre Pio Mole Bitters and Vito Vincenzo Basil Rosemary Bitters, named lence is their constant goal. I look forward to after Olive Heights neighborhood patriarch the date they release their handmade cocktail Vito Vincenzo DeGiacomo. shrubs, vintage drinking vinegars that make “Every step of the process is by hand,” says excellent additions to cocktails. Carpenter, “and our batches are a few gallons Olive Heights Trading Company recently or less. The process is essentially an infusion signed a deal with a chain of 30 restaurants in of roots, herbs and spices, as well as dried and the South and Midwest and will be ramping fresh fruits. They take a shade over two weeks up production in January. They’ll stay in their to mature, after which we add a nominal beloved Pasadena, however. They’re currently amount of rich syrup, then put them through in the process of obtaining a new permanent our filtration process and bottle them.” space on the eastern end of town. Olive Heights bitters are bold and Arroyoland’s players on the cutting unique, providing enthusiastic bartenders edge of today’s cocktail craze have at least with creative new flavor profi les with which one thing in common: They believe that to craft cocktails. Their bitters are shaken fresh, natural ingredients with compelling by mixologists at fine Pasadena restaurants aromas is what it’s all about. One might including La Grande Orange, Luggage say Stark Spirits, Greenbar Craft DistillRoom Pizzeria and Trattoria Neapolis. ery and Olive Heights Trading Company They also create custom house bitters for are leading the way in the farm-to-barretailers and restaurants like Settebello and Pasadena’s Olive Heights Trading Co. produces a variety of artisanal cocktail bitters. stool movement. |||| Green Street. Carpenter and Green Street 22 | ARROYO | 11.14
BOTTOM PHOTO: Courtesy of Olive Heights
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ARROYO
HOLIDAY DECORATING SEASON IS HERE
HOME & DESIGN SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT
It’s time to transform your home for festive fun BY BRUCE HARING
THE HOLIDAYS ARE ALMOST HERE, SO IT’S TIME TO TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT YOUR HOME AND IMAGINE IT FILLED WITH GUESTS ENJOYING YOUR HOSPITALITY AND THE MAGIC THAT COMES WITH END-OF-YEAR CELEBRATIONS. –continued on page 27
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—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—
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As you consider the possibilities for enjoying the season, you may feel anxiety at the notion of transforming your living space into the perfect entertaining platform. All the imperfections of the room, its flow and lighting, and particularly the staging of such things as a Christmas tree can vex even the most experienced host. That’s not surprising - after all, this is a time of year when wonderful memories are made, and getting it right by creating the perfect atmosphere is a trick that may challenge even the savviest designer. While some feel that a complete home living area makeover is necessary to change the look and feel of your space to match the seasonal joy, that’s a radical approach that doesn’t necessarily match everyone’s needs, budget or time. Here’s the good news – it doesn’t require a lot of effort to make your home into an enchanting space filled with tidings of comfort and joy. Just a few simple and inexpensive touches, some good strategic lighting and cleverly placed decorations can make even the coldest room bright and cozy. Aldik Homes has been helping customers with their holiday design plans for more than 60 years. Richard Gold founded Aldik Artificial Flowers in 1950, centring his business on delivering the highest quality artificial flowers and foliage he could find. Over time, the business evolved from plastic to silk flowers, –continued on page 28 11.14 | ARROYO | 27
—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—
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and its decorating options also expanded to make Aldik into a one-stop solution for holiday decorating needs. Store manager Michael Perez has been knee-deep in the holiday spirit since early October, servicing the decorators, designers, studios and other professional producers who are wise to the timing and needs of the season. “They know if they don’t get the good things first, they won’t get them in December,” Perez says. The Aldik team spends about two months transforming the store into Christmas mode, a process that actually starts a year in advance, when the trends that will mark this holiday season begin to hint at which way the market will go for the following year. While Aldik caters to the professional set, they also do a brisk consumer business, and are ready to help customers with suggestions on what may work for you to transform your home.
COLOR IS KEY The most common consumer tactic is to change the color of the artificial tree that will be the centerpiece of your holiday home decorations. “Maybe they had gold last year, and don’t want things to look the same,” says Perez. “So they change to a teal blue and make a huge splash of color difference without having to redecorate the whole space.” This year’s Christmas trend is for bright, explosive colors that enhance the old standards, Perez says. “Jewelled homes are really popular, the turquoise and ruby red and emerald green added to the traditional white, silver and –continued on page 33
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—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—
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gold. It’s really nice to add that pop of color.” Don’t be afraid to try something new or different, Perez says. “Some
PHOTOS: Courtesy of Aldik
people think that just putting a Christmas tree in the room is enough. If you want to create something festive and elegant, we decorate table tops, add garlands to the mantles, take down pictures and hang wreaths on some hooks. You need to make three or four focal points in the room so it’s not just about the tree. Do something on your coffee table or do small lights in other areas. It’s magic when you can walk into a room without turning on the lights and just illuminate things with the tree, garlands and wreaths.” –continued on page 34
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—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—
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The warmer weather in Southern California sometimes makes it difficult to get in the holiday spirit. Perez has seen the effect it can have on customers. “They’re used to it being warm, and in these times of climate change, it could get even warmer,” he says. “It’s hard to envision a snowy tree when it’s 100 degrees out.” But even the balmiest weather soon gives way, and then it’ll be decision time. Sometimes, it’s better to let someone else do the choosing, and Aldik provides a service where they will handle the decorating tasks under your close supervision. Aldik Christmas trees start at a height of 7.5 feet, the most popular size for most homes, and are priced around $400. The artificial tree lasts about ten years, Perez says. “It’s an investment, and you won’t buy another for a long time.” A nine-foot rations, so save room in your budget.
DECKING THE BIG HALLS One of the biggest jobs the company ever handled was for a 15,000-square-foot home, Perez recalls. The decorations included multiple trees in –continued on page 37
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PHOTOS: Courtesy of Aldik
tree can be $1200, but that doesn’t include deco-
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—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—
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the great room, living room and dining room, with an upside-down tree on the dining room table. And tree size was equally enormous. “In order to fit an eight foot tree on top of their dining table, we had to get an electrician to remove the chandelier.” The project required 1200 lights, Perez recalls. Naturally, the average person will go in for something just a touch smaller, although Perez advocates for “more and more” over “less is more” when it comes to decorating philosophy. “Our trees have a lot of lights on them, and we fill them with ornaments so it looks luxurious,” he says. Those hewing to the simple yet elegant style should focus more on table top design, where a nice centerpiece can make a statement without overpowering the room. Focus on the smaller areas of the home, Perez says, where table tops and side tables can be used to create a festive setting. “They can put some artificial snowy branches or a bowl with some ornaments and battery-operated lights,” he suggests. “Make it very low and very clean, an elegant and bright spot in the room.” Incorporating keepsakes from family members is an important part of decorating. “We sell a lot of things that are neutral, and if they have grandmother’s color palette and want to keep that, it’s easy to do,” he says. Of course, the holidays include more than Christmas. Aldik also offers fall colors that can embrace a Thanksgiving theme, and the store even carries some Halloween decorations. But the big focus is on Christmas. Starting at Black Friday, the Aldik Homes PHOTO: Courtesy of Aldik
store will be humming. “I think after Thanksgiving, that Friday morning, people will either go to the mall or decorate,” he says. “And the people who want to decorate come to us.” And the day after Christmas? Surprisingly, it’s also crowded. “We open at 6 a.m., and it’s really crazy,” Perez says. “We sell at 60% off, and generally there’s a crowd at about 5:30 a.m. We are solid, shoulder-to-shoulder in the store.” AMH&D 11.14 | ARROYO | 37
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™
~HOME SALES INDEX~
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.
SEPT ’13 51 $550,000 1371 SEPT ’13 43 $888,000 1996 SEPT ’13 18 $557,750 1358 SEPT ’13 131 $508,000 1435 SEPT ’13 22 $1,202,500 2176 SEPT ’13 178 $595,500 1480 SEPT ’13 15 $2,066,000 3013 SEPT ’13 14 $837,000 2189 SEPT ’13 23 $735,000 1244 SEPT ’13 495 $492
2014 HOMES SOLD
+15.45%
2013
314
AVG. PRICE/SQ. FT.
