Sunset Wellness FebMar 2023

I was raised a modernist, but it was lost on me until I was an adult. In 1959, my grandparents had a house built for their growing family. It was a glass-and-steel structure designed in the International Style: open plan, low-slung roof with overhangs for shade, a glass curtain wall on the outside. On weekends as a kid I’d play with my cousins in this modernist box we jokingly referred to as the hotel. It could take a hit: built-in furniture, a brick indoor fountain we called the grotto, linoleum floors that no amount of pool water tracked in from outside could damage. In this handsome purpose-built home, we ran free.

The minimalist structure framed our days there as a family, as we lived a life full of warmth, the oak groves of central Illinois visible through that glass curtain wall. Little did we know then that the house would eventually make its way onto the National Register of Historic Places. It makes me happy to think that what we kids thought of us the ultimate playhouse was worthy of preserving. Today, when I walk into a vintage modernist home, I feel somehow more myself than when I’m in, say, a Spanish revival or English cottage that references places and times past or far away. Without distracting design, modernist houses allow us to be more aware of who we are in the moment.

It’s a feeling I had while visiting architect Richard Neutra’s Kaufmann House in Palm Springs. You know it from the classic Slim Aarons photograph “Poolside Gossip,” in which groovily dressed people linger at cocktail hour by the pool. It’s the quintessence of midcentury living: indoor-outdoor life, a sleek yet inviting modernist house, beautiful people at ease, a pristine pool. The house is striking, with dramatic desert mountains in the distance, but it’s the people that draw us in.

One of those people is Nelda Linsk, whom we had the honor of photographing thanks to my friend and colleague, creative director Stephen Kamifuji, who met the indefatigable Linsk at an event and persuaded her to pose for a photograph at the house she helped make famous. You can see it on page 76 in a story about all the exciting happenings in Palm Springs: an architecturally significant housing development, new and retro restaurants, hot hotel and resort openings, and Modernism Week, the epic mid-February event devoted to modernist architecture and culture. It’s a unique opportunity to step inside the homes that some of the world’s most talented architects envisioned when they were fashioning the Western lifestyle we celebrate in these pages. I’m thrilled to report that this year I and Sunset will be at Modernism Week for the first time since the pandemic. Come find us and say hi. For a schedule of events, and to buy tickets, go to modernismweek.com.

—Hugh Garvey, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

On location at Richard Neutra’s iconic Kaufmann House in Palm Springs.

February 16-26, 2023

Tours

Sponsors as of December 7, 2022. Photo by Taso Papadakis.

Civic Presenting

Platinum Major Premier Grand

In Palm Springs, California

Architecture

by Modernism Week October–May Tickets and Information modernismweek.com

BEST OF THE WEST

Fire and Ice

From out-of-this-world outdoor saunas and cold plunges to DIYs enjoyed right in your own backyard, we have officially entered the golden age of ritualized bathing.

Story by KRISTA SIMMONS Photograph by JEREMY KORESKI

Throughout human history, the healing benefits of hot springs, saunas, and cold plunges have been celebrated for boosting circulation, reducing inflammation, and generally making you feel like a brand-new human. And there’s no better place to put that all into practice than right here in the West, where the striking natural beauty continues to inspire innovation in wellness. Thanks to the recent popularity of teachings from modern practitioners like Wim Hof—the Dutch meditation teacher known as the IceMan who’s initiated everyone from Gwyneth Paltrow to Jim Carrey and Oprah Winfrey—these ancient practices are back in the zeitgeist.

Chilling out at British Columbia’s Nimmo Bay.

Now infrared saunas, heating blankets, and chic ice baths are becoming just as much a home design staple as a Viking range or an Eames chair. But there’s perhaps no more magical and restorative way to experience fire and ice than getting out into the wild.

In her new book, Thermal: Saunas, Hot Springs, & Baths—Healing With Heat ($29.95, Chronicle Books), California writer Lindsey Bro celebrates saunas around the world in a breathtaking collection of photographs and stories that beckon us all to indulge in nature. To stoke the fire of future wanderlust, we’ve gathered a few of the best hot springs properties in the West for your perusal.

DRIFTWOOD SAUNA CLUB

Secret sauna sessions are the name of the game at Driftwood, a traveling sauna on wheels based in California that drifts to various natural locales, bringing the R&R to eager steamers. They can be booked for private experiences as well, making it a perfect option for retreats, events, and weddings. driftwoodsauna.com

SPRINGS

Slowing down is seamless at this Thatcher, Idaho, retreat, where guests can choose to sleep in yurts, cabins, canvas tents, or under the stars. All accommodations include access to the 45 acres, including 6 hot spring pools, riverfront beach, hiking trails, canoes and paddle boards. maplegrovesprings.com

MAPLE GROVE HOT

EXCERPTED FROM THERMAL: SAUNAS, HOT SPRINGS & BATHS BY LINDSEY BRO WITH PERMISSION FROM CHRONICLE BOOKS, 2022. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: © 2022 ALI HARTWIG/

How to Spa at Home

As with anything in the wellness realm, consistency is key. Here are some ways to integrate steam rituals, ice baths, and herbal remedies in your own home for daily use.

SHELDON CHALET

Perched on some of the tallest mountains in North America, this eco-conscious chalet is the ultimate backcountry lodge. Strap on a harness and explore ice crevasses and caverns in the nearby glacier, then come back to unwind in their sauna with views of the summit. sheldonchalet.com

NIMMO BAY

Nestled into the old-growth forests of British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest, the nine-cabin floating lodge is the perfect place to spend time bathing in nature. Be pampered with massages in the treetop spa room, soothe sore muscles in the floating sauna, or soak in the cedar hot tubs set at the base of the property’s cascading waterfall. nimmobay.com

GOODLAND

Turn your backyard into your very own Autocamp with these gorgeous outdoor wood-fired spas made from Western red cedar. Made from 100% recyclable materials in Canada, the spa offers a complete meditative experience from the stacking of firewood to the stirring of water to the sound of the crackling fire. hellogoodland.com

MAMA WUNDERBAR

Make your shower a fullblown aromatherapy experience with a shower bundle from local L.A. alchemist Mama Wunderbar that includes lush sprigs of eucalyptus, chamomile, and lavender. Double down on the magic and cleanse with her massaging soap bars studded with natural healing crystals. mamawunderbar.com

JOLIE

We all know that city water isn’t the greatest, and this easy-to-attach shower head removes chlorine, heavy metals, and other contaminants from your shower water to improve your skin, hair, and wellbeing. It comes in five different colors to match your bathroom aesthetic, too. jolieskinco.com

HIGHER DOSE

If you don’t have the space for a fancy infrared sauna in your personal space, try out this genius infrared blanket, which seamlessly plugs into an electrical outlet, allowing you to turn any flat surface in your home into a total zen zone. higherdose.com

STONE WORKS

For Sunset ’s next Idea House, good design is in the details. Here’s how designer-homeowner Camille Styles is using Eldorado Stone to elevate her Malibu home.

A GLOBAL INSPIRATION

Styles looked to incorporate stone after being inspired by its prominence in Spanish and Italian country houses and was impressed by the elevated quality and natural look of Eldorado Stone’s collection. “We pull samples from every corner of the globe and follow a detailed, rigorous process to decide which materials have the strongest potential to add to our portfolio of products,” says Sarah Lograsso, director of portfolio management for Eldorado Stone. The company’s craftspeople hand-sort through natural rocks, choosing stones of pristine shape, size, and detail to then create special molds from which to create natural-looking manufactured stone pieces. “They call to mind all the walls I’ve been pinning from country homes throughout Europe,” says Styles.

IN THE DETAILS

Stone is among the most grounding and calming elements in a home. It is also one of the most historical, with roots dating back to the earliest days of civilization. Over centuries its gravitas, texture, and earthiness have remained unparalleled, which is why stone continues to play a prominent role in interior design today. These characteristics are what inspired Camille Styles to turn to stone to elevate key areas of her new Malibu home—our next Sunset Idea House.

Working with Eldorado Stone, the iconic brand revered for its wide range of stone and brick veneer and stone products, Styles will be creating statement walls on her modernized beach bungalow’s exterior. The home’s serene minimalism will be balanced by the timeless aesthetic that only stone can provide. The result will be a fluid beauty from the outside in. “There are floor-to-ceiling windows and large glass doors throughout, so these exterior walls will feel almost like part of the interior design,” says Styles, the founder and editor-inchief of her eponymous lifestyle platform Camille Styles. “You’ll see them through the glass through every vantage point.”

An affinity for perfection is shared between Eldorado Stone and the creative entrepreneur. As Styles says, “This home is all about the clean lines and simplicity of materials, so it’s important that every single element be thoughtfully selected.” From Eldorado’s vast collection, Styles is leaning toward Country Rubble, a rough-faced stone that harks back to simplistic European dwellings, in either the graytoned Palermo or neutral Bella. She was drawn to the rustic edges, rich texture, and natural color palettes of each, which are authentic stone attributes Eldorado celebrates. “Stone is also very textural and tactile, which lends some additional richness in terms of visual appeal,” says Lograsso.

ALL TOGETHER

The design-minded stone exterior will lend a timelessness juxtaposed with the home’s contemporary design, Scandinavian-inspired timber cladding, and rustic corrugated metal roof. Styles describes the mix of elements as unexpected yet simple. Ultimately, the finished blend will be cohesive with the coastal landscape and a beautiful homage to an ancient aesthetic. “We like to say that stone tells a story,” says Lograsso. “It’s one of the most prolific design materials on the planet, and it has been for thousands of years.”

PHOTO LEFT: ©GABRIELLE TOUCHETTE PHOTOGRAPHY; CAMILLE STYLES

PHOTO BY MICHELLE NASH; OTHER IMAGES COURTESY ELDORADO STONE

Country Rubble Stone

Grand Banks Limestone

Rough Cut Casa Blanca

THAT STONE STIRS

Like a diamond’s evolution from raw earth to unique design, every idea becomes a reality that opens your imagination. Transform spaces into experiences worth sharing. Bring your vision to life with Eldorado Stone.

Extraordinary can begin small and turn into the start of something beautiful.

HOME & GARDEN

An Inside Job

A Northwest Contemporary in Oregon gets a radical interior refresh that bridges country, cozy, and city for a couple of retired New Yorkers starting over in the West.

Story by CHRISTINE LENNON Photographs by THOMAS J. STORY

Interior designer Julie Hawkins

ngular and open, with soaring ceilings, cherrywood cabinetry, metal railings, and glass tile accents, Northwest Contemporary houses built in the Aughts have a distinct, and polarizing, style. You love them, or you don’t love them. And if you’re in the second camp, you may not even give them a chance, no matter how appealing the total package is. Consider this Ashland, Oregon, house, and its lengthy list of pros.

“The property is stunning,” says Julie Hawkins, the Napa Valley–based interior designer who was hired by the home’s new owners to create the “soft industrial” decor they craved. “They” are a couple of retired New York Times editors and long-time Brooklynites who had raised a family in a 19th-century carriage house, and were excited by the idea of more space and expansive views.

“There’s a pretty pond, a large pool, and a vintage barn. The views are gorgeous, especially in the morning mist,” says Hawkins. “I’ve enjoyed my morning coffee sitting in the breakfast nook, looking out the window, many times.”

The con list is shorter, but more intimidating. The sprawling footprint was the polar opposite of their snug home of 20 years. And the finishes felt frozen in time.

“All of the wood was cherry, very red-orange. There was rainbow glass mosaic tile in the kitchen and bathrooms,” says Hawkins, who was given a budget and time frame that would not allow for a full gut renovation. “I absolutely loved working with these clients, but the house…”

Here she trails off for a thoughtful moment.

“It was the opposite of cozy. I will admit there were a couple parts of it

By installing an open, custom metal storage rack, Hawkins created storage without obscuring any light. A builtin nook with custom leather cushions is an ideal breakfast spot.

that I hated,” she says. Layering in much-needed charm and carving out warm, inviting nooks were challenges. “The fun part is that the areas that I really disliked have become spots I love.”

The owners discovered the region after an open-minded, nationwide search for a new home base. They chose Ashland because of its proximity to great fishing, and its thriving restaurant and arts scene. It’s the home of a famed Shakespeare festival, and it attracts like-minded ex-urbanites who aren’t ready to sacrifice access to handmade pasta and nuanced wine lists. The house was large

enough for visiting family, and the sizable kitchen was a draw. But when they were faced with more square footage to furnish than they ever dreamed about, they knew they needed professional help. Together, they worked with Hawkins to update some of the more generic details with carefully chosen antiques, sculptural lighting, strategic rugs, and a few boldly papered walls.

The first decisions they made together were to install a few more windows to take in more of the view, reorient the primary bedroom, and paint all of the floors a glossy black.

“Telling a contractor that you’re

going to paint a wood floor black, oof—it isn’t fun,” laughs Hawkins. “You don’t want to be shunned by the woodworking community. Replacing the floors was cost-prohibitive, and this was our best solution. It was great luck that we found a painter that recommended the same black they used for the floors of the sets for the Shakespeare festival. It’s glossy, so it reflects light and keeps the rooms from looking too dark.”

They painted cabinetry and updated hardware instead of replacing them outright.

“We painted many of the interior walls in varying shades of gray, and

Cork plank flooring in the guest bedroom (top) and several coats of glossy black paint (middle) worked around the home’s too-warm wood tones.

