5 Questions for Tara Maxey

Tara Maxey is co-owner of Heirloom LA, a catering company that specializes in fresh pasta and local ingredients. The former wardrobe stylist studied pastry under Suzanne Griswold of Spago and also worked with Cake Monkey Bakery's Elizabeth Belkind. Since opening in 2009, the catering company has wowed Angelenos with its "lasagna cupcakes," added a food truck to its repertoire and is now in the process of opening a tasting room in Eagle Rock.

What’s coming next on your menu? Our holiday menu! Every Monday my dad sets out for McGrath Family Farms in Camarillo to pick up any of their overages. This year they provided us with roughly 8,000 pounds of strawberries, which forced us to come up with a lot of flavor combinations for jam (my favorite: lavender and rosemary), as well as learn how to utilize a dehydrator (strawberry dust maintains its color and flavor). Now we're getting in a gorgeous array of pumpkins and squash that boldly point out the season and possess arresting shapes and stunning hues and flavors that you would never find in corporate agriculture. We're classically pairing these organic beauties with brown butter and sage or vanilla and using them for fillings in our lasagna cupcakes, agnolotti and shepherd’s pies ... and cocktails!

Latest ingredient obsession? Bitters because they scare me. We've been making a lot of cocktails for ourselves over here at Heirloom, something we like to call "research and development," and it occurred to me that bitters, like most extracts used in baking, taste corrosive on their own but have the power to really bring out a different layer to what they are teamed up with provided they are applied well. I'm certain I am not the first person to think about using bitters in baking, but it's a new frontier to me so I am currently obsessed with figuring them out and making them in house.

What restaurant do you find yourself going to again and again? D.J. Olsen prepares a Monday Supper at Lou, executing a three-course chef's tasting menu that is intensely farmers market driven and never disappoints. He finds so much joy in his job and you can taste it. I'd love to say that's where you'll find us each week, but our food truck is at Silverlake Wine on Mondays so it's tough to get away. We do, however, run into D.J. every Wednesday at the Santa Monica farmers market, which is always so inspiring because he rolls with this janky cart full of broken boxes piled on top of one another making you wonder what is up with this guy but on closer inspection you see that he’s accumulated the most coveted produce of the market, which tempts me, every time, to swashbuckle him down to the ground so I can steal his lot, but he’s just so nice, I could never.

What’s your favorite breakfast? A strong yet nuanced cup of joe with a few nibbles of several buttery pastries prepared with superb ingredients and a light hand. Right now, Proof Bakery in Atwater Village is fitting that tall order.

The last cookbook you read – and what inspired you to pick it up? Due to a resume void of culinary school I have amassed an unreasonable amount of cookbooks to quiet any throbbing insecurities that may bubble up and obstruct my to-do list for the day. My favorite is Claudia Fleming's "The Last Course" even though I don’t have this one. It's out of print and out of my budget but I’ve managed to Xerox certain pages of it, most notably her macaroon recipe, which is unrivaled. Santa, I’d like the hard copy.

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Sherbourne opens in West Hollywood

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Torchons, or kitchen cloths from France

--Caitlin Keller

Photo credit: George Simian

Speculoos slowly spreading through L.A.

Some say Speculoos is the new Nutella. It looks like peanut butter but tastes like the gingerbread, cinnamon-flavored cookie it's made from, known as biscoff. (You may know the flavor from those cookies handed out on Delta airlines.) The popular Belgian cookie via paste is making its way over the Atlantic and now it's coming to food trucks, slowly but surely.

If you've been fortunate enough to have stumbled upon the spread while abroad, chances are you've returned home with a new sugary obsession to share. Lotus Bakeries introduced Speculoos to the U.S. market this year; but even so, most Americans don't know about it yet. A gradually increasing number of food trucks are looking to change this. Wafels & Dinges in New York sells its own version (called Spekuloos) and offers the spread as one of many waffle toppings, as does L.A.'s Waffles de Liege.

In the height of the food truck boom, will Speculoos ever really catch on, on the street food scene? George Wu of Waffles de Liege believes it will. "If the popularity of Liege waffles grows," says Wu, "more people will get a chance to try Speculoos, and as a result, more people will talk about it and experiment with it on different food; and before long, it'll be a kitchen staple like Nutella."