SEPT
495
-36.57%
SEPT HOMES SOLD
HOME SALES
SEPT ’14 14 $739,000 1979 SEPT ’14 29 $970,000 1629 SEPT ’14 16 $660,000 1516 SEPT ’14 87 $600,000 1522 SEPT ’14 12 $1,722,500 2443 SEPT ’14 116 $657,500 1509 SEPT ’14 9 $2,380,000 2723 SEPT ’14 16 $766,000 1743 SEPT ’14 15 $950,000 1626 SEPT ’14 314 $568
HOME SALES ABOVE RECENT HOME CLOSINGS IN THE PASADENA WEEKLY FOOTPRINT ADDRESS CLOSE DATE ALTADENA 1963 New York Drive 09/12/14 2120 Pinecrest Drive 09/19/14 1602 Woodglen Lane 09/11/14 430 Devonwood Road 09/04/14 916 Beverly Way 09/09/14 3476 Marengo Avenue 09/16/14 1616 Morada Place 09/05/14 ARCADIA 901 Fallen Leaf Road 09/19/14 1829 South 2nd Avenue 09/04/14 1417 Highland Oaks Drive 09/24/14 1311 Oakwood Drive 09/12/14 205 East Newman Avenue 09/12/14 888 Tindalo Road 09/16/14 1737 South 10th Avenue 09/10/14 1820 South 2nd Avenue 09/15/14 1116 Louise Avenue 09/30/14 1711 Oakwood Avenue 09/16/14 303 Joyce Avenue 09/26/14 1642 Highland Oaks Drive 09/30/14 1101 South 5th Avenue 09/19/14 1114 South 10th Avenue 09/10/14 2131 South 5th Avenue 09/08/14 1741 North Santa Anita Avenue 09/30/14 512 West Foothill Boulevard 09/12/14 1135 Valencia Way 09/15/14 11002 Kristi Court 09/19/14 EAGLE ROCK 5290 Ellenwood Drive 09/05/14 1301 Oak Grove Drive 09/05/14 5207 Argus Drive 09/10/14 2350 Fair Park Avenue 09/05/14 GLENDALE 1941 Starvale Road 09/30/14 1780 Cielito Drive 09/16/14 812 Moorside Drive 09/09/14 1200 East Mountain Street 09/23/14 1920 Florena Court 09/15/14 1056 Avonoak Terrace 09/19/14 1020 Calle Contento 09/16/14 3020 St. Gregory Road 09/24/14 1355 Cedar Court Road 09/11/14 3063 Hollywell Place 09/12/14 1200 Imperial Drive 09/12/14 1936 Calafia Street 09/19/14 1810 Glencoe Way 09/05/14 3237 Sparr Boulevard 09/24/14 2348 Eastgate Place 09/26/14 5106 New York Avenue 09/12/14 3377 Tyrrell Place 09/04/14 560 Caruso Avenue 09/24/14 212 Irving Avenue 09/15/14 1105 North Glendale Avenue 09/22/14 1546 Highland Avenue 09/10/14 656 Atkins Drive 09/23/14 3731 El Caminito 09/23/14
PRICE
source: CalREsource
BDRMS.
SQ. FT.
YR. BUILT PREV. PRICE PREV. SOLD
$1,450,000 $1,320,000 $1,253,500 $1,050,000 $949,000 $896,000 $815,000
4 5 3 4 3 5 3
2601 3003 2498 2821 2904 2480 1732
1931 1953 1969 1959 1949 1964 1926
$3,800,000 $2,990,000 $2,250,000 $2,250,000 $2,200,000 $1,786,000 $1,460,000 $1,400,000 $1,380,000 $1,250,000 $1,140,000 $1,100,000 $1,055,000 $1,020,000 $970,000 $900,000 $895,000 $850,000 $840,000
5 5 3 6 2 4 2 3 3 3 4 2 3 3 3 2 3 2 5
7114 5125 2985 3100 1301 3838 952 2476 2364 1544 3077 1618 1642 1629 1740 1423 1983 1536 2585
1954 2002 1995 1941 1941 2012 1920 1944 1960 1952 2003 1952 1955 1961 1954 1952 1977 1945 1989
$1,175,000 $880,000 $877,000 $875,000
3 4 5 3
2268 1662 2148 2859
$3,500,000 $1,620,000 $1,555,000 $1,380,000 $1,220,000 $1,200,000 $1,165,000 $1,125,000 $1,100,000 $950,000 $950,000 $917,000 $911,000 $881,000 $850,000 $850,000 $846,000 $830,000 $820,000 $790,000 $785,000 $770,000 $765,000
6 4 4 4 4 4 4 2 4 3 2 3 5 4 4 3 3 2 4 5 2 3 4
7747 2986 3949 2778 4079 3007 2777 3114 2618 2078 2236 2013 2554 2123 2116 1280 1781 1560 2156 2162 1691 1841 1896
$1,350,000
08/18/2005
$82,000 $621,000
06/13/1977 03/15/2013
$705,000
07/09/2008
$1,360,000 $425,000 $1,188,000 $145,500 $1,498,000 $1,350,000
06/03/2003 06/19/1992 04/03/2007 12/12/1986 01/24/2013 05/29/2014
$632,000 $192,000 $225,000 $393,000 $980,000 $700,000
08/15/2003 12/23/1992 05/18/1984 07/17/2001 07/31/2014 04/07/2010
$768,000 $330,000 $720,000
12/31/2012 06/28/2001 11/15/2005
1920 1912 1921 1923
$912,000 $626,000 $825,000 $255,000
04/11/2013 12/28/2006 08/17/2006 05/12/1994
1990 1960 1979 1927 1972 1963 1990 1941 1927 1966 1939 1958 1937 1963 1965 1955 1957 2008 2003 1948 1938 1956 1948
$550,000
03/03/1988
$750,000 $390,000 $715,000 $555,000 $1,360,000 $900,000 $485,000
10/21/1988 06/24/1997 03/31/2003 12/29/1999 03/13/2007 02/11/2004 08/03/2000
$387,000 $750,000
12/31/1996 08/11/2010
$380,000 05/28/1999 $608,000 10/25/2013 $420,000 07/09/2012 $377,000 06/30/2000 $630,000 05/25/2011 $125,000 12/19/1986 $272,000 01/13/1999 $359,000 07/30/1999 $553,500 10/01/2008 $735,000 04/11/2008 continued on page 40
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 and Arcadia. Individual home sales data provided by CalREsource. Arroyo Home Sales Index © Arroyo 2014. Complete home sales listings appear each week in Pasadena Weekly.