A massive collection of Playbills was turned into a sentimental and stylish wall installation.

selected a few places where wallpaper would make a big impact,” says Hawkins. “Papering that one wall behind the dining table really helped carve out a nook, making it feel like a separate space.”

Next on deck was modernizing the kitchen. While it was outfitted with impressive major appliances, it needed additional storage, and some earthier elements to take down the gloss factor.

“We had a metal fabricator build shelves, both for extra storage, and to create a separation from the main living area,” she says. “Replacing the glass mosaic backsplash with Fireclay Tile made a big difference, too.”

Creating a dedicated dining nook was also a priority.

“We were lucky that we found the perfect rug from Anthropologie, and didn’t have to have one custom-made,” says Hawkins. The single, papered wall adds some glowy glamour. “The Michele Varian wallpaper is dark and matte, but the branches are gold.”

The couple’s favorite nook in the house is a small bar off of the foyer that channels the low-lit, grownup vibe of a boutique hotel lobby.

“I couldn’t stand that built-in bar

area at first,” says Hawkins. “Then we added a smoky mirror behind the open shelves with glassware, and a settee from West Elm with leather chairs. They use it all the time, and everyone loves it now.”

Furnishing the home, and finding interesting elements to cover the bare walls, has been a labor of love.

“I would fly out to New York to meet them, and they’d welcome me into their Brooklyn house. We walked through the rooms, and it was so welcoming and warm. We wanted to translate some of those feelings into a much bigger space,” says Hawkins.

Opposite: The former New Yorkers wanted to maintain their sophisticated style with modern antiques, and cozy-chic sitting areas. This page: a live-edge wood headboard and an industrial sconce keep things stylish and spare in the primary bedroom.

They selected some antiques from a local dealer down the street to bring some New York west, and Hawkins introduced the owners to her favorite vintage shop in nearby Eugene, Oak Street Vintage. They shopped via FaceTime. A collection of Playbills from Broadway shows, accumulated over decades, became the basis of a fun wall installation in the mudroom. A dollhouse from the owner’s childhood in Kansas has become a storage hutch for her grandmother’s china. It was a creative collaboration that morphed into a friendship. And the transition to a new, active life in bucolic Ashland has been a huge success.

“Every part of the project was fun,” says Hawkins. “Taking this kind of outdated modern house, with yellow walls and orange floors, and creating a comfortable home for wonderful people has been a joy.”

Well-placed wallpaper, like this botanical and bird print by Pierre Frey decorating the pool bathroom, makes a boxy modern house feel cozier.

Michele Varian wallpaper and an asymmetrical Anthropologie rug help carve a dining nook out of the open living space.

A storage unit from Rejuvenation solves the storage and television problem in the living room.

A graphic black and white print from Farrow & Ball and simple swing-arm sconces are all the decoration a guest bedroom needs.

The Transformative Power of Paint

Here’s how Camille Styles, the owner of Sunset’s 2023 Idea House, is bringing a sense of wellness and serenity to her beach house renovation.

While Styles waits to paint her own house, these rooms show how Benjamin Moore’s rich and varied palette works with diverse designs.

The colors of Benjamin Moore provide an endless palette from which to feed this inspiration, believes Andrea Magno, the company’s director of color marketing and development. “Inspiration can come from so many different sources, and we want to provide the colors and resources that help both designers and homeowners bring that color inspiration to their walls,” Magno adds. “From the saturated blues of the ocean to the variations of blue found in the sky at different points in the day, to the warm neutrals that remind us of walking on a sandy beach, Camille will have beautiful choices that reflect her points of inspiration.”

A SEA OF OPTIONS

Paint has an incredible ability to enliven a space, imbuing a sense of ease and character into each room. For Camille Styles, the aesthetic power of paint plays a major role in her design process, so she’s leaning on the integral quality of Benjamin Moore in the renovation of her 1950s Malibu beach house. “We spend so much time within the walls of our home, so it’s an area where quality reigns supreme,” says Styles, who loves how a simple fresh coat of paint can bring out the beauty of a room. “It’s something you can’t always put your finger on but makes a huge difference in the overall feeling.”

When it comes to Benjamin Moore, the iconic paint company offers colors that are incredibly durable and stand up to years of wear and tear, she adds. “This means that my walls always have the color vibrancy and smoothness that give it that clean slate feeling.”

A COLOR JOURNEY

Finding paint colors that speak to the soul of a home is a personal journey. It requires time, inspiration, and a keen sense of how you want the finished rooms to feel. Styles looked to the surrounding landscape for her color answers: Coastal California’s rocky cliffs, deep blue waters, wild grasses, and sandy beaches provided the palette from which she drew. “From the beginning of our design process, I’ve drawn on Malibu’s incredible natural environment as my inspiration,” explains Styles. “I want every element to feel as close to its natural state as possible.”

With more than 3500 colors, the Benjamin Moore offering is quite expansive. With hues ranging from bold and

saturated, to muted and soft, to a wide range of whites and pastels, Magno admits the vast array may be overwhelming at first glance. But Benjamin Moore groups the colors into collections, each with distinct characteristics that can help customers navigate the options and find the colors that speak to them. “For example, our Affinity collection is ideal for the customer who wants to mix and match colors with confidence, while our Off-White Collection is designed to offer a range of white paint colors all within one collection, making it easy to appreciate the nuances and subtleties within the white color family.”

Styles says she aims to keep her Malibu home color palette in lighter, more neutral tones that both honor the inspiring landscape and make the house feel expansive. “When the main house is done, it’ll be 2500 square feet, and my vision is that it’ll feel much larger,” she says. “We’re designing the floor plan to be as open as possible— the vaulted ceilings, open living space, natural light, and muted palette will create that sense of airiness that I love.” Washes of lighter shades will create a flow and cohesiveness throughout the home, allowing a seamless transition from room to room and an overall sense of inspired ease.

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SUN WATER EARTH

AND SKY

A next-gen modern architectural gem is a model for gracious, sustainable living, taking full advantage of solar power, rainwater collection, geothermal temperature control, and the cooling breezes that tease the crestline along Mulholland Drive.

Story by CHRISTINE LENNON

Photographs by THOMAS J. STORY

Page 21

IT’S HARD TO FATHOM

OPPOSITE: A sculptural garden of low-water succulents and rare cactuses greets visitors upon entry. ABOVE: Custom-designed, low modular furniture was fabricated to be arranged to accommodate large and small groups for entertaining, without obstructing the stunning view.

that just 36 houses established Los Angeles as a mecca for modern architecture. Beginning in 1945 and ending in 1965, L.A.-based Arts & Architecture magazine ran its Case Study house project, an experiment in affordable, innovative, easily replicated housing designed in anticipation of a postwar housing boom. The editors commissioned some of the most promising young architects to design and build houses to appeal to potential young homeowners. Before Eames, Neutra, Koenig, or Saarinen were household names for design buffs, they were visionaries who embraced the Case Study challenge and built ground-breaking homes that established the hallmarks of modernism. Nearly 80 years later, their influence still reverberates across the globe. The most notable architects of today, like New York–based Peter Gluck of GLUCK+, continue to tip their hats to the movement and expand on those original principles with more efficient materials and, yes, additional square footage.

When you see the house Gluck designed and built off Mulholland Drive in the Hollywood Hills for his son, writer and director Will Gluck, his daughter-in-law, writer Trista Gladden, and his two granddaughters, there’s no mistaking the Case Study influence: Steel frame, walls of glass, open floor plan, angular roof, multi-purpose room that opens to the outside. Even the footprint of the house looks deceptively small, in keeping with the original Case Study model. But when you dig deeper and learn that the most innovative aspects of this construction are buried underground, it becomes clear that this house is more about the future than the past.

“My brother’s an architect, too,” says Will. “He works with my dad. My whole life I’ve been dragged along to buildings all over the world. As a kid, I hated it. When I got older, I realized how much I love architecture, and how much I love my dad’s architecture specifically.”

Living “inside the imagination” of his father was an appealing prospect. Making that vision come to life was a nearly seven-year labor of love.

“It took two years for us to get this lot, starting back in 2013,” says Will. “It wasn’t for sale. Our real estate agent Craig Knizek knew of the property and got in touch with the owner. It took months for us to convince them to sell. That makes things more complicated.”

LEFT: At the bottom of the driveway, there’s a home gym and garage space. The overhang reveals how shallow the planting space is.

RIGHT: The house is sited on a promontory that provides sweeping views of the valley from most of the rooms, including the primary bedroom, pictured here.

A lower-level family room, with a yellow Saarinen womb chair, is a private space for family time. Most of the home’s footprint is underground.

When you see how the house is sited, on a promontory high above Los Angeles, it’s obvious that it was worth the negotiating hassle. The epic views of the San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel and Santa Monica Mountains and the seamless landscape design by Doug Hoerr, principal of the Chicago-based landscape architecture firm Hoerr Schaudt, position the property to join the ranks of the city’s iconic houses.

“The first time I saw the house, when it was just a frame on its perch overlooking the valley, it almost looked like a bird of prey,” says Hoerr. “It’s sited on this sliver of plinth on a huge hillside, but you have all of this livability and function.”

Once the land was theirs, Trista and Will ceded nearly all creative control to the Gluck team. The most notable feature of the structure is a sloped roof that appears to hover gracefully above the glass house, and, to Hoerr’s point, it isn’t unlike a bird with spread wings. Peter Gluck describes it as a “glass box with wood boxes inside of it to contain all the practical matters of living.”

Supported by cantilever beams, the roof is designed to create ample shaded patio space, and boost comfort and energy efficiency, while also being able to accommodate enough solar panels to keep two electric cars charged, power the house, and produce enough energy to sell the excess back into the grid.

Floor-to-ceiling windows and retractable doors are placed strategically to take advantage of the sweeping vistas and the hilltop breezes for passive cooling in the summer months. Inside, the main floor is an open-concept living, kitchen, and dining area. Chicago-based interior designer Anne Kaplan of Insight Environmental Design designed low, modular seating in the first-floor great room that can be reconfigured to accommodate quiet nights at home or a house full of guests. The smooth, pale terrazzo floor reflects light and adds to the airiness of the space. The kitchen is cleverly separated into two sections: one for entertaining and mealtime, and the other for more mundane necessities like pantry

A tulip table for al fresco meals and a sectional sofa from Kettal occupy one of several shaded outdoor gathering spaces. Retractable curtains are programmed into the “smart home” controls and filter the sunlight when it’s most intense.

storage. And the lower level, which is carved into the hillside, is where the more private family spaces are: bedrooms, bathrooms, a reading area, a home theater, and a gym.

“My dad hates ostentatious houses, and he’s always liked the scale of the Case Study houses,” says Will. “When you first see the house, you can’t tell immediately how large it is. More than half of it is underground.”

Beneath a thin layer of earth, and surrounded by thick concrete walls, the rooms stay sealed, insulated, and at a comfortable temperature year-round, which also cuts down on energy usage. You could say that the dirt helps keep it clean.

“Every drop of rainwater is stored in large cisterns that supply the drip irrigation,” says Will.

That water supply keeps the small patch of grass green even in drier months. And for all its achievements, the architectural community has heaped praise on the project. But the real star of the show is a sculptural cactus garden that’s the first thing you see when you ascend the driveway. Aside from a battle over “smart house” technology

(Will was pro, Peter was con, but he eventually relented and Will got his wish), the plantings were the only creative disagreement.

“That was Trista’s idea,” says Will. “I hated the thought of a cactus garden, and so did my dad. Both of us are from New York, and I just never understood the appeal.”

Trista, who has a soft-spoken confidence, stuck to her guns. “It was what I wanted. And Doug really wanted to do it, so we made it happen,” she says. “We love how it changes throughout the seasons.”

“Now I love it. We sit out there all the time,” Will says. “And my dad loves it, too.”

The original plan, according to Hoerr, was to plant a small meadow of wildflowers. Their short-blooming season was a deterrent.

“This space is the first thing you see when you get to the house,” says Hoerr. “I wanted it to feel sculptural and have plants of varying heights, tones, and textures. I’m a huge fan of gravel gardens that have that arid feel. We wanted to make it explorable, create a composition you could walk

The garden stays lush, even in drought conditions, thanks to a rainwater cistern on the property. The neighboring houses are obscured by tree cover.

A clever two-sided kitchen serves two purposes.

The dividing wall houses the electrical wiring and the “guts” of the house, and it keeps most of the mess on the other side, out of sight.

The Roberto Barbieri bar stools are made by Zanotta. The swivel chairs are Lina, available at DWR.

“The house was so beautiful, and I kept saying that I needed more storage to keep it that way,” says Trista.

A rack inside the entrance keeps reading materials organized, and a streamline powder room has a sleek drawer to stow essentials.

through, not just a green mass. Trista wanted herbs for the kitchen, too, and gravel gardens are great for those.”

The biggest challenge Hoerr faced was dealing with the shallow soil depth. Because so much of the house is buried in the hillside, the landscape areas only have about a foot of soil to plant in. In some areas, it was only 4 inches deep. No plants with a large root ball would work. Succulents and cacti were the answer because their root systems require very little depth.

“We have an amazing plantsman, Steve Gierke, who’s been working out of our L.A. office for some time, and we work together so well,” says Hoerr. “He really knows the plant materials. I would ask for plants of certain heights and textures, and we worked together to make this happen.”

Despite the restrictions of what he calls “onerous California building codes that make every idea you have seem

impossible,” Hoerr is pleased with the sustainable garden in the sky.