Fingers crossed, Waffles de Liege's use of the cookie-made-spread will cause a domino effect of sorts among other Southern California food trucks and thus the spread of scrumptious Speculoos.

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-- Caitlin Keller

Photo credit: Elsie Fang Photography

Eat your way through Carmaggedon weekend

Foodies can avoid the 405 Freeway this weekend by keeping themselves busy with one of these fun  events. According to California Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Ming Tsu, “There is no way to anticipate how much traffic there is going to be until the day of.” He advises travelers to have plenty of gas in their tank and allow plenty of time to arrive at their destination. For more information on the closure and alternate routes, visit the Metro website. If you know of any other events or specials going on during Carmaggedon, please let us know in the comment section.

L.A. Street Food Fest: The annual street food festival will be held at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. Marcus Beer, a spokesman for the event, says ticket sales have been slower because of the closure. "Last year at this time the event was sold out." Organizers have responded to travel concerns by offering free shuttles for Metro users, free parking, and bicycle racks. They also have secured discounted room rates at the Courtyard Marriott for those attendees who want to make a weekend out of the event. The festival is divided into three sessions, with a myriad of food trucks and carts, local loncheros, and chefs attending each one. Tickets range from $60 to $75 per person and can be purchased online or at the door. 1001 Rose Bowl Dr., Pasadena, www.lastreetfoodfest.com.

Orange County Fair: The OC fair begins Friday and lasts until Aug. 14. This year, the fair's theme is family and food. There will be numerous stalls selling typical outrageous fair fare such as chocolate-covered bacon, chocolate-dipped corn dogs, and deep-fried thin mints, brownies and even Kool Aid.  Food trucks will be at the fair every Thursday from noon until 10 p.m. In addition, there will be demonstrations from celebrity chefs such as Duff Goldman and Carla Hall.  Robin Wachner, the OC fair communications director, doesn't expect the 405 closure to have an impact on the fair or ticket sales.  The fair is offering a special transportation promotion: If you ride the Metro and the OC Fair express, admission to the grounds is $2 rather than the standard prices of $11 for adults, $8 for seniors, and $6 for youth.  Buy tickets online at Ticketmaster.com.  88 Fair Dr., Costa Mesa, www.ocfair.com.

Eat Real Festival:  This weekend, the first Los Angeles Eat Real Festival will be held at Helms Bakery in Venice.  Local food trucks and 20 craft breweries will be attending the event to satisfy your hunger and thirst. Admission to the festival is free but food and drinks will be charged separately. Times Food editor Russ Parsons will be participating in a panel, along with OC Weekly's Gustavo Arellano and other Southern California food writers and bloggers, to discuss the future of food writing. Event director Susan Coss says she doesn't know what to expect. "It might cause more or less people to attend the festival, I just don't know what will happen." The event is combating Carmaggedon by arranging for bike tours to the festival with the Los Angeles County Bike Coalition.  They are also offering a free shuttle  to the event, with several stops along Washington and Culver boulevards. 8800 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, www.eatrealfest.com.

$4.05 Food & Drinks: This weekend, Tender Greens is offering a glass of beer for $4.05 with a Los Angeles I.D.  The Daily Grill is also offering $4.05 prices for cocktails, appetizers, and desserts. www.tendergreensfood.com, www.dailygrill.com.

Run and Munch:  The first marathon and obstacle course that integrates food is Saturday. More than 40 gourmet food trucks will be present. Ticket and participation information can be found online. 5305 Santiago Canyon Rd., Orange County, www.munchathon.com.

Celebrate Bastille Day:  On July 17, this national French holiday will be celebrated with some added L.A. flair at Elysian Park. There will be plenty of French food and live entertainment. The entrance fee is $5 per person and children under 13 are free. 1880 Academy Dr., Los Angeles, www.bastilledaylosangeles.com.

White Light, White Night: A fund-raising event will benefit Walk With Sally, a group that supports children who have suffered from emotional trauma. Admission is based on donations ranging from $150 to $50,000.  The night will feaure many restaurants and musical group Blues Traveler. 655 N. Harbor Blvd., Redondo Beach, www.walkwithsally.org.