11.14 ARROYO | 39
HOME SALES ABOVE RECENT HOME CLOSINGS IN THE PASADENA WEEKLY FOOTPRINT
source: CalREsource
continued from page 39 ADDRESS CLOSE DATE PRICE LA CAĂ‘ADA 4235 Woodleigh Lane 09/05/14 $2,675,000 09/30/14 $2,500,000 4072 Chevy Chase Drive 1100 Inverness Drive 09/09/14 $2,390,000 885 Greenridge Drive 09/04/14 $1,890,000 1239 Lanterman Lane 09/23/14 $1,822,000 1345 Green Lane 09/05/14 $1,800,000 5256 La Canada Boulevard 09/18/14 $1,645,000 4803 Alminar Avenue 09/05/14 $1,290,000 4959 Crown Avenue 09/23/14 $1,255,000 1849 Glenhaven Drive 09/16/14 $1,053,000 4935 Revlon Drive 09/16/14 $1,010,000 5532 Ocean View Boulevard 09/24/14 $750,000 PASADENA 1555 Orlando Road 09/04/14 $5,000,000 09/23/14 $3,265,000 685 Prospect Crescent 808 South Madison Avenue 09/09/14 $2,300,000 1000 Stoneridge Drive 09/12/14 $2,270,000 155 Cordova Street #403 09/26/14 $2,157,500 333 Manford Way 09/05/14 $2,112,500 240 Patrician Way 09/22/14 $2,000,000 524 Woodland Road 09/30/14 $1,814,000 755 South Oakland Avenue 09/18/14 $1,735,000 424 South San Rafael Avenue 09/24/14 $1,575,000 2285 East Orange Grove Boulevard09/05/14 $1,500,000 155 Cordova Street #401 09/10/14 $1,480,000 2257 Lambert Drive 09/24/14 $1,415,000 920 Granite Drive #307 09/09/14 $1,375,000 1878 Sierra Madre Villa Avenue 09/19/14 $1,355,000 3155 Meyerloa Lane 09/12/14 $1,350,000 878 Linda Vista Avenue 09/05/14 $1,275,000 1671 Paloma Street 09/16/14 $1,200,000 155 Cordova Street #505 09/18/14 $1,200,000 655 Cliff Drive 09/15/14 $1,148,000 1375 Doremus Road 09/23/14 $1,089,000 1160 North Arroyo Boulevard 09/10/14 $1,075,000 920 Granite Drive #504 09/10/14 $1,050,000 1308 North Wilson Avenue 09/19/14 $1,040,000 1395 Riviera Drive 09/09/14 $1,000,000 165 Anita Drive 09/16/14 $995,000 257 South Hudson Avenue #104 09/19/14 $920,000 2440 Las Lunas Street 09/19/14 $910,000 511 Evergreen Drive 09/30/14 $875,000 44 Arroyo Drive #202 09/08/14 $850,000 2105 Brigden Road 09/11/14 $830,000 488 East Claremont Street 09/09/14 $810,000 49 South Meridith Avenue 09/24/14 $810,000 375 South San Gabriel Boulevard 09/18/14 $810,000 2325 Monte Vista Street 09/12/14 $807,500 424 South Grand Oaks Avenue 09/15/14 $800,000 785 South Marengo Avenue #1 09/12/14 $780,000 482 Del Monte Street 09/05/14 $778,000 2472 Brigden Road 09/30/14 $775,000 475 North Daisy Avenue 09/16/14 $760,000 290 Cordova Street 09/19/14 $750,000 2185 Queensberry Road 09/25/14 $750,000 395 Avenue #64 09/12/14 $750,000 600 Tamarac Drive 09/26/14 $750,000 SAN MARINO 1260 Shenandoah Road 09/23/14 $11,300,000 09/10/14 $5,600,000 1321 Virginia Road 2850 Canterbury Road 09/08/14 $3,000,000 2795 Devonport Road 09/19/14 $2,950,000 615 San Marino Avenue 09/16/14 $2,380,000 2670 Wallingford Road 09/30/14 $2,300,000 1886 West Drive 09/18/14 $2,238,000 1545 Pasqualito Drive 09/22/14 $2,100,000 2745 Melville Drive 09/23/14 $1,600,000 SIERRA MADRE 165 South Lima Street 09/04/14 $1,250,000 09/11/14 $1,170,000 448 West Montecito Avenue 180 South Mountain Trail 09/09/14 $1,150,000 656 Fairview Avenue 09/05/14 $1,100,000 186 Grove Street 09/26/14 $1,015,000 106 South Hermosa Avenue 09/10/14 $980,000 298 West Highland Avenue 09/18/14 $962,000 335 Santa Anita Court 09/11/14 $800,000 SOUTH PASADENA 1215 Indiana Avenue 09/24/14 $1,975,000 09/19/14 $1,425,000 2014 Hanscom Drive 2036 Primrose Avenue 09/15/14 $1,420,000 408 Mission Street 09/09/14 $1,400,000 1324 Indiana Avenue 09/30/14 $1,175,000 2010 Oxley Street 09/24/14 $1,010,000 851 Glendon Court 09/11/14 $989,000 1820 Gillette Crest 09/26/14 $950,000 857 Oneonta Drive 09/19/14 $785,000 1126 Oak Street 09/10/14 $760,000 40 | ARROYO | 11.14
BDRMS.
SQ. FT.
YR. BUILT PREV. PRICE PREV. SOLD
3 2 4 5 4 4 3 3 2 4 3 3
2392 2494 3776 3823 3168 2835 2041 2196 1441 3608 1276 1488
1952 1941 1952 1986 1960 1953 1954 1946 1951 2002 1947 1961
$700,000 $1,750,000 $1,240,000 $745,000 $440,000 $86,000 $1,200,000 $1,031,500 $737,500 $635,000 $750,000 $435,000
02/26/1988 01/16/2009 08/05/2003 06/04/1997 09/03/1996 05/06/1976 06/26/2012 09/09/2011 07/11/2013 05/13/2003 09/01/2011 09/13/2002
4 4 7 2 2 4 3 3 5 4 4 3 3 2 3 2 3 4 2 3 4 4 2 7 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 4 2 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3
5844 4359 4190 2421 1950 3435 2142 2815 3213 3414 2356 2250 3345 1270 2917 1826 2104 3176 1710 2222 2509 2357 1860 3764 2202 1701 1620 2114 1370 1910 1868 2242 2567 1871 1765 1212 1980 2646 1722 1567 1741 1813 1224 1529
1995 1908 1917 1953 2010 1960 1967 1950 1912 1992 1928 2010 1930 2009 1956 1951 1949 1922 2010 1950 1958 1930 2009 1912 1955 1958 2009 1938 1940 2008 1948 1908 1913 1952 1948 1926 2006 1950 1937 1940 1978 1954 1951 1973
$850,000 $2,525,000
12/30/1993 06/01/2006
$1,655,000
04/23/2010
$1,360,000 $1,065,000 $1,655,000 $495,000
11/09/2009 05/07/2012 08/19/2013 01/12/1996
$135,000
09/08/1977
$385,000
03/06/1992
$795,000 $942,000
08/19/2003 01/07/2011
$799,000 $835,000
04/23/2009 07/26/2004
$550,000 $650,000 $865,000
10/08/2002 02/25/2004 01/05/2007
$715,000 $785,000 $550,000 $355,000 $696,000 $665,000 $670,000 $478,000 $724,000 $725,000 $510,000 $640,000 $455,000 $655,000 $80,000 $619,000 $295,000
11/30/2010 05/25/2006 09/24/2010 11/03/1998 04/30/2004 07/14/2004 11/24/2009 11/20/2002 06/16/2005 05/04/2006 03/21/2013 08/26/2004 08/28/2003 09/12/2006 03/29/1978 10/06/2009 07/30/1998
5 5 5 3 4 3 4 3 3
5326 5260 3584 2398 3104 2315 2723 1994 2380
1926 1925 1950 1948 1926 1952 1928 1951 1939
$6,680,000 $4,880,000 $1,775,000
11/04/2011 01/25/2008 09/05/2012
$1,480,000 $1,500,000
12/10/2010 11/30/2012
4 4 4 5 3 2 4 3
2275 2110 2696 2583 1830 1793 1806 1692
1963 1968 1951 1987 2013 1923 1922 1963
$780,000 $325,000 $1,220,000 $640,000 $365,000 $97,000 $875,000
05/25/2010 09/23/1994 06/15/2006 09/21/2001 12/07/2012 06/22/1983 10/21/2005
5 5 4 3 4 2 3 4 2 2
3487 4279 2119 3029 2311 1298 1626 2164 1208 1040
1911 1992 1924 1938 1929 1908 1923 1949 1925 1928
$1,500,000 $900,000 $300,000 $391,000 $779,000
12/30/2009 08/24/2010 06/29/1994 05/18/2000 04/30/2003
$272,000
07/10/1997
$556,000
01/08/2007
The Country’s Best New Restaurant? Union’s Bruce Kalman vies for the title in a new Bravo TV show.