The attention, raves, and awards the house has received—including the American Institute of Architects L.A. chapter Design Award of Merit in 2021—were a welcome surprise, if not exactly a shock.

“We put a lot of faith in Will’s dad, because he has so much experience and he loves a challenge. And we’re so glad we did. We love it here so much,” says Trista.

Despite the fact that they’ve lived in Los Angeles for two decades, they always imagined they’d return to their New York roots. “Now I don’t see that we’re ever leaving,” says Trista.

At least one of their parents isn’t thrilled.

“We’re not going back to the city now,” Trista says, “and my mom is disappointed.”

Floor-to-ceiling windows wrap around most of the structure and frame the verdant yet waterwise landscaping on the sides not facing the sweeping city vistas.

“When you first see the house, you can’t tell immediately how large it is. More than half of it is underground.”

Styles Files: On Creating an Energy Efficient Home

Small changes, repeated over time, can make a big impact— and nowhere is this more true than in our homes. Camille Styles, owner of Sunset’s 2023 Idea House, is looking to the modern and streamlined efficiency of Schneider Electric to create a home that is energy smart and environmentally sound. Here’s how.

A Clear View— from Anywhere in the World

For the renovation of her 1950s Malibu bungalow, Styles saw an opportunity: to create the most energy-efficient space possible. “Since we’re re-imagining this house almost from the ground up, I wanted to start right,” says Styles. Together with architect Douglas Burdge, and her team of builders, Styles is incorporating Schneider Electric’s advanced smart energy infrastructure to create sustainable, reliable energy in the home. It’s a critical step that Styles sees as the most responsible way forward. “Homes today are more than where we sleep, work, relax, workout, and entertain” she adds. “It’s important that we have energy solutions to manage our energy smarter, all while making life easier.”

Efficient Energy: Where It Begins

Styles admits that she always wanted to be more energy efficient but lacked the knowledge to make it happen. With Schneider Electric, she sees her new energy system as both an education and an opportunity.

It starts with the source: Schneider Electric is implementing its state-of-the-art energy system products, including the Wiser Energy monitor and the X Series connected devices. This will give Styles and her family an efficient means of energy and ways to monitor her family’s electricity use in real-time. They’ll have the ability to see how much energy day-to-day things, such as using the dishwasher and leaving on the bathroom lights, actually take. “Understanding where and when your home uses electricity is the first step to making smart decisions on how to reduce it,” says Schneider Electric’s senior marketing manager April Lisonbee, who is often surprised by the electricity consumed by ‘always-on’ things in our homes, like a plugged-in printer.

With their new Schneider Electric products, Styles and her family will have all their energy info at their fingertips. A remote monitoring and control system accessed via an app will allow Styles to see and monitor the energy being used in their beach home—no matter if she’s in Malibu, Austin, or another country. If

a light turns on unexpectedly, Styles will receive an alert so she can turn it off remotely. The same goes if someone leaves on the stove. And when a coastal California storm happens, Styles can access her SE Energy Center smart panel to kick in the backup solar battery to keep essential devices powered on. These features add up to smarter habits. “Automation is way more than convenience,” says Styles. “It enables you to make more environmentally conscious decisions because the technology does the heavy lifting.”

Smarter Usage = Greater Benefits

These days, implementing efficient electricity is not only smart, it’s requisite. Our homes account for 34 percent of all carbon emissions because of infrastructure and energy sources, points out Lisonbee. Traditionally, electricity comes from the utility and power grid, which is produced by burning fossil fuels. “If we can reduce electricity usage by being smarter and more efficient, we can reduce a lot of carbon emissions,” says Lisonbee, who has seen customers reduce their energy use by up to 40 percent with Schneider Electric’s Wiser Energy power monitor.

This not only excites Styles but also puts her mind at ease. “Practically, this will reduce our electricity usage and save money, but it will also play a role in our part to help lessen the impacts of climate change,” she says. “Having this awareness will allow us to make decisions aligned with our values.”

Home made smart and sustainable

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Story by DEANNA KIZIS

Photographs by THOMAS J. STORY

partment rooftops aren’t usually considered natural spaces. They often have air conditioners, vents, maybe a rooftop patio if you’re lucky. But Joanna Letz’s Bluma Farms stretches over fifteen modular apartmentbuilding rooftops connected by steel bridges. Blooms of lisianthus, ranunculus, and dahlias sway in the breeze, while butterflies gather nectar and bees buzz. To see so much biophilic beauty in such a place is unexpected, to say the least. Not to mention that the farm’s view of the surrounding roofs and treetops of Berkeley, California, is extraordinary.

Letz got her start tending plants and soil with her grandfather, who introduced her to gardening. “He was a Holocaust survivor and had a hard life —he was never really a happy person,” she says. “But when he was in the garden, something lifted for him, and that really impacted me.” As a result, she says, she now looks at working with plants as an act of healing.

Of course, her first farm wasn’t always up in the air. Letz was farming flowers in Senol, California, about 30 miles from her home in Berkeley. But the commute, she says, was brutal. That’s when a friend told her he was moving on working a farm on a rooftop not far from where she was living. “I wanted to walk and bike to work, and to be somewhere where people could visit the farm and have a community,” she says.

The rooftop farm checked all the boxes, so in 2014 she moved in. Letz didn’t know how well her flowers would do there—exposure and wind were wildcards—but after her first year, she found they did surprisingly well. She says the developer, RAD Urban, originally built the apartments with a farm on the roof as part of a utopian idea that it could feed its residents, who are mostly students. But without the income to hire a farmer, that dream withered.

Now Letz is living her own dream—one she says benefits others.

“I don’t grow food to eat, but I grow flowers for the soul,” she says, adding that another benefit is the habitat she creates for pollinators in the middle of a city where there might be none. She’s also started using one of the rooftops to teach high school students who come every week, and another is being converted into an event space.

Running a farm five and six stories high means you have to do things differently. Seeds are started in the basement. Everything she needs is

brought up by elevator. Crows have to be kept out by shade cloth. The farm as a whole is less than a quarter-acre, so Letz has to maximize every square foot. “Growing on a roof is a wild way to farm, but it makes it easier because I’m managing less land,” she says.

But there are other benefits, too. When people first see the farm, Letz says, they’re totally wowed. “Now that I’ve been here for eight years, I’m desensitized,” she adds. “But, when I first saw it I was like ‘Oh, my god. There’s a farm on this building!’”

Petal Pusher

WHEN JOANNA LETZ DESIGNS A BOUQUET, SHE WANTS IT TO RESEMBLE A MEADOW. HERE ARE HER TIPS ON HOW TO CREATE A FLOWER ARRANGEMENT THAT MIMICS THE NATURAL WORLD.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Gather or purchase flowers that are in season. Here, Letz uses lace flower, snapdragon ‘Chantilly’, anise hyssop, ‘Totally Tangerine’ dahlia, and chocolate cosmos, among others.

2. Place a frog held down with museum wax on the inside of your vessel. Don’t use floral foam, Letz says, because it is terrible for the environment.

3. Begin building the structure for your arrangement with greenery. This will provide a base for your bouquet.

4. Start adding your flowers. Consider using a lazy Susan so you can see all angles of your arrangement at once.

5. Letz recommends clustering species together or color blocking so your arrangement will be easy on the eyes. (Sprinkling chocolate cosmos all through a bouquet, for example, leads to a zany, polka-dot appearance.)

6. Keep it loose. “I once heard that the concept is to leave enough space for a bird to fly through the arrangement. This way, it won’t look too tight,” she says.

7. Consider tucking herbs into your bouquet for fragrance. “You can actually take the anise hyssop out of the arrangement to make tea at the end of your evening,” says Letz. Then call it a night.

“ I don’t grow food to eat,” says urban flower farmer Joanna Letz.

“But I grow flowers for the soul.”

Story by DEANNA KIZIS

Photograph by GARY LEWIS

What to do in your garden now, no matter where you are in the West.

PREP

Test the viability of vegetable seeds left over from last year by putting a few on a damp paper towel. Fold the towel over the seeds and place in a resealable plastic bag, marking the bag with the name of the vegetable. Store at room temperature and check in a week to see if the seeds have germinated. If not, it’s time to order replacement seed.

If you’re redesigning your garden, indicate where new trees, shrubs, or garden beds will go by marking their locations on the ground with aerosol garden chalk, which comes in many colors. It’s like spray paint, but temporary, and available at any garden center.

Order seeds, such as bean, corn, eggplant, pepper, pumpkin, tomato, and zucchini, for spring and summer vegetable gardens.

MAINTAIN

Turn on drip irrigation systems and repair any leaks. Flush sediment from filters and check screens for algae; clean with a small brush if necessary.

Rinse off houseplants in a shower and prune faded foliage. When you see the season’s first new growth, fertilize lightly with a plant food formulated for indoor plants.

PROTECT

Water the garden before forecasted frosts— plants are less susceptible to damage when the soil is moist.

If your zone allows, continue to sow seeds of cool-season vegetables such as broccoli, chard, and lettuce.

PLANT

Fill sunny windowsills with potted English primrose, available in shades of blue, brown, orange, peach, red, white, and yellow. When they stop flowering, plant them in the garden in sun or part shade. They’ll bloom again in the fall.

Start seeds of warm-season vegetables like cucumbers, eggplant, melons, peppers, squash, and tomatoes indoors this month so they’ll be well established in time for May planting outdoors (June in cold country).

HARVEST

Pick the outer leaves of collards, kale, mizuna, and mustard to add to winter soups. Snip young, tender leaves from the center of each plant to eat raw or braise lightly.

PAVELKO’S DIY HERBAL BATH SALTS

What you need

Clear jars or glass test tubes. Amazon, $14.99

3 cups Epson salt

1–2 Tbsp. baking soda

1–2 Tbsp. organic dried flowers. Roses, lavender, and calendula all work great. (If you’re not drying your own, Pavelko recommends sourcing from mountainroseherbs. com)

1–2 Tbsp. dried basil

5–10 drops essential oil (lavender, cardamom, and/or rosemary)

2–4 Tbsp. olive oil, to keep the mixture from clumping

Instructions

1/ Place half the herbs and flowers into a food processor or coffee grinder and grind them to a smaller but not powdery consistency.

2/ Pour all the ingredients into a glass bowl and mix well.

Feeling Salty

Stephanie Pavelko, the content creator behind the My Tiny Laguna Kitchen blog, got her start thanks to her grandmother. “I grew up visiting my grandma all the time, and she introduced me to gardening, baking, cooking—all those grandma things,” she says from her home in Laguna Beach. Now those memories inspire a bevy of recipes and DIYs, including these Herbal Bath Salts, which make an inexpensive gift for someone else, or for yourself.

“The benefits of soaking in Epsom salts, flowers, and essential oils are endless,” Pavelko says. “Not only do they nourish your body from head to toe, but they are used to help ease muscle pain and tension, soothe cramps, and lower inflammation.” Meanwhile, she adds, “I love that you use can use these to gift someone a moment to themselves. Life happens, so we all need that.”

3/ Spoon the contents into your container of choice.

4/ Label the tubes to “add a bit of magic to the experience,” Pavelko says.

5/ If you don’t want a lot of clean-up after the bath, use a tea bag, cheesecloth with a rubber band, or a bath strainer when you drain your tub.

Lawn Gone

The benefits of ground covers are myriad, says Gary Lewis, author of the timely and comprehensive The Complete Book of Ground Covers ($50, Workman Publishing). They can conserve soil, reduce evaporation, enhance rainfall infiltration into the ground, and cover bare soil while softening the edges of hardscape.

But there’s one benefit you may not have thought of—ground covers can replace a lawn that, if you live in the West, is guzzling water we need to drink. “Wellchosen ground covers can make amazing alternatives to thirsty lawns,” says Lewis. “They also need much less fertilizer and maintenance.” This means no more mowing, weeding, and pesticides—all while you reduce your carbon footprint. Looks like it’s time to go undercover.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: STEPHANIE MARY PAVELKO(2); TIMBER PRESS

Fire Pit Fundamentals

Getting a new firepit can be as easy as going online and clicking “add to cart.” But whether you’re going the built-in route or buying off the rack, it’s helpful to know what landscape designers think about when they’re installing a new fire feature. That’s why we asked Washington-based designer Scot Eckley and the California-based pair of Hollis LaPlante and Jordyn Grohl of Hollis Jordyn Design for their dos and don’ts of firepit selection.

Consider the Size

“The most important thing about a fire feature is if someone has limited space,” says Eckley. “We then think about how many people you want to sit around it; if you want eight or ten people sitting around your fire feature, you can’t buy a 24-inch ring; you want a 48-inch firepit.” LaPlante and Grohl add that “wood burns hotter than a gas firepit and would require a minimum distance of 30 inches [from seating]. The minimum distance for a gasburning fire feature is 24 inches from the edge of the firepit.”

Play It Safe

Another important measurement? The one that helps ensure safety. “It’s recommended that a firepit be placed anywhere from 10 to 25 feet away from a home, tree, overhanging branches, wood deck, vehicles, or anything considered to be flammable,” say LaPlante and Grohl.

Find Your Fuel

You can go with wood-burning, natural gas, or propane, but all three designers lean toward gas. “In many places in the West, there are burning bans and you can’t have an open flame,” Eckley points out. “We use a lot of natural gas, but if you’ve got a propane tank, I prefer the designs where the propane tank is remote and you can get a cover for it. Those really boxy propane features with the propane tank inside are too tall.”

