Simply Stylist: A Fashionista's Dream Day

Whoever says fashion is not the perfect Saturday afternoon activity has not attended a Simply Stylist event. Positioned in the W Hotel-Hollywood, this March 3rd event was chic and sweet all the way through. Though I (sadly) missed the luncheon at Delphine, I was able to slip in to make the seminar and panelist fashion discussion...

Indie LA - Shop Local!

I always knew our beloved city was a breeding ground for fashion, art, and the engaging of the two, but the destinations for such events seem to have grown almost overnight. And.now that the official gift-giving season has arrived, it's the perfect time to check out the best of what LA's got to offer local-style. Here are a re-cap of the ones I've visited, plus a few more that I've got my eye on:

Your Local Farmers Market - A Conversation with Craig Deihl from Cypress in Charleston

As Thanksgiving approaches, what better time to visit your local Farmers Market for your holiday feast and on ExperienceLA we try to have a complete list of farmers markets in LA County sorted by day. Always a special treat is the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market which in past year's has opened early the Wednesday before Thanksgiving as a way to better manage the number of shoppers. You can spot the LA chefs with their helpers and wagons. Most are wearing their chef jacket, and here is a recent one of myself and Wolfgang Puck.

Watching chefs buy their produce and interact with the vendors has introduced me to several chefs and their restaurants in LA. Thus, whenever I travel, I check to see where and when is the local farmers market as a way of introducing me to the local food scene. And if you have cooking facilities where you are staying, it is especially fun to shop for locally based produce and poultry and figure out something to make from a rgional cook book. Thus, while in Charleston, I timed our arrival so that we could visit the Charleston Farmers Market which occurs on Saturday in Marion Square. The day we selected was one that featured prominent local chefs demonstrating their use of locally procured ingredients, and thus we met Craig Deihl, executive chef of Cypress Restaurant in Charleston as he prepared three locally inspired dishes, including produce provided by Lee Burbage from Joseph Fields farm.

After seeing the cooking demo, we got onto Open Table and made a reservation for Cypress for Monday night while in town for the Blackbaud non-profit conference. While walking down Bay Street to Cypress, we passed a must visit Charleston foodie destination, Charleston Cooks! Maverick Kitchen store, where you can pick up some regional cooking souvenirs. Cypress restaurant is a great example of blending the old with the new in this adaptive reuse of a building where a stunning interior decor is set-off by the exposed brick. A visit to Cypress is an opportunity to enjoy Low Country cooking exemplified with locally sourced ingredients. Figuring out what to eat was simplfied from the choices offered on a three course menu for $38 and the portions were larger than expected. At the Charleston Farmers Market, we had watched Craig Deihl prepare his signature dish candied bacon which would be on pulitzer prize food critic Jonathan Gold's radar if he was reporting from Charleston.

The other first course we had was Craig's charcutterie plate, all made in-house, which ranks among the best we have had of this new wave of restaurant prepared charcutterie. On the plate was bresola, lamb bacon, head cheese, and mortadella. After dinner, Chef Diehl stopped by our table to chat and we talked about what it takes to prepare cured meats in this fashion. It brought to mind Novella Carpenter's story of dumpster diving in West Berkeley on Fourth Street to feed her two pigs as discussed in her Farm City: Education of an Urban Farmer book and presented at the LA Central Library Aloud series. But here at Cypress in Charleston, no need to dumpster dive, as Craig has a partnership with a boutique pig producer to provide food waste to feed his future pigs for his charcutterie. This venture has proven so successful, that he has now launched a charcutterie CSA for those who want a steady supply of Craig Deihl's cured meats. The first production run sold out.

Since I am on the road, the pictures that I have been uploading to flickr have been from my Motorola Droid phone which look quite good for a mobile phone, as you can see from the Frozen Souffle S'more dessert from Cypress above. Soon you will find my various picture sets, including what we at at Cypress, from this Charleston, South Carolina trip on my ExperienceLA flickr account along with a Charleston Farmers Market set among my flickr collection of farmers markets.

Skating Around

Christmas might be over, but it feels like winter's finally kicking in. I can finally appreciate my steaming cup of tea for the way it warms my stiff, carpal tunnel syndrome pending fingers!! Call me a Southern Californian anomaly, but I love it... the biting cold, bright pink cheeks, and having all the more reason to burrow under my jacket like a cozy mole.

Last week, I took the Gold Line to the Memorial Park stop and ventured over to Pasadena's Paseo Colorado, an outdoor shopping and entertainment "center" that spans three city blocks and boasts a 14-screen movie theater, a gourmet supermarket, retail stores, restaurants, and even luxury apartments. Southern California's especially great at providing "centers" like this (the Grove, Third Street Promenade, Hollywood & Highland, etc.)... and while the idea of driving to a designated space just to walk around and be entertained can feel a little too contrived at times, it's nice to have places where people can congregate and feel a little more connected. It's a good thing, because frankly, we can all be a little too isolated in our individual cars...