PHOTO: Courtesy of Union
BY CAROLE DIXON
E
xecutive Chef Bruce Kalman bounces back and forth from his tiny kitchen to the cozy 50-seat dining room and bar of his packed Union Restaurant in Pasadena, checking on regulars and new customers who have been patiently waiting out front to try his modern Italian-inspired cuisine. Kalman has received accolades for his restaurant since opening in March (LA Weekly proclaimed it “a great neighborhood restaurant”), but he remains focused and driven. “As a chef I’m very critical and always inside of my head –continued on page 43
Union restaurant 10.14 ARROYO | 41
42 | ARROYO | 11.14
“My biggest campaign is to know where our food comes from,” he says. “For a [new] generation, it’s important.” ~ Bruce Kalman
PHOTO: Life & Thyme
–continued from page 41
asking, how can I execute this better?” he says. “I’m always striving for success, but sometimes I should just take a step back and look at how great things are.” Covered in tattoos with jet-black hair and a beard, it’s not hard to imagine Kalman playing a mean guitar in his spare time (he once opened for Meatloaf). For now, the jovial chef has traded in guitar licks for professional knife skills. His recent stint at The Churchill in West Hollywood, where he perfected pizza from a wood-burning oven, was the latest episode in a culinary love affair hatched in his Paramus, New Jersey, childhood, working at a local pizzeria when he was only 13. He fully embraced the fast-paced environment while handling fresh ingredients and was able to parlay that into a culinary career that took him to Chicago, the Southwest and ultimately Los Angeles, where he opened The Misfit in Santa Monica in 2009. Kalman’s culinary prowess has been deemed outstanding enough to nab him a spot on a new Bravo TV show, Best New Restaurant, premiering in January. Union will be one of three L.A. eateries (also including The Church Key in West Hollywood and Doma in Beverly Hills) that will compete for the title. The show features chefs from 16 cities across the country, hand-picked by Bon Appetit magazine and Top Chef host Tom Colicchio of Craft Restaurants. And hot-tempered chef Gordon Ramsay from Hell’s Kitchen and his eponymous West Hollywood restaurant is among the show’s executive producers. How did Kalman and his crew make the cut? According to Jeff Oliver, vice president of current production at Bravo Media, “Union Restaurant is a new restaurant that has built a quick reputation [for] giving the full restaurant experience — delicious food, a wellinformed staff and a warm environment that keeps patrons comfortable and happy. It’s a little off the beaten path for [many] L.A. restaurant-goers, but Union — and Bruce — are drawing in customers from many miles away.”
No stranger to TV cooking shows, Kalman recently appeared on Food Network’s season-two premiere of Beat Bobby Flay after scoring the network’s Chopped championship title in 2013 and 2014 and winning Esquire Network’s Knife Fight in 2013, but this new production poses a few different challenges for his kitchen team. “It’s a big commitment, because this time the whole restaurant is involved,” he says. “Our biggest concern was that it would be a reality show where they were trying to stump you or set you up for failure and see how you do, but this has really not been the case. It’s a great production with great people and, above all else, they want to showcase the restaurants and make them look great. They are trying to set us up for success.” This seems to be a rare situation in the reality TV game, where a little creative editing can create a negative impression of the contestants. “I’ve learned from doing these TV shows that the end result is really characteristic of the production team and the people that are involved in making the show and how they treat everyone involved,” Kalman adds. By the end of the season, the winner will be given an editorial feature in Bon Appetit as well as a featured spot at next year’s Vegas Uncork’d, an annual Las Vegas food festival. Kalman’s culinary philosophy emphasizes using the whole animal, not just nose-totail but head-to-hoof. “My biggest campaign is to know where our food comes from,” he says. “For a [new] generation, it’s important.” After April’s nationwide pig-virus epidemic reduced production, Kalman decided to be part of the solution by educating consumers about ways to get more meat from fewer animals. “I’m getting two suckling pigs next week and brining them with the head, legs and shoulders, then soaking them for about 10 hours. Then we baste it with hot pork fat, lemon, garlic and chilies so it gets super crispy. Some people think it’s weird to see the head and think that pork comes in –continued on page 44 11.14 ARROYO | 43
Antipasti
Pork meatballs
ble.” Highlights included dinner on a farm, with local women baking Turkish flatbreads. “They were sitting on the ground and rolling out the dough for the bread and cooking a package from the grocery store. It’s an animal, and you need to respect that.” Not all it on cast-iron plates over an open fire,” he recalls. “It was phenomenal. Turkish food is customers are squeamish, he adds. “I’m cooking for a regular customer’s wedding and similar to Middle Eastern with baba ganoush, hummus, kebabs, shaved meats rolled up they requested a whole pig roast with a spread.” in a flatbread with chilies. We had a dish stuffed with rice that was really a sausage in a The chef has been working with farmers and Odyssey Charter School in Altadena to lamb casing roasted in a casserole — it was delicious.” further his message. “I think we have an opportunity, especially in this area [where] there We hope to see some of these techniques rubbing off on Kalman’s Pasadena kitchen in are a lot of charter schools and farms,” he says. “It’s important for kids to see this now. In the near future, but until then you can order the giardiniera (pickled veggies) served with other countries they grow up eating offal, so using the whole animal is a way of life. I’m bread, which showcases Kalman’s talents as a pickon a mission to get people to understand that the ling king. In 2013, Kalman launched his passion meat on a pig’s head is probably the best meat on the project, Bruce’s Prime Pickle Company, utilizing whole animal, and it’s just more meat to use. You the best local and sustainable ingredients and discan’t change certain people’s beliefs, but I want to tributing them through farmers markets, shops and try and educate people. For example, I even cook restaurants. While that business is currently on the my chickens whole with the feet on and serve them back burner while he nurtures Union, the plan is to [that way] because I want you to know that it’s a jar and sell his giardiniera under the Union label at fresh chicken, and some people like that. Another the restaurant in the near future. part of it is I work with people that I respect and Preserved lemons are also a staple at Union. that I know respect the animal and the ingredients. “We use different pickled items in different It’s not sitting in a warehouse somewhere. I order it, dishes,” says the chef with a laugh. “It’s definitely process it, prep it and cook it.” in my repertory, and it’s a great way to balance a Kalman’s recent culinary coups also include dish, especially if it’s heavy.” One of Union’s most an invitation to help Turkey’s French-trained, Union co-owner Marie Petulla with Kalman successful dishes is the succulent and hearty porAlgerian-born Chef Farid Zadi cook an Algerian chetta with salsa verde, a multi-layered dish with confit, beneath the potatoes, that uses lunch for about 200 people as part of Mediterranean Culinary Days, hosted by Hatay the pig’s middle belly loin and leg. “We do all our own charcuterie, which is perfect province last spring. The chefs joined 75 other top toques from 17 countries, including with the pickles, and I just hung my first prosciutto. I usually pull the coppa from the Morocco Spain, Italy and France, whose cuisine was also represented. “Much of the shoulder and I take the hocks and smoke them for our pork tagliatelle ragu. We use Algerian food style is like the way that I cook — a lot of pickling and stewed meats,” everything — nothing goes in the trash.” |||| Kalman says. “We put together a good team, and people were really nice and hospitaMussels & Clams Guanciale
44 | ARROYO | 11.14
Spring Lamb Polenta
PHOTOS: Courtesy of Union
–continued from page 43
11.14 ARROYO | 45
Soured for Life
How I learned to love sourdough and discovered Pasadena’s community of bakers BY NANCY SPILLER 46 | ARROYO | 11.14
T
o an outsider, that crock filled with bubbling beige gunk on my kitchen counter may look like something waiting to be thrown out. To me it is a new passion, the thing that gently burbles in the back of my mind day and night as I imagine all that I might make with it — pancakes, artisanal bread, fritters. It gives new shape to my day, like a lowmaintenance pet, delivering far more in return for the modest attentions I need pay to its feeding schedule, health and vitality. It is sourdough and, I confess, I find it thrilling! First, it’s got history, something everyone says we have far too little of in Southern California. Sourdough has been around since the dawn of civilization. Some say it may have launched the darn thing. Homo sapiens were starting to settle down and grow crops like wheat, amongst their primary pursuits. When the seeds were ground and mixed with water into a paste, then left too long on a warm rock, it started to expand and leavened bread was born. Of course, our ancestors didn’t know what was going on — they just liked the tangy taste and the loft it gave to the bread that, before sourdough’s discovery, came in
