Edible San Diego - Summer 2010 issue by Edible San Diego

The Fish Issue Coffee Roasters Mean Business Rancho La Puerta Rediscovered CSA Options Restaurants Embrace Summer Fun

CATCH A FRESH TASTE OF SUMMER! Offering sustainable seafood is part of our philosophy because we care about the health of the world’s oceans. Our standards keep antibiotics and added growth hormones out of our fish and off your plate.

visit our san diego locations la jolla 858.642.6700 and hillcrest 619.294.2800 wholefoodsmarket.com • 888.shop.wfm

summer summer 20102010

CONTENTS CONTENTS

Publisher’s Note Publisher’s Note 2

CONTENTS Notable Edibles Notable Edibles 3

In Season Interview In Season Interview 4 A Fresh Look at ASpring Freshwith Look at Spring with Publishers’ Note

Edible Reviews Edible Reviews 26 Notable Edibles

26 3

On the Radar On the Radar 30 In Season Interview Like Fish to Water Advertisers Directory Advertisers Directory 31

30 5

Liquid Assets Why Bother? Why Bother? 32 Coffee Connects

8 32

Farmers’ Markets Farmers’ Markets 33 Advertisers Directory

33 40

FEATURES FEATURES Why Bother?

Farmers’ Markets Career Inspiration Career Inspiration 8

41 8

FEATURES

Reclaiming Reclaiming the Drain the Drain 11 Establishing Establishing Roots Roots 14 Know Your food: join a csa

EDIBLE NATION EDIBLE NATION 17 Catch of the Day: SEASON OFSEASON DIRT OF DIRT the confounding nature of sustainable seafood Liquid Assets Liquid Assets 20 Have You Have TriedYou a Session? Tried a Session? Once upon a tuna town

Urban Urban Gardens Rise Gardens Again Rise Again 22 wild harvest

Cover photo: golden spotted sand bass locally caught and purchased at farmers’ market.

summer 2010

14 12 17 18 20 24 22 30

Rancho la puerta: one of a kind—for 70 years

Edible summer fun

Publishers’ note We hope you like fish, because this issue is full of them. And by like, I mean like to eat them—or at least like the idea that the many species of fish should have a healthy place on this planet. The fish sustainability issue seems like a metaphor for the bigger sustainablility picture. We don’t see them there below the surface so we don’t think about what’s going on in their world. Perhaps that’s true for our increasingly strange and disconnected food system as a whole—out of sight, out of mind. San Diego has a special relationship with fish, both historically and to this day. As Caron Golden points out in her article, we are very lucky to have rich seafood resources right in our own backyard. If we can successfully navigate the tricky waters of which fish it’s OK to eat, we’ll be in pretty good shape in the fish foodshed department. Candice Woo regales us with a look at our storied fishing industry history. Check out Brandon Hernández’s timely article on the Cooks Confab. These chefs with conscience have taken a personal interest in the subject of sustainable fisheries and will heighten our awareness of this subject with their first San Diego Sustainable Seafood Week (May 31 through June 6). Edible San Diego is all about connections. Connecting consumers with the sources of their food. Creating connections between readers and local food and healthy lifestyle resources. Creating connections in the minds of our readers about how their choices affect their health, the health of our community and the wellbeing of the planet. Now, with the help of local activists, we are becoming more aware of the connection between the seafood we order and the viability of fisheries. So whether you eat them or not, the welfare of fish and of the ocean ecosystem in general is meaningful to us all. We’re heartened to see how many movers and shakers there are in this community who are doing amazing work to make our world more sustainable —a healthy place to live for a long time, a world that still has fish in the sea, rich soil to grow nutritious food, unpolluted water to drink, clean air to breathe. Thanks to all the organic and sustainable farmers, fishermen, chefs, restaurateurs, gardeners, social activists and environmentalists who keep these issues in front of us—in sight, in mind.

COPY EDITOR Doug Adrianson DESIGNER Riley Davenport COVER PHOTO Riley Davenport Edible San Diego P.O. Box 83549 San Diego, CA 92138 619-222-8267 info@ediblesandiego.com www.ediblesandiego.com

John Vawter and Riley Davenport

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Summer 2010 edible San Diego

PUBLISHERS Riley Davenport John Vawter EDITOR Lauren Duffy

We’ll be bringing you many more of their inspiring stories in the issues to come.

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CONTRIBUTORS Chris Costa Maria Desiderata Montana Lauren Duffy Dhanraj Emanuel Enrique Gili Caron Golden Wendy Hanna Brandon Hernández Brook Larios Kitty Morse Evan Ross Matt Steiger Carole Topalian Dashielle Vawter Candice Woo

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ADVERTISING For information about rates and deadlines, call 619-222-8267 or email us at info@ediblesandiego. com No part of this publication my be used without written permission of the publisher. © 2010. All rights reserved. Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings and omissions. If, however, an error comes to your attention, please let us know and accept our sincere apologies. Thank you.

notable Edibles Blue Ribbon Pizza Coming Soon to Encinitas Wade Hageman, former Blanca executive chef, will soon open his own place called Blue Ribbon Pizza in Encinitas. Here, he plans to provide guests with unsurpassed food, service and ambiance in a comfortable and casual setting. When you first enter the doors, you will see the warm, inviting glow of a real wood oven. Hageman plans seating for up to 40 inside and another 25 or so outside on the patio. The philosophy is focused on using organic, sustainable and local products and supporting local farmers while making artisan pizzas that will be affordable to everyone. “My pizza will be as healthy as possible with the focus on the crust, using organic flour from California,” says Hageman. “I will personally be making all of the fresh mozzarella, as well as the ricotta. The sausage will be made from sustainable pork and the pepperoni artisan in nature. My olive oil will come from Temecula. I will use locally caught or raised fish and shellfish and as many Californian artisan products as possible.” Hageman plans to serve 10 to12 appetizers featuring salads, fresh seafood, cheese and salumi, as well as a few desserts including butterscotch pudding. There will be five to six rotating tap beers, all local brews from San Diego. “I love the beer here, and can’t wait to put it on the menu,” he says. “My wife, Kristi, will be heading up the wine list with a heavy emphasis on sustainable, organic and biodynamic producers as

well as local wineries.”

Blue Ribbon Artisan Pizzeria Neighborhood /Organic / Sustainable / Local

As for the name of the restaurant, Hageman says “Blue Ribbon” brings back childhood memories from Wisconsin, where his grandmother would win blue ribbons for her pies at the fair and local events. “This is how cooks were celebrated before the time of food writers and critics,” he says. “It was quite an honor to be named Best in Show or to be Best in County. Simply put, Blue Ribbon means you will be getting the best of what is available!” Look for Blue Ribbon Pizza to open soon in the Lumberyard Plaza at 897 South Coast Hwy 101, Suite. F 102, Encinitas. —Maria Desidera Montana

The Proof Is in the Pint Glass San Diego breweries’ “world class” beers merit praise, medals at world’s biggest brewing competition San Diego’s suds-loving citizens proudly tout our town as the beer capital of the United States, but it’s impossible to validate such a strong local loyalty without something more tangible. Fortunately for America’s Finest City, there’s the World Beer Cup. Held bi-annually, this “Olympics of Beer” has grown into the world’s largest commercial brewing competition. “For a brewer, a World Beer Cup award allows them to say that their winning beer represents the best of that beer style in the world,” said Charlie Papazian, president of the Brewers Association, the host organization for the WBC since 1996. This year’s WBC was held in Chicago in tandem with the 2010 Craft Brewers Conference and included 3,330 entries from 642 breweries spanning 44 countries. Gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded for 79 distinct beer styles. San Diego breweries came up huge, garnering a total of 21 medals for a wide variety of brews ranging from crisp and hoppy to thick and malty. The county’s winning breweries were every bit as varied. They included venerable institutions like Karl Strauss Brewing Co. as well as upstarts like Oceanside’s Breakwater Brewing Co. And they spanned the county, from central brewpub operations like Rock Bottom, to the coastal Pizza Port empire to outposts like Alpine Beer Co. The biggest local winner by far was Ballast Point Brewing Co., which, in addition to earning three gold medals, took top honors as the 2010 WBC Champion Small Brewing Company. Located in Linda Vista and Scripps Ranch, Ballast Point is keeping this heavy hardware, which was won by Port Brewing Co./Lost Abbey at the 2008 WBC, right where it belongs—in the undisputed beer capital of the United States! —Brandon Hernandez www.ediblesandiego.com

Summer 2010

Fresh, Fair and Local? There’s an App for That Food shopping seems to be getting more complicated every day. It seems the labels are inscrutable, the jargon gibberish and the options endless. Perhaps the time is ripe for green apps. Once the exclusive domain of Apple-loving geeks, smart phones have become ubiquitous. As time-pressed consumers embrace digital devices intended to bridge the gap between home and office, a wide array of software applications— popularly known as “apps”—are being written for them. There are approximately 150,000 (and counting) apps available for download at the Apple iPhone app store. Scores of apps have been developed for food-conscious consumers as well as for the tens of millions of people concerned about their well-being and the health of Planet Earth. Separating the wheat from the chaff is the real challenge. Check out these potential game changers.— Enrique Gili

Locavore 2.0 ($2.99 at Apple App Store) In 2009 developer Buster Mcleod captured the zeitgeist by mashing two popular trends—the push towards local foods and personal technology—into one compelling product. The GPS system embedded in an iPhone is used to detect your location; this app then pulls information from several food-related databases to tell you what’s fresh and in season wherever you are. It constantly updates information on 234 fruits and vegetables grown in the United States. Unsure of how to cook kale? Each food has a link to Wikipedia and Epicurious for more information. On the road, the app’s market feature pinpoints the farmers’ market closest to you. http://enjoymentland.com/locavore

Seafood Watch

Good Guide

(Free)

As fish stocks around the world became perilously depleted, the Monterrey Bay Aquarium wanted to help ensure that fish served at restaurants and sold at fish markets is fresh, sustainable and healthy. What began 11 years ago as a printed pocket guide is now a smart phone app.

This green and ethical shopping guide takes into consideration the “triple bottom line” approach to business, evaluating impacts on the environment, labor practices and the benefits each product provides. Some 60,000 items, ranging from baby food to shampoo, are rated according to their environmental and ethical credentials. The app’s built-in bar code scanner gives instant feedback to shoppers, delivering a score based on the product’s track record. The premise is simple: Socially responsible companies deserve your business; the app enables shoppers to vote with their dollars.

Data collected on commercial fisheries is tabulated to establish a sustainability score. Using criteria such as scarcity, waste and the impact on marine life, the aquarium makes recommendations on which fish to eat and when. The app adds a new dimension to dining with regional dining guides and sushi lists. In Southern California, for example, it’s wise to avoid the abalone and go for the sea urchin.

http://www.goodguide.com/about/mobile

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/ SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_iPhone.aspx

David’s Crackers

Wheat in North Park

2 ¼ cups wheat flour

Local Artist Brings Wheat to the Street David Krimmel is making change. Over the past few months, he’s transformed the vacant lot behind Jefferson Elementary in North Park into a giant field of wheat. Since he planted the seeds in early spring, the once-gravel-filled lot has slowly become a verdant, grassy field, thanks to David’s vision. But the field is just the beginning—come September, the project will culminate in what may be the first wheat harvest to take place in the city of San Diego. David’s inspiration for the field was his own backyard, where he planted wheat as an experiment last summer. “I wanted to understand what it meant to truly be local,” he explains. As anyone who’s attempted to eat locally in San Diego knows, the biggest challenge is grain. In a region with little rainfall, growing, harvesting and grinding grain is just not worth the price. “It’s a lot of work,” David explains of harvesting even as little wheat as can fit in an urban backyard. Still, he hopes the experience of growing and harvesting wheat will raise awareness about an ingredient that forms a staple in many of our diets. He’s been teaching classes at several elementary schools, showing students how the grain is harvested, milled, and ground. He’s bought a grinder to transform the grain into flour, and even baked crackers with the flour from his backyard harvest. On September 11, David’s project will culminate in a celebratory wheat harvest, an event David hopes will involve the community. He’ll set up a hands-on installation at North Park’s Art Produce gallery, allowing guests to see, touch, and even mill the grain. After all, what would a harvest be if it didn’t tie the community together? — Lauren Duffy 6

Summer 2010 edible San Diego

David Krimmel

¾ teaspoon salt ¹/3cup oil 1 cup water Mix all ingredients into a dough. Roll dough into a flat sheet to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into large pieces that will fit on a baking sheet. Using a pizza cutter, score dough into square pattern, then poke all over with a fork to add texture. Sprinkle salt on top and bake at 350° for 30-45 minutes. When crackers are done, they will break apart easily at the score marks.