Shape Matters

While firepits can be round, square, rectangular, or broken up into multiple pits, Eckley prefers to use round firepits, because they allow you to seat the most people around them. “One thing I like about circular fire features is they’re so sculptural,” he says. “It’s a beautiful element even when it’s not being used.” He also points out that a fire feature with a wide lip can come in handy for kicking up feet or placing a drink. Eckley adds: “Who doesn’t like to sit around a fire? Plus, everybody looks a little prettier by firelight.”

Unbox

Every three months, you’ll get a box full of home, design, food, and gardening products curated by Sunset editors to help you make the most of every season.

You can choose the box that fits your style and price point, then get ready to be surprised and delighted by what you find inside!

Our next box is full of everything you need to have a lovely spring: think gardening, cooking, and outdoor living.

Past boxes have included goodies like an acacia salt cellar, block printed hand towels, French market bags and more.

FOOD & DRINK

Simply Soulful

Tanya Holland’s latest cookbook celebrates the rich past and present of Black foodways in the West, and dishes up new soul-food recipes that satisfy in any season.

Story by HUGH GARVEY Photographs by AUBRIE PICK

imply put, chef Tanya Holland is the queen of West Coast soul food. The accolades and honorifics are many: Michelin Bib Gourmands, frequent topper of top restaurant lists, fierce Top Chef competitor, host of the Food Network series Melting Pot. Honorifics aside, Holland has been a consistent deliverer of deliciousness at all of her Bay Area restaurants, from the multiple iterations of Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland and San Francisco to Town Fare at the Oakland Museum. While she was busy evolving this mini restaurant empire, she was also honing her skills as an educator and entertainer. Her first book, New Soul Kitchen, penned when she was chef at Berkeley’s now shuttered Le Theatre, laid out a formula of forward-looking, lighter soul food some two decades before it became a nationwide trend. She went on to write yet another book, and hosted the podcast Tanya’s Table, on which she interviewed the celebrities who frequented her spots.

Like many casualties of the pandemic and the economy, the Brown Sugar restaurants are sadly closed, but like a gift, a new book that builds

upon her influential oeuvre has arrived—and it’s a beauty. Tanya Holland’s California Soul: Recipes from a Culinary Journey West is a synthesis of all the thoughtful cooking, personal and cultural backstory, and heartfelt hospitality Holland is known for. We learn not only about Holland’s move to Oakland, where she found a city and culture more welcoming to an ambitious Black female chef than anywhere she’d been back east, but also about the broader context of Black foodways that preceded her.

Among California-ready versions of soul food, such as black-eyed pea dip spiked with smoked paprika and fresh thyme, or po’boys made with fried artichokes, you’ll find profiles of Black farmers, winemakers, and food businesses, along with “historical detours” that chronicle Black culinary history in the West. Taken together these make the volume a historical record as much as a cookbook. While I’d long been an admirer of Holland’s career arc, it wasn’t until a chilly winter night in Oakland a few years ago that I had the honor of eating at Brown Sugar Kitchen and getting a taste of Holland’s hospitality. Sure enough she was there. I asked her what a hungry and cold diner should order, and without hesitation she told me to get the oxtails and collard greens and a glass of hearty red wine, and, of course, she was right. In this excerpt from the book we’re happy to share with you a few wintry dishes that deliver all that comfort firsthand.

FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Steamed Mussels With Fennel, Pancetta, Herbs, and Three Onions

“Winter’s abundance in California includes black mussels, golden fennel that sprouts on the side of roads and in fields, and purple, sweet, and golden onions. Fennel, pancetta, and three onions come together to create a stunning sweet and savory broth that enhances the sweet shellfish. Mussels are one of those foods that more people should cook at home: They’re relatively inexpensive, delicious, and very easy to prepare. In true California spirit, serve this with a toasted chunk of sourdough bread to sop up the broth.”

SERVES 4

8 oz. pancetta, diced

1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1 leek, white parts thinly sliced (about 1 cup)

½ small bulb fennel, thinly sliced (about 1 cup), plus some reserved fronds for garnishing

½ cup white wine

1½ cups chicken broth

2 lbs. mussels, scrubbed and debearded

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives

2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

2 tsp. chopped fresh tarragon

Crusty bread, such as sourdough

1. Line a plate with paper towels. Add the pancetta to a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and cook until it turns crispy and brown, 5–7 minutes.

2. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to the paper towels to drain, but leave the fat in the pan.

3. To the fat, add the onion, shallot, leek, and fennel, and sauté until tender, 6–8 minutes.

4. Carefully add the white wine and cook, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon until the wine is almost completely reduced, about 3 minutes.

5. Add the broth, mussels, chives, thyme, and tarragon. Toss to coat and cover. Steam just until the mussels open, shaking the pan occasionally, about 4 minutes.

6. Sprinkle with the reserved pancetta and fennel fronds. Serve immediately with crusty bread.

PERMISSION FROM TANYA HOLLAND’S CALIFORNIA SOUL: RECIPES FROM A CULINARY JOURNEY WEST BY TANYA HOLLAND, PUBLISHED BY TEN SPEED PRESS, AN IMPRINT OF PENGUIN RANDOM

Pimento Cheese Popovers

“If you’ve ever traveled down South, I hope you’ve enjoyed some piquant pimento cheese. Here, a mixture of sharp Cheddar cheese, cream cheese, onion, and pickled jalapeños add richness to a simple popover. The pimento cheese can be served with crackers, toasted bread, or crudités.”

MAKES 12 POPOVERS

PIMENTO CHEESE:

1¼ cups grated Cheddar cheese

¼ cup cream cheese

1 tsp. hot sauce

½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

¼ tsp. paprika

1 Tbsp. finely chopped jalapeño

1 Tbsp. finely chopped yellow onion

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 Tbsp. finely chopped dill pickles

POPOVERS:

3 eggs, room temperature

1½ cups whole milk, room temperature

1 tsp. fine sea salt

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1. Place a wire rack in the bottom third of the oven. Preheat oven to 450ºF.

2. To make the pimento cheese: In a large bowl, mix together the Cheddar cheese, cream cheese, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, paprika, jalapeño, onion, garlic, and dill pickles until thoroughly combined. This mixture can be made up to 1 day in advance, but it should be at room temperature when making the popovers.

3. To make the popovers: Place a 12well muffin tin in the oven. In a bowl, whisk the eggs until well combined and lightly frothy. Add milk and salt, whisk until the mixture is very well combined and there is a layer of froth on the top, about 30 seconds of vigorous whisking. Add the flour and whisk just until combined; it’s okay if some lumps remain. Let the mixture sit for 2–3 minutes, then whisk one more time.

4. Remove the muffin tin from the oven and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Fill each muffin well threequarters full of batter. Top each with

a heaping teaspoon of the pimento cheese, and gently press the cheese down into the batter. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 350ºF and bake an additional 15 minutes, until the popovers are a deep golden brown and well puffed. Do not open the oven during this baking time.

5. Remove the popovers from the oven and transfer them from the muffin tin to the wire rack. Make a small hole in the bottom of each popover to allow steam to escape. Drop an additional teaspoon of pimento cheese into the top hole of each popover. These are best served immediately.

Vegan Winter Greens Stew With Herb Dumplings

“This vegan play on chicken and dumplings is perfect for a wintry meal. The body of the stew is hearty, with bold round flavors and a slight kick from the mustard and lemon. The aromatic, airy herb dumplings are ideal for soaking up the delicious broth. It’s like a comforting bowl of braised greens with extra veggies and dumplings to make it a meal.”

SERVES 6

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

6 scallions, white parts chopped and green parts sliced, kept separately

3 cloves garlic, minced

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

½ tsp. dried thyme

2 bunches mustard greens, thick stems removed, torn into bite-size pieces (about 10 cups)

1 large yellow onion, cut into ½-inch dice

4 carrots, peeled and cut on the diagonal into 1½-inch pieces

4 celery stalks, cut on the diagonal into 1½-inch pieces

4 cups vegetable broth

1 Tbsp. molasses

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

Juice of 1 lemon

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

HERB DUMPLINGS:

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

1 tsp. chopped fresh oregano

1 tsp. chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Zest of 1 lemon

½ cup oat milk

1. In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped white part of the scallions, garlic, cayenne pepper, and dried thyme and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add half the mustard greens and stir to coat with oil; cook just until they start to wilt. Add the remaining greens, stir, and cover for 1 minute to wilt. Add the onion, carrots, celery, broth, and molasses and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer until the

greens and all the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the dumpling batter: In a bowl, whisk together the flour, nutritional yeast, baking powder, salt, thyme, oregano, parsley, black pepper, and lemon zest. Stir in the oat milk and mix just enough to form a thick dough. Let sit 15 minutes.

3. When the veggies are tender, stir in the mustard and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat to a bare simmer.

4. Form the dumpling dough into small balls, about 1 Tbsp. of dough for each ball. Gently place the balls on top of the vegetables. Cover and cook until the dumplings have puffed up and are cooked through, 10–15 minutes. Garnish with the sliced green part of the scallions and serve.

Perfect Pairings

The Sunset Wine Club features the best bottles in the West, perfectly paired with these recipes and delivered straight to your door. Join at sunset.com/wineclub

2021 Vinum Cellars Chardonnay Monterey

Pair with: Steamed mussels

Chardonnay’s splash of citrus brings forth the sweet minerality of the seafood, while the pancetta and herbs resonate with the toasty and fresh wine.

2019 Belse Red Blend California

Pair with: Vegan winter greens stew This dish combines sweet, savory, spicy, and bitter, and Zinfandel has all that with ripe sweet black fruit, cardamom, clove, turned earth, and espresso flavors, all brought forth in a silky body.

2019 La Pitchoune Chenin Blanc Merritt Island Clarksburg

Pair with: Pimento cheese popovers Decadent popovers want a crisp and lean white wine. This Chenin Blanc has ripping acidity to cleanse the palate and cut through all the richness, while also bringing out the fresh floral notes of the jalapeño.

THE HOTTEST RESTAURANT OPENING IN WINE COUNTRY JUST HAPPENS TO BE VEGAN. WELCOME TO LITTLE SAINT, WHERE THE DISHES ARE MEATLESS, LOCAVORE, AND PICTURE-PERFECT.

by THOMAS J. STORY

Photographs

Sonoma in

Notlong ago in Sonoma County, plant-based, meatless, and vegan food was relegated to the hippier corners of the county. It was always there, but rarely celebrated in a place like Healdsburg, the picturesque town where restaurants typically serve what people think of as wine-country food, which is to say on the carnivorous side, with the requisite charcuterie boards and meaty entrées, presumably the better to stand up to an inky Cabernet or rich Russian River Pinot. But with the arrival of Little Saint. those days are solidly in the rearview mirror.

Little Saint is a not very little but indeed very saintly restaurant where sustainable agriculture and beautiful, better-for-you food coalesce in lovely ways. Housed in a sprawling 10,000-square-foot multi-use building, complete with a performance space, wine shop, and fancy grocery store, the restaurant also features soaring ceilings and an all-day menu that make for an inviting, come-asyou-are experience. This is the latest project from the people behind the worldrenowned, three-Michelin-star wine-country destination restaurant Single Thread, with its multi-course tasting menu, Chef’s Table –level culinary inventiveness, and formal (for wine country) hospitality. Little Saint is more casual in format, but no less calculated in execution. Much of the produce comes from the same farm that provides vegetables and flowers to Single Thread. With Little Saint, we’ve moved along from the hippie associations and are now solidly in the era of haute oats for all.

Jokes aside, making excellent vegetables insanely delicious takes more skill than making decent meat taste good. Salty-fatty umami and seared animal protein is pretty much all it takes to make most omnivores happy. At Little Saint they deliver all the satisfaction we’ve come to expect from a top restaurant in vivid dishes that crackle with freshness, texture, and terroir. Here we share recipes that showcase the artistry of chef de cuisine Bryan Oliver and his team, who coax layers of flavor from well-sourced vegetables and herbs, spiced aggressively, enriched with nuts and oils, to yet again illustrate how meatless can be more.

This page: The spacious and airy dining room at Little Saint. Opposite page (clockwise from top left): The patio at Little Saint; chef de cuisine Bryan Oliver; the vivid Beet Bloody Mary.

Stuffed Collard Greens with Beet Merguez and Sunflower Seed Dukkah

“We don’t often strive to create analogs for meat, but in some cases where the vegetables are allowed to shine and the flavors are coherent and delicious, we’re happy to bend our own rules,” says Bryan Oliver. “This time of the year, Little Saint Farm is abundant with pristine collard greens, which provide the perfect medium to wrap around a beet-forward version of classic spicy merguez sausage. Topped with another Little Saint pantry staple item, sunflower seed dukkah—an Egyptian spice blend of nuts and seeds—this dish is loaded with a variety of textures and flavors that are sure to satiate any carnivore’s cravings.”