After grabbing some dinner with my friends at the packed Yard House, we headed over to the Pasadena Ice Skating Center, ready to make a fool of ourselves in an attempt to hobble among the little kids whizzing past us all. Christmas music blaring over the speakers while skating around in worn out rented skates, ankles burning from using muscles in areas we never knew we had, and some crepes and hot coffee at IHOP to warm ourselves up in the aftermath... I hope that I'll never get too old for moments like those.

*On a related note, for some outdoor skating, check out Pershing Square's Downtown on Ice, open seven days a week until January 21st. And the 119th Rose Parade (which runs along Colorado Boulevard) also passes in front of Paseo Colorado. Last year's Rose Parade featured George Lucas and Star Wars characters!

-Sarah Koo, ExperienceLA Arts/Cultural Marketing Assistant

Tea Tasting in LA's Chinatown

Tucked in-between the golden dragon archways on Broadway and Chinatown Metro Gold Line station with its green, yellow, and red curved roof is Far East Plaza. At the entrance to this plaza is Wing Hop Fung Ginseng and China Products Center. But don't let the name fool you. There's more to this place than aromatic herbs and beautiful hues of porcelain dishes and figurines (though it does have a good many to please). Pass by the first floor of ginseng and herbs behind glass countertops and the large selection of dark and light wine bottles lining the shelves. Then head up the escalator and next to the assortment of imported food goods in bright plastic packages (ranging from yellow rice crackers to sweet and salty plum candy), a tea fan might find a surprising treat...

...at the top floor of Wing Hop Fung are large glass cylinders and glass countertops filled with tea leaves. Recently, I had a lovely tea tasting experience with fellow ExperienceLA blogger and ExperienceLA founder Curt Gibbs, when meeting with George Yu of the Los Angeles Chinatown Business Council and Bibiana Yung of the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles.

In addition to letting us smell the intense and fresh aroma of tea leaves, the woman in this area of the store provided us with a sample of Fujian Fresh Flavor Oolong Tea, which retails for $68.99, and plum tea, cold and slightly sweet. One surprising aspect of the selection of teas is the price range, from expected prices one might find in a general store to a high-end selection worthy of Rodeo Drive. Curt purchased a sample of an extremely fragrant $150 tea aptly named "Lion Hill Supreme of Green Tea."

In addition to invigorating the sense of taste and smell, tea tasting at Wing Hop Fung is a truly visual experience. Tea can come in all shapes and sizes, more than just small leaves, they can be beautiful bulbs and round kernals. Most people are likely to visualize tea in its Lipton sachets of crushed leaves - sometimes the dark, dry mixture has hints of colors from other leaves and dried flowers, visible only through the gauze of a tea bag. But aside from pre-packaged paper boxes of this and loose leaf tin canisters of the standard fair of Jasmine, Oolong, and Green, few can likely attest to seeing tea unparceled, unready for just quick placement in a porcelain tea pot or mug of hot water.

If you want an experience to invigorate your senses, have a taste of tea at Wing Hop Fung in Chinatown.

-ExperienceLA Web Coordinator 

Farmers Markets in Los Angeles

One of the best things about ExperienceLA.com is the extensive Los Angeles Farmers Markets listings! Fresh fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and other delicious delectables are often alongside tables full of handmade arts and crafts while live musical entertainment plays. Some even have events for the kids! Metro recently added some great info on a recent press release on some suggested places to go and how to 'Go Metro' to get there.


Markets Along the Metro Gold Line:

• Old L.A.'s Farmers Market, Tuesdays, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., Avenue 57 and Marmion Way, Highland Park station
• South Pasadena Farmers' Market, Thursdays, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Meridian Avenue and Mission Street, Mission station
• L.A. Chinatown Farmers' Market, Thursdays, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., 727 N. Hill between Alpine and Ord, Chinatown station
• Pasadena Victory Park Certified Farmers' Market (access from Metro Gold Line with connecting Pasadena ARTS shuttle bus service), Saturdays, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., North Sierra Madre Boulevard and Paloma Street, Sierra Madre Villa station
• Pasadena Villa Park Certified Farmers' Market (access from Metro Gold Line with connecting Pasadena ARTS shuttle bus service), Tuesdays, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., East Villa Street and North Garfield Avenue, either Lake Avenue station or Memorial Park station

Markets Along the Metro Red Line:

• L.A. Seventh and Figueroa Farmers' Market, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 7th and Figueroa streets, 7th Street/Metro Center station (also accessible from Metro Blue Line)
• Hollywood Farmers' Market, Sundays, 8 a.m. to 1 pm., Ivar and Selma Avenue, Hollywood/Vine station

Markets Along the Metro Blue Line:

• L.A. Seventh and Figueroa Farmers' Market, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 7th and Figueroa streets, 7th Street/Metro Center station (also accessible from Metro Red Line)
• Long Beach Downtown Certified Farmers' Market, Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 5th Street and the Promenade, 5th Street station

For more information on these and other LA Farmers Markets and to use our Metro Trip Planner to get there, visit ExperienceLA.com Farmers Markets.

-ExperienceLA Staff