Small Business Love

So today we should show some love to the small businesses. I’ve grabbed a few that I simply love and want to support. During this crazy time these small business are struggling, admittedly I have mostly bought from the big box stores, but realize how much I love that small neighborhood shop or finely curated online one and not to forget etsy craftsmans. Take the time to peruse these shops and show your support.

House of Brinson let’s just say they have style and taste. Will is photographer and an incredible bartender, just watch his weekly Cocktail Hour. Susan is an amazing designer and has such good taste. They have a shop with everything from matches, to barware to iron skillets.

Urbanic this is a local favorite from my SoCal days in Venice, CA. I miss shopping at that store. Audrey curates beautiful stationary, cards and anything you can think of. This was always my go to place for cards.

Hand + Fire I dream about Sage’s beautifically crafted pottery. Sage is based in Helena, Oregon. She is so generous in sharing her process and how to make a simple mug by hand. Recently she and Josh made some amazing wood cutting boards. I’ve watched her work part-time at a restaurant and craft on the side to becoming a full time potter. Please visit her shop online and follow her on Instagram for her notices of when new work is being released.

The Pioneer Town General Store in Pioneertown, CA. Sarah is amazing, she is incredibly smart with her MBA and obviously hipper than the coolest person you can think of. Her store is a vintage gold mine, I personally have been eyeing the beautiful switch blade knives.

Foundry42 is located in Port Jervis, NY. I found this place online and last winter while driving out in the snow doing volunteer work I wanted a warm cup of coffee. This place was only 15 minutes away from where we were. Not only was the coffee amazing, but a shop full of beautiful books, decor, lotions, candles, anything you think you don’t need but fall in love with while browsing. Also they make a chocolate chip potato chip cookie, trust me, it’s delicious. Sweet and savory.

ArtisanTreeHouse is based in Los Angeles. Karena sells artistic, boho chic wares. I’m personally in love with her Chunky Chenile blankets. Long time friend who oozes talent. I’m always excited about what she’s doing next. Check back on her Etsy shop she’s choked full of talent. Visit her site for black Friday sales.

LaurieAnn Art paints to my heart. While I’m a Cali girl, living in NY, I’m New Mexico at heart. She paints beautiful desert landscapes and when she was able to travel you see her inspirations come alive in her European paintings. This weekend she’s offering 15% from her shop.

Emily Jefford I met about 7 years ago during the Alt Summit. She was passing out bookmarks with her beautiful paintings. Fast forward that many years and I have watched her evolve into this amazing artist who has collectors that buy out her art as soon as it’s gone live. She lives this truly artistic life with her husband and 3 kids. Based in South Caroline. I’m itching to buy a print of her recent work, I just can’t make my mind up on which one.

Field Trip is found in Newburgh, NY. While this is a brick and mortar store, which so far has not shuttered it’s doors. They have beautiful curated goods. A must visit in person or shop online.

No Longer Wander is found in Albuquerque, NM. I stumbled upon this store when it was right next to Little Bear Coffee. While we waited for our coffees to brew I wondered into this light filled plant room. So beautiful and hip beyond words. I can’t wait to visit my Mom again and buy up all the beautiful plants and drive them back with me to New York.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of small businesses I love. Its a few I’ve been following over the years and sprinkled in with new ones. Please support these folks who work so hard to curate beautiful things and sharing their talent with us. A little piece of which we can bring home with you.

Mindless Monday

This is how my mind feels today, only much slower. What a great weekend celebrating a dear friends anniversary and then a trip down memory lane to the the 80's bands Psychedelic Furs and B52's at the Hollywood Bowl.

Although you hear me complain, often, about the traffic here in Lala land, I should celebrate the great things we have here. This venue, Hollywood Bowl, being one of them. Every artist, accept maybe Patty LaBelle (who has a love hate relationship with the Bowl) loves this venue. They all seem genuinely honored to be here and as they travel all over the world to many venues, they always remark on what a great place this is. So I must say the Hollywood Bowl is special. It's a fun outdoor venue. From your seats, especially if your way up high, you can see two more Lala land icons, the Hollywood sign and Griffith Observatory. You can eat and drink alcohol at your seats and thru the entire performance. If you get box seats you can even have a waiter bring you food from the restaurants that surround the Bowl. Why is it called Hollywood Bowl, well for one it's in Hollywood and two it really is a big bowl carved out in a canyon.  One of my favorite 80's movies has a great scene here at the Bowl, watch "Some Kind of Wonderful, " you'll love it. 

So as you walk down the heart-attack hill you've climb to your seats at the top of the bowl, or ran to your shuttle bus, or hike up another hill, to your stacked car parking, only to wait for the person who was parked at the front of the line to finally come back so you can join the other thousand people trying to get home an alternate way you came here, try 3 freeways to get home, you are still happy that you've experienced great music, fun conversation and good food with your friends. Here's to hoping the Bowl buzz stays with me for the next 5 days, till the weekend.