In Season Interview

Fish to Water

Cooks Confab Looks to “School” San Diegans on Sustainable Seafood By Brandon Hernández

any San Diego chefs are doing their individual parts to help combat the over-harvesting of our ocean fisheries, but one group of local gastronomes has banded together to take this initiative to a new level. Cooks Confab, a close-knit contingent of chefs fused together by common ideals, pooled their energies to realize the first San Diego Sustainable Seafood Week from May 31 through June 6, 2010. It’s a new idea based on longtime concerns. “I have always had a close relationship with and great respect for our oceans,” says Andrew Spurgin, Confab member and executive chef of Waters Fine Catering. “It was the mid ’90s when I became aware that not all was as it should be. I did some research and what I unearthed was truly troubling: fishery collapses, mercury, reckless fishing practices, piracy, protein relocation from third world countries to first, communities around the world breaking down because of loss of livelihood.” Trey Foshee, executive chef at George’s at the Cove, agrees. “[For me], it started probably 15 years ago when I noticed the size of certain fish I was using starting to get smaller, and it’s been a constant learning process ever since.” The goal of Sustainable Seafood Week is to extend that learning process to the general public via a series of events such as a catered screening of the documentary End of the Line at Fibonnaci’s and a sustainable seafood stakeholders’ panel discussion at the Hotel Del Coronado organized by Slow Food Urban San Diego and Passionfish (www.passionfish.org), a nonprofit educational organization co-founded by Spurgin in 2000. And, of course, it wouldn’t be the Confab without a grand-scale food event. This is scheduled for June 6 at 1500 Ocean to feature roughly a dozen unique dishes utilizing only nonendangered varieties of fish and shellfish. Additionally, all Confab restaurants are offering prix fixe sustainable seafood menus throughout the entire week. Such fare is more the norm than the exception for these eateries. Case in point is 1500 Ocean. “I’ve committed to serving only those fish that meet certain standards and requirements,” says

Chef de Cuisine Brian Sinnott. Among those oceanic gems are wild Alaskan salmon, sablefish, wild Dungeness crab, responsibly farmed mussels and oysters and products like hiramasa and laughing bird shrimp that are produced by Clean Fish (www.cleanfish.com), a company that sources sustainable seafood from around the world. “Our power to change comes from the pressure we can put on our suppliers and by turning people on to species that are sustainable [such as] sardines, white sea bass, petrale sole, halibut and local yellowtail,” says Foshee. “We do train our staff to understand sustainability issues and they are prepared to answer most questions.” But concerned consumers can find plenty of information on their own.

“ Our power to change comes from the pressure we can put on our suppliers and by turning people on to species that are sustainable...”

“Simply checking out the Monterey Bay Aquarium website (www. montereybayaquarium.org) and Blue Ocean Institute (www. blueocean.org) allows consumers to quickly see what fish should be avoided for consumption. These sites are very easy to use and navigate, especially via cell phone or pocket guides,” says Sinnott. Adds Spurgin, “Take initiative to educate yourself. Seafood lists are a help; they’re a start—[but] ask questions, be inquisitive, be involved, care. With more people asking for responsibly sourced seafood, that is what the industry will do.” Brandon Hernández is a native San Diegan with a passion for the culinary arts and the local dining scene. He has been featured numerous times on the Food Network hit program Emeril Live, regularly contributes to over a dozen national and local magazines, newspapers and online outlets and has authored and co-authored several cookbooks. Follow him at twitter.com/offdutyfoodie or drop him a line at deepcrimson2008@gmail.com.

Recipes follow[ www.ediblesandiego.com

Summer 2010

Olive Oil–Poached Alaskan Halibut with Roasted Tomato Sauce Courtesy of Andrew Spurgin, Waters Catering Yield: 6 servings 6 medium-sized heirloom tomatoes 3 cups plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Sea salt (preferably Maldon) and freshly ground pepper to taste Peel of ½ lemon 2 bay leaves 6 sprigs fresh thyme 4 sprigs basil, with stems 2 cloves garlic, crushed ½ shallot, chopped 1 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes 12 telicherry peppercorns 6 half-inch-thick slices olive bread 2 pounds wild Alaskan halibut at room temperature, cut into 2-ounce portions Zest of ½ lemon

Preheat oven to 180°. Slice the tops off the tomatoes. Cover the tomatoes with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place on a roasting pan. Place the pan in the oven and cook for 12 hours. Heat the remaining oil to 200° in a pot on the stovetop. Add the lemon peel, bay leaves, thyme, basil, garlic, shallot, chili flakes and peppercorns and allow to infuse for at least 30 minutes. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and crush with a fork. Add 1 teaspoon of the infused oil, adjust seasoning if necessary and keep warm. Brush the bread with infused oil, season with salt and grill until crisp.

This is a casual plate for summer that’s super easy to prepare and utilizes fish from a well-managed fishery. —Andrew Spurgin

Reduce the oil temperature to 150°. Place the fish in the oil and cook for 10 minutes or until the fish is just cooked through. NOTE: Make sure the temperature of the oil does not rise above 150° during the cooking process. Remove the fish from the oil and use a pastry brush to brush off the excess oil. To serve, place the crushed tomatoes on a plate. Place the fish atop the tomatoes and top with lemon zest, salt, pepper and opal basil. Serve immediately with grilled bread.

8 opal basil leaves, torn

Meyer Lemon and Basil–Crusted Sierra Mackerel Courtesy of Trey Foshee, George’s at the Cove Yield: 4 servings ½ cup basil leaves ½ cup Italian parsley leaves Zest of 1 Meyer lemon 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil 4 6-ounce Sierra mackerel filets Salt and white pepper

Combine the basil, parsley, lemon zest and breadcrumbs in the bowl of a food processor and process until the herbs are finely minced. With the processor running, slowly pour in the oil to form a paste. Turn off the processor and transfer the paste to a bowl and reserve or store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Turn on the broiler. Spread a ¼-inch layer of paste on the flesh side of each filet and plate the filets on a roasting pan crust side up. Place the pan under the broiler until the crust is lightly browned and crisp and the fish is cooked through, about 6 minutes. If the fish is particularly thick, finish it in a warm oven. Remove from the oven and serve warm or at room temperature.

This is a great crust that works well with many different fish. It is a broiled-on crust, meaning you crust the fish and then cook it under the broiler. It’s great with a simple salad of beets or tomatoes. —Trey Foshee

Summer 2010 edible San Diego

Australian Hiramasa Crudo with Fennel Salad Courtesy of Brian Sinnott, 1500 Ocean Yield: 4 servings 8 ounces Hiramasa (Australian Yellowtail tuna)

Australian Yellowtail is a Clean Fish Seafood product (www.cleanfish.com) that’s an alternative to Hamachi from Japan. —Brian Sinnott

1 teaspoon sea salt (preferably Maldon) ½ ounce tangerine oil 2 tablespoons baby fennel, shaved 1½ tablespoons pomegranate seeds 1 teaspoon mint, julienned ¼ Espelette chili powder Arrange the fish in a single row down the center of a chilled small oval plate. Sprinkle the fish with salt and drizzle with oil. In a small bowl, mix together the fennel, pomegranate and mint. Season with additional salt and oil to bring the mixture together. Place the fennel mixture in a line over the fish. Using a sifter, dust the entire dish with chili powder and serve immediately.

www.ediblesandiego.com

Summer 2010

liquid assets

Coffee Connects

orrey Lee’s easy smile seems to belie the competitive, often tumultuous industry in which he toils. Perhaps that’s because Café Moto, his project of many years, offers him a platform above the din from which to facilitate the community connections he so appreciates.

Community First

By Evan Ross

Regardless of how coffee, and the global industry that surrounds it, continue to evolve, one thing remains true: There are not many things more powerful in bringing together diverse communities than a hot cup of well-brewed, high-quality arabica. This is a concept not lost on Lee. As he sees it, communities of the bean are inextricably intertwined; woven into a global fabric by the people who grow, buy, roast and appreciate the unique characteristics of coffee. This is one reason why Lee and his wife, Kimberly, conscientiously evolved Café Moto into a venture that emulates the values those communities represent: togetherness, mutual support, celebration of diversity, sharing of ideas, sustainability, honesty, transparency and quality. “I’ve worked in a few coffeehouses,” says Lee. “In my experiences they are places where individuals, the community come together. There is such a bonding in the coffee community. First thing in the morning people roll out of bed, they don’t look their best, they’re not always happy. You give them a cup of coffee and some chat and incrementally something happens, a bonding. There are these pulses, these moments of coming together over a cup of coffee.”

Photography by Chris Costa

The Past and Present of a San Diego Institution

Celebrating Community the Café Moto Way

The experiences of which Lee speaks include some very close to home. Café Moto originally operated as the coffee roasting division of local stalwart Pannikin Coffee and Tea, which was founded by Lee’s stepfather, Bob Sinclair, in 1968. Lee got his start here washing dishes and making coffee. In 1998, the Lees purchased the roasting division, and they have spent the years since molding it into the local institution is has become. Today, Café Moto roasts approximately 2,000 pounds of coffee a day; they carry more than 30 varieties of coffee from Africa, Arabia, the Americas and the Pacific Rim, as well as many teas. About 75 percent About 75 percent of the coffee Moto sells is fair trade and about 55 percent is certified of the coffee organic. The company was also recently Moto sells is fair certified as kosher. They serve more than 300 clients including grocery stores, restaurant trade and about chains and institutions such as UC San Diego. The majority of their business, 55 percent is however, is with small start-up coffee certified organic. retailers.

Summer 2010 edible San Diego

Mercato_Edible_4C Ad_ 5/14/10 12:57 PM Page 1

“ First thing in the morning people roll out of bed, they don’t look their best, they’re not always happy. You give them a cup of coffee and some chat and ... something happens, a bonding”

“About 95 percent of the people we sell to are mom-and-pop operations and entrepreneurs that left their job at a bank or something and wanted to get involved in a different venture,” Lee says. “I consider us a regional batch roaster. I don’t tell my people to go to Los Angeles or Arizona or Nevada, that’s just not our focus. We primarily stick to San Diego County and try to be able to reach out to our customers if they have a specific or immediate coffee or equipment need.” The Café Moto roastery and retail store, located in a new building on National Avenue, houses the company’s entire roasting, packaging, direct sale and delivery operation. It also houses a test kitchen. Moto staff use the space as a laboratory of sorts to educate their customers about the varieties of coffee they import and sell, and to assist them in identifying the best coffees for their specific needs. In this way the customer becomes a partner in the coffee selection process, which enables Café Moto to sharpen their focus in providing the most desirable product to individual clients. “The philosophy, or what we’ve always tried to do, is ‘try it before you buy it,’” says Lee. “If I can try Torrey Lee a product and form an opinion about it then I can either sell it or recommend something else. So we get people to come down and try different products and then decide which they like. Then they can believe in it and it’s easier for them to sell it. We spend a fair amount of time offering tastings and helping customers with their menus.”

The Community Connection While this personal customer service approach is refreshing, what is remarkable is the way Lee extrapolates it into his dealings with the buyers and farmers from whom he buys his coffee and tea. Just as he takes a very personal interest in the satisfaction of his local community, so he directly engages the communities that grow and deliver his product. This is evidenced by his focus on working with farming cooperatives in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, his efforts to purchase product through fair trade contracts and his support for improving conditions in poorer growing regions such as continued on page 10

farmers and

foodies meet here

SATURDAY MORNING LITTLE ITALY The Little Italy Mercato farmers’ market boasts 4 full blocks of certified California farmers, fishmongers, artisan foods and accessories and a stunning view of the bay, downtown in San Diego’s vibrant Little Italy neighborhood. 9 am to 1:30 pm.

Kensington - University Heights - Normal Heights

24 Carrot Excitement!

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON ADAMS AVENUE The Adams Avenue Farmers’ Market is crammed with farm-fresh produce, meat, cheese, bread, eggs and more, on the street where Normal Heights meets Kensington. Shop, eat, meet your neighbors and enjoy 24-Carrot excitement every week, from 3 pm to 7 pm. THURSDAY AFTERNOON NORTH PARK If you haven’t been to the North Park Farmers’ Market lately, it’s time to see what’s happening. An expanding certified farmers’ market, seafood, eggs, local chocolates, pastry, jams and mustards, with live music to shop by. Year-round, 3 pm to 7 pm.

We bring farms to the city, and people to the table. 619.233.3901

www.sdweeklymarkets.com

www.ediblesandiego.com

Summer 2010

Tanzania. To hear him speak about how shifts in the legal landscape and production processes may yield significant economic benefit to allow children to go to school and women to purchase farmland is to understand that social justice is no minor consideration for Lee. “I visited with Fatima Ismael, president of the Las Hermanas cooperative, a group of 140 women-owned farms in upper Nicaragua. Nicaragua has gotten to a point where it is now possible for a woman to own the title document to a piece of land. So, these women banded together to produce small-batch specialty coffees that they can sell separately from the large Nicaraguan blends. It allows them to control the quality and get a premium for it. She was very eager to understand our coffee preferences and needs for consistent organic coffees to roast.” As if his impassioned telling of stories about his visits to these farms “ To hear him speak and cooperatives wasn’t about how shifts in the sufficient proof of this, there is the painting of legal landscape and the Nicaraguan highlands production processes hanging in the retail area of the shop. may yield significant The painting was gifted economic benefit to allow to him by a young girl at Las Hermanas. It serves as children to go to school a tangible representation and women to purchase of the very real benefits farmland is to understand provided to that community by Café Moto’s commitment that social justice is no to organic and fair trade buying. With the additional minor consideration for money they recoup from Lee.” selling at fair trade prices, the women have been able to provide cervical cancer screenings, purchase uniforms so their children can attend school, and implement youth music and art programs. Lee’s painting is the fruit of those projects.

Sustainably Oriented

Café Moto’s company vision involves a holistic view of the coffee and tea industries and the far-reaching benefits of approaching them in a very personal and sustainable way. In addition to the company’s efforts to work closely with its customers, buy organic, support fair trade and connect with the sources of their products, they are also focused on increasing their own sustainable practices and decreasing their carbon footprint. Their new building was built using many recycled materials from neighboring buildings. On the roof, they installed 100 solar panels that produce 17 kilowatts of power—enough to run the entire shop. The Café Moto delivery vehicles run on clean diesel and their roasting machine operates on natural gas. Lee is also constantly searching for more effective products and technologies to ship and store coffee, as well as to monitor and reduce energy demand from production, even as we interview. “The gentleman that’s here this morning is helping us put a piece of equipment on the roasting equipment that will help us monitor the air flow and a) give us a little more definition and b) reduce energy, which is a great complement to the whole system,” notes Lee. “So, we can manipulate the machinery to produce the best coffee we can and at the same time reduce energy consumption. So, it’s sort of a two-fer.” This kind of thinking seems to be a key element of Lee’s business acumen, and the success of Café Moto. It’s hard to say if he is constantly Café Moto employee samples beans concerned with meeting his from the roaster. triple bottom line, or if that just comes naturally to him. But while he goes about improving the quality of the products he offers in a service-oriented, transparent and sustainable way, the communities he embraces and connects benefit from the intentions of his philosophy and the actions it engenders. Evan Ross is a frustrated chef, brewer, sommelier and organic farmer trapped in the body of a foodie, craft beer and wine lover, and great appreciator of those inherently connected to the land. Writing is his expressive connection to these passions.