SERVES 4–6

Yellow Beet Merguez

2 Tbsp. rice bran or grapeseed oil

1 medium yellow onion, julienned 2 garlic cloves, crushed

2½ cups cooked brown rice 2 cups cooked, diced yellow beets 2 cups cooked white quinoa ¼ cup rice flour ¼ cup potato starch

3 Tbsp. smoked paprika 2 Tbsp. dry harissa spice

Salt to taste

Stuffed Collard Greens 24 collard green leaves

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced 2 garlic cloves, grated 16 oz. canned crushed tomatoes

1 Tbsp. chopped rosemary Sunflower Seed Dukkah

½ cup sunflower seeds, toasted

2 Tbsp. golden sesame seeds, toasted

1 tsp. flaky salt 1 tsp. coriander seed, toasted and ground 1 tsp. cumin, toasted and ground Garnish 12 mustard blossom clusters Extra-virgin olive oil

For the Beet Merguez Filling:

1. In a medium skillet, heat rice bran oil over medium heat, then sauté onions and garlic until lightly caramelized and translucent, 5–7 minutes. In a food processor, combine the cooked onions and garlic with half the brown rice and purée until it forms a tacky paste. Set the paste aside. Add the cooked beets to the food processor, and pulse until they take on a coarsely ground texture, ensuring that the mix doesn’t become too fine. In a large mixing bowl, combine the pulsed beets with the remaining rice, rice paste, quinoa, rice flour, potato starch, paprika, and harissa spice. Mix until well combined and season with salt to taste. Reserve in the refrigerator until needed.

For the Stuffed Collard Greens:

2. Preheat an oven to 375 °F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Season the boiling water generously with salt. Blanch the collard green leaves in small batches for 2–3 minutes, placing directly into the ice bath afterward. Remove the greens from the ice bath when cool and trim the stems down to where the leaves begin, removing any thick ribs that may impact the rolling process.

3. Divide the merguez filling into 24 balls and gently roll each into an oblong shape. Place one oblong merguez ball on the center of each collard green leaf. Fold the edges of the leaves towards the center and roll upward from the bottom—they should look like dolmas, or stuffed grape leaves. Place the rolled collard greens, seam side down, in an even layer in a large baking dish or Dutch oven.

4. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté onions and garlic until translucent. Add crushed tomatoes and chopped rosemary, cooking for 10–15 minutes to make a simple tomato sauce.

5. Top the stuffed collard greens with a drizzle of olive oil and the tomato sauce. Bake the greens, covered, in the oven for roughly 30 minutes or until the starches in the merguez have cooked through.

For the Sunflower Seed Dukkah:

6. Lightly pulse the toasted sunflower seeds in a food processor to make a very coarse blend of broken seeds and finer particles. In a mixing bowl, stir the pulsed seeds with the remaining ingredients. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

To Assemble:

7. Top the baked, stuffed collard greens with the sunflower seed dukkah and a light drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Garnish the dish with mustard blossoms and serve as is or alongside a simply dressed green salad.

Split Pea Porridge with Almonds, Sugar Snap Peas, and

Lemon Basil

“At Little Saint, one of our main courses typically tends to fill the role of a creamy, hearty dish along the lines of polenta, risotto, or in this case, a riff on split pea dal,” says chef de cuisine

Bryan Oliver. “Here, green split peas are cooked down with onions, garlic, ginger, fragrant lime leaves, and almond milk, transforming these humble ingredients into a richly satisfying porridge which we top with blistered snap peas, pea tendrils, and the farm’s first shoots of lemon basil to evoke the essence of spring’s bounty.”

SERVES 4–6

Split Pea Dal

1½ cups green split peas

¼ cup rice bran oil

1 medium yellow onion, julienned

3 cloves garlic, grated

1-inch piece of ginger, minced

1 Tbsp. coriander seed, toasted and ground

2 makrut lime leaves (can substitute 1 Tbsp. lime zest)

2 cups almond milk

4 cups vegetable broth

8 oz. pea tendrils

Snap Peas

2 Tbsp. rice bran oil

2 cloves garlic, grated

1 medium shallot, sliced thin

1-inch piece of ginger, minced

1 lb. sugar snap peas, stems and strings removed

Garnish

¼ cup toasted salted almonds

12 medium basil or lemon basil leaves

2 limes, each cut into 6 wedges

Pea blossoms (optional)

For the Split Pea Porridge:

1. Using a fine mesh strainer, rinse the split peas under cold water to remove any dirt or impurities. Leave

the split peas in the strainer to drain thoroughly. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, ginger, and cook 5–8 minutes, or until translucent. Add coriander, lime leaves (or zest), split peas, almond milk, and broth, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook 35–45 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to ensure the mixture doesn’t stick. The porridge should take on a creamy texture as the almond milk reduces and the starches in the split peas break down. As the split peas are finishing cooking, add in the pea tendrils to wilt for 2–3 minutes. Finish the porridge by seasoning to taste with salt and adding a small quantity of water or broth to achieve your desired consistency.

For the Snap Peas:

2. Heat the rice bran oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, shallot, and ginger and cook, stirring, for 1 minute to color lightly. Add the snap peas and sauté 3–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until just cooked, being careful not to burn the garlic. Deglaze the pan with 1 Tbsp. water to steam the snap peas briefly before serving.

To Assemble:

3. Spoon the split pea porridge into a wide-bottomed bowl or serving platter and evenly distribute the sautéed snap peas over the top. Garnish with toasted almonds, lemon basil, and pea flowers. Limes can be served in a separate dish on the side. This dish can be eaten as is, but is even better accompanied by fresh flatbread or steamed basmati rice.

Red Lentil Hummus with Harissa and Toasted Almonds

MAKES ABOUT 4 CUPS

Red Lentil Hummus

1 cup split red lentils

¼ cup tahini

2 Tbsp. coriander seed, toasted and ground

1 Tbsp. cumin, toasted and ground

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Juice of 1 lemon

1¼ cup ice water

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. salt

Harissa-Almond Oil

½ cup almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

1 Tbsp. harissa paste

½ cup olive oil

Zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. golden sesame seeds, toasted

For the Hummus:

1. In a strainer, rinse the lentils under cold water to remove any dirt or impurities. Put lentils in a medium saucepan and cover with roughly 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes or until the lentils are soft and begin to fall apart. Strain the lentils in a fine mesh sieve and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and mix in the strained lentils, making sure to evenly distribute everything. Put the mixture in a high-powered blender or food processor and pureé until smooth, scraping down the sides when necessary. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

For the Harissa-Almond Oil

3. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl until evenly incorporated.

To Assemble:

4. Scoop the hummus into a wide bowl. Use the back of a spoon to create a circular well, then fill the well with the harissa-almond oil. Serve with pita and raw vegetables as an appetizer or as a component to veggie wraps or falafel.

“Hummus is a staple on the menu at Little Saint, where a variety of dips and spreads are intended to be paired with raw vegetables, pickles, and our wood-oven-baked flatbread. With this version of our red lentil hummus, we make harissa paste utilizing some of our farm’s peppers that we have preserved from the summer growing season, allowing us to capture and highlight some of the flavors of summer in spring.”

Beet Salad with Mandarin Achar, Pistachios, and Mint

“The pairing of beets with pistachios and citrus is a classic blend of flavors in the California cuisine repertoire, and we take a twist on this combination with the addition of Indian-style pickled mandarins that are bursting with salinity, spice, and heat. Roasted baby beets are tender, sweet, and earthy, allowing the bright flavors of spring mint from the farm to round out the dish. We make our own pickled mandarin for this dish using California mandarins, but store-bought pickled lime can be used as a substitute for similar results.”

SERVES 4–6

Roasted Beets

2 lbs. Chioggia beets

1 lb. golden beets

½ cup red wine vinegar

3 Tbsp. olive oil

3 Tbsp. salt

3 bay leaves

6 sprigs lemon thyme

Pistachio Pudding

½ cup pistachios

1 Tbsp. coriander seed, toasted

3 Tbsp. rice bran oil

Salt to taste

Garnish

2 Tbsp. pickled lime

3 Tbsp. golden balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3 mandarins, peeled and segmented ¼ cup pistachios, toasted and salted ½ cup mint leaves

1 cup mizuna leaves

16 viola flowers, optional Zest of 1 lime

For the Roasted Beets:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Trim tops of the beets and rinse under cold water to remove any residual dirt, scrubbing if necessary. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, water, olive oil, and salt. In two separate pans or baking dishes, lay the beets in an even layer with the bay leaves and thyme. Pour vinegar mixture evenly over beets, cover pans tightly with foil, and bake 60 minutes or until a small knife can pass through the beets with no resistance. Remove from the oven and let cool. Peel the beets and cut them into 2-inch wedges.

For the Pistachio Pudding:

2. In a small to medium saucepan, cover the pistachios in cold water and bring to a boil. Drain the pistachios then repeat the process. Once the pistachios have been

blanched and drained twice, cover with 1 cup water and the toasted coriander, and bring to a boil again. Pour into a high-powered blender or food processor. Purée the pistachios and their water into a smooth butter, adding the rice bran oil slowly to emulsify into a pudding-like consistency. Season with salt.

To Assemble:

3. In a mixing bowl, toss the cut beets with the chopped pickled limes, golden balsamic vinegar, salt, and olive oil. Let sit 15–20 minutes to infuse flavors. On a large serving platter, spread a circle of pistachio pudding and spoon the marinated beets over the top. Scatter the mandarin segments and toasted pistachios over the beets. Garnish the salad with mint leaves, mizuna, viola flowers, and lime zest.

Perfect Pairings

The Sunset Wine Club features the best bottles in the West, perfectly paired with these recipes and delivered straight to your door. Join at sunset.com/wineclub

2017 St Finley Estate Cabernet

Sauvignon California

Pair with: Stuffed collards

This wine is layered with black currant and dried herbs that perfectly meld with the flavors of the greens.

2021 Tortoise Creek Pinot Noir California

Pair with: Roasted beets

Gorgeous flavors of bloodorange peel and turned earth in the wine mirror the flavors of the dishes. The lively acidity matches the refreshing lemon basil.

2018 Top Source Red Wine Columbia Valley

Pair with: Split pea porridge

This Syrah-based wine adds a punch of cracked pepper to the sweet and savory dish. The garlicky split peas are a great counterpoint to the wine’s ripe red fruit.

A

Photographs by THOMAS J. STORY

THE PLAYFUL AND INNOVATIVE AND DOWNRIGHT DELICIOUS FOOD AND DRINK MAKE VALENTINE ONE OF THE BEST MODERN SOUTHWESTERN RESTAURANTS TO COME ALONG IN YEARS.

GUTTER CREDIT

he Hatch margarita at Valentine in Phoenix is a metaphor for the new restaurant in a boot-shaped glass. St. George green chile vodka simultaneously spices up and tempers joven mezcal, a house-made lemonade contains roasted Hatch chile juice, while cumin and sugar and bell pepper powder spike the salted rim. It’s playful, smart, considered, and a little fussy, but the kitschy boot and the fact that it all goes down waaaay easy make it just plain fun.

Like that seriously fun but still serious margarita, Valentine is just about the most ambitious, unpredictable, but wholly zeitgeisty restaurant to hit Phoenix in, well, forever. Owners Blaise Faber and Chadwick Price almost opened it as a bar, but thankfully it’s become so much more: By day it’s a coffee shop with mid-century modern diner vibes and baristas slinging fancy espressos and dishing up exquisite pastries. It’s also a restaurant, serving food by chef Donald Hawk that could easily grace the plates of a restaurant where you’d never dare break out your laptop for a little “working from coffee shop” session, but Valentine somehow makes both feel okay. Instead of the kind of upgraded diner food they could’ve done, we’re talking house-made taglierini with Asiago, crispy corn, chile de árbol, and white Sonoran wheat pretzel with Arizona honeycomb. Plus it’s a cocktail bar, where you can get said Hatch margarita in a boot-shaped glass, but also a cactus martini made with a house-made vermouth infused with dehydrated cactus paddles and squash and palo santo (yes, the rare wood that’s become the aromatic signifier of hipster Southwest). Here are two recipes that just begin to help define the definition-defying Valentine.

Elote Spaghetti

Saucing an Italian dish with the flavors of Mexican street corn is exactly the sort of madcap riff Valentine specializes in. They make their pasta in-house with ‘00’ white Sonoran wheat and local egg yolk, but you can make this dish with store-bought spaghetti. And while they source their goat cotíja from Crow’s Dairy, normal cotíja works too.

SERVES 4

5 ears corn, shucked, husks reserved

Salt to taste

1 lb. package of spaghetti

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 tsp. chile de árbol flakes

¼ cup dry white wine

½ tsp. ground peppercorn mixture (black, pink, Sichuan)

3 Tbsp. butter

½ cup corn stock

¼ cup grated Asiago cheese

¼ cup cotíja cheese

Lime juice as needed

¼ cup crushed corn nuts, crushed

There are few pairings as harmonious as grilled corn and Chardonnay, as both have a natural sweetness, wihle the tangy goat cheese is softened by the richness of the wine.

1. Prep the corn: On a gas or charcoal grill, grill corn over high heat until dark brown on all sides. Cut kernels off corn without cutting into the husk. Reserve cobs.

2. Make corn stock: Place husks and cobs in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a gentle simmer, and cook 2 hours. Strain stock through a chinois or fine mesh strainer and set aside.

3. Purée the corn: Place half the kernels in a

blender, along with a pinch of kosher salt and ¼ cup corn stock. Purée until the texture is that of a thick pudding. Set purée aside.

4. Cook pasta according to package directions. In a sauté pan over medium heat, add oil, garlic, and chile de árbol flakes, and cook until garlic is lightly colored, about 2 minutes.

5. Add wine to pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half. Remove pan from heat, and add peppercorn mix, corn purée, 1/4 cup corn stock, and butter. Add pasta to the pan along with a little pasta water. Return the pan to the heat, and cook until the sauce has slightly

thickened, 1–2 minutes.

6. Remove pan from heat and stir in the Asiago, cotíja, and a few drops of lime juice. Then double check seasoning. The secret is that the cotíja is the true seasoning. If the cheese is salty, then you won’t need that much salt added to the pasta. Taste the cheese first and adjust as needed.