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--Leah Rodrigues

Leah.Rodrigues24/twitter.com

Photo credit: Eat Real

4 Food Events You Should Know About (summer food fest version): Greek food in Irvine, Munchathon's eat-and-run, food trucks in NoHo, and more

Greek Food Festival: This three-day festival will take place at St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church in Irvine June 24-26. There will be live music, traditional Greek dancing and lessons, boutiques, and of course, authentic Greek fare.  Expect gyros, spanakopita (spinach and feta pie), and dolmathes (stuffed grape leaves). Festival hours are 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday, noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $3 per person.  Children under the age of 10 and seniors older than 65 (only on Saturday from 12-5pm) will be admitted for free. 4949 Alton Parkway, Irvine, (949) 733- 3102.

Munchathon: A run and obstacle course involving food? Yes. There will be food and beverage stops along with food-themed challenges. The festivities will take place July 16 at Oak Canyon Park, where vendors such as Meringue Bake Shop and Front Porch Pops will be participating. You can take part in the Munchathon alone or form a team. Registration costs $49 for single runners and $189 for teams. General admission to the festival starts at $12 (prices go up after June 17). Tickets and registration are online at www.munchathon.com. 5305 Santiago Canyon Road, Silverado.

NoHo Food Truck Fest: On June 25, L.A. food trucks and Hope for Paws come together to raise funds for animal rescue. Fifteen food trucks such as Komodo, Baby's Badass Burgers and Ta Bom will be attending. There will be live entertainment, dog adoptions and a raffle. Admission is $4 online and $5 at the event. 11458 Burbank Blvd., North Hollywood, www.nohofoodtruckfest.com.

Frugal Festival Food: The 3rd annual Frugal Festival will be held June 25 at Canoga Park High School.  This festival is dedicated to teaching consumers ways to save on groceries, eating out and home cooking. Participate in the Coupon Challenge or enter the raffle. Ticket prices are $5 to $15 and can be purchased online at Goldstar.com. Receive a $5 discount if you bring a canned good to support the L.A. food bank. 6850 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Los Angeles.

Also:

Weekend Eats: Avocado pasta 

Make this lemon curd tart 

Urbano Pizza Bar is open

--Leah Rodrigues

Twitter/ LeahRodrigues24

Photo: Baby's Badass Burgers. Credit: Aria Minucci 

The next big thing in street food? The wearable grill

In Berlin, I found this wurst vendor staked out on the pedestrian bridge leading to Museum Island. While Berliners sunned themselves in canvas beach chairs sprinkled on the grassy banks of the Spree, this fellow sweated under his umbrella grilling wursts. For 1.5 euros, or about $2.25 at the current exchange rate, you get a freshly grilled sausage in a bun.  

This guy's wearable grill is pretty ingenious: The rectangular grill is worn in front , cigarette girl-style, counterbalanced by a brace and supply box at the back. An umbrella is part of the outfit too, shading  him (barely) from the  sun. He looks strong and fit, but even so, what a hard job. I wonder how he got there. Did he wear this getup on the subway or the bus? Or does it come apart and stow in a canvas carryall? Another day, I saw a sturdy blond woman in a similar getup working the crowd.

The wearable grill may be new, but the idea of street food vendors hanging their goods on their bodies isn’t. Somewhere I have a collection of images of street food vendors from, I think,  the 18th century. (My books and papers are all boxed up right now so I can’t find it.) Instead of a big umbrella, though, they usually wore a hat with a wide brim for shade. 

-- S. Irene Virbila

Photo:  S. Irene Virbila / Los Angeles Times

Frysmith goes brick-and-mortar at Loaded in Hollywood

Frysmith, the gourmet French fry truck responsible for making French fries an acceptable meal, has won the food truck lottery and will now offer its fare inside of a brick-and-mortar bar and restaurant. Beginning Friday the truck's fries will be served at the rock 'n' roll-themed bar Loaded in Hollywood.

To celebrate winning this Holy Grail of food truck events, Frysmith is offering $2 off of all of its menu items on Friday. And in order to make the menu at Loaded unique from that of the truck, Frysmith has added a special "loaded" option to its dishes.