Summer 2010 edible San Diego

www.ediblesandiego.com

Summer 2010

Know Your Food:

Join a

CSA By Kitty Morse

CSA, or community-supported agriculture, is a model in which consumers pre-pay for a set number of regular shares of a farm’s harvest. This gives farmers a bit of financial security while members obtain fresh produce from the source.

Be Wise Ranch

Locally, a number of the roughly 350 organic farms that dot San Diego County have started CSAs. Besides selling fruits and vegetables, many CSAs provide such community-based activities as a chance to watch movies under the stars, participate in a cooking class or tour a farm. The following CSAs are among the most active in San Diego County.

Summer 2010 edible San Diego

Bill and Marsanne Brammer 20505 San Pasqual Road Escondido CA 92025 760-746-6006 bewiseranchcsa@gmail.com bewiseranch.com Be Wise Ranch’s CSA has over 2,000 members, according to Bill Brammer. Along with his wife, Marsanne, Brammer co-owns the California Certified Organic Farm (CCOF) in the San Pasqual Valley. The Brammers had 33 years of farming experience before starting a CSA in 1994. Sixteen years later, the Be Wise Ranch CSA supplies fruits and vegetables to 600 San Diego families and to stores such as Jimbo’s, Major Market, Cream of the Crop, People’s Food Co-op and Frazier Farms. Depending upon the time of year, a Be Wise box might include organically grown avocados, heirloom tomatoes, berries, exotic greens or fresh herbs. CSA members have the choice of two plans: a large share provides a week’s supply of produce for a family of four at a cost of $30 a week (a bi-weekly delivery is also available); a smaller share costs $25. There is a $20 membership fee to join.

Garden of Eden Organic CSA Petra Nikos Group 1221 Calvin Lane Escondido CA 92025 760-994-5861 or 858-454-6993 jennifer@goeorganics.com goeorganics.com A CSA was the logical next-step for Jennifer Trejo and her husband, Paul, who spent three decades in the restaurant business before turning to farming. For six years now, they have lived by the motto “We love what we do and it SHOWS in how it GROWS.”

four-week trial subscription is available. Membership can be monthly, quarterly or annually, costing $108 monthly for an individual box, $139 for a small box, $164 for a large box. CSA boxes hold a variety of seasonal vegetables, as well as exotic fruit not usually found in supermarkets. Dropoff points range from Hillcrest to Irvine, and soon the South Bay.

Garden of Eden is a CSA with a twist, for theirs is a cooperative of 13 small farms. “This way, instead of supporting just one farm, our members support several. This ensures a wider variety of produce from week to week,” explains Jennifer. “We’ve just acquired 20 acres in Indio to grow melons and dates.” In addition to organic vegetables and fruit, the Trejos source free-range eggs and chickens, and a limited amount of grass-fed beef from producers who are committed to the same organic guidelines. Jennifer views helping the community as an integral part of their CSA’s mission. “Our farm is our business and our ministry,” she says. “We want to make a difference. The more farmers we support, the more we can support the community.” In that spirit, Garden of Eden supplies the Hope Food Bank in Escondido with organic eggs and produce. Garden of Eden Organics’ CSA requires a minimum 12-week commitment, though a

Inland Empire CSA www.inlandempirecsa.com/ The Inland Empire CSA combines two farms, Sage Mountain Farm and De Luz Farms and Nursery, with different microclimates, ensuring a more varied selection of products year round.

Sage Mountain Farm Juany and Phil Noble 40630 Sage Road Aguanga CA 92544 (about 20 miles east of Temecula) 951-767-1016 or 951-767-1008 sagemountainfarm.com Phil Noble, a former district manager for Home Depot, and his wife, Juany, call Summer 2010

center manager for the same company, succumbed to country fever and acquired 5 acres of avocados far from the city in 2000. Their newly purchased grove was close to dying off. In attempting to bring it back into production, Phil followed organic growing practices. He is now a certified organic grower, and their original 5 acres have expanded to 20. In addition to growing heirloom tomatoes, Sage Candy onions, grapefruit, pluots and jujubes, Sage Mountain follows organic principles in raising steers, chickens, pigs and goats.

J. R. Organics

La Milpa Organica Farm

31030 Rodriguez Road Escondido CA 92026 714-235-3219 jemarrero@jrorganicsfarm.com jrorganicsfarm.com

Barry Logan 9928 Protea Gardens Road Escondido CA 92026 760-839-1111 (leave message) blogan@milpaorganica.com milpaorganica.com

De Luz Farms and Nursery

Joe Jr., a fourth-generation farmer, received his CCOF certification in 1986. J. R. Organics’ CSA was introduced in 2007, and counts more than 630 members in San Diego County.

Gary and Melodee Leavitt 22250 Corte Bonita Temecula CA 92590 951-693-0272 phone 951-693-0272 fax deluzfarms.com

Gary and Melodee Leavitt also were working for Home Depot when they purchased their land in 1997. Their farm, like Sage Mountain, started out as a conventional operation. Now, it combines an organic avocado and citrus grove and a 5,800-square-foot computercontrolled greenhouse for plant reproduction and growing herbs. You will find Sage Mountain Farms and De Luz Farms products at Whole Foods and other health food stores, as well as at the Glen Ivy Resort. Distribution points stretch from weekly farmers’ markets in La Jolla, Hillcrest and Clairemont to Riverside and the Inland Empire. Check inlandempirecsa.com for prices and membership requirements.

Summer 2010 edible San Diego

J. R. Organics may well be one of the oldest family farms in the county. Nestled among the rolling hills of Valley Center, the farm was founded over 50 years ago by Joe Rodriguez Sr.

J. R. Organics bills itself as an old-fashioned truck farm dedicated to growing a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, many of them heirlooms, as well as a wide selection of flowers. Members can also purchase “flower shares” for weekly deliveries of freshly cut blossoms. A delivery depends on the season and the elements—though J. R. Organics ensures that members receive at least 11 different items in each box. Most of the contents are grown on the farm , including strawberries, melons and sapotes. Other seasonal fruits are subcontracted to local organic farms. Four weekly deliveries cost $114. J. R. Organics delivers throughout the North County, downtown and Temecula. You will also find them at farmers’ markets in Escondido, San Marcos and Hillcrest, among others.

“So, come get dirty,” urges La Milpa Organica on its website. The open invitation becomes even more appealing after viewing La Milpa’s picture-postcard display of produce, herbs and edible flowers at the Vista Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings. Baskets arranged with the eye of an artist contain fresh basil leaves, a braising mix containing 25 varieties of greens, bunches of radishes and fresh lavender. “The baskets are my idealized notion of what a French market looks like!” explains Barry Logan, La Milpa’s founder, when complimented on the striking visual effect. La Milpa has acquired quite a following among San Diego chefs. Cavaillon, the Lodge at Torrey Pines, Tapenade and the Farmhouse Café all feature La Milpa’s organic produce. On the third Saturday of each month La Milpa Organica invites the public to participate in a potluck that includes pizza from their own wood-fired oven, followed by a movie shown under the oaks in the Cinema Paradiso. La Milpa is seeking to form a new CSA. For that, they need at least eight members and a dropoff point. Contact Barry Logan if you are interested.

Seabreeze Organic Farm

Suzie’s Farm

Tierra Miguel Foundation

Stephenie Caughlin 3909 Arroyo Sorrento Road San Diego CA 92130 858-481-0209 info@seabreezed.com seabreezed.com

Robin Taylor and Lucila De Alejandro 801 Saturn Boulevard San Diego CA 92154 800-995-7776 or 619-662-1780 CSA email: rodrigo@suziesfarm.com Local chefs email: robin@suziesfarm.com or lucila@suziesfarm.com suziesfarm.com

Beth Ann Levendoski, director 14910 Pauma Valley Drive Pauma Valley CA 92061 760-742-4213 director@tierramiguelfarm.org or csa@tierramiguelfarm.org tierramiguelfarm.org

Not many farm websites quote Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu. But Stephenie Caughlin, founder of Seabreeze Organic Farm in Del Mar, is no ordinary farmer. Her extensive résumé includes stints as a high school teacher, gold broker and CEO of her own futures-trading company. She purchased her land in 1978, “when there was hardly any houses around.” Then, “seed by seed, brick by brick” she transformed her ocean-view property into a lush organic farm where no inch is left untilled. In doing so, Caughlin fulfilled her dream: to balance life and work, and to provide a source of healthful food for herself, her family and her customers. “Farming is an extremely risky occupation,” she explains. “With CSAs, people vote with their money and their health. CSAs minimize the risk, and ensure the farm’s viability since the produce is pre-sold.” Caughlin was among the first in the county to adopt the CSA format and weekly deliveries make up the bulk of her business. More recently, the enterprising Caughlin opened an online Green Store that offers cleaning supplies and personal care items, as well as herbs and seasonings, natural turkey bacon, earthworms and a “GrowFoodKit” system that is meant to ensure “food security” by producing safe and abundant foods for a family. Seabreeze is open to the public for tours and special events, cooking classes, afternoon teas for nursing home residents and wildlife walks. It can also serve as a location for fundraising events and private parties. Startup cost of $275 includes a four-week prepayment of $250 plus a one-time $25 membership fee. A delivery calendar and membership forms are available on the website.

Robin Taylor and Lucila De Alejandro named their farm “Suzie” after the purebred Norwegian elkhound that was dumped on their doorstep in the Tijuana River Valley. Over the years, Suzie’s Farm has acquired a more ambitious role—that of an umbrella organization (still named after dogs) comprising the original Suzie’s Farm as well as Kiki Town, a 40-acre parcel named for their dog Calamity Jane, and Bear Barranca, named for their dog Bear. Robin and Lucila have always been avid gardeners. They grew edible flowers and operated Sun Grown Organic Distributors, a sprout and wheatgrass farm, for 25 years. Until July 2009, when they began their CSA, they had never attempted anything of this magnitude. “A lot of CSAs have waiting lists, but we have room for expansion,” says Lucila. “We just added 18 acres to our original 40.” She has a number of acres set aside for the specific needs (and imaginations) of local chefs who believe in the “farm-to-table” concept. CSA fees are made up of a nonrefundable joiner’s fee of $20, plus a weekly or bi-weekly option. Twelve weekly deliveries of Suzie’s Farm organic produce costs $300. Bi-weekly boxes are $150. Each box contains eight to 15 items, from fresh herbs, edible flowers and sprouts to vegetables and fruit. Suzie’s Farm CSA counts 200 members, a number Lucila hopes to increase to 300 by this June. It delivers in San Diego five days a week, with dropoff locations from Chula Vista to Coronado.

Tierra Miguel Foundation, a nonprofit organization located at the foot of Palomar Mountain, went into operation in February 2000. Its founders were a group of farmers, advocates and consumers who perceived maintenance and furtherance of soil life as a basic necessity for nourishing future generations, and for achieving a new food economy. They selected northern San Diego County to start the San Diego Growers’ Project, an 84-acre certified organic farm that serves as a model to demonstrate sustainable agriculture. “What makes us unique is that we were one of first nonprofit CSAs around.” explains Shoshana Raskas, CSA coordinator. “And biodynamic farming sets us apart from other CSAs.” Biodynamic farming practices enhance the soil through application of prepared compost and herbal preparations, cover crops and maintenance of biodiversity. More than 30,000 children and adults have participated in Tierra Miguel’s farm-toschool program. The Foundation holds an open house the first Saturday of every month, rain or shine, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tierra Miguel’s CSA offers a two-box trial for $90 or a four-box trial for $180.

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Summer 2010

Morning Song Farm Donna Buono 2120 Rainbow Glen Road Rainbow CA 92028 949-310-4870 donna@morningsongfarm.com Morningsongfarm.com Curious about nagami kumquats? Buddha’s Fingers citrons? Himalayan mulberries? Then Morning Song Farm in Rainbow, east of Fallbrook, may be the CSA you’re looking for. It all began with organic macadamias. “Morning Song Farm started out as a wholesale subtropical fruit farm. That’s why we have so many unusual fruit trees, as well as the common fruits you see in grocery stores,” says Donna Buono. “Our farm is the culmination of a life’s dream,” she continues. “Initially I grew only a few commodities for large wholesale accounts and I kept a small organic garden for my family’s own use. Then a few friends, admiring the heap of fresh produce on my kitchen counter, asked to share in the bounty in exchange for helping with the costs of maintaining the garden. Then a few more joined in. Eventually six friends shared in the cost. It’s grown from there!” The passionate gardener loves hunting down unusual heirloom seeds and trying new varieties though “I continue to grow the things I think my kids and friends will enjoy!”