7. If you want to play chef, twirl pasta onto long tweezers and place on a plate to look like a corn cob. Garnish with more cotíja and crushed corn nuts, and serve!

Hatch Margarita

If you don’t drink alcohol, the Hatch chile lemonade is delicious on its own.

MAKES 1 COCKTAIL

½ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. cumin ½ tsp. white sugar

½ cup kosher salt

½ cup bell pepper powder (optional)

1 oz. St George green chile vodka

1 oz. high-quality mezcal (such as Yuu Baal joven)

5 oz. Hatch chile lemonade (see below)

In a medium bowl, combine garlic powder, cumin, sugar, salt, and bell pepper powder and stir to combine. Wet rim of rocks glass (or cowboyboot glass!). Add ice, vodka, mezcal, and lemonade, stir, and serve.

HATCH CHILE LEMONADE

At Valentine, they make their own bell pepper juice, but to simplify the process we add a piece to the blender along with the other ingredients.

1 medium Anaheim chile 1 2 -by-1-inch piece green bell pepper, deveined 6 oz. agave syrup 4 oz. lemon juice 2 cups filtered water

Over a gas burner or under a broiler set on high, roast the chile, turning occasionally, until skin is blackened on all sides. Remove the skin, open and remove seeds and stems. Put roasted chile, bell pepper, agave syrup, lemon juice, and water to a blender and process until thoroughly combined.

AUTHOR KAT LIEU SHOWS US HOW TO BAKE A TRIO OF THE EASY, DELICIOUS ASIAN DESSERTS THAT HAVE EARNED HER A DEDICATED FOLLOWING ONLINE.

EASY

DOES IT

PICTURE THIS: You’re in a hurry to get to a spring gathering, maybe a backyard barbecue or wine night with friends, when you realize you’re going to arrive empty-handed. You forgot to make dessert.

There’s a simple and delicious solution to this last-minute emergency: colorful microwavable mochi from popular online baker Kat Lieu—and it only requires seven ingredients you may already have on hand.

The recipe is just one of various sweet and savory treats in Lieu’s cookbook, Modern Asian Baking at Home: Essential Sweet and Savory Recipes for Milk Bread, Mochi, Mooncakes, and More. From velvety chocolates inspired by the nama (or “fresh”) chocolates from Japanese brand Royce to berry-matcha cream bars, it’s a “straight-from-the-heart collection of recipes” that Lieu encourages readers to “steam, fry, boil, and bake” their way through.

The desserts are a mix of original creations and inspired adaptations from members of the online community that Lieu founded, Subtle Asian Baking. (You can find it on Facebook or on Instagram @subtleasian.baking.) “I saw a need for an online community where beginner and experienced home bakers could share, search for, and obsess over Asian baking,” Lieu writes in the book’s introduction. “I knew I had to build this community, one that would bridge cultures and help people collaborate, innovate, learn, and get instant inspiration.”

Launched in 2020, the group saw more than 100,000 members across the globe join its Facebook page in less than a year, according to Lieu. “Members have curated and shared thousands of essential Asian sweet and savory baking recipes, along with countless heartwarming stories,” she adds. To taste what it’s all about, try your hand at these sweet and simple recipes.

Story by KRISTIN SCHARKEY

MOCHI Quick Microwave

“Mochi (rice cake) was once considered a sacred food in Japan,” writes Lieu. “Now it is eaten all year round. When I traveled across Japan, I loved sampling many varieties of mochi: daifuku, warabimochi, sakuramochi—I can go into detail about each type, but then I’ll have to write a second book! Feel free to experiment with this recipe. Flatten the mochi dough into discs and then fill them with your favorite savory or sweet fillings, like ice cream. I know you’ll have so mochi fun. (Yes, I had to go there.) To change the color of your mochi, mix in food coloring gel or colored food powders.”

For Lining the Baking Sheet:

¼ cup corn starch

1 Tbsp. confectioners’ sugar

For the Mochi:

1 cup glutinous rice flour

½ cup confectioners’ sugar, to taste

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 cup water (or milk for a creamier mochi)

1 Tbsp. butter, softened

For the Toppings (Optional):

1 Tbsp. cocoa powder or matcha

1 Tbsp. honey or sweetened condensed milk

1. Toast cornstarch in a pan over medium-low heat for a few minutes to kill any bacteria (this is a safety precaution as you won’t be cooking this later). Spread evenly over a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle on the confectioners’ sugar. Reserve to coat cooked mochii.

2. Whisk all the mochi ingredients except the butter in a microwave-safe bowl until combined and not lumpy. Microwave on high power for 1 to 2 minutes. Mix again. Microwave for another minute and mix again. If there are any uncooked parts left, microwave for an additional minute. The mochi is ready when it is slightly translucent, cohesive, and evenly cooked. Add the butter and mix thoroughly.

3. Cover and cool until the mochi is no longer too hot to touch, about 8 minutes.

4. Wear food-safe gloves. Knead and stretch the mochi for about 15 seconds. It’ll be sticky.

5. Transfer the mochi to the prepared baking sheet. Coat lightly with the cornstarch and sugar mixture.

6. Roll the mochi into a log. Divide it into 8 even pieces. Working one at a time, flatten each piece into a disc. Tuck the disc onto itself by pinching in the dough from all sides into the middle. This creates a round shape. Place the mochi ball seam-side down on the work surface. With your fingers cupping the mochi, roll in a circular motion to firmly shape the ball. You can also roll it between your palms. Note the mochi may flatten a bit and not hold its shape well without any filling, and that’s okay. Perfection is overrated anyway.

7. Place on a serving plate. If desired, dust with matcha or cocoa powder. For added sweetness, drizzle with honey or condensed milk.

8. Store in an airtight container and eat within 2 days.

Kat Lieu with her grandmother in the ’80s, and today with her son.

Velvety Nama

CHOCOLATES

“Before I leave Narita Airport on my return trips from Japan, I always stock up on Royce’s famous nama chocolates,” writes Lieu. “These confections are the epitome of perfect velvety chocolate truffles. I love biting into a soft nama chocolate and letting the ganache melt on my tongue. I’m a sucker for anything comforting and delicious yet simply made. This recipe is inspired by Royce’s nama chocolates.”

For the Nama Chocolates

1 cup heavy cream

1 Tbsp. butter

2 cups bittersweet or dark couverture (or high-quality) chocolate, chopped

1 Tbsp. liquor of choice or vanilla extract (optional)

Pinch of salt

Cocoa or matcha powder, for dusting Gold flakes, for garnishing (optional)

For Matcha Nama Variation

1 cup heavy cream

2 Tbsp. butter, room temperature

3 cups ivory-colored white chocolate (made with cocoa butter), chopped 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

TIP

“Nama means raw or fresh in Japanese, and nama chocolates are easily made with fresh cream and chocolate,” Lieu says. “Have a digital or candy thermometer for this recipe.”

1-2 Tbsp. matcha, plus more for dusting

Edible gold flakes or sea salt flakes, for garnishing (optional)

1. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.

2. There are two ways to make the nama chocolates. For a more purely chocolate confection, heat the heavy cream and butter in a saucepan to 120°F. (Take care not to overheat the heavy cream or the chocolate will separate.) Remove from heat. Add the chocolate to a large heatproof bowl and microwave for 15 seconds. Pour the cream into the softened chocolate to temper it. Add the optional liquor

or vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Whisk until creamy and homogeneous. Go to step 4.

3. For more matcha flavor, heat the heavy cream and butter to 110°F in a saucepan, until the butter has melted. Immediately remove from heat and mix in the white chocolate, vanilla extract, and salt until incorporated and creamy. Sift in the matcha and whisk until homogeneous.

4. Pour the chocolate mixture into the prepared pan. Even and smooth out the top of the chocolate. Tap the pan against the counter to get rid of air bubbles. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 hours.

5. Slice the chocolate into 24–36 equal pieces, depending on how big you want them to be. Dust with either the cocoa or the matcha. Garnish with edible gold flakes or sea salt, if using.

6. Nama chocolates should be refrigerated in an airtight container and eaten within 5 days.

CREAM BARS Berry Matcha

“One bite of these dreamy creamy bars and I’m transported to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in Tokyo during the springtime when sakura are in full bloom,” writes Lieu. “This berry cream layer atop a buttery and earthy shortbread combo is, without a doubt, a matcha made in heaven. This recipe is adapted from one found on SAB by Hali Mo (@halicopteraway on Instagram).”

For the Matcha Shortbread

¾ cup butter, softened

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. white miso paste

1½ cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 Tbsp. matcha

¼ cup pistachios, finely chopped

For the Berry Cream

¼ cup water

2¼ tsp. powdered gelatin (one standard packet)

2 cups full-fat coconut milk

2 Tbsp. condensed milk or honey, to taste

½ tsp. miso

4 Tbsp. raspberry or strawberry jam

1 tsp. lemon zest or lemon juice

1 drop red food coloring gel (optional)

1 3 cup dried cranberries (optional)

For the Toppings (optional)

Matcha or strawberry powder

Fresh raspberries or sliced strawberries

Edible gold flakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and place a rack in the center.

2. Grease a 9-by-9-inch baking pan, or line it with parchment paper.

3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and miso until well incorporated and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the flour and matcha and mix on medium-low speed until a dough forms. Fold the pistachios into the dough until evenly distributed.

4. Transfer the shortbread dough to the prepared pan. Using the back of a spoon or clean fingers, firmly press the mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan, covering all edges and the sides. Use a fork to poke holes across the entire surface of the dough.

5. Bake 15 minutes, until lightly browned and puffy. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, make the berry cream: Combine water and gelatin in a bowl. Let the gelatin bloom for a few minutes, then microwave 10 seconds, until melted.

7. In a large bowl, add the coconut milk, condensed milk or honey, miso, jam, lemon zest or juice, and optional food coloring, and whisk until homogeneous. Stir in the melted gelatin and mix until combined. Fold in the optional dried cranberries. Take the pan out of the refrigerator. Pour the berry cream on top of the shortbread. Tap gently against the counter and smooth out the top with a spatula.

8. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

9. Cut into 12–16 even pieces. Garnish with the optional toppings. Enjoy!

10. Refrigerate leftovers and consume within a few days.

TRAVEL & ESCAPES

Palm Springs Forward

Our favorite desert city is having a moment with new takes on modernism in homes and hotels, a wonderful wellness boom, and classic restaurants refining their menus.

Staying cool at the Hermann Bungalows.

ROBB GORDON

Bold Moves on the Mountain

A sprawling modernist architectural vision takes form high above the city.

Story By HUGH GARVEY

Even the gatehouse at Desert Palisades is beautiful. With a dramatic cantilevered roof of patinated corten steel and surrounded by desert boulders, the structure at the entrance to Palm Springs' newest residential development looks like it was formed by tectonic forces, glaciers, and time—or built by an alien civilization with excellent taste. Like much of Desert Palisades, despite being new, it looks like it’s been there forever. This small structure, which also serves as a community mailroom, is a signifier of the intention of the development, placing itself in the short but impressive timeline of the manmade topography of Palm Springs. Minimalist. Grand but quiet. And very intentionally modernist.

Eighteen years in the making, Desert Palisades is perched high above the Coachella Valley on the last view lot in the city. There are grand views of the San Jacinto, Santa Rosa, and Chocolate mountains. The landscape is strewn with boulders, which of course have been placed very precisely. It feels both serene and remote but is only minutes from downtown. In a city known for modernist

enclaves, this is the most architecturally significant new development in the city. You will find no Spanish revival homes here, or references to Tudor, or even a boxy McMansion, thanks to an internal architecture review board that vets all plans that have already gone through Palm Springs’ rigorous vetting process.

Developer Ed Freeman always wanted Desert Palisades to be a showcase of modernist desert architecture. He joinined forces with local Realtor Marc Sanders, and the two made a wish list of architects they wanted involved in the project. They intentionally put half the number of approved lots on the site, creating space between homes in a city not exactly known for it. “It has the topography and remoteness of Joshua Tree but the convenience of Palm Springs,” says Sanders. “You’re not allowed to build a wall or plant palm trees, and you must use native plants. When you clear your pad, you need to return as many boulders back to the property as possible.” Their anchor project was a stunning house by architect Ray Kappe that set the tone for the projects that have followed, all of which channel the mid-century modernist roots of the architecture of Palm Springs but are also wholly contemporary. Join us on a tour of where the latest chapter in the evolution of Palm Spring is being written, home by home.

The gatehouse at Desert Palisades

THE LAST KAPPE HOUSE

1 Designed by Ray Kappe, the visionary architect who helped found the prestigious Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and designed dozens of post and beam houses throughout Southern California, this multilevel home is his last commission and one of the grandest expressions of his warm modernism.

THE LOST WEXLER

2 Donald Wexler—the architect behind the Dinah Shore House, Palm Springs International Airport, and the pioneering all-steel Alexander houses—is on the short list of modernist masters who defined the look of Palm Springs. Commissioned before his death in 2015, this is the last Wexler that will ever be built.

THE HOUSES OF STUDIO AR & D

3 In addition to setting the tone for the development with the dramatic gatehouse, architecture firm Studio AR&D is designing nearly a dozen homes in Desert Palisades and exploring the desert palette of material, site specificity, landscaping, and the framing of views.