only one height (flat) and flavor (dull). Today science can explain it all, even if I can’t, and it goes something like this: The water and ground wheat become a medium for wild yeast naturally congregating in the air and, along with their bacterial neighbors, they come to dine on the wheat’s gluten, turning it into gas (yes, yeast flatulence, if you must) and sugars. Baking hardens the bread’s surface, capturing bubbles of gas as it tries to escape the dough, giving rise to one of life’s great pleasures: a fresh-baked loaf of sourdough bread. I was gifted with my first quarter-cup of sourdough starter by Pasadena’s Kristin Ferguson Smith, a pastry chef at Silverlake’s Forage restaurant. I had enjoyed one of her backyard wood-burning-oven pizza classes, where we used sourdough to leaven the crusts. Following her instructions, I fed the starter daily, stirring in equal amounts of flour and warm water. Much to my amazement, it continued to grow and even thrive. I felt like a kid with a packet of back-of-the-comic-book Sea-Monkeys. Bubbling beautifully of its own volition, I began to think of it fondly as my countertop garden crop. I had been gluten-phobic, though not certifiably celiac, for a few years when I learned of sourdough’s gluten-reducing effect. According to Michael Pollan’s Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation, sourdough fermentation “partially breaks down gluten, making it easier to digest…destroying at least some of the peptides thought to be responsible for gluten intolerance. Some researchers attribute the increase in gluten intolerance and celiac disease to the fact that modern breads no longer receive a lengthy fermentation.” Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, the beloved local sourdough felt like a guilty pleasure as we boomer babies were assured that Wonder Bread was what we should be eating to help “build strong bodies 12 ways.” Glad to finally learn how good those tangy, chewy, crusty loaves actually were, I was happy to get back to them. Suddenly, wherever I went, it seemed sourdough, like the yeasts that enliven it, was in the air. I was having conversations in unlikely places with both professional and hobby bakers who swelled with pride over their starter and loaves. Along with the history, I was discovering the science, art, craft and philosophy of sourdough. Meanwhile, as my starter piled up, I began looking for ways to use it. An Internet sourdough forum featured a simple pancake recipe that used two cups of starter for every batch. I rarely made pancakes at home because most recipes called for milk, which I don’t keep on hand. This required only starter, a couple of eggs for added protein and some olive oil, salt and baking soda. The resulting pancakes were light and versatile, lending themselves to both sweet (syrup, jam, fruit) and savory (smoked salmon, sour cream, chives) partners. My first bread-baking foray was another Internet find, a three-step, no-knead loaf that required considerable time to produce. I also liked that it baked the bread quickly, in a 500-degree inferno, in a covered cast-iron Dutch oven for increased heat intensity. The resulting crusty loaf was satisfying and tasty, if not exactly something to generate bread lines around the block, like Chad Robertson’s bread at San Francisco’s Tartine Bakery. His complicated time-and-starter-consuming recipe is the Mount Everest of sourdough bread baking. Robertson’s recipe has generated its own community of competitive bakers who post Facebook photos of “crumb shots” on the Recipes From Tartine Bread Facebook page, bragging about the hole size they’ve achieved in their loaves. And Pollan spends considerable pages of Cooked’s “Air” chapter chronicling his own efforts at mastering Robertson’s sourdough recipe. But of even greater interest to me are Pollan’s claims of the benefits of whole wheat. He argues that the industrial revolution’s invention of the roller mill, which replaced the stone mill and allowed producers to strip the germ and bran from wheat to make white flour, has contributed to an American epidemic of diet-related diseases and obesity. Pollan makes it sound as if man could indeed live by properly produced bread alone. Along with this new awareness of whole wheat’s health benefits, I began to discover a movement toward locally grown grain and small-batch–milled whole-grain flours. In Southern California, Kenter Canyon Farms sells flours milled from its California-grown grain, as well as bread baked from it, at the Santa Monica and Hollywood farmers markets. Pasadena now has Grist & Toll: An Urban Flour Mill selling its own artisanal stoneground flours sourced both locally and from out of state. I’ve used both Kenter’s Red Fife wheat, a revival of a 19th-century Canadian variety of winter wheat, and Grist & Toll’s Triple IV, a modern variety, in my starter and subsequent baking efforts. Both were a
revelation. The starter immediately smelled sweeter and more appealing than the soiledsocks smell sometimes produced by industrial flours. Supermarket all-purpose white flour seemed inert compared with the heavy, rich, speckled-tan presence of Red Fife. Grist & Toll owner/founder Nan Koehler regards artisan flour as a natural extension of the current farm-to-table movement. “Grains were missing from the conversation,” she says. Koehler, a native of Missouri with a business degree from the University of Kansas, worked in the international wine industry before taking baking classes and becoming a professional baker. She began selling cookies at the Studio City Farmers Market, then was hired to bake by Sherman Oaks Sweet Butter, where she began experimenting with whole wheat, rye, corn and spelt flours. It was while watching an episode of Ruth Reichl’s PBS series, Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie, that she saw her future. “It was the episode on baking,” Koehler says. “Ruth was in England out in the country and went with the baker to talk to the local miller about what to bake with. As a baker, I thought how great would that be, to go to the miller and talk about what you wanted to do and what best to do it with? The more I began to meet people, make Internet searches and phone calls, it became obvious it might be doable.” Koehler’s silent partner in the business is television writer Marti Noxon, best known for her work as writer and showrunner on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, whom she met serendipitously in Paris while both waited in line for several of the same restaurants. She’s met such kindred spirits ever since she embarked on the milling adventure and has been “basically blown away” by the community of bakers who’ve flocked to her mill and South Arroyo Parkway storefront since the opening in 2012. “Bread bakers love to share and talk about bread, their success, their failures and ask their questions,” says Koehler. She holds community bakes at her facility, tapping into the 1,000-plus members of the Los Angeles Bread Bakers, a social media meet-up group; some 50 to 100 people arrive each time with their final proofed (that is, allowed to rise) loaves to bake and share. Koehler also holds baking and cooking workshops using her flours and featured grains like farro with Joseph Shuldiner of the Altadena-based Institute of Domestic Technology. The communal bakes have become so popular that Koehler now requires reservations for oven slots. The next big bake will be Nov. 23, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, and all loaves produced that day will be donated to charity. I never imagined it would be this natural a community,” Koehler says. “People really engage with each other. It’s so refreshing. I can’t believe this happened in Los Angeles.” For non-bakers, Koehler’s flours can be enjoyed in the breads and pastries by Bread Culture and Sugarbloom Bakery sold at her store Saturdays, or sampled at the restaurants –continued on page 48 11.14 ARROYO | 47
to bake the bread for an hour at noon, I start the entire process at 2 p.m. the previous day. This is a weekend project if you spend your weekdays in an office, starting on Saturday for baking on Sunday. If you work at home, you’re free to fit the steps into any 24-hour span. Ingredients For the Culture Proof: 1 cup active sourdough culture (see directions for making sourdough starter) 1 cup flour (146 grams of bread flour or all-purpose flour) (I used Grist & Toll’s Triple IV flour for this step and a 50/50 combination of that and Von’s organic unbleached all-purpose flour for the rest of the recipe.) 1 cup filtered water For the Bread: 1 cup culture from step one below 3 cups flour (440 grams, blended, see above), plus more for dusting 1 cup filtered water 1½ teaspoons salt
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and bakeries she sells wholesale to, such as Chef Bruce Kalman’s (“He dictated my polenta grind and everyone who tastes it goes bananas,” she says) Union Restaurant in Pasadena, along with Silverlake’s Alimento, West L.A.’s high-end pizza palace Sotto, Hollywood’s Sqirl, Fairfax’s Sycamore Kitchen and Atwater Village’s Proof Bakery. But for people who’d like to embark on their own sourdough adventure, the following recipes can help get you started: SOURDOUGH STARTER Adapted from practical-stewardship.com In a glass bowl, clean jar or crock, mix ¼ cup all-purpose flour or a blend of all-purpose and whole-wheat flour with ¼ cup filtered (to remove chlorine) water. Cover with cheesecloth and leave on kitchen countertop 24 hours. Stir in or pour off any liquid that has risen to the top and then feed starter with another ¼ cup flour and ¼ cup water. Repeat this process for 7 days. You may see bubbles as soon as 3 days, and the starter should have a sour smell. If you aren’t using it right away, put starter in the refrigerator with a lid and feed once a week (being sure to leave it on the countertop to come to room temperature and let the yeasts feed on the wheat for a few hours before returning it to the fridge).