Murray Farms CSA “I grow macadamias, kumquats, blood oranges, the strawberry-flavored Cara Cara, incredible juice limes, sweet lemons, pumelos, mandarins as well as subtropicals like feijoa guavas, sapote, loquats and passion fruit because I can! That’s the amazing thing about farming in San Diego!” she enthuses. A grower for the better part of a decade, Buono once sold her fruits and vegetables at a number of farmers’ markets. She eventually opted for a CSA format so she could spend weekends with her family. This hasn’t prevented her from seeking new outlets, however. “We could probably accommodate double the number of members we currently have, about 160. We’d love to grow our subscriber base in San Diego because we’re San Diego farmers,” she stresses. “I’m hoping to find new dropoffs in Vista, Hillcrest and Pacific Beach. This is going to be a great year for macadamias and avocados!” In the meantime, you might catch sight of Morning Song’s delivery truck at dropoffs in Rainbow, Escondido, Oceanside, Cardiff, Del Mar and Carlsbad. Baskets are paid for quarterly, and include raw macadamias, avocados and limes most of the year. Small weekly baskets cost $448.50 for 13 baskets (half the amount for bi-weeklies). Large weekly baskets cost $578.50 for 13 baskets.

Kitty Morse is a food writer and cookbook author living in Vista. Her latest book is A Biblical Feast: Ancient Mediterranean Flavors for Today’s Table. Visit her website at kittymorse.com.

Summer 2010 edible San Diego

Scott and Laura Murray 2771 High Mead Circle Vista CA 92084 760-805-1380 gardengoddess365@sbcglobal.net “We grow what families like to eat,” says Scott Murray. His 1-acre plot produces a variety of vegetables, from eggplant to greens, though he is particularly excited about unusual heirloom tomatoes that produce year round. Scott and his wife, Laura, have long been involved in the San Diego farm scene, supplying some of the county’s top restaurants. Scott is president of the San Diego chapter of Slow Food, and a board member of several agricultural organizations. The couple opted for a CSA format last year, because “we wanted a business where we could teach our children the value of work and commitment,” says Scott. They are seeking to round off their CSA membership at 20 local families Laura’s interest lies mainly in teaching highschool-aged youngsters the fundamental skills of food literacy. To that end, she teaches groups of 10 about food preparation from garden to table, and holds private cooking classes on the farm. Weekly deliveries cost $25, or $250 for 10 weeks. Bi-weekly deliveries are also available. There is no membership fee.

Innovation in the marketplace Two new CSAs are now accepting members in San Diego: The Point Loma Certified Farmers Market CSA and the Mission Valley Certified Farmers Market CSA. A little different from single-farm based (or in the case of Inland Empire, two-farm based), these CSAs aim to increase produce sales for the farmers who sell at these markets. Like any CSA, they give the farmers the security of a guaranteed income (minimum commitment is 12 weeks), allowing them to plan for new crops, buy seeds, and sustain their farms. These two CSAs aim to help smaller farmers by shouldering most of the costs and labor associated with running a CSA, including credit card processing, creating and maintaining a web site for customers, handling customer service, advertising and marketing, purchasing the boxes, and CSA service development (recipes and labels). Each participating farmer is responsible for the following: • quality control of their product • what goes in the boxes • packing the boxes the morning of the market day Members are guaranteed to have fresh, local, certified California grown produce conveniently available at their local farmers’ market. Sign up online at www.sdmarketmanager.com.

More than just a cookbook—the voice of a movement. “Read this book and join the movement!” —Marion Nestle, author of What to Eat

“It is a simply beautiful work.” —Deborah Madison, author of Local Flavors

Slow Food has been supporting good food in San Diego and Riverside Counties since 2001. Be a part of the growing national movement to reclaim and preserve good food by participating on a local level. Slow Food is committed to preserving food traditions and reviving the table as a center of family and community.

“Edible honors all those who have been…diligently working to re-create a world where the power of good food can change our lives.” —From the Foreword by Michael Ableman, farmer, photographer and author of Fields of Plenty

Available through ediblecommunities.com or wherever books are sold.

Slow Food Slow Food Slow Food Temecula Valley San Diego Urban San Diego temeculavalleyslowfood.org slowfoodsandiego.org slowfoodurbansandiego.org edible_7.5x8.25_rd2.indd 1

2/9/10 1:55 PM

www.ediblesandiego.com

Summer 2010

By Caron Golden Salmon. It can make you crazy. Are we only supposed to eat wild Alaskan salmon? What about farmed? What’s in the chemicals added to make it, well, salmon colored? How about Scottish salmon? It’s so delicious but it has to be shipped here and how is that good for the environment? Forget salmon. What about swordfish. Is it OK to eat it now? And, no bluefin tuna? Seriously?

Catch of the Day: The Confounding Nature of

Sustainable Seafood

Talk about sustainable seafood is all the rage. With two-thirds of the world’s fisheries reaching depletion and overfishing putting some species, including some in California, close to extinction, we have serious issues to consider as consumers. We aren’t supposed to eat endangered species or seafood caught by large trawlers with turtle bycatch. Or eat some farmed fish. We’re encouraged to eat local, but what’s local? San Diego waters? Baja? The Pacific? We’re encouraged to eat species like swordfish that are caught by harpoon or hook and line, not net. But how do we know how it’s caught? Good luck, consumers, keeping all the do’s and don’ts straight. And, yet it’s important to make the effort. U.S. consumers eat about 16 pounds of seafood per person each year. And, if the pocketbook holds the power, we need to wield ours better. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. consumers spent almost $70 billion for fishery products in 2008,including $46.8 billion at restaurants, carry-outs and caterers. We spent $22.7 billion in retail sales for consumption at home. That means we can influence what shows up in restaurants and stores. But we have to be smart about it.

Just What Is

Summer 2010 edible San Diego

Sustainable Seafood? Addressing how to be a good consumer is complex, not the least because depending on whom you talk to you get a different definition of sustainability. NOAA holds that seafood is sustainable when “the population of that species of fish is managed in a way that provides for today’s needs without damaging the ability of the species to reproduce and be available for future generations.” Carl Safina, president of Blue Ocean Institute, defines it as seafood “produced in a way that we can keep doing it without getting into a situation in which we can’t do it anymore.” Almost the same thing. But talk to representatives of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which produces Seafood Watch, probably the best known of the many consumer seafood buying guides, and you get quite a different response. “We’re an aquarium, so our definition revolves around healthy oceans and intact ecosystems,” says Sheila Bowman, Seafood Watch senior outreach manager. “We’re not talking about seafood. We’re talking about fish. We aren’t in the business of feeding people. We’re here to help the ocean.” Then there’s Don Kent, president of Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute. “When talking about sustainability, it’s a synergistic concept putting environmental stewardship and ethics in balance with pragmatism. At the end of the day if you don’t operate your facility with respect for the earth, Mother Earth bites you in the ass.” Trey Foshee, executive chef and partner of George’s at the Cove in La Jolla, is ardent about sustainable seafood, but he, too, has his own definition of what that is, which to him “means to be constantly putting pressure on and reading and educating myself on what we can do from a restaurant perspective on not impacting the environment.” It goes on. What about the issue of carbon footprint? Is buying from a well-managed fishery in New Zealand as good as buying local or are we indulging ourselves? And how about issues not directly related to the seafood, like the packaging? Is it sustainable to buy from a restaurant that refuses to take styrofoam packaging and instead uses returnable/reusable containers for wholesale delivery? What about economics? What is sustainable about putting much of a community’s industry out of work? Andrew Spurgin, co-founder of the public education project Passionfish and co-owner/chef of Waters Fine Catering, points to Somalia as a case in point. “Everyone complains about the pirates there, but a lot of these pirates were fishermen. Their fisheries were devasted by industrial Addressing how to trawlers and they’re pirating to be a good consumer feed their families.”

is complex, not the least because depending on whom you talk to you get a different definition of sustainability.

Clearly, that’s an extreme example but marine biologist and Passionfish’s exectutive director Carl Rebstock tells of the fallout from the closing of a rockfish rookery in Monterey Bay. “People remember that a number of these out-of-

So, it’s complicated. And, some of the decisionmaking consumers have to do centers around how much research they’re willing to put in on an ever-changing industry that is often accused of fudging its practices. work fishermen began drinking. As the drinking increased spousal abuse spiked. As spousal abuse became more pronounced, truancy rates among school kids went up. These are the ripple effects of ‘sustainability’ on a community,” he says. “You have to pay attention to the environment but without considering downstream impacts, you can do quite a bit of damage to society.” So, it’s complicated. And, some of the decision-making consumers have to do centers around how much research they’re willing to put in on an everchanging industry that is often accused of fudging its practices. “There’s a lot of lying in the seafood business,” says Safina. “There’s misrepresentation of what things are and where they come from.” It also has to do with personal values and economics and even a willingness to try new things. Perhaps grilled sardines instead of tuna sashimi. Farmed fish instead of wild. And consuming less of it all, just as with beef, pork, and chicken.

Fisheries Management Most of the people interviewed for this story agree that the United States is far ahead of almost all other countries in managing their fisheries. NOAA Fisheries Service, also known as NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), is the federal agency responsible for fisheries management in what is called the United State’s “Exclusive Economic Zone” (EEZ), which is waters three to 200 miles offshore most of the continental U.S., except western Florida and Texas, where it’s nine to 200 miles off the coast. The 30 coastal states are responsible for the waters up to those lines, although NOAA plays a supportive and advisory role in partnership with the states. Judd Brown, owner of San Diego wholesale distributor Pacific Shellfish and the restaurant The Fishery, is a longtime commercial and sport fisherman who has seen drastic changes in the last 40 years in local fisheries. He says that decades ago, there was a perception that the abundance of fish was inexhaustible but the population of various species gradually declined to the point of crisis and he believes it was then managed as a crisis. “In the 1940s and ’50s, the U.S. government gave low interest-rate loans to build fisheries to exploit. Companies overbuilt fleets and eventually catches declined,” he explains. “But it became a political issue over employment and nothing changed until it virtually collapsed. Only then did the government start doing something about it.” In 1976, the Magnusen-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act was drafted. It’s since been reauthorized many times over as marine resources have shifted and changed. It established national authority over the EEZ and while the specifics of the Act have changed over the years, according to NOAA, the overarching theme is to conserve and manage U.S. fisheries based on 10 National Standards approved by Congress. www.ediblesandiego.com

Summer 2010

Of course, that’s just the U.S. and the fact is that we import 84 percent of our seafood, based on NOAA’s numbers. In 2008, that amounted to 5.2 billion pounds of product like shrimp, tuna, salmon, groundfish, freshwater fish, crab, and squid. And where is it coming from? China and Thailand are the top two countries, followed by Canada and Chile. So, it’s just as important to keep in mind that none of the regulations established by NMFS is relevant to that 84 percent. Unless you know where your seafood comes from, the whole issue of sustainability becomes moot. Industry people tick off the names of countries where fishing practices are deemed dicey. For instance, in Mexico, where regulation is lax, large trawlers that catch shrimp are banned unless they have modern turtle excluder devices, or TEDs. But, says Dan Nattrass of Cataline Offshore Products, “not all of them have them or are up to date.” And, there isn’t the budget or perhaps the will to enforce those bans. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is finalizing a study on the state of fishing in countries other than the United States with plans to release it at the end of the year or beginning of 2011. But Bowman says that “while requirements here are head and shoulders above some other countries, some countries are understanding the issues and Kent points out that often making changes.”

reviled farmed salmon is grown exceptionally well in some places, including Maine and British Columbia. And, he trashes several highprofile complaints about farmed salmon. “It’s said they have no omega-3 fatty acids. Bunk. That there are elevated PCBs in farmed salmon. Bunk. And, it destroys the environment. Bunk.”

Meanwhile Catalina Offshore Products does much of its purchasing from small fishermen in Baja California. Using pangas with outboard motors, this is old-school, low-tech, low-infrastructure fishing. Is that in and of itself sustainable? No, acknowledges Nattrass, but “at least in the open ocean in the Pacific, limited by weather and size, the impact is greatly reduced so the fish stocks are generally robust.”

And, walk through the warehouse of Chesapeake Fish Co. in downtown San Diego and you’ll find an assortment of fish shipped over from countries like Argentina (Chilean seabass), Costa Rica (swordfish) and Canada (farm-raised Atlantic salmon), alongside local catch. But for Steve Foltz, Chesapeake’s vice president of sales, the imports can be troubling. “With all these domestic limitations, we’re going to import from around the world. But how do you monitor their techniques and issues around bycatch,” he asks. “What do we do about lost jobs here? How do we know they’re not overfishing?”

Friends Don’t Let Friends Eat 22

Summer 2010 edible San Diego

A swordfish harpooning boat

Farmed Fish: Overkill? When it comes to addressing the choices around sustainable seafood, aquaculture or farmed fish is part of the equation as a way to take pressure off wild fisheries. According to NOAA, half of our imported seafood is from aquaculture. But the U.S. supplies only about 5 percent of domestic seafood supply and U.S. marine aquaculture, a $1 billion industry annually, accounts for less than 1.5 percent. The largest sector? Shellfish like oysters, clams, and mussels, which account for about two-thirds of total U.S. marine aquaculture production. Salmon, of course, follows at about 25 percent, and then shrimp at 10 percent. These are potentially scary numbers, although, in fact, some would find it scary that we’re farming fish at all. On a large bulletin board in a stairwell at Pacific Shellfish is a bright yellow bumper sticker proclaiming “Friends Don’t Let Friends Eat Farmed Fish.” “These are fish fed on foraged fish from wild stocks,” he says. “They’re getting better at it but the feed-to-yield ratio is three pounds feed for one pound of flesh. It’s ridiculous.” Matt Rimel, owner of seafood distributor Ocean Giant and Zenbu restaurants, has been in the fish business for over 20 years. He’s no fan of farmed fish either. “I don’t eat farmed fish because I know farmed fish live on shit. I sell it because my customers ask for it, but I wish I didn’t have to,” he says. There are longstanding concerns about what the fish are fed (including byproduct from cattle and chicken), antibiotics and disease, how their feces are treated and disposed, crowding, escaping and the impact of the farms on the surrounding environment. According to Bowman, salmon farms located next to wild salmon runs have a documented negative effect. And, she notes that farmed fish have a different diet than wild fish, so they won’t have the same color or musculature. In fact, farmed salmon, for example, have been shown to contain more fat because they’re fed fattier food than in the wild. And they taste less “fishy.” That, along with lower prices and added coloring that makes them seem more “salmony,” has made them more popular with consumers.