EPIC ARCHITECTURAL EXPERIENCE

Modernism Week Gives Visitors Unparalleled Access to Desert Design

This time each year thousands of architecture fans flock to Palm Springs for Modernism Week, the epic citywide celebration highlighting mid century modern architecture, art, interior and landscape design, and vintage culture. With parties, panels, exhibits, double decker bus tours of the city’s mid century landmarks—from Twin Palms to Racquet Club Estates, the Movie Colony and beyond—and dozens of tours of homes typically closed to the public, it is by far the most complete deep dive into desert modern architecture and the Southern California indoor-outdoor lifestyle. This year includes a first-time tour of Frank Sinatra’s mountain getaway Villa Maggio, tours of Albert Frey’s Frey house II, homes by Donald Wexler, William Krisel, and other pioneering Palm Springs architects, and a keynote address by starchitect Thom Mayne, the Pritzker Prize-winning founder of architecture firm Morphosis, plus a look inside the Trina Turk-owned art moderne Ship of the Desert, which appeared on the cover of Sunset in 1937.

Sunset is a proud sponsor of Modernism Week 2023, which runs February 1626. Tickets are available at modernismweek.com

BOTTOM LEFT: 2023 MODERNISM WEEK POSTER DESIGNED BY SHAG: COURTESY OF THE SHAG

STORE; BOTTOM RIGHT: MERRICK MARRON/COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. PICTURES

PERFECT PRESERVATION

The Legendary Kaufmann House Stands Strong

Few houses capture the essence of the fantasy Southern California leisure lifestyle as viscerally as Slim Aarons' 1970 photograph of Richard Neutra’s iconic Kaufmann House. Known as Poolside Gossip, the photograph showed thenhomeowner Nelda Linsk and friends relaxing in front of a masterpiece of modernist residential architecture. We were honored to photograph Linsk when she visited the home shortly after it was sold to a new owner dedicated to architectural preservation in 2022. The home still stands strong, very much in the state that it was in when Neutra designed and built it for Edgar Kaufmann (who also commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater). Respectfully restored and updated in 1998 by Marmol Radziner, the home remains the pinnacle of Palm Springs residential design.

Modernism Week events include Retro Style on Film: Designing Costume and Sets for Don't Worry Darling. The Oscar-nominated designers chose the Kaufmann House as a featured location in this 2022 film.

Nelda Linsk poses by the pool at the Kaufmann House 52 years after the iconic Slim Aarons photo was taken.

Slim Aarons' original iconic 1970 photograph Poolside Gossip.

FROM TOP: ROBERT STEINKEN; SLIM AARONS/GETTY IMAGES

RESTAURANTS

Just Order the Steak

Food

Story By KRISTA SIMMONS

With its close proximity to Los Angeles and constant influx of top-tier talent, Palm Springs is always tapped into the culinary zeitgeist. But no matter how many times we visit and are impressed with the execution of on-trend dishes—the perfect Neapolitan-style wood-fired pies at Birba or the transcendent Viet fusion at Rooster and the Pig, for instance—for us, it’s the old-school steakhouse that we'll return to time and again.

Perhaps it's nostalgia for the Rat Pack era that fuels our passion for perfectly prepared steaks and excellent martinis. Or maybe it’s the fact that quality "fast casual" dining has become the norm in most urban areas, and folks are just looking for an excuse to splash out. But we simply can’t stay away from the steakhouse, which always delivers the air of sophistication and high-level service that we so desperately crave these days. Here are the best spots to get gussied up for your throwback moment.

trends may come and go, but ribeye and ice-cold martinis still reign supreme.

Chef Gabriel Woo at Bar Cecil.

Mr. Lyon's

MR. LYON’S

1 The owners of desert hot spots Birba and Cheeky’s really delivered when they revamped this classic originally opened in 1945. Walking through the dimly lit dining room, you’ll find yourself fawning over jumbo shrimp cocktails, bowls of French onion soup bubbling with Gruyère, and their beautifully presented signature beef Wellington. The real star of the show, the Honest Martini, is made as purists agree it should be. Gin and dry vermouth are stirred and served up, with a twist. Sorry, Mr. Bond. mrlyonsps.com

BAR CECIL

2 While it may not technically be a steakhouse in the traditional American sense of the word, Bar Cecil is the most significant modern evolution of a classic bistro, with an iteration of steak frites that’d stand up to your favorite spot in Paris. Instead of red naugahyde clichés, you’ll find eye-popping eclectic design, a smart wine list, and art inspired by the restaurant's namesake, British photographer Cecil Beaton. If you’re so bold, order the Beaton Martini, a Beluga vodka cocktail served with a deviled egg topped with Regiis Ova caviar, house-made potato chips, and a house-pickled cocktail onion. After the first sip, you’ll discover that the $50 price tag is very much warranted. barcecil.com

MELVYN’S

3 Undoubtedly the formula that all other steakhouses turn to for inspiration, Melvyn’s is a can’t-miss classic for anyone serious about exploring Palm Springs history and the cuisine that comes along with it. A favorite hangout of Sinatra and his gang, Melvyn’s has been a staple in the desert dining scene since 1975, and one could rightly argue it’s because they have truly mastered the trifecta of a perfectly seared steak, chilled martini, and wedge salad. The restaurant, which is housed inside the historic Inglewood Inn, still delivers an aura of elegance, and continues to be a spot to be seen for locals and travelers alike. inglesideinn.com/melvyns

HOTELS

Mod Nods

Palm Springs’ iconic desert design evolves into a new era.

Story By KRISTA SIMMONS

Not long ago, Palm Springs hotels came in two flavors: gracious Spanish revival and onthe-nose (if a bit campy) mid-century modern. But today a new era of hotel openings and restorations honor the innovation of the mid-twentieth century while pushing into the future of hospitality. A cadre of architects and designers are breathing life into a region that’s defined luxury living, honoring the bold colors, bright patterns, and natural habitat that made desert design so unique, giving new vision to the term desert chic.

AZURE SKY

1 Originally created in 1959 by Cioffi Architect and built by Hoffman Steel, Azure Sky is marked by the quintessential breeze block walls seen across the low desert. The original forms of the hotel were thoughtfully restored by hospitality group Lightning Bar, whose master carpenters crafted floating wooden beds, accent walls, and wood-and-mirror banding in the lobby. The bouclé swivel chairs and muted earth tones give it all a 1970s rec room meets Japanese ryokan vibe that somehow works. azureskyhotel. com

HERMANN BUNGALOWS

2 This luxury resort-within-a-resort, located inside the L’Horizon Resort & Spa built by William F. Cody, was designed with a nod to Richard Neutra and midcentury modernism. Its 24 spacious rooms are adorned with walnut walls,

Venetian terrazzo floors, and custom furniture, giving the feel of an upscale home-away-from-home rather than a hotel. Each room features a private backyard and patio, giving guests an intimate connection to the stunning Southern California landscape. The sun-shelf pool is the perfect place to recline while watching the sun set over the San Jacintos before heading over to the hotel’s noteworthy (and very exclusive) alfresco restaurant, So-pa. stevehermann.com

FLEUR NOIRE

3 Experience the superbloom yearround at this modern mix of casitas and studios whose exteriors have been hand-painted with large-scale floral murals by renowned artist Ouize. Built in the 1940s as Burket’s Trade Winds Hotel, Fleure Noire features a contemporary native plant garden that provides a striking contrast to the

1 3 80 SUNSET • WELLNESS 2023

2 CLOCKWISE

FROM TOP LEFT: SHEVA KAFAI; JIM BARTSCH; ELEVATION CREATIVE AGENCY

4

RESORT REVIVAL

Diverse openings in the desert

WELLNESS ON THE HORIZON

Palm Springs has long been known as a modern self-care oasis, with more than 25 destination spa resorts featuring the latest trends in health and wellness. But long before the area drew Hollywood celebs and in-the-know jetsetters, the Cahuilla Indians revered the hot, mineral-rich waters that spring up from a robust natural underground aquifer.

The Spa at Séc-he will bring the ancient healing waters of the Agua Caliente Hot Mineral Spring to the public when it debuts in 2023 alongside the Agua Caliente Cultural Center, a 48,000-square-foot museum that is poised to be the center of cultural tourism honoring indigenous tribes in California. It’s a welcome addition to the landscape, and a step in the right direction toward healing in many senses for the region.

LIVING OUT

A 122-unit multi-purpose resort facility for 55 and over LGBTQ+ community members and their allies called Living Out will open in early 2023. There’ll be a pool, putting green, bocce ball court, and restaurant by renowned chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken of Border Grill fame. The restaurant, Alice B.’s, pays tribute to Alice B. Toklas, life partner of Gertrude Stein. The complex will also feature Tailwaggers, a pet supply boutique and doggie daycare, creating the ultimate safe space to age gracefully, joyfully, and full of pride.

festival season and beyond. fleurnoirehotel.com

THE PALOMA

4 Originally opened in 1920 by two enterprising women, this delightful property boasts a just-right blend of the Spanish Revival and modernist architecture that the area has become known for. The vibrant,

date-tree-dotted hotel situated just south of downtown has been thoughtfully restored to include Sol y Sombra, a Spanish restaurant inside the adobe main building, as well as a poolside bar where you can indulge in a frosty version of their eponymous cocktail, the paloma, made with tequila, fresh grapefruit juice, and agave. thepalomaresort.com

SERENITY AT SENSEI

The world melts away at Sensei Porcupine Creek, the new 230acre wellness retreat founded by Larry Ellison and David Agus, a world-leading physician and scientist. Their second location after Sensei Lāna’i, the desert property in Rancho Mirage focuses on integrating mindset, nutrition, fitness, and more. It's the ulitmate antidote to the hurried outside world and a bucket-list destination for a spa lover.

Just Don’t Call It a Gym

Story by KRISTA SIMMONS

an era when nearly everyone is a fitness influencer, it’s become increasingly difficult to find a gym that isn’t completely overwhelmed by tripods and content creators. Thankfully, a new form of wellness-focused social club is taking hold in Los Angeles. These bespoke, design-centric clubs go far beyond the traditional definition of a gym.

The onslaught of fitness social clubs couldn’t come at a more appropriate time, when sober-curiosity and an obsession with bleeding-edge wellness dominate the zeitgeist. And of course it’s all happening in L.A., the nexus of trend-setting when it comes to training.

While the ancient Greeks were the first to perfect their physiques in gymnasiums, it was here in Los Angeles that Joe Gold opened Gold’s Gym Venice in 1965. Known as the Mecca of Bodybuilding, Gold’s transformed a relatively niche subset of health nuts into a massive global fitness movement that franchised gyms and inspired cult Hollywood films like Pumping Iron, the first movie to star then-bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger.

It’s fitting, then, that the owners of Gold’s Gym, RSG Group, are continuing to push the fitness world forward with an innovative social wellness club concept in Hollywood called Heimat (heimat.com), whose design reads as more of a luxury hotel than a gym. There are 75,000 square feet of fitness facilities that include a cozy living room lobby with a fireplace, a rooftop pool, locker rooms outfitted with pink Himalayan sea salt saunas, a full-service spa, a smartly designed coworking space, and Mother Tongue, a restaurant by celebrity chef Michael Mina. Potted plants and live greenery add pops of life throughout, with the cardio area having its own live cactus

Mother Tongue restaurant at Heimat in Los Angeles.

Social clubs

centered on fitness are combining coworking, cutting-edge health science, and high design.

garden and floor-to-ceiling windows.

Translated from German as “the feeling of home,” Heimat is not only a great way to connect with LA’s fitness community. Travelers, too, can opt to pay for a day pass to experience their regular live music performances and facilities, while the public can dine at Mina’s Mother Tongue, where you’ll find dishes that are a far cry from your typical gym rat’s smoothie bar. Think duck confit bone broth with carrot and ginger or corn orzo with lion’s mane, the trending adaptogenic mushroom. There’s also a stunning rooftop bar that boasts plenty of zeroproof options to sip while watching the sunset or the sweeping views of the Hollywood Hills.

The vibe is similarly immaculate at Remedy Place (remedyplace.com) on Sunset Boulevard, where the hub of socializing is the sleek, modern nonalcoholic bar, where members can gather over tinctures and tonics after

sound baths and treatments. While members do get a discount on remedies, the social club is open to travelers, so long as they book a treatment. On a recent visit, a group of travelers visiting from London were gathering for a pre-Burning Man detox, juicing themselves up with IV drips, customized acupuncture treatments, and cold plunges to prepare themselves for a week out on the Playa.

At another design-focused space in Los Angeles, Artha (artha.la) rubber floors and harsh fluorescent lighting have been replaced with float tanks, cryo rooms, and nano-studios that are specifically designed to accommodate small classes and elicit an instant moment of Zen. In addition to offering de rigueur yoga and meditation classes, Artha has body-sculpting devices like contour light and T-Shock therapy. There’s nary a sign of a bigbox gym in sight. And we are here for it.

but drab.

Serene common areas (above) and classrooms at Remedy Place.

The free-weight room at Heimat is anything

COURTESY OF GO LA PAZ

Close encounters with whale sharks in the UNESCO World Heritage site Jacques Cousteau called “the world’s aquarium” inspire wonder – and a continued passion for ocean conservation.

Story by KRISTA SIMMONS

WILDLANDS

rowing up in the West, I never had a shortage of opportunities to explore the sea, from rough-water swimming to bodyboarding to one of my all-time favorite ocean activities, snorkeling. I have a real appreciation for the relative accessibility of grabbing some affordable gear, sticking

my head underwater, and entering another world, no oxygen tanks required. Exhibit A: the Bay of La Paz, in Baja California Sur.