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • SOURDOUGH PANCAKES Adapted from whatscookingamerica.net Whisk 2 cups room-temperature sourdough starter in a large bowl with 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons sugar, 4 tablespoons olive oil and ½ teaspoon salt. In a separate small bowl mix 1 teaspoon baking soda with 1 tablespoon warm water. Gently fold this into the batter just as you’re ready to cook the pancakes and let sit for a minute as it gives rise to the batter. Cook pancakes, dropping ¼ to ½ cup batter at a time in buttered fry pan or skillet, for 1 to 2 minutes each side on medium heat, turning when edges are dry and center is bubbling. Keep stack warm in low oven until all pancakes are cooked and serve with preferred toppings.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • NO-KNEAD SOURDOUGH BREAD (approximately 1½-pound loaf) Adapted from Mark Bittman’s No-Knead Bread recipe in The New York Times and Sourdoughs International’s (sourdo.com) version incorporating sourdough into Mark Bittman’s recipe Scheduling is important in making these long-rise sourdough breads. I estimate 22 hours between my first step (the culture proof) and popping my bread into the oven. So, if I want 48 | ARROYO | 11.14
Step One: The Culture Proof Take 1 cup of active sourdough starter and mix in a bowl with 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of water. It will be the consistency of thick pancake batter. Cover bowl with clean kitchen towel and let rest for 6 to 8 hours at room temperature (65º to 85°). The warmer the temperature, the more sour the culture will be. This step will make approximately 2 cups of sourdough culture, enough to make two loaves of bread. You can throw any excess away or return it to the original sourdough supply. Step Two: The Dough Proof In a large bowl, briefly mix 3 cups (440 grams) of flour, 1 cup of culture from the culture proof step, 1 cup water and 1½ teaspoons of salt, for a shaggy, firm dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap to proof 10 to 12 hours (overnight) at room temperature (65º to 85°). Ease the dough, which will be very sticky, onto a lightly floured board (use a plastic spatula to help, if necessary). Sprinkle the dough surface with additional flour. Fold over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely in plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes to relax the gluten. Dust hands and work surface just enough to keep dough from sticking to either, and quickly but gently shape dough into a ball. Coat a flat-weave cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour and place dough ball on towel, seam-side down, then dust with more flour. Cover with another towel and let rise for 2 hours; it should be nearly doubled in size and won’t spring back when poked. Some 30 minutes before dough is done rising, heat oven to 450º and place a covered 6-to-8-quart cast-iron, enamel or Pyrex pot inside. When dough is ready, carefully (it’s very hot) take the pot out of the oven, remove the lid and, sliding your hand under the towel in which the dough is resting, turn the dough over into the heated pot. Don’t worry if it looks lopsided; it will straighten out as it bakes (but give it a couple of straightening shakes if it will calm your troubled baker’s mind). Cover the pot and bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake for 15 to 30 minutes more, until properly browned. Cool on rack. Most satisfying DIY moment: Enjoy bread while still warm with butter and homemade jam or chèvre, a little salt and tomatoes you’ve grown yourself. |||| For further sourdough exploration, check out thefreshloaf.com, gristandtoll.com and sourdo.com. Kristin Ferguson Smith can be contacted through Facebook. Nancy Spiller is the author of Compromise Cake: Lessons Learned from My Mother’s Recipe Box and Entertaining Disasters: A Novel (With Recipes), both from Counterpoint Press.
KITCHEN CONFESSIONS
The Leftovers, Part Deux
Smart strategies for slashing your own food waste, while saving money and the planet BY LESLIE BILDERBACK
Last month I made a case for the reduction of food waste. If you missed it, here are the shocking facts in a nutshell: America wastes 40 percent of its food supply. This waste happens both at the production end, where it is known as food loss, and in our homes, where it is known as food waste. Loss is when food is thrown out or somehow damaged due to processing. Once it reaches the market, this happens because of improper storage, slow transportation or overproduction. Most food sellers will not offer items that are past their peak, even if they are still edible. Food waste happens when food reaches the end of the food chain but is not consumed. That happens in our homes and restaurants. Food waste is the largest component of our landfi lls and creates billions of tons of greenhouse gases — a major component of climate change. This means we are needlessly using up precious land and water resources for no good reason. (It takes 1,000 gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of milk — not something a dry state like California likes to hear.) If the water loss doesn’t make you think, how about $165 billion worth of usable food tossed in the trash every year, as the National Resources Defense Council reported? (I thought the dollar sign might get your attention.) Now, to tug at your heartstrings: Worldwide, 870 million people do not have enough food to eat. And by 2050 we will need 70 percent more food to feed the stillgrowing population. So as promised last month, I am continuing this horrifying mini-series with a list of the things you can and should be doing to eliminate food waste.
hasn’t had to travel across the globe. Also, many food transporters use ethylene gas to artificially ripen produce on the road. This means it will not last long in the store, or on your shelves. So buying locally sourced food is not just something we should do to be cool. (Talking to you hipsters.) Use up your perishables before you head to the store for more. Don't be a slave to habit. Just because you shop every Sunday afternoon doesn't mean you need the same stuff every time. Plan your menus and make a list. If you are organizationally challenged, “there’s an app for that.”
WHEN YOU’RE EATING OUT Chefs often over-portion, but that doesn’t mean you have to waste it. If you know this is going to happen, order one dish to share. (But still tip your waiter as if you ordered two plates. You took up two seats in his section, after all.) Take leftovers home. Eat them for lunch the next day, or use them in a recipe. Take everything you were served and didn’t eat, including the bread in the basket. I promise you they will just throw it away. See below for ideas to use up bread bits. If you find you often cook too much food, stage a Leftovers Night once a week. Make a soup, salad or casserole from the week’s leftovers, or offer your family a smorgasbord of the week’s great dishes. I like to line up everything on the counter like a cafeteria. Sometimes I even wear a hairnet, just to be authentic.
SHOP SMART
LEFTOVER STRATEGIES
Buy only what you need. If you need two carrots, buy two, not a whole bag. If you buy too many, you know at least four of them will end up shriveled in the back of the fridge like a creepy old lady finger. Don’t buy on impulse. Wait until you have a plan for using that amazing-looking cherimoya. Buy wonky-looking produce. If you don’t buy that oddly shaped tomato, no one will, even though it is perfectly good. Remember that produce is sorted, priced and sold by its appearance. The highest grades look beautiful and uniform in size and shape. But the low-grade stuff is cheaper and just as good. No one cares that the tomato was misshapen when it ends up in sauce. Don’t sentence it to a future in the dumpster. Take pity on the market misfits. Buy local produce, which lasts longer for a couple of reasons: It is younger, because it
Perhaps the easiest foods to save and reuse, fruits freeze so well many people buy them that way in the fi rst place. In our house, the last few berries that are mushy and a little fuzzy go into the freezer, where they await a new life in a delicious smoothie or a new batch of berry vinegar, jam or homemade fruit cordials. (No, the fuzz will not hurt you, nor will anyone be able to taste it. FYI, pastry chefs routinely jam up their ugly berries.) I freeze all kinds of fruits, including citrus. After grating off the zest for later use in everything from muffins to salad dressing, I freeze it and the juice in pint-size plastic tubs (which I also rescue from the trash) or ice-cube trays.
FRUITS
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taste
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select flavors from our area's best restaurants
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KITCHEN CONFESSIONS
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VEGETABLES
BREAD
Both cooked and raw, I add veggie scraps — carrot peels, zucchini ends — to a freezer bin that I keep and slowly fi ll with scraps for use in stock. Larger quantities are stored in zipper bags and are destined for pesto, salsa, chili or to be puréed into soups.