Suzie’s Farm CSA Program & Local, Organic Food

Pulling a harpooned swordfish out of the water

But, contrary to what you might think, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is not taking a stand against farmed fish. “We’re definitely in the camp of fish farming done responsibly and well, [which] is absolutely the only way we’re going to see the demand for fish that is growing met,” Bowman says. “Just like industrial cows and chicken and pork farmers are doing more positive things, we’re seeing this with fish farming.” She points out that according to a United Nations report, 2010 is the year when Americans will start eating more farmed fish than wild fish. Kent is among those who are heavily involved in aquaculture. At their Mission Bay facility Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute has grow-out tanks of white seabass, for instance. It’s part of a longstanding and successful local replenishment program to boost the wild population. They’d like to establish a for-profit fish farm but Kent explains that plans to start the permitting process are on hold for about six months for various reasons. President Obama wants to do a study of a marine spatial planning system for federal waters, NOAA is taking on regulatory authority over aquaculture in federal waters and there are two potential bills—one in the House of Representatives and the other in the Senate—that could impact their two-year permitting process. So, Hubbs is working on a demonstration project in Mexico. “We want to show people how this can be done in a sustainable way. We’re working with a couple of different farms to raise yellowtail, striped bass and white seabass, and working on lining up California halibut.”

ou already eat organic. Get with the program and eat organic and local. Suzie’s Farm CSA weekly and bi-weekly programs have 14 convenient pick-up locations, and we’re always adding more.

When it comes to planting, we’re not afraid to get our hands dirty. We’ve planted over 100 varieties at our farm in San Diego’s Border Field State Park. You can experience this bounty in every Suzie’s Farm CSA box or visit us at one of the local San Diego farmers’ markets. At the markets, you can hand select our veggies and greens, as well as our fine and fancy sprouts, microgreens, edible flowers, and wheatgrass all unique to our farm. That takes some real ingenuity if we do say so ourselves. When it comes to green thumbs, we have all our digits on the earth‘s pulse. If you are a San Diego chef, what are you waiting for? We have ample land to custom grow (in fact, we already do) and we deliver in San Diego five days a week. Plus, we have the distinction of growing your everyday go-to crops as well as speciality produce. You can find us the way that ever everyone does these days on our website suziesfarm.com, but if you want to talk to the person that drives the tractor, call us at 619-662-1780.

Kent points out that often-reviled farmed salmon is grown exceptionally well in some places, including Maine and British Columbia. And he trashes several high-profile complaints about farmed salmon. “It’s said they have no omega-3 fatty acids. Bunk. That there are elevated PCBs in farmed salmon. Bunk. And, it destroys the environment. Bunk.” “Commercial fisherman want to devalue farmed salmon,” he says. “A lot of what’s going on is that people who demonize farming are basically doing a ‘let them eat cake.’” In San Diego, mussels, clams, abalone and oysters are raised at

619.662.1780 | suziesfarm.com | sungrownorganics.com

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Summer 2010

Carlsbad Aquafarm in Carlsbad. Hubbs has its Marine Fish Hatchery nearby—in fact, just across the Aqua Hedionda Lagoon—where it’s raising white seabass. The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Bowman says five years ago you’d have been hard-pressed to find good things going on in aquaculture, but in the last five years she’s seen impressive improvements. “Even some farmed salmon is being done right,” she acknowledges.

San Diegans are lucky... we have some tremendous local—micro local— seafood. Pacific sardines, halibut, swordfish, spiny lobster, sea urchin, yellowtail and seabass dwell in our bays and along the coast, along with locally farmed mussels, oysters, abalone

The Consumer Conundrum San Diegans are lucky. As a Pacific Rim region we have immediate access not just to imported seafood from overseas and along the western Pacific coastline, we have some tremendous local—micro local—seafood. Pacific sardines, halibut, swordfish, spiny lobster, sea urchin, yellowtail and seabass dwell in our bays and along the coast, along with locally farmed mussels, oysters, abalone and clams. But how many of us opt for local, healthy species over more commercial popular seafood?

“One thing we do a good job at is expose people to fish they should be eating,” says Foshee. “We sell sardines, local yellowtail and white seabass. My job as a chef is to come up with ways to do something more interesting with fish people are less familiar with instead of just using fish with name recognition. It’s what I’ve done with sardines.” Brian Sinnott, executive chef at 1500 Ocean, agrees with Foshee. “Local yellowtail is great. Sea urchin is fantastic. Tilefish is a good example of a threatened fish in the Atlantic but sustainably raised in Baja.”

Summer 2010 edible San Diego

Of course, the chefs are in business to make money and have to weigh what will sell when creating their menus. So do retailers. And, costs, which can be a difference of several dollars a pound, are an issue. Customers not only have to demand sustainable seafood on menus and in retail cases, they also have to be willing to pay for it, says Brown. The other challenge for consumers is identifying what these “sustainable” choices are. Consumers can find guides on websites including NOAA’s FishWatch (nmfs.noaa.gov/fishwatch/), the Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org/seafood), Blue Ocean Institute (blueocean.org/seafood/seafood-guide) and, of course, Monterey Bay Aquarium (montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx). Now, are these guides the easy fix for consumers? No; a pocket guide is one tool among many, including Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) labels at major retailers like Whole Foods and some restaurants. MSC is a certification and eco-labeling program for sustainable seafood. Some seafood companies believe they’re being charged upwards of $150,000 a year to get a label for something already managed by the Federal government, but others like Carl Safina acknowledge that while it’s a controversial group, “I believe they’re 99 percent trustworthy.” Smart consumers should also recognize that they need to ask their restaurants and vendors questions about where seafood comes from, how it was caught, if it’s sustainable. The bottom line? Buy from businesses you trust. “Know your fish monger,” says Catalina Offshore Products’s Tommy Gomes. “Buy in good faith, eat well and educate yourself on what is good to buy and what stocks are healthy.” Gomes has, in fact, seen a shift in customer demand and interest. “Customers started out wanting fresh fish but they see what we’re doing in sustainability and they want that, too. It adds to the reason they come here.” It’s made an impact on businesses like Trader Joe’s, which in March announced a goal of shifting all seafood purchases to sustainable sources by Dec. 31, 2012, and to use their purchasing power to leverage change among seafood suppliers. Bowman is optimistic. “I’ve met people in this business who are not

“Know your fish monger,” says Catalina Offshore Product’s Tommy Gomes. “Buy in good faith, eat well, and educate yourself on what is good to buy and what stocks are healthy.”

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just out to make as much money as they can, but to be in harmony with the planet as they fish. Years ago no one knew what kind of damage a trawl could do to an ocean floor because we couldn’t see it. Now we have the technology to do it and changes have been made. And given an opportunity, these fish can rebound. We see hopeful things so I mostly feel hopeful.” Caron Golden is an award-winning freelance writer whose work appears in Saveur, Culinate and her blog, San Diego Foodstuff. She is a food columnist for SDNN.com and a regular guest on KPBS radio’s These Days.

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Summer 2010

4:01 PM

ONCE UPON A

TUNA TOWN

By Candice Woo Photography by Dhanraj Emanuel Photo courtesy of Pete Foulger

A look back at the heyday of San Diego’s fishing history

oday, San Diego’s Embarcadero, just west of downtown, is known primarily as a tourist destination—a place to catch departing cruise ships, check out a maritime museum or find a waterfront dining spot for fish and chips. But until fairly recent times, even up into the 1970s, the harbor was a bustling, working marina, where fishing families used to gather at the whistle of a tuna clipper coming into port, which for many, meant the return of a loved one from the sea. At the dock, the boats would moor and unload their catch for nearby canneries, which employed many of the fishermen’s relatives and countless others of all nationalities. Beginning in the ’30s and continuing for nearly 40 years, San Diego was known as the tuna capital of the world; the fishing trade ranked close in revenue behind the Navy and aircraft industry, feeding tens of million dollars each year into the city’s economy.

Summer 2010 edible San Diego

But the story of fishing in San Diego started in the early 1900s, when the bounty of the local waters attracted fishermen from far and wide, including men of Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Portuguese and Italian decent. They began using small boats to fish for local seafood, including halibut, mackerel, sardines and tuna.

A New Industry Takes Off In San Diego

The story of fishing in San Diego started in the early 1900s, when the bounty of the local waters attracted fishermen from far and wide, including men of Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Portuguese and Italian decent.

It was the sardine industry that begat the tuna boom in a way, when a California sardine canner, dealing with fluctuating populations of that fish, experimented with methods of cooking and canning albacore, which was once thought of as an unpalatable nuisance fish. Consumers took quickly to this white meat—like tuna—and in 1911, San Diego’s first large tuna cannery opened. It was soon followed by a handful more, creating a sort of cannery row that included such household names as Bumble Bee and StarKist and stretched from Little Italy to Barrio Logan.

By World War I, production of canned tuna skyrocketed to hundreds of thousands of cases per year, due to its convenience as a protein-rich, portable food that, according to the National Fisheries Institute, still remains the second most popular seafood eaten in the United States.

hold and complete their orders from the canneries. Occasionally, they’d return to homeport without fulfilling their quota and would have to go without pay on the next fishing trip to make up what they owed the boat.

Increasing demand for tuna brought more and more fishermen from farther afield to San Diego shores, including many from the fishing communities on the East Coast who sought greater fortune here. Among them were a teenage Richard Rose and his family, originally from the Portuguese island of Pico in the Azores, by way of Massachusetts. Sixty years ago, his family, along with many others of Portuguese heritage, settled in Point Loma, which came to be nicknamed “Tunaville.” His father was a commercial fisherman and Richard had fished on their family’s boats since the age of 12, dragging the waters of the North Atlantic for red snapper and haddock, working summers while saving up to buy a car. At 18, when he graduated from Point Loma High School, he and many of his peers sought a coveted spot within the tuna fleet, where the younger or less-experienced men would be started out at a quarter-share, a term bound to be familiar to viewers of the Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch.

Thrilling But Dangerous Work

On his first boat, the Portuguese-skippered Anna M., Richard and the rest of the crew would sail for anywhere from six weeks to three or four months straight. They chased the migratory schools of tuna from Mexico to the Galapagos Islands until they had caught enough fish, including albacore, yellowfin and skipjack, to fill the boat’s

For many of the early decades, all tuna fishing was done on bait boats, using a technique that Japanese fisherman are credited with introducing to the industry. After “chumming” the water with small baitfish to attract the tuna, a fisherman would stand on a somewhat precarious rack attached to the side of the boat, outside the rails, holding a long and flexible but very strong bamboo pole attached to a fishing line and lure. After a fish bit the hook, he’d use his arm and upper body strength to flip the tuna over his shoulder and onto the deck. Depending on the size of the tuna, which could exceed 150 pounds each, up to three men would be linked to the same line, each heaving his own pole. Richard describes the work as being incredibly physical yet thrilling, though fraught with danger. The tuna were large enough to pull a man off the deck and into the freezing water below. Sometimes just fishing for the bait they needed was hazardous. He recalls netting bait in the Galapagos by being sent down deep into the ocean in now-antique diving gear, relying on two men on deck to pump air into his metal helmet.

Richard Rose at the Tunaman’s Memorial www.ediblesandiego.com

Summer 2010

By the 1940s, many fishing boats had been commandeered by the Navy for use during World War II and in the postwar period, those remaining in the fleet struggled with obtaining enough bait to catch a profitable haul of tuna. And though the hook-and-line method gave way to net fishing, it was slow and cumbersome, given the number of men needed to haul the nets onto the boat.

A Constantly Changing Industry Then, in the late ’50s, came a turning point in tuna fishing: a technological advance that would revolutionize the industry. The innovation of a pulley system allowed boats to more easily pull in huge fishing nets, often thousands of feet long and hundreds of feet deep, which could catch thousands of pounds of tuna in one setting. These purse seine nets function like a giant lasso, looped around a large school of fish by a small skiff. A cable, threaded through a set of rings at the base of the open-ended net, is pulled to close the bottom of net like an upside-down drawstring purse. Soon, for efficiency and increased profitability, most bait boats converted to the purse seine fishing method. To find the schools of fish, purse seiners would employ the talents of mast men, keen-eyed men whose job was to spend long days perched high up the mast in a crow’s nest while using binoculars to visually scout for tuna. On a boat called the Claire P., the task fell to a young man named Pietro Balistreri, who emigrated to San Diego in 1955 from Aspra, a seaside village on the island of Sicily and whose first family home was in the San Diego neighborhood now known as Little Italy, where many of Pietro’s fishing brethren from Italy initially settled. An anchovy fisherman in Italy, he’d honed his fish-spotting skills in the hills above his hometown, from upon which he’d study the ocean to read the ripples and color changes in the water that would indicate schooling fish. Pietro’s boat, and others like it, followed the tuna’s migratory path, fishing successfully off the coast of Mexico, Central and South America, though they were often away from their families for up to half a year at a time. The tuna fleet grew, and by the 1970s there were well over 100 boats running out of San Diego and tens of thousands of people employed within some part of the industry. The Journal of San Diego History estimated that every dollar generated by the tuna business translated into $8 generated somewhere else in the local economy. But the purse seine nets, while efficient for catching tuna, would also sometimes catch dolphin, which swam with the schooling yellowfin tuna. In fact, mast men would often look for dolphin along the surface of the ocean, knowing that there would likely be tuna swimming underneath the mammals. To mitigate this bycatch, fishermen developed a “backdown” technique that would dip the end of a net and allow the dolphin to swim clear, although they would often free them by hand as well. A San Diego tuna boat captain also invented a panel for nets that helps keep dolphin from becoming entangled.