Superba Food + Bread

In Los Angeles the food options can be limitless. Recently opened Superba Food + Bread is making headlines already. I love to see seemingly old abandoned buildings repurposed to new adventures. This building was once a auto mechanic garage and supply store. Superba Food + Bread is located at 1900 S. Lincoln Blvd. in Venice, CA, on the corner of Marco Pl. between Superba Ave. and Amoroso Pl.  Ambitiously they opened for breakfast, lunch and dinner during the week, with the addition of brunch on the weekend. That's a big deal to open with serving three meals a day, but I can say after driving back and forth pass this place, it's always busy and in the evenings the lighting looks magical.

First time here was a few days after opening, we really just wanted to get a quick coffee and breakfast snack, not a full service sitting. This didn't seem like an option, but they were nice enough to accommodate us. At the time they were serving Stumptown coffee, but have since switched over to Heart Roasters, which at the time I wrote this Heart Roasters is only served at three places in LA.

I've gone back a few times for breakfast and lunch and really just love this place. It's decor is beautiful and simply designed, and already winning awards [2014 AIA Restaurant Design Award Winner]. 

I am kind of coveting the custom made Heath Ceramics that they serve their food on. The teeny tiny jars of lemon curd are amazingly delicious, if not a bit pricey, but a splurge once in a while is ok, right?

I am obsessed with this color combination. When driving back and forth down Lincoln Blvd, where Superba is located I was drawn by the mural being painted during construction. Subliminally I may have been influenced by this color as my newly updated bedroom indicates the same palatte. I'm seriously considering painting the doors with these stripes. I know they will replace our old doors when we move, so what do you think?

Say "Yes" to Super Food + Bread.  Incidentally I've noticed this simple circular sign design everywhere now. It seems to be standard use on old Route 66 auto shops in the day. Just love the nostalgia of it.

Superba Food + Bread

1900 S. Lincoln Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90291 

(East side of the corner of Marco and Lincoln, 1 block South of Superba)

Pi 3.14 PieVenture

In honor of Pi day 3.14, I think you all need to take a look at our recent PieVenture.

Map by Sara Dariouan

PieVenture

Are you ready for a PieVenture thru a few local L.A. spots? We've been dreaming about doing this for nearly 8 months. Finally while I was off during the winter break we made this little PieVenture happen.

First off, I am super excited to introduce Sara Darouian to my readers. She's the illustrator behind the beautiful map I commissioned for this post. She's a talented graphic designer, who just got what I was looking for after only a few email exchanges. Please contact her for any illustration needs. Here's her site and her contact info: me@saradarouian.com

So SB (Surfer Boy = Husband) and I went on this PieVenture. Let's just say I love the way he says Pie (P-eye). And he knows one of my favorite pie places to go to is Polly's Pie. They use to have one in Santa Monica, but it's gone and replaced by a Panera, so not the same. Twice a year we end up near a Polly's, so I indulge in my favorite burger, the Polly Burger and a piece of cherry pie. This place has special meaning. When I was a kid every Tuesday night my mom and a grandfatherly man named Frank Finnegan (Can you tell he was Irish), would go and eat pie. I loved those moments. He has since passed away and mom lives in New Mexico. So knowing how much I love Pie, SB and I saw the opportunity to go on a local L.A. PieVenture.

First stop was PieHole. I know you just LOVE that name. This place is located in the art district of downtown L.A. and with no traffic is really only 20 minutes away, with, give it an hour.

I asked a few people in line what there favorite pie was, I heard Mexican Chocolate and the Chocolate Crostata, because that one was just all pure chocolate. Second favorite was the Earl Grey Pie, I knew I probably wouldn't get this at the other two places so I choose that one. SB chose the Apple Pie. He said it was too thin of crust and he wasn't a fan of the sprinkles of sugar on top. I kind of liked it myself.

Close up of the flavorful Earl Grey Pie. This was perfect, I'm always worried that the Earl Grey tea leaves will take over the rest of the pie, like the Lavendar Panna cota I had once and tasted like soap. But this pie did not disappoint. And can you see the thin layer of chocolate at the bottom. Bonus! Can you just see the fluffiness in this pie.

Cool minimal decor and I loved their menu. Kraft paper rolled down on the wall. Easy to update and just simple. I would love this my kitchen for menu plans or shopping lists. Average price for piece of pie (PPP) = $6, heftiest of the three pie places we visit.

Next up was House of Pie. Not to far away from DTLA in the city of Los Feliz. This is the place that started the idea of the PieVenture, when we were on our way to Griffith Park here, we saw this and said, "we need to go there and have some P-eye!" This is the day that SB named it our "PieVenture" he owns the copyright to that term!

SB had the Bavarian Chocolate Pie. This was a big piece of pie, tall and lightly whipped with drizzles of chocolate. We about got into a PieFIght at this place. I wanted to take the picture of SB's fork going into the pie, but his hand kept getting in the way, so I had to art direct. He wanted to eat the pie, it was about to be a Pie Smack down. The waiter told me "let the man eat his Pie." I told him, hey this is part of the PieVenture, taking the pictures along the way. This got everyone talking about what we were calling this escapade, they all agree and PieVenture was the right call and wanted to know where we were going next.  Can we say we might have to have PieVenture meet-up next?