Leftover baked goods are a no-brainer. Heels from your sandwich loaf or baguette are perfect for breadcrumbs, croutons or meatloaf fi ller. Donuts, cake, cookies and croissants make incredible bread pudding, as do those extra few pancakes or waffles. And leftover bread has a long history of use, in dishes such as the French pain perdu (literally “lost bread,” a.k.a. French toast), the Tuscan bread salad panzanella or as a thickener for soups and stews.
DAIRY Surprisingly sturdy, dairy freezes great and can be used in any number of terrific recipes. Imagine the incredible mac ’n’ cheese you can make with all that fancy stuff you bought to impress your date. Milk, sour cream, yogurt and buttermilk grains can easily be defrosted and stirred into cake batters, sauces and shakes.
CANNED FOODS
MEAT AND FISH
GRAINS
Leftover meats, both raw and cooked, are great additions to meatloaf, meatballs, soups, stews, chili, curry or Bolognese sauce. An assortment of fish leftovers makes incredible chowder, bouillabaisse, cioppino or fishcakes. Don’t turn up your nose at frozen fish. It was probably frozen before it started its life with you.
Leftover rice is another classic ingredient, destined for fried rice, soup or veggie patties. But any leftover grain (including quinoa, barley, spelt or millet, which will all freeze beautifully) can make a delicious and healthful addition to a salad or stew.
I am always saving half a can of beans or corn to add to salads, soups or stews, or to use in some very interesting hummus-style dip. It makes as much sense to hold back your quantities while cooking as it does to use up leftovers of the completed recipe.
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KITCHEN CONFESSIONS
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STORAGE Be sure your fridge and freezer are at the right temperature. They should be set between 37° and 40° and 0° and 2°, respectively. Practice FIFO. For those of you who are not food service veterans, that means “fi rst in, fi rst out.” It describes how items should be stocked on shelves. Bring the oldest products up to the front, and put the new stuff in the back. That way, everything gets used in a timely manner, before it goes bad. Use the crisper drawer. Everyone uses their crisper drawers, but not always in the right way. (For instance, it’s not for beer.) For maximum shelf life, leafy greens should have high humidity, while roots need it low. Untie and unwrap produce to help the air flow through it. Get rid of plastic wrapping. Leafy greens and herbs will keep longer wrapped loosely in a moist paper towel. (Some people like to keep their herbs in a jar of water, like a bouquet of flowers.) Wrap mushrooms in a paper towel, or put them in a paper bag. This will prevent sliminess. Remove the green tops from root vegetables to keep them from turning slimy. But use these greens; beet greens are especially yummy. Black, bruised, and wilted greens will maintain their flavor and nutrients for a day or two. So add them to your soups and sauces for flavor before you toss them. Beware of ethylene. This gas, emitted by bananas, apples, citrus and tomatoes, causes produce to ripen fast. It’s great if you need to hurry things along, but for longer storage, keep other foods at a distance. One bad apple does spoil the whole bunch, girl. Once you see an apple or citrus start to turn, get it away from the rest. It’s a bad influence. When food starts to go bad, do not automatically throw the whole thing away! Mold can be trimmed off and discarded. Soggy or limp produce still has nutrients that would work well in soups or sauces. Sprouted onions and potatoes are perfectly fine; just 52 | ARROYO | 11.14
trim off the sprouts and proceed as intended. The same is true for green potatoes. The sprouts and green spots on potatoes are caused by glycoalkaloids, which can have an adverse effect on your nervous system. But you’d have to eat many, many pounds of green potatoes for any toxic effect, so relax and just trim it off. Store unused grains and nuts in the fridge and freezer to prolong their shelf life. They are expensive and can turn rancid fairly quickly because they are full of oils. Bread stays fresher longer if you freeze it, because freezing stops the staling process. Slices defrost quickly on the counter, or in the toaster. Meat and fish freeze well if they are stored properly. Don’t waste your good intentions with lazy wrapping. Keep it airtight. Monitor what you’re throwing out — and make a note so you’ll know what not to buy for the next shopping trip.
AND BY THE WAY… If you’re not already doing it, now’s the time to start composting. It’s not as complicated as you might think, and the rules are negotiable. Specific ratios of brown and green vegetation are important if you’re composting commercially. But for a home garden, just add what you have. With a little forethought and a small investment in zipper bags and time, you can help reduce America’s 33 million tons of landfi ll, which in turn will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help reduce the waste of water, energy and chemicals that go into producing, packaging and transporting food that just gets thrown out. Your kids, grandkids and great-great-grandkids will thank you. |||| Leslie Bilderback, a certified master baker, chef and author of Mug Cakes: 100 Speedy Microwave Treats to Satisfy your Sweet Tooth (St. Martin’s Press), lives in South Pasadena and teaches her techniques online at culinarymasterclass.com.
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A SELECTIVE PREVIEW OF UPCOMING EVENTS COMPILED BY JOHN SOLLENBERGER
THE LIST
A Shining Gala
David Lockington
Nov. 1 — The PasaMcDonald House
Pics of Britain from Street to Stonehenge
hosts its 10th annual
Nov. 8 — Images of
dena Ronald
Shine benefit gala — the organization’s
the U.K. by a pair of
major fundraiser — at the Langham Hun-
American photographers are featured
tington, Pasadena. The 5: 30 p.m. event
in an exhibition at the Huntington Library,
includes a reception, dinner, live and
Art Collections and Botanical Gardens
silent auctions, a special appearance
through March 9. The exhibition Bruce
by Ronald McDonald and dancing to
Davidson/Paul Caponigro: Two American
live music by ’80s rock band Past Action
Photographers in Britain and Ireland show-
Heroes. Tickets cost $200.
cases works they created in the 1960s
The Langham Huntington, Pasadena is
and ‘70s. The show’s 150 photos display
located at 1401 S. Oak Knoll Ave., Pasa-
the artists’ contrasting styles. Davidson is
dena. Call (626) 204-0400, email Elizabeth
known for creating images with a gritty,
Dever at edever@pasadenarmh.org or visit pasadenarmh.org for tickets and information.
Pied Piper Becomes Magical Musical
SYMPHONY SEASON BEGINS WITH BERNSTEIN
street sensibility. Caponigro’s pure formalist work captures mostly landscapes, including Stonehenge, early churches and other sites. Both work in black-and-white film and avoid digital technology. While shown together, the two have never met. The works appear in the MaryLou and
Nov. 1 — Parson’s
George Boone Gallery; the exhibition is
Nose Theater presents
co-curated by Jennifer A. Watts, curator of
the classic tale “The Pied Piper of Hamelin”
photographs at the Huntington, and Scott
in a new form: as a musical. The Robert
Wilcox, chief curator of art collections and
Browning fable has the cheese-obsessed
senior curator of prints and drawings at
people of Hamelin desperate to keep
the Yale Center for British Art.
their dairy treasure in a town overrun by
The Huntington Library, Art Collections
ravenous rats. They hire a piper whose
and Botanical Gardens is located at 1151
magic pipe lures rats away, but when the
Nov. 1 — The Pasadena Symphony opens its 2014–15 season with “Bernstein and
Oxford Rd., San Marino. Call (626) 405-
townspeople refuse to pay him, he pitches
Gershwin,” conducted by Music Director David Lockington at The Ambassador
2100 or visit huntington.org.
his pipe to lead their children away, never
Auditorium. Featured pianist is Terrence Wilson. The program includes Gershwin’s
to be seen again. The production runs at
Concerto in F; Bernstein’s West Side Story: “Symphonic Dances” and Candide:
7 p.m. Saturdays through Nov. 22 and
“Overture”; and Lockington’s “Ceremonial Fantasy Fanfare.” Concert times are 2
3 p.m. Sundays Nov. 2 through 23. The sug-
and 8 p.m. Tickets start at $35.
Japanese Festival, Garden Addition at Descanso
gested donation is $5 to $25. All Parson’s
The Ambassador Auditorium is located at 131 S. St. John Ave., Pasadena. Call (626)
Nov. 8 and 9 — The
Nose productions are adaptations by the
793-7172 or visit pasadenasymphony-pops.org.
Japanese Garden
company’s artistic director, Lance Davis.