Pietro Balistreri

Summer 2010 edible San Diego

But concerns mounted, and in 1972 the Marine Mammal Protection Act was passed, putting the commercial fishing industry and environmental groups at odds with one another. Through the years, regulations mounted. The owners of some U.S. ships chose to transfer their registrations to other countries that did not have the same

restrictions. The local community felt the effects: Canneries began to lay off workers or move overseas for cheaper labor and in 1982 Bumble Bee Seafoods and Van Kamp Seafood closed the last two local plants. Today, approximately seven U.S. tuna boats remain in the world, mostly fishing in the waters of the Western Tropical Pacific Ocean, near the islands of Guam and Samoa

Strong Local Family Traditions Live On Little Italy began to decline in the ’70s due to the loss of industry, and so Pietro Balistreri and his family, along with many other Italians, moved to Mission Hills to establish a new enclave. Pietro, now 82, and his wife, Maria, still live in the same cottage, where they still eat the seafood-abundant, seasonal diet of their coastal Sicilian heritage, augmented by the vegetables that Pete Balistreri at Tender Greens they grow in their backyard. He has lost the use of some of his fingers but is still active, participating in bocce ball tournaments, and remains engaged in what’s left of the local fishing community. As often as he’s needed, Pietro makes his way down to the docks near Point Loma Seafoods to help local swordfish boats to hand-repair their nets, a lost Old World craft that’s not as familiar to younger generations. Now 78 and still tall and strong, pole fisherman Richard Rose left the large tuna boats when the boats switched to purse seines, though he continued to fish with his family on smaller albacore boats. He eventually called it quits after a particularly harrowing trip when seven fellow fishing boats sank during a storm, and now runs a successful oil filter business in National City. In addition to tuna fishing, the two men have something else in common: a grandson.

From ship to shore, tuna brought wealth, culture and vibrancy to San Diego, and newer companies such as locally based American Tuna, a sustainable commercial tuna fishery, are working on resurrecting that legacy, can by can.

Pete Balistreri, named after his paternal grandfather, was born in San Diego, graduated from Point Loma High and San Diego State University and counts many of his immediate and extended family, including his father, Edward, as members of the local tuna industry, both then and now. Though he was never a fisherman himself, Pete’s food sensibility was absolutely shaped and informed by growing up in his grandparents’ kitchens, where he would eat his Nonna’s homemade pasta and sauce and enjoy the perks of being in a fishing family: free www.ediblesandiego.com

Summer 2010

seafood. Local fish, lobster and crab were often on their dinner plates, in simple and fresh preparations. Pete’s love of food, particularly handcrafted food, took him to culinary school and into the kitchens of some of the West Coast’s best farmto-table restaurants. All roads led him back to his hometown of Point Loma, where in 2008 he opened his first restaurant, Tender Greens. With family members as investors, Pete modeled the menu after his own food heritage, using produce from local farms, making house cured salumi and buying local seafood from Pacific Beach’s Pacific Shellfish. And though tuna’s golden years have long since passed, the history of the industry continues on in the homes and lives of Portuguese fishing families that remain in Point Loma and the Balistreri’s Mission Hills neighbors, who are among the original Italian fishermen. Local businesses, such as seafood wholesaler Chesapeake Fish Co. and seafood market Sportsman’s Seafood, were both founded in tuna’s glory days and still

flourish. From ship to shore, tuna brought wealth, culture and vibrancy to San Diego, and newer companies such as locally based American Tuna, a sustainable commercial tuna fishery, are working on resurrecting that legacy, can by can.

Candice Woo is an award-winning food and drink writer and regular contributor to Edible San Diego. She currently authors a weekly food news and restaurant review column in San Diego CityBeat. Candice also she serves as Education Co-Chair on the board of Slow Food Urban San Diego, where she helps to create food enrichment classes and events, advises student Slow Food chapters and works towards bringing better food into local schools. Candice enjoys writing about the stories behind our plates, and is particularly passionate about artisan food and craft beer. To talk food, write to Candice at candicew@gmail.com. Photo courtesy of Pete Foulger

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Summer 2010 edible San Diego

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Summer 2010

Wild I

first met Jarret Stevens at the Hillcrest farmers’ market. He was working the Bristol Bay Salmon Company booth. I stopped because he was selling one of the most incredible-looking pieces of salmon I’ve ever seen. There on a bed of ice sat a whole filet of wild Alaskan sockeye—practically glowing red, thin ribbons of fat, and glistening chrome skin. “I put these fish on ice while they’re still kicking,” he said. I had to back up, “Wait, you caught this fish yourself ?” He had my attention. Stevens is the founder of the Bristol Bay Salmon Company, and he personally catches the fish he sells. He has been fishing for Alaskan sockeye salmon for 15 years on his family’s boat, the Vortex. When Stevens recently settled in San Diego, he found he was spending all his free time at farmers’ markets. He decided to bring his fish directly to the people.

Wild salmon is healthier than farmed, with 30 percent more useable omega-3s and one-eighth the PCBs. According to the FDA salmon also contains one of the lowest mercury levels of any seafood; at 0.014 parts per million it is 100 times lower than swordfish, 30 times lower than albacore and 10 times lower than spiny lobster. While both Atlantic and California salmon populations are in trouble, Alaskan salmon populations are at all-time highs. And unlike California salmon, which “spawn” by having their gametes surgically removed in hatcheries, Alaskan salmon still do it the old fashioned way in rivers and lakes.

“Wait, you caught this fish yourself ?”

Stevens is passionate about wild salmon as a healthy, sustainable and delicious food. He has made bringing wild Alaskan salmon to San Diego his personal mission. He sells frozen and smoked fish at local farmers’ markets and is in negotiations to supply several local restaurants. He also has developed a line of salmon spreads and spice rubs.

Wild Salmon Is Healthy and Sustainable

Salmon farming also creates a potential environmental hazard. The Monterey Bay Aquarium warns that most salmon aquaculture results in concentrated bio-waste, parasites, diseases, pesticides and antibiotics being released directly into the ocean.

Summer 2010 edible San Diego

Photos by Matt Steiger

All salmon contains healthy omega-3 fats, but there are several reasons to choose wild over farmed. Farmed salmon are fattened with fishmeal, made from ground-up baitfish. It takes three pounds of wild baitfish to produce one pound of farmed salmon—a negative sum that puts pressure on all species of wild fish. The farmed fish have high levels of unhealthy fats and potentially dangerous levels of PCBs.

Photo courtesy of Jarrett Stevens

Jarret and his brothers at sea

When Alaska gained statehood in 1959, it built into its constitution the requirements and methods to maintain a sustainable fishery. Salmon runs are measured in escapement, the number of fish that reach the spawning grounds. For the past 50 years the Alaskan Department of Fish and Game has worked hard to maintain a constant level of escapement in each watershed. In that time, the total catch has grown from 40 million fish per year to 220 million fish per year, a fivefold increase. The Alaskan methods of sustainability are universally regarded as a success. The well-known Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) have both based their standards almost exclusively on the Alaskan model.

Bristol Bay’s Salmon Is Outstanding With fish, quality is directly related to how it is handled once removed from the water. It must be handled gently, to prevent bruising. It must be kept cold, between 32° and 38° F., to prevent deterioration. Stevens takes great pride in his family’s boat and fishing practices. He boasts that The Vortex is ideally suited for optimal fish quality, with a large ice-filled hold and a large deck space to accommodate gentle handling of the fish. Fish are hauled in still kicking and are quickly bled and iced. At the end of the shift the fish are delivered to the processor, where they are inspected for quality and tested for proper temperature storage. The best fish are selected, cleaned, flash frozen and then vacuum packed. Bristol Bay Salmon only accepts the highest quality filets from this process; the rest go to canneries and smokehouses. Less than 10 percent of the catch makes the cut. I was skeptical about frozen fish, but Stevens stands by the quality of his product. He gave me some frozen and smoked filets to sample. When thawed properly (overnight in the fridge), the frozen filet was fantastic—

Unlike Californian salmon, which ‘spawn’ by having their gametes surgically removed in hatcheries, Alaskan salmon still do it the old fashioned way in rivers and lakes.

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superior to the best fresh salmon I’ve bought in San Diego. The raw fish was firm and unbroken with a brilliant red sheen. I made a simple preparation: olive oil, salt and pepper, seared in a pan. When cooked, it broke apart in large, satisfying flakes. It was slightly briny with a deep yet delicate quintessential salmon flavor; it was delicious. Since Stevens’s fish is frozen within hours of being caught, it is actually higher quality than some of the unfrozen “fresh” fish one might find (which can be sold as “fresh” for at least a week after it’s caught, sometime longer). Typically frozen salmon begins to get fishy around the edges, but Stevens’s fish does not have the slightest trace of fishiness in smell or flavor. Bristol Bay Salmon Company sells healthy and delicious wild Alaskan salmon that is harvested though sustainable methods. The quality of the fish is superb and frozen filets are far less expensive than fresh: $12 a pound compared to up to $30 a pound. Stevens himself eats the salmon at least five meals a week and I know I will be back for more.

Matt Steiger works full time as a physicist and has published articles in several scientific journals. He spends his free time obsessing over food, fishing, cooking and gardening and has more than a passing interest in photography. Matt has lived in San Diego his whole life and has searched the city high and low for awesome produce, fresh fish, artisanal cheese and bread, great drinks and the perfect cup of coffee. He can be contacted at steigey@gmail.com.

www.ediblesandiego.com

Summer 2010

Rancho La Puerta:

One of a Kind—for 70 Years

Rediscovering body-mind-spirit just south of the border Story and Photography by Dashielle Vawter

e’re walking on a hardened dirt path through an old oak grove in the darkest part of predawn. Through the branches of the trees the stars are giving way to infinite shades of blue. The bird songs all sound clear, alert and peaceful. There is an energy of life here that could wake the dead, and even the most stalwart of late-risers. However, this group of women has no issue with 5 a.m. wake-ups. As they walk in their visors and down vests, they are full of words, laughs, stories and the expansive sense of our destination. We are headed a couple winding miles to a breakfast waiting for us, served overlooking the verdant and colorful organic gardens of Rancho La Puerta. Throughout the year, these gardens provide 50%–80% of the food prepared and served to the more than 100 weekly guests. More Than Meets the Eye Rancho La Puerta is a health resort and spa in Tecate, Mexico, that was founded 70 years ago by Edmond and Deborah Szekely. While regularly rated one of the top destination spas in the world, there is more to Rancho La Puerta than yoga classes, massage and beauty treatments, and stunningly beautiful natural surroundings. From the inside out, Rancho La Puerta has been doing things differently from day one. This morning is an opportunity 34

Summer 2010 edible San Diego

for us to see what is in some ways the real heart of the Ranch, La Cocina que Canta, or “The Kitchen That Sings.” Here, away from the normal bustle of the Ranch but perched in the epicenter of its agricultural production, is where dishes are tested, guest chefs such as Deborah Madison and Rick Bayles are hosted and cooking classes are offered. The buffet is full of the color we’ve just enjoyed on our walk: green asparagus, roasted potatoes with turnips and crimson-purple beets, yellow eggs with fresh herbs. The whole place feels alive and vibrant yet peaceful. Here beauty and healthful integrity go hand in hand. In addition to being the jewel in the Ranch’s culinary crown, this open and decorative kitchen also introduces more than half of the Rancho La Puerta guests to the aesthetically attractive, sense stimulating and culturally rich attributes of an organic lifestyle. Indeed, rather than preaching the benefits of buying and eating organic, the Ranch demonstrates them. Cooking classes, garden tours and a week’s worth of delicious meals all demonstrate how good, and how beautiful, eating organic can be. Each week, there are spots for 60–100 guests to hike out to the gardens at dawn and experience this kitchen; sign-up sheets always fill immediately and waitlists are typical. It is compelling to have breakfast on a patio literally seated next to the dark soil in which the food was grown. The Tres Estrellas Organic Farm Seventy years ago, the central draw of this location to Edmond and Deborah Szekely was its rich pastoral history as a quiet agricultural community with horses, vineyards, flowing water and the perfect climate for growing abundantly year ’round. From day one, the Ranch grew its own staple crops like corn and tomatoes as well as the wheat for its famous sprouted bread. But it wasn’t until Sarah Livia Szekley Brightwood, the founders’ daughter, helped establish the Tres Estrellas organic farm 25 years ago that the Ranch really began in earnest to grow as much of its own food as possible. This goal is particularly impressive considering how much the Ranch diet has expanded during those years. When the first guests came

to Rancho La Puerta the diet was simple, vegetarian and raw, and served with goat’s cheese and acidophilus milk. Now, each meal is a fastidiously prepared gourmet lacto-ovo spread. In the seven days that I stayed at the Ranch, not a single meal shared a common dish, from the coconut curry soup to the chipotle salad dressing, the spinach crepes to the chocolate soufflé garnished with kumquat purée and mint leaves. The Tres Estrellas farm is constantly improving and growing in an effort to grow more ingredients for the Ranch—but it is a balance. Among the challenges is a difficult time during spring before the summer crops are really producing but long after the last of fall’s squash has been eaten. This is the time of year when the Ranch imports a greater percentage of its food. Sarah laughs, “You can only serve turnips and greens to guests so many times a week.” Additionally, fish will probably always be purchased in Ensenada and other ingredients will necessarily travel farther. Still, everything is organic and as local as possible.

“ The Ranch wants to inspire choices that are healing for our spirits, our bodies and our communities.”