You must know that Cherry Pie is my favorite pie EVER. My friend Carolyn makes a mean, [which = GOOD] Cherry Pie and Polly's Pie has a really good one. But this is now top of my list of REALLY good Cherry Pie. Do you see the sugar crystals on top of the basket weave crust, yum. They warmed this up without me even asking. I declined the a la mode part. And glad I did, it was a MOUNTAIN of ice cream that they were serving. So if you like your pie that way, which I don't, this is the place for a generous serving of a la mode! PPP = $4.50. Cheapest of the three.

Last stop for the day was Republic of Pie. This is in North Hollywood. This wasn't to far from House of Pie and a natural stop in our circular adventure, from the Westside. This place is really cute inside, and bigger than you think. There are about three sections to the area. This is also the only of the three that has live music and you can apply to play live on Music Mondays. Incidentally we ran into some friends who live in the area and love coming here for breakfast. Our trip was only a sweet pie adventure, no food or savory pies, which only means we'll need to go back to try those ones.

So Republic of Pie is known for their Chocolate Bread Banana Pie. But this pie was HUGE, and we were on our third stop, I could barely fathom it. So I decided to get the smaller Chocolate Cream Pie, this was a rich thick dark chocolate pie, very dense and very good. I could barely eat much, so I took this home and enjoyed it the next day while watching Downton Abbey.

SB chose the Peach Pie, although I tried to talk him out of it since January is hardly a time for in season peaches. However, he liked the glutinous texture, I didn't like this at all, but I'm a snob for making these type of pies when the fruit is in the peak of their season. Presentation was great for both these pies with twirls of caramel and chocolate. PPP = $5.25.

Piehole. 714 Traction Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90013

House of Pie. 869 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Republic of Pie. 11118 Magnolia Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91601

We ate a lot of pie, but I have my limits, so you see above the variety of to go boxes of pie. Next time your in L.A., or if you live here, why not go on a little PieVenture, take some friends, order some sweet and savory pies, enjoy the people watching and conversation, and be ready to take a few home while your at it. Enjoy!

Technorati. GB587T4BYJBX

La Brea Bakery

You know when you stumble upon something great and you didn't even plan it. Well today was one of those days. I started off on the trek to Muji in Hollywood, which isn't really that far away, but in L.A. traffic it can be an eternity.

So on my way I saw that the La Brea Bakery was open. I had read that Nancy SIlverton was opening up this bakery 25 years after she started this business. She owns two other restaurants, Pizzaria Mozza and Osteria Mozza. Both on my list of favorite places to eat in Los Angeles.  Not to mention all the awards she has one, just go look her up on Wikipedia, she's amazing. So I made a mental note to stop by on my way back. And glad I am.

Little did I know that today was the GRAND OPENING. Seriously my timing was perfect, well almost. I saw people coming out with bags of baguettes, jumping for joy and super full of from all the goodies they had partaken. Funny thing is I only really wanted a cup of coffee, that wasn't Starbucks, and a french baguette. 

What I got was passed around delicious pastries and this was before I even ordered my coffee and was urged on by the staff to try all the other goodies. Can you just say SCORE!!!  Only thing I missed out on was the free baguettes, they had all been given to the press before I got there, so close, yet so far.  How can I get my a blogger press pass? Nancy, George anyone? Oh yeah George, met him, he has worked for Nancy for 20 years. They are very good friends. I love meeting people like this. He told me of the story when he first started working for her, it was a "bring your kids to work" day. So he put them on a stool and showed them how to work the cash register. Oh to be a kid in a bakery with a world class bread and pastry chef for a mother....what a dream.

What I got was the lead image above, a Chocolate Eclair, so amazing. I can't wait to go back. That was followed up by a Sunshine Twist (with light glaze and orange zest), a Fleur Macaroon, that was an unbelievable surprise of flavor, a Brownie that I think melted in my mouth, a Pine Nut Macaroon, and an Almost Oreo cookie. 

Those were just the sweets. I did get my Cappuccino, and also sampled the apple fennel salad and red quinoa salad along with a slice of artisan pizza. I watched these guys above make pizza, they were so patient with the dough that just looked so soft and perfectly made. I got to talking to them and they are only 2 weeks into the job, making some amazing creations. Working with guys who have been making pizza's since they were 16. I can't wait to come back.

Here's the best part it was all free. Since it was the grand opening they were giving everyone free samples of there food. SCORE!!!

Nancy was there, but I just missed her, though I did take a picture of her fleeing the scene.

And one more bonus, just as I was driving away I caught the entire staff and owner cutting the ribbon. I laughed all the way home. If I had planned this out, it would have never happened so well.  I told all my friends about it tonight, I've already got converts and an excursion planned to La Brea Bakery this weekend.

La Brea Bakery. 468 S. La Brea Ave., Mid-City, 323-939‐6813 or labreabakery.com