Festival features an array of events both
Performances take place at Pasadena’s
days, including an ikebana display from
Lineage Performing Arts Center.
tion and compassion, as relationships
Board Member Merry Norris and artist
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and performances by
Lineage Performing Arts Center is located
are explored, formed and ended. The
Kenny Scharf. The carnival celebrates
Kishin Daiko Taiko Drummers at 11:30
at 89 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena. Call
production continues at 8 p.m. Tuesdays
the 10th anniversary of Scharf’s “Kosmic
a.m. and 1:30 p.m. On Saturday, Asian art
(626) 403-7667 or visit parsonsnose.com.
through Fridays, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays
Krylon Garage,” whimsical, spray-painted
history Professor Dr. Kendall Brown leads a
and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays through Nov.
murals installed at the museum. The
Japanese Garden tour at 10 a.m. Patina
Stop Kiss Continues Pasadena Playhouse Season
30. Tickets cost $45 to $125.
event, from 7 to 10 p.m., includes food,
will sell Japanese cuisine, sake and
The Pasadena Playhouse is located at
music, a raffle for selected artworks,
beverages.
39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena. Call (626)
dancing, a magic show by the Magic
Nov. 15 — Descanso’s first major garden
Nov. 4 — Diana Son’s
356-7529 or visit pasadenaplayhouse.org.
Castle’s Bill Bentz, the South Pasadena
addition — the Oak Woodland, featuring
Jugglers and music by DJ Alphabeast.
a model of the Mars Rover from the JPL —
play Stop Kiss opens
A Kosmic Carnival at PMCA
Tickets cost $125.
opens from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Events also
the story of Sara and Callie, who share
The Pasadena Museum of California Art
include woodland crafts from 10 a.m. to
their first kiss while walking through New
Nov. 8 — The Pasa-
is located at 490 E. Union St., Pasadena.
2 p.m., a family walk at 10:30 a.m. and
York’s West Village late one night, prompt-
dena Museum of
Call Sarah Mitchell at (626) 568-3665,
a woodland walk and talk at 11:30 a.m.
ing a vicious attack by a bystander in
California Art presents
ext. 18, or visit pmca.eventbrite.com for
and 2 p.m. Free with Descanso admission
which Sara is horribly injured. The play
the Kosmic Krylon Carnival benefiting the
tickets. Visit pmcaonline.org for museum
of $9 general, $6 seniors and students
highlights the depths of human emo-
museum and honoring PMCA Founding
information.
today at the Pasadena Playhouse. It tells
54 | ARROYO | 11.14
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11.14 | ARROYO | 55
56 | ARROYO | 11.14
THE LIST Diana Krall
DIANA KRALL PLAYS DISNEY HALL Nov. 11 — Five-time Grammy-winning jazz pianist and vocalist Diana Krall comes to Walt Disney Concert Hall at 8 p.m. as part of a 26-city tour for her new album, Wallflower. Krall interprets some of pop’s greatest hits from the late 1960s to the present, as well as an unreleased composition by Paul McCartney. She is accompanied by guitarist Anthony Wilson, bassist Dennis Crouch, fiddler Stuart Duncan, drummer Karriem Riggins and keyboardist Patrick Warren. Tickets start at $70. Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111 S. Grand Ave., L.A. Call (323) 850-2000 or visit laphil.com.
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Beethoven and Korngold at 3:30 p.m.
and $4 for children 5 to 12; children 4
Tickets cost $20 to $49.
and younger are admitted free.
Nov. 14 — The Aquila Theatre Company
Descanso Gardens is located at 1418
presents Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë’s
Descanso Dr., La Cañada Flintridge.
classic tale of all-consuming passion, at
Call (818) 949-4200 or visit
8 p.m. Tickets range from $10 to $30.
descansogardens.org.
Nov. 23 — The French string quartet Quatuor Ébène performs works by Mozart,
Brontë, Beethoven and Bartok at Caltech
Bartók and Beethoven at a Coleman
Performances sched-
Beckman Auditorium is located on Michi-
uled for Caltech’s
gan Avenue south of Del Mar Boulevard
Chamber Music Concert at 3:30 p.m. Tickets cost $20 to $49.
Beckman Auditorium this month include:
on the Caltech campus, Pasadena. Call
Nov. 9 — The Chamber Music Society of
(626) 395-4652 or visit events.caltech.edu.
Lincoln Center performs works by Mozart,
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THE LIST
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Food Fest Hearts the Homeless
and live entertainment. Participants can
Nov. 9 — The iHeartSil-
participated previously or walk on their
verLake Eastside Food
own. There is no cost to register.
Festival takes place
Rose Bowl Stadium is located at 1001
join existing teams, re-create teams that
from 4 to 8 p.m. at Mack Sennett Studios,
Rose Bowl Dr., Pasadena. To register, visit
with 25 culinary vendors celebrating
walk.jdrf.org.
L.A.’s burgeoning food culture. The event also includes music from local deejays, cians, chef demonstrations, a raffle, book
Reindeer Romp at Zoo for Santa Season
signings by area food writers and other
Nov. 28 through
discussion panels with artists and musi-
attractions. Tickets cost $40, $55 and $70.
Jan. 4 — The L.A. Zoo
Proceeds benefit PATH, a group of agen-
transforms into a nighttime wonderland
cies working to end homelessness.
during the holidays with Zoo Lights and
Mack Sennett Studios is located at 1215
Reindeer Romp. The zoo will glow with
Bates Ave., L.A. Visit eastsidefoodfest.com.
countless holiday lights from 6 to 10 p.m. nightly, except Christmas Eve and Christ-
LACO Pairs Premiere, Classics
mas Day. In addition, Reindeer Romp
Nov. 15 — Music Di-
in L.A., from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except
rector Jeffrey Kahane
Christmas Day. During that time, the zoo
leads the orchestra
also hosts a variety of seasonal festivities,
offers the only chance to see live reindeer
from the piano as the Los Angeles Cham-
including visits by Santa. Free with regular
ber Orchestra performs Beethoven’s
zoo admission of $19 for visitors ages 13
Piano Concerto No. 3 and selections
to 61, $16 for seniors and $14 for children
from Rameau’s operas: the Zaïs overture
2 to 12; children younger than 2 are
and dances from Les Boreades and Dar-
admitted free.
danus. The program at Glendale’s Alex
The Los Angeles Zoo is located at 5333
Theatre also includes the L.A. premiere
Zoo Dr. in Griffith Park. Call (323) 644-6042
of Pulitzer Prize--winning composer Aaron
or visit lazoo.org.
Jay Kernis’ Viola Concerto, written for and performed by Grammy-nominated violist Paul Neubauer, co-commissioned by
Tour Tombs at Stories in Stone
LACO. The concert starts at 8 p.m. and
Nov. 30 — Friends of
repeats at 7 p.m. Nov. 16 at UCLA’s Royce
the Gamble House
Hall. Tickets start at $25.
presents “Stories in
The Alex Theatre is located at 216 N.
Stone,” a tour of the Mountain View Cem-
Brand Blvd., Glendale. Call (213) 622-7001
etery in Altadena and related talk. Doug-
or visit laco.org.
las Keister, known as “America’s Chief Tombstone Tourist,” presents an illustrated
58 | ARROYO | 11.14
Walking to Find a Diabetes Cure
lecture on cemeteries and funerary art
Nov. 15 — JDRF
he leads a candlelight tour of the historic
(formerly known as
cemetery. The lecture starts at 6 p.m., fol-
Juvenile Diabetes Re-
lowed by the tour at 7 p.m. Lecture tickets
from around the world. Following the talk,
search Foundation) hosts JDRF One Walk,
cost $30 general ($25 for Friends of the
supporting the search for a cure for type
Gamble House members). Tour tickets are
1 diabetes, at Rose Bowl Stadium. Regis-
$80 ($75 for members). Open to visitors
tration begins at 8:30 a.m. and the walk
14 and older; youth under 18 must be
starts at 11 a.m. The Pasadena event is
accompanied by an adult.
one of more than 200 community walks
Mountain View Cemetery is located at
nationwide seeking to raise $2 million. The
2300 N. Marengo Ave., Altadena. Visit
event includes games, bounce houses
gamblehouse.org. ||||
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