Cooking Up Healthy Change The chefs who prepare meals for the Ranch have a certain amount of autonomy in designing menus and ordering ingredients, an autonomy that reflects the empowering and equitable way Ranch staff is engaged in serving the clientele. It is this same autonomy, however, that demands a more involved process of education and training so that each decision made reflects the values and principles that the Ranch is striving to embody. Educating the staff on why, for example, they should avoid ordering strawberries for garnish in January has been an interesting and encouraging process, Sarah explains. Films like Food Inc. have helped in this process by showing the real impacts that our industrial agricultural system has on real people. Sarah used the film recently to spark The dining room at La Cocina que Canta conversation with the chefs. She also screens the film for guests. She believes the film has helped many staff and guests begin to understand why organic and local food is such an integral part of their mission. “The Ranch wants to inspire choices that are healing for our spirits, our bodies and our communities,” she says. “We live in a generous climate that really enables us to source locally grown food. We want to bring that goodness to our table.” It seems this is a process that mirrors many of the guests’ paths of

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Summer 2010

This organic farm isn’t just a pretty landscape or a backdrop for a dinner party, it is a working garden and the embodied basis for the Ranch’s holistic philosophy on health.

discovery. During our stay, each of us has, in our own way, come into awareness about how our participation, or lack thereof, in the industrial food system impacts the larger community of people and environments we are connected to. The process is not complete yet, if any process like this can be complete. Yet the Ranch has continually adapted what it grows, what it buys and where it buys from to meet the needs of its guests as well as the demands of its own principled philosophy. This organic farm isn’t just a pretty landscape; it is a working garden and the embodied basis for the Ranch’s holistic philosophy on health. Yes, the organic food is better for you. It is also better for the soil, the wildlife, the water availability and quality and for the generations who will inherit the consequences of whatever paths we choose now. This a reality

that those on the Ranch are deeply aware of as the environment around them and the aquifers beneath them are increasingly impacted by the sprawling growth of Tijuana, Tecate and the border that runs right through the middle of their watershed.

Head Gardener Salvador Tinajero

Walking the Farm After breakfast Salvador Tinajero, the head gardener, invites us to walk through the gardens. With a cheerful sparkle in his eye, he talks to us with the calm and joyful air of a person who finds his work deeply fulfilling. As we meander, he collects a carrot, some greens and then

Left to right: Chilles dry in the attic Spinach seed saved for future use Botanicals preserved for spa preparations 36

Summer 2010 edible San Diego

cuts into a fresh turnip and offers us each a sweet, watery, crunchy bite. He shares his seemingly infinite gardener’s wisdom with us: how to grow new trees from clippings, what to plant side-by-side so that the scent of one repels pests from the other, which seeds are worth saving and which are not. He shows us where branches from one apricot tree have been spliced onto the trunk of another, pulls asparagus as sweet as sugarcane from the ground, and lets us into the chicken yard to laugh at the strangely prehistoric creatures with their cackling tones and awkward movements. Up in the attic, above the room where tinctures and decoctions for the spa are made from lavender, mint, rose petals and other botanicals, there are seed-saving shelves filled with hundreds of varieties of plants. Below that room is the root cellar, cool and filled with all manner of squash and root vegetable in shades of orange, yellow and brown. There is a lot of ground to cover, but Salvador is not just pointing out the names of the crops as though the farm were simply a patchwork of foodstuffs. He takes care to show us what he finds interesting: examples of certain techniques that they use, new projects and experiments. It’s clear he loves walking over these paths and showing us his favorite trees, the ripe and ready, and what to him makes these gardens come alive. For many of the guests it is their first time on a farm and the colorful beauty of this place elicits murmurs of desire to begin gardening, often followed by tentative questions emboldened by his open and accommodating attitude. “Could I grow this in New York? How often do you water here? Do these trees need to be pruned every year?” Seeds are being planted. Making Healthy People Healthier: A Winding Path Still, you could spend the whole week relaxing by one of the pools or staying busy with classes and exercise and never experience this side of the ranch. The integration of food production, community and environment is an integral aspect of how the Ranch operates, but it is there to see and explore at will. Indeed, all of the Ranch’s principles and ethics are embodied in the way the place operates and through the optional programs that are offered. How one crafts their week and chooses to experience it is completely up to them. It wasn’t always like this, however. Before Rancho La Puerta made its way into the mainstream, it was more like a deeply spiritual health boot camp where guests brought their own tents, often ate in solitude, chopped firewood and had chores such as tending to the goats. Even then, food was instrumental part of the experience, as it played a part in cleansing and healing. Edmond Szekely felt it was his work to help guests detoxify and heal from modern life. In the 1940s and ’50s the Ranch was a doorway through which many new and sometimes fringe ideas and practices found their way in to the United States. Some of the first yoga classes to be taught in North America took place at the Ranch, taught by Indra Devi, who was the first non-Indian woman to receive yoga training in India. It was here, too, that Aldus Huxley famously wrote The Doors of Perception.

Top to bottom: Cooking class at La Cocina que Canta Guests relax in the dining hall courtyard The labyrinth in the oak grove

www.ediblesandiego.com

Summer 2010

While the clientele was originally composed of health nuts, European expatriates and those in search of utopias, some years later the guests I found myself meditating next to were lawyers, business owners, graphic designers, consultants and a variety of other professionals. This profound shift is only in part due to the changing offerings of the Ranch. As the weekly schedule has diversified, it has continued to provide opportunities to experience cutting-edge therapies and new ideas.

around the base of the mountains that have stood witness to the decades of growth. So What?

The difference is how many are now interested in pursuing an integrated and holistic path towards health and are willing to explore a wide range of practices on that path. With guided meditations; organic breakfast hikes; lectures on proteins, fats and carbohydrates; triathlon training; guitar lessons; craniosacral therapy; Feldenkrais; tai chi; painting; journal writing workshops and myriad other activities, the Ranch has provided a context in which people can freely explore what components work for them on their own individual paths towards health. With its well-established identity, Sarah explains, they can now more than ever bring the very best teachers and thinkers to the Ranch for the benefit of guests. With this, Rancho La Puerta has come into its own in the last 10 to 20 years. Indeed, over the last 70 years the place has settled into a feeling of maturity and peacefulness as buildings have gone up and come down

So what does all of this have to with San Diego and food? In this time when many of us are opening our eyes to the not-so-nice realities of the industrial food system and its impacts on our bodies, the health of our communities and the health of our environment, there is a seeming dearth of practical ways in which we can change our individual lives to reflect our growing consciousness. After all, we’re not all going to become organic farmers. Just south of our border, an easy hour’s drive, Rancho La Puerta is both being the change and seeking to help people find their own ways to cultivate change in their lives. Without preaching or dictating, the Ranch is quietly sowing the seeds and distributing the tools with which we can ourselves grow quiet revolutions. Dashielle Vawter is a writer, amateur photographer, adventurer, enjoyer of food and hapless gardener. She splits her time between San Diego and the Bay Area, where she is a graduate student of organizational systems at Saybrook University. She also writes a blog on practical spirituality, dashielledavenportvawter.wordpress.com.

Fundacion La Puerta: So that people and nature flourish Fundacion La Puerta is nonprofit organization that works with the community of Tecate on a variety of projects aimed at achieving “a Tecate where healthy communities arise out of a commitment to social and environmental sustainability. The Fundacion has served over 66,000 people and over 6,000 public school students annually in a city of only 80,000. Almost three quarters (73%) of the budget for the Fundacion comes from Rancho La Puerta while local donations and foundations provide the remainder. Their wide array of programs fall into the categories of environmental

education and training, community social responsibility: cultural, sporting, recreational and development to health, urban and regional planning, land conservation and watershed, and support and solidarity with the community. The Fundacion also supports the charitable work of two local orphanages, a rest home for the elderly and an immigrant support center. For more information visit fundacionlapuerta.org.

Certified organiC • fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables

“It’s like having your own personal farmer!” • Inland Empire CSA produce comes from Sage Mountain Farm and De Luz Farms and Nursery. Together they provide a rich variety of fruits and vegetables. • Convenient pick-up locations throughout San Diego, Riverside and San Bernadino Counties. • Visit inlandempirecsa.com for pick-up locations and what’s in season.

Who’s your farmer? 38

Summer 2010 edible San Diego

Local Marketplace

ORGANICALLY RAISED LOCAL BEEF Now available to restaurants and consumers. Limited quantities. sagemountainfarm.com sagemtnpastures@gmail.com

619-933-8448

Outrageously delicious baked goods!

Agave sweetened Gluten-free available

Come see us at our farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s market booths and try our famous Oatmeal Pie and farm-fresh soups and salads. Sunday, Leucadia market Monday, Lawrence Welk market Wednesday, San Marcos market Thursday, Valley Center market BRING IN THIS AD FOR $1 OFF YOUR PURCHASE OF $10 OR MORE

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Watsu Experience the healing power of Shiatsu massage in a warm saltwater pool. Call for an appointment: Marcia LaMonte

619-972-9203

DINNER COCKTAILS LATE NIGHT EATS LOCAL FOOD UNIQUE COCKTAILS

Sharon Plache

619-299-5247

3175 INDIA STREET SAN DIEGO CA 92103 619-358-9766 WWW.STARLITESANDIEGO.COM

www.AqOasis.com

When you subscribe to Edible San Diego we will enter you to win one of 7 prizes offered by Mistral at Loews Coronado Bay Resort. Grand Prize: A romantic overnight stay at Loews Coronado Bay Resort and a 3-course dinner for 2 at Mistral. 2 Second Prizes: $100 gift certificate to Mistral. 4 Third Prizes: $50 gift certificate to Mistral www.ediblesandiego.com www.ediblesandiego.com

Summer 2010

Edible Summer Fun From Speakeasy to Shucked Shellfish, Excellent Events Abound By Brook Larios

Savor. That’s what we like to do at San Diego’s sustainably inclined locales. And savor we should, as their chefs and owners provide us with some of the freshest fare, produced in the most humane ways. And when these restaurants let down their proverbial hair, they express their goodness in a multitude of art forms. From movies al fresco and music played live to hands-on demonstrations and cuisine enjoyed among new friends, some of the best events this summer are happening in your own backyard.

Alchemy

The Artisan Table on the Terrace June 3, June 24, July 8, Aug. 5; 7 p.m. Family-style dinners (10 to 16 people per table) served in four courses, paired with wines from featured local vintners and seasonal fare prepared by Executive Chef Jeff Jackson or Chef de Cuisine Tim Kolanko. An intimate setting will give guests the opportunity to interact with the chefs and vintners as they discuss the evening’s menu. Dinners range in price from $110 to $125.

Jsix Restaurant

Silent Sundays First Sunday of each month; 8 p.m.

616 J St., San Diego 619-531-8744 www.jsixrestaurant.com

Alchemy transforms into an old-fashioned speakeasy, featuring silent films and period jazz from San Diego’s own Melly Frances and the Distilled Spirits. Resident mixologist Frankie Thaheld and rotating guest bartenders handcraft Prohibition-era cocktails, priced between $6 and $10, with a nod to classic flavors and serving techniques. The full dining menu is also available.

Chef’s Kitchen Experience June 27, July 25, Aug. 22, Sept. 29, Oct. 17, Nov. 21, Dec. 19; 10 a.m.

Ritual Tavern 4095 30th St., San Diego • 619-283-1720 • www.ritualtavern.com Cask and Oyster Thursdays Every Thursday evening Ritual’s Cask and Oyster night features an amalgam of craft-brewed ales, naturally carbonated and pulled through a hand pump, then paired with locally farmed fresh oysters on the half shell from Carlsbad Aqua Farms. Beer is $5 per pint and oysters are $8.50 per half dozen. Live Jazz Monthly Second and fourth Wednesday of each month; 7 p.m. Guests are serenaded by live jazz music on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. Past performances have included the strummin’ acoustics of Trio Gadjo and other local greats. Summer 2010 edible San Diego

11480 N. Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla 858-453-4420 www.arvalentien.com/www.lodgetorreypines.com

1503 30th St., San Diego 619-255-0616 www.alchemysandiego.com

Brook Larios covers the sustainable food community for Examiner.com. She is Principal/CEO of PlainClarity Communications. A former newspaper reporter, Brook has contributed to La Jolla Village News,San Diego Daily Transcript, San Diego Magazine and Exquisite Weddings. She supports local restaurants committed to sustainability as well as area farms and food purveyors that treat Earth and animal humanely. She recently launched foodhuddle.com, a blog dedicated to everything delicious.

A. R. Valentien

Head to the Hillcrest Farms Market with Executive Chef Christian Graves and meet some of his favorite farmers. Together, guests will select ingredients and use them in the chef-guided preparation of the afternoon’s three-course meal. Guests will convene at the community table, where the chef will serve each course, paired with wine or a masterfully mixed cocktail. Cost is $120.

Phi Bar and Bistro at Hotel Indigo San Diego 509 Ninth Ave., San Diego 619-727-4000 www.hotelsandiegodowntown.com Live After Five Every Thursday; 5 p.m. Phi Bar, located in the lobby of eco-chic Hotel Indigo, hosts a weekly Live After Five music series, featuring an eclectic mix of emerging talent from San Diego’s indie music scene, from funky to mellow and everything in between. The bar offers drink and shot specials until closing.

Sea Rocket Bistro 3382 30th St., San Diego • 619-255-7049 • www.searocketbistro.com Meet the Rancher Dinner & Sea Rocket Bistro’s Second Anniversary Celebration

June 1

Risks are the spice of life (OK, I made that up), so when Sea Rocket Bistro entered the San Diego food scene with an extensive array of local seafood, including sustainably raised sardines and sea urchin sourced from a local diver, comfort foodies wondered if people’s palates were ready for the challenge. Two years later, the bistro celebrates its success with a four-course meal, featuring Ramona rancher Steve Tellam’s grass-fed beef paired with craft beer. Guests will meet Tellam and learn about the history of cattle ranching in San Diego. Cost is $50.

Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens

Terra Restaurant

1999 Citracado Parkway, Escondido 760-294-7866 www.stoneworldbistro.com

3900 block of Vermont Street, San Diego 619-293-7088 www.terrasd.com

Stone Late Night Movies Every Wednesday through the summer; 9 p.m.

BBQ ’n’ Blues Thursdays through Sept. 16; 6 to 9 p.m.

Urban Solace

Planting themselves on lawn chairs, wrapped in blankets and beer in hand, attendees will settle in for a cinematic treat as San Diego’s beacon of beer rolls out a 12-foot screen onto which cult classic-esque films are projected. Beer, snacks and coffee are served across the stone bridge in the garden. The movie is free.

Now in its 12th year, San Diego’s blues greats Robin Henkel and Ben Powell will take turns performing live each week while guests enjoy authentic barbecue. The weekly menu, served in an intimate setting, will feature a main course like St. Louis–style ribs and chimichurri grilled skirt steak, and a rotation of two sides. Cost is $17.95.

Sunday Bluegrass Brunch Every Sunday; 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Fourth Annual Stone Sour Fest July 18 While sour may not be a word commonly associated with beer, it may quickly take root in brewski vernacular. “Dr. Bill” Sysak, selector of all that is consumed in liquid form at Stone, will introduce guests to the world of sour beer, hunting down some of the best in the world. A $40 Sour Pass includes 10 taster tickets and a commemorative glass.

The Pearl Hotel 1410 Rosecrans St., San Diego 619-235-5616, ext. 250 www.thepearlsd.com Dive-in Movie Theater Every Wednesday year-round From newer flicks like 500 Days of Summer on June 16 to older favorites like Top Gun on June 30, The Pearl’s successful Dive-in movies are projected above the pool and shown at no cost. Food and drinks can be ordered from the restaurant or bar. Call to reserve a cabana. Bikes N Brunch The first Sunday of each month; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bikes N Brunch is an offshoot of the weekly Groove 24/7 Brunch, featuring Groove 24/7 online radio DJs, fresh brunch entrées and endless mimosas. But, instead of the regular $20 price tag, those who bike to the restaurant will be rewarded for their earthy sensibilities by enjoying the whole shebang for $10.

The Linkery 3794 30th St., San Diego 619-255-8778 www.thelinkery.com World Cup of Sausages June 11 to July 7

3823 30th St., San Diego 619-295-6464 www.urbansolace.net

Urban Solace’s insanely popular Bluegrass Brunch features local bluegrass bands playing in the outdoor patio area (Executive Chef Matt Gordon and co-owner Scott Watkins have been spotted sitting in on the guitar from time to time). The menu features ingredients from local farmers and artisans. Brunch items range from $8 to $12. Live Jazz on Tuesday and Wednesday nights Jazz greats from across San Diego County are featured on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, along with the restaurant’s general menu.

Held concurrently with the 2010 FIFA World Cup of Futbol (aka Soccer), each day The Linkery will feature a house-made fresh sausage and accoutrements from the countries whose teams are playing that day; the most popular will advance to the next round. The restaurant will be open in the mornings, showing most of the World Cup tournaments. A Month of Sundaes The entire month of August August is A Month of Sundaes, featuring a different house-made frozen delight topped with ingredients from local farmers and artisans. A sneak peak: Strawberry-loquat delight, Mexicanstyle sundae with local nuts and Taza organic Oaxacan-style chocolate, and Intelligentsia Coffee ice cream topped with house-cured bacon caramel sauce. The cost of each sundae is $9.

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Summer 2010

travel in the same amount of time, and the vastly more efficient fishing methods now employed. But this also explains why fish stocks are so depleted. With so few fish left, many fewer reproduce. And of those new young fish, many fewer survive to adulthood. This downward spiral makes extinction inevitable if fishing of threatened species is not severely limited.

Why Bother? Keeping fish around as a future resource By John Vawter It’s more important than ever to make informed choices when buying and ordering seafood. According to an article published May 4 in Nature Communications (taking long-term historical data into account), productivity of the United Kingdom’s fisheries dropped 94% over the past 118 years: “In 1889, a largely sail-powered fleet landed twice as many fish into the United Kingdom than the present-day fleet of technologically sophisticated vessels. One hundred years ago, in 1910, the fleet landed four times more fish into the United Kingdom than it does today. Peak catches came in 1938, when landings were 5.4 times more than today.” This dramatic decline in the availability of bottom-living fish since the 19th century industrialization of fishing is even more stunning when you consider how much farther modern fishing vessels can

Only a tiny minority of restaurants and markets conscientiously avoid offering endangered fish. Don’t expect that number to grow rapidly because it’s the right thing to do. Consumers drive the market, and most of them have a taste for endangered fish: think bluefin tuna, Chilean sea bass, orange roughy, cod. Those tastes are driving the decline in fisheries. So as long as you order it and buy it, it will be fished, perhaps to oblivion. Learn which fish are sustainably caught and buy them. Patronize restaurants and markets that are careful to offer sustainably caught fish. When you see an endangered fish on a menu or at the market, tell the server/vendor why you are not buying it, or express your concern in writing. The power to preserve the fish in the sea is in your hands and in your wallet.

Advertiser Directory Ampolos Kitchen & Bath Design Center 858-576-9009 ampolosdesigncenter.com Anthony Imbimbo, CPA 619-497-1040 anthony@awicpa.com Art Academy of San Diego 619-231-3900 artacademyofsandiego.com Blind Lady Ale House 619-255-2491 blindladyalehouse.com Dr. Clifford Oliver 858-272-2333 centerforbalance.net Delyte’s 951-694-3663 delytes.com 42

Inland Empire CSA 951-767-1016 inlandempirecsa.com JSix 619-531-8744 jsixrestaurant.com Lazy T Ranch Organics 760-705-7419 The Linkery 619-255-8778 thelinkery.com Mistral 619-424-4000 loewshotels.com Palomar Mountain Spring Water 800-227-0140 palomarwater.com

Summer 2010 edible San Diego

Ritual Tavern 619-283-1720 ritualtavern.com

Slow Food San Diego, Urban San Diego and Temecula Valley slowfoodsandiego.org slowfoodurbansandiego.org temeculavalleyslowfood.org

Sage Mountain Farm 951-767-1016 sagemountainfarm.com

Starlite 619-358-9766 starlitesandiego.com

Tender Greens for San Diego Roots 619-602-4721 sandiegoroots.org

Sun Grown 619-921-8135 sungrownorganics.com

Rancho La Puerta rancholapuerta.com

San Diego County Fair sdfair.com

Suzie’s Farm 619-921-8135 Suziesfarm.com

Sea Rocket Bistro 619-255-7049 Searocketbistro.com

The Urban Seed 619-584-7768 urbanseedstore.com

Urban Plantations 619-563-5771 urbanplantations.com Whole Foods Market 619-294-2800 Hillcrest 858-642-6700 La Jolla wholefoodsmarket.com WHERE YOU CAN FIND US You can find a complimentary copy of Edible San Diego at any of our advertisers and at local farmers’ markets. Other distribution spots are listed on ediblesandiego.com. Want to see us in your neighborhood? Contact us at info@ediblesandiego.com.

Farmers’ Markets MONDAY Escondido—North 8860 Lawrence Welk Dr. off Old Hwy 395 2–6 p.m. 760-749-3000

TUESDAY Alpine Opens April--watch for news. Viejas Outlet Center 5005 Willows Rd. 2:30 – 6:30 p.m. 619-743-4263 Coronado Old Ferry Landing, First St. & B Ave. 2:30–6 p.m. 760-741-3763 Escondido Grand Ave. btw Juniper & Kalmia 3 – 6:30 p.m. 760-745-8877 Mira Mesa Mira Mesa High School 10510 Reagan Rd. 3–7 p.m. 858-272-7054 Otay Ranch—Chula Vista 2015 Birch Rd. and Eastlake Blvd. 4–8 p.m. (winter 4–7 p.m.) 619-279-0032 Rancho Bernardo—Webb Park 16816 Bernardo Center Drive 3–7 p.m. 760-500-1709 UCSD/La Jolla UCSD Campus, Town Square at Gilman/Meyers 10 a.m.–2 p.m. (Sept. to June) 858-534-4248

WEDNESDAY Adams Ave. 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Call for location 619-233-3769 Carlsbad Roosevelt St. btw Grand Ave. & Carlsbad Village Dr. 1–5 p.m. 760-687-6453

Ocean Beach 4900 block of Newport Ave. 4–7 p.m. (summer 4–8 p.m.) 619-279-0032

Oceanside Sunset Tremont & Pier View Way 5–9 p.m. (winter 4–8 p.m.) 760-754-4512

San Marcos* 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Rd. 1–6 p.m. 760-751-4193

Rancho Santa Fe Cielo Village Calle Ambiente & Del Dios Hwy 2:30–7 p.m. Apr – Sept 2:30–6 p.m. Oct – Mar 858- 679-1343

Santee 10445 Mission Gorge Rd. 3–7 p.m. 619-933-8427 Temecula 40820 Winchester Rd. btw Macy’s & JC Penney 9 a.m.–1 p.m. 760-728-7343 Tu Mercado University of San Diego Campus 5998 Alcalá Park, btw Marian Way & Morris Dr. 11 a.m.–2 p.m.

THURSDAY

Little Italy Mercato Date St. (India to Columbia) 9 a.m.–1:30 p.m. 619-233-3769

FRIDAY

Jamul 14019 Hwy 94 & Campo Rd. 9 a.m.–2 p.m. 619-559-5731

Borrego Springs Christmas Circle Comm. Park 7 a.m.–noon, November–June 760-767-5555 Fallbrook 102 S. Main, at Alvarado 10 a.m.–2 p.m. 760-390-9726 Imperial Beach Imperial Beach Pier Plaza 10 Evergreen Av. 2–7 p.m. (winter 2–6 p.m.) 619-981-4412

Del Sur Camino Del Norte & Lone Quail Rd. 3–7 p.m. 858-586-7933

La Mesa Village 8300 block of Allison Ave. 3–6 p.m. 619-440-5027

Horton Square San Diego 225 Broadway & Broadway Circle 11 a.m.–3 p.m., March–Oct. only 760-741-3763

Mission Valley East Westfield lot near Macy’s 3–7 p.m. 619-795-3363

Lakeside* 9841 Vine St. Lindo Lake County Park 2–6 p.m. 760-745-3023

Rancho Bernardo Bernardo Winery parking lot 13330 Paseo del Verano Norte 9 a.m.–noon 760-500-1709

Oceanside Market & Faire Pier View Way & Coast Hwy. 101 9 a.m.–1 p.m. 619-440-5027

Del Mar 1050 Camino Del Mar 1–4 p.m. 760-519-1894

Valley Center * 28246 Lilac Rd. 1–6 p.m. 760-751-4193

Chula Vista Center St. off Third Ave. 3–7 p.m. (3–6 p.m. fall/winter) 619-422-1982

North Park CVS Pharmacy 3151 University & 32nd St. 3 p.m.–sunset (winter 2 p.m.–sunset) 619-233-3769

City Heights* On Wightman St. btw Fairmount & 43rd St. 9 a.m.–1 p.m. 760-751-4193

SATURDAY Barrio Marketplace opens 6/27/10 25th St. btw L St. & Imperial Av. 9 a.m.–1 p.m. 619-232-5181 for details Carlsbad Roosevelt St. btw Grand Ave. & Carlsbad Village Dr. 1–5 p.m. 760-687-6453

Pacific Beach 4150 Mission Blvd. 8 a.m.–noon 760-741-3763 Poway Old Poway Park 14134 Midland Rd. at Temple 8–11:30 a.m. 619-440-5027 Ramona** Collier County Park, 626 E St. 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. 760-788-1924 Scripps Ranch 10380 Spring Canyon Rd. & Scripps Poway Parkway 9 a.m.–1 p.m. 858-586-7933 Temecula Old Town Temecula Sixth & Front St. 8 a.m.–12:30 p.m. 760-728-7343 Vista County Courthouse 325 Melrose Dr. 7:45–11 a.m. 760-945-7425

SUNDAY Bonsall River Village Shopping Center 5256 S. Mission Rd. at Hwy 76 9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. 208-553-4700

Fallbrook 139 S. Main 11 a.m.–3 p.m. 760-390-9726 Gaslamp San Diego 400 block of Third Ave. 9 a.m.–1 p.m. 619-279-0032 Hillcrest DMV parking lot 3960 Normal & Lincoln Sts. 9 a.m.–2 p.m. 619-237-1632 Julian Wynola Farms Marketplace 4470 Hwy 78, 3 miles west of Julian 11 a.m.–4 p.m. 760-885-8364 La Jolla Open Aire Girard Ave. & Genter, La Jolla Elem. School 9 a.m.–1 p.m. 858-454-1699 Leucadia/Encinitas 185 Union St. & Vulcan St. 10 a.m.–2 p.m. 858-272-7054 Point Loma Liberty Station, 2728 Decatur Rd. 9:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. 619-795-3363 Rancho Santa Fe Del Rayo Village 16079 San Dieguito Rd. 9 a.m.–1 p.m. 858-922-5135 Solana Beach 410 to 444 South Cedros Ave. 1–5 p.m. 858-755-0444 * D enotes markets accepting EBT. ** D enotes markets accepting WIC and FMNP checks All San Diego County markets listed are certified by the County Agricultural Commissioner. Please visit ediblesandiego.com and click on “Resources” for more complete information and links to farmers’ market websites.

Summer 2010 edible San Diego