The biodiversity in this coastal region is so rich and so spectacular that Jacques Cousteau referred to it as the “world’s aquarium.” Lesser known and far less touristed than Cabo San Lucas two hours south, La Paz makes an incredible journey for nature lovers.

La Paz, an hour’s drive from trendy Todos Santos, is the capital city of Baja California Sur and the gateway to the Sea of Cortez. Just offshore, the warm waters near Espiritu Santo Island (a UNESCO World Heritage site) teem with playful sea lions, manta and mobula rays, giant squid,

dolphins, and Baja’s most famous underwater resident: the whale shark, whose annual migration is from October to February.

Whale sharks, or tiburón ballena as they’re known here, are the largest living non-mammalian vertebrate and the largest shark species on the planet. They can reach up to 41.5 feet long and weigh about 47,000 pounds. Swimming alongside them is the most heart-racing, awe-inspiring experience I have ever had, on land or in the sea.

Cruising with these gentle giants as they move gracefully in the azure waters while they filter feed on the plankton-rich waters completely dwarfed my sense of self in the grand scope of nature, inspiring a further responsibility to protect these magnificent creatures.

Because whale sharks thrive and feed in shallow waters in the Bay of La Paz, visiting them as a snorkeler is relatively easy. Here they are cherished by visitors and locals alike, but in other areas of their international migratory patterns, their shallow feeding habits has given easy access to poachers who covet their meat and fins, landing them on the list of endangered species.

Thankfully, La Paz as a community has taken measures to be at the forefront of whale shark protection and conservation. Tour operators have to be fully certified, and many guides are educated as marine biologists.

Cousteau wasn’t the only one to take note of its unique biodiversity; La Paz is home to four marine research centers and several NGOs working to

protect the Bay’s spectacular ecosystem. The area where the whale sharks feed is strictly regulated by the Natural Protected Areas National Commission, and only permitted operators are allowed in.

“For the communities in La Paz, whale sharks not only represent an important part of the ecosystem, but their arrival each year also brings tourism that benefits thousands of families. In order to guarantee the sustainable development of the region, it is crucial to protect these giants of the sea and their habitat,” says Luis Garduno,

co-founder of RED Travel, a company dedicated to responsible ecotourism in Mexico. “Authorities, scientists, and tour operators have been working largely on achieving this balance. Of course there is always room for improvement, but I believe interacting with wildlife in a restricted and protected manner has been one of the most important efforts in Mexico.”

Before we embarked on our snorkel, we had an in-depth briefing that went over the rules: swimmers aren’t allowed to approach from the front, and are absolutely not permitted to

touch the whale sharks. There is no baiting involved, and the encounters are purely passive.

In season, a maximum of fourteen tour boats are allowed to look for whale sharks. The excursions can go no longer than two and half hours, with no more than two boats following any one shark. A total of five guests and one guide can be in the water at any given time. On our early morning trip, we were the only folks I saw out on the water, making for a truly magical experience and proving that the planet’s largest creatures are ones worth protecting.

WHERE TO STAY

Rancho Pescadero: Located in the trendy beach town of Todos Santos, less than an hour and a half outside La Paz, this newly revamped wellness retreat is a vacation in and of itself. Unwind after a day out on the water in the 30,000-square-foot spa. ranchopescadero.com

Baja Club Hotel: We’re a bit obsessed with the exposed-brick courtyard that surrounds the pool at this revamped 20th-century villa. Rustic, minimalist interiors are accented by pieces from local craftsmen, and did we mention the rooftop bar? bajaclubhotel.com

Drift Hotel: Even if you are staying in San Jose del Cabo, La Paz is just a quick two-and-a-half-hour drive away and well worth a visit. This stylish boutique hotel is a local favorite and one of ours too because of its proximity to nearby activities, like the weekly art walk. drifthotels.co/sanjose

Rancho Pescadero

FROM TOP: COURTESY OF GO LA PAZ; KENNY VIESE

This month: Santa Fe, NM

Insider

SOUTHWEST

Lindsey Calla is an artist whose ethereal Earth Auras series of photographs captures the essence of the high desert. Her pieces have been placed in top collections around the world, including that of an ARTNews Top 200 Collector, and are also exhibited at the iconic Santa Fe restaurant Geronimo.

hot drinking chocolates from ancient recipes; the secret Marie Antoinette recipe is my favorite!

SHOP

hard not to leave with a treasure!

STAY

DO

Catch a forward-thinking experiential exhibit at SITE Santa Fe. Then soak in hot springs at Ten Thousand Waves to warm up. You get your own personal sauna with your soak. It feels like you’ve been transported into an onsen in the middle of the Santa Fe mountains. Or make an appointment at the Georgia O’Keeffe Research Center to view her personal library of books and materials up close.

DRINK

Legal Tender is an offthe-beaten path treasure. It’s an old Western rail saloon and mercantile that serves delicious craft cocktails. For a non-alcoholic vibe, Kakawa Chocolate House is a must in the winter. Sip on some

Spirit of the Earth has cozy sweaters and beautifully curated objects. The owners have an incredible eye. Santa Fe has some of the greatest used bookstores in the country. I recommend stopping by Books of Interest and op.cit.. It’s

Bishop’s Lodge is historic and close to the city, but immersed in the landscape. You can really get a sense of the magic of New Mexico. Inn of the Five Graces has a fantastic spa with gorgeous mosaic soaking tubs and piñon for your fireplace, and one of the owners does all the mosaics.

Seasonal diversions and secret travel tips from local experts.

The insider: Lindsey Calla, photographer

Ten Thousand Waves

Bishop's Lodge, Auberge Resorts Collection

Spirit of the Earth

Legal Tender

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: PETER BARRERAS; AMBER QUINTANA; SOTE; BISHOP'S LODGE, AUBERGE RESORTS COLLECTION; LINDSEY CALLA

PACIFIC NORTHWEST

STAY

Kex has “great access to the eastside of Portland, and all of the restaurants in the area,” including Gourdet’s Portland hotspot, kann . “The hotel also boasts the newly opened Pacific Standard ,

EAT

“ You have to visit Han Oak for Korean BBQ and karaoke,” says Gourdet. Another must-visit for food lovers is “ Fermenter, a vegan shop that focuses on fermented foods, including house-made tempeh and other delicious, fermented vegetables that they incorporate into sandwiches and salads, along with an array of fermented drinks, including kefir and kombucha.”

SHOP

“Filson has great outdoor-centric rugged wear. They make fantastic items out of wool materials and are also very fashionable. Machus is also one of my favorite stores. It’s a go-to for sporty menswear."

Ranger Choolate Co.

Pacific Standard

Han Oak

This month: Portland, OR

The insider: Gregory Gourdet, chef at Kann and Sousòl

Portland-based Gregory Gourdet is a Top Chef finalist, James Beard Award–winning chef, and founder of the celebrated Haitan fusion restaurant Kann and the Caribbean cocktail bar Sousòl. He's also the author of Everyone's Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health.

an incredible cocktail bar from Jeffrey Morgenthaler. Next door is Ranger Chocolate Co. , which has great chocolate and coffee.”

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: RACHELLE HACMAC; EVA KOSMOS FLORES (2); CARTER HIYAMA; RANGER CHOCOLATE CO.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Candice Kumai grew up in San Diego, and is the author of six best-selling books, including Kintsugi Wellness and Clean Green Eats. She’s appeared on Netflix's Selena + Chef and is the host of the weekly podcast Wabi Sabi.

This month: San Diego, CA

The insider: Candice Kumai, cookbook writer

DO

“My favorite spot is Balboa Park. This is by far one of my favorite places in San Diego, besides the beach, of course,” and “the museums and parks are the best medicine for a technology cleanse.” And “if you can make it out to Encinitas, I recommend Moonlight State Beach” as well.

EAT

“My mom is Japanese from Kyushu Island, known as the mecca of ramen, and Tajima Ramen and Nishiki Ramen

are some of the best. There are some great Japanese grocery stores, too,” like Nijiya, Mitsuwa, and Marukai

SHOP

“

Four Moons Spa is a delightful, blissful retreat for massages, facials, and relaxation. Their hip and stylish gift shop has thoughtful, spiritual gifts and an outdoor area to read a book or catch up with a girlfriend for a tea. Nearby are surf spots like Beacon’s and D Street , plus plenty of local good eats."

Moonlight State Beach

Balboa Park

Kumai sources ingredients from Japanese grocery stores for dishes like her Spicy Miso Ramen.

Four Moons Spa

CLOCKWISE FROM KUMAI: JACK JEFFRIES; JEREMY GALLMAN/UNSPLASH; F11PHOTO/GETTY IMAGES; SHAWN KALLIO; CANDICE KUMAI/ KINTSUGI WELLNESS

West Essentials

{ OUR PICKS FOR WHAT’S ESSENTIAL IN THE WEST }

Experience Alaska, Visit Anchorage

Alaska is known for glaciers, wildlife, and unforgettable open spaces. Experience it all with a visit to Anchorage. Urban and wild, it offers city comforts and endless natural Alaska allure. Plan a trip with your free Official Guide to Anchorage. VisitAnchorage.net

Medford - Heart Of The Rogue

Oregon's only National Park and the nation’s deepest lake is just 50 miles north of Medford in Southern Oregon. Plan your adventure now with twelve direct flights to Medford Airport or an easy road trip on the Interstate 5. travelmedford.org/crater-lake-national-park-

Wander Leads to Wonder

The majestic beauty of Yosemite, authentic history of California Gold Country and endless adventure of High Sierra all beckon you to lose your to-do list and let nature lead the way. Good times are calling in Tuolumne County. VisitTCToday.com/Sunset

A Magical Getaway in Mendocino

Discover the coastal county of Mendocino at SCP Mendocino Inn and Farm. Surrounded on three sides by state parks, this 15-acre playground has tranquil spaces, easy forest and ocean access, private gardens, chickens and llamas, and a selection of local wine bottles (perfect for your beach picnic). scphotel.com/mendocino

Explore Fairbanks, Alaska

Be inspired by the light of the Aurora Borealis. Renew your energy under the Midnight Sun. Experience the warmth of Fairbanks – the basecamp to Denali, Interior and Arctic Alaska. Start planning your Alaskan vacation with a Fairbanks Visitors Guide. explorefairbanks.com

Unbox The West!

The Sunset Subscription Box brings the Best of the West straight to your door! Every three months, you’ll get a box full of home, design, food, and gardening products curated by Sunset editors. Choose the box that fits your style and price point, then get ready to be surprised and delighted by what you find inside! TheSunsetBox.com

The majestic beauty of Yosemite, authentic history of California Gold Country and endless adventure of High Sierra, all beckon you to lose your to-do list and let nature lead the way. So clip in explorers and set your compass to Tuolumne County, good times are calling and you must go.

Dodge Ridge Mountain Resort, Pinecrest*

Be inspired by the light of the Aurora Borealis. Renew your energy under the Midnight Sun. Experience the warmth of Fairbanks—Alaska’s Golden Heart—and the basecamp to Denali, Interior and Arctic Alaska.

www.explorefairbanks.com

OREGON

The Healing Power of Plants

Nick Cutsumpas, known as Farmer Nick on his popular Instagram account, celebrates gardening in all its forms, from a simple potted plant to a full-blown backyard farm.

Interview by KRISTA SIMMONS

Farmer Nick Cutsumpas is a full-time plant coach, urban gardener, and landscape designer whose mission is to leave the earth greener than when he found it by giving people the knowledge and confidence they need to create their own green spaces. He inspires joy and wellness through plants on his Instagram account @farmernick and in his book, Plant Coach: The Beginner’s Guide To Caring for Plants and the Planet.

We know that plants are great for the environment and, of course, are beautiful to look at, but would you consider tending to plants a form of wellness and self-care? If so, how? Watering and tending to my plants has become the source of my meditation practice; the slowness of plants is so comforting in a very fast-paced society. Growing my own food on my LettuceGrow Farmstand is equally fulfilling. Knowing I have fresh produce available at any time inspires me to cook more for myself at home, which is another wonderful act of self-care.

What are some marked differences you’ve noticed in your life since you started surrounding yourself with greenery?

I’ve definitely noticed a decrease in stress. My life is arguably more stressful since becoming a full-time “plantrepreneur,” but when you work outside in the dirt with the plants all day, it always keeps me grounded.

We always come back to the idea that

plants are a lot like us people, they need the right environment to thrive. What are some lessons that you’ve learned from tending to plants and applied to your own mindfulness practice?

Something I talk a lot about in my book is this idea of “mindful neglect,” which is all about acknowledging and observing your plants without the necessity of taking any action. If chosen in accordance with your environment, most plants will not need much human intervention to thrive, and some-

times excess human intervention (such as overwatering or changing the environment) can cause more harm than good. Sometimes less is more, and by choosing to observe more than act, you can make more purposeful and effective plant care decisions.

We noticed on your site there’s a toolkit to create a “greenprint.” Can you explain what that is, and why it’s so important?

A greenprint is basically a plant blueprint of your indoor or outdoor space. It’s something you create after you’ve thoroughly assessed your environment and are ready to integrate plants into your home. It’s a great way to visualize plants in your space before heading to the plant shop, and it will prevent you from making poor plant purchases that could become a source of stress in the long term. It’s all about the plant prep!

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“ Watering and tending to my plants has become the source of my meditation practice; the slowness of plants is so comforting in a fast-paced society.”