For example, chili cheese fries, made with Angus-beef and flavored with beer and chocolate, can get "loaded" with bacon, sour cream and scallions; and the Rajas fries--shawarma-marinated Angus steak with roasted poblano peppers and cheese--can be “loaded” with sumac-laced mascarpone cheese and roasted jalapeno sauce.

Loaded, 6377 Hollywood Blvd., L.A. (323) 464-5689; www.loadedrockbar.com. www.eatfrysmith.com.

-- Jessica Gelt

Photo: Frysmith

L.A. food trucks become the subject of an adult film starring Ron Jeremy

You know a trend has officially jumped the shark when it becomes the subject of an adult film, especially one starring Ron Jeremy. So perhaps that's why I didn't even blink when a friend forwarded me a news release about a new X-rated film called "The Flying Pink Pig," with a story line that revolves around an eponymous fictional food truck that serves sausage to Hollywood.

It was only a matter of time....

Thanks to an unstoppable proliferation of these rolling outposts of creative cuisine, extensive news coverage and shows like "The Great Food Truck Race," food trucks were among the main food-related talking points of 2010. Now they will reach a new level of stardom as Jeremy and fellow adult star Nikki Hunter attempt a hostile takeover of the Flying Pink Pig truck, which is staffed by an outrageous group of nymphomaniacs. 

The film is scheduled for release Jan. 25. One can only wonder if work has already begun on a sequel. If so, might I suggest the title "Squeals on Wheels"?

--Jessica Gelt

Movie poster courtesy of BSG PR

 

Food trucks fete Long Beach marathoners, half marathoners and cyclists

 
Most marathons reward their runners with a medal, a banana and half a bagel or an orange slice. Hardly an incentive to run 26.2 miles.

But this Sunday, at the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon and Half Marathon, there will be food trucks to help runners reload and celebrate their accomplishment with healthful fare. The trucks: Seabirds, featuring organic vegetarian food; Baja Fresh, serving fire-grilled Mexican fare; Louks to Go, featuring Greek American food; and Calbi, serving Mexican-Korean fushion tacos, fresh vegetables and more. It's also got a kimchi quesadilla on the menu.

From the press release: "On Sunday, Oct. 17, after running in the Marathon, the Half-Marathon or taking part in the 26.2-mile bike race, participants will have their choice of four food trucks serving high-quality, healthy food at the finish line. That's just what marathoners want too -- there's no cheeseburgers and fries for this group."

I'm not sure I agree. I'm doing the half marathon, and when I first heard there would be food trucks, I thought: "Cheeseburgers at the finish line!" But I'm sure I'll be plenty happy with a kimchi quesadilla.

The food truck area is open to everyone -- not just runners and bikers. Based on my experience, this is always a well-organized event that starts and ends down around Shoreline Village. Just have patience with the parking situation, and check out this map to avoid getting stuck in traffic.

And runners, make sure you remember to pack some extra cash for the food trucks.

-- Rene Lynch
Twitter.com / renelynch

Photo and credit: Long Beach International Marathon

 

Food trucks rolling into Long Beach this weekend

Not interested in stalking food trucks all over town? The trucks come to you at the Long Beach Street Food Fest, on Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Rainbow Lagoon Park in Long Beach.

Food trucks scheduled to attend this time include three of the ones that competed in "The Great Food Truck Race" show on Food Network: the Nom Nom Truck, Crepes Bonaparte and Nana Queens. More details here.

-- Rene Lynch
Twitter.com / renelynch

Photo: The Long Beach Street Food Fest held this summer. Credit: Long Beach Street Food Fest

[Updated] There's just no stopping the Nom Nom

Is this a record for a reality TV show?

The L.A.-based Nom Nom Truck has rolled to an unbelievable five straight victories on "The Great Food Truck Race." Even more amazing -- they've done it without winning a single "truck stop" challenge, which gives the underdogs a shot at toppling the front-runners.

This week's challenge underscored the power of the banh mi Vietnamese sandwiches that are sold by the Nom Nom truck:

The three remaining food trucks pulled into Jonesborough, Tenn. To date, the trucks have been selling their wares in cities that are pretty hip to the whole food truck thing, like L.A. and Fort Worth, Texas. But Jonesborough, a quaint little town of 5,000, had never seen a food truck. Would the townspeople even care? Would they go for the tried-and-true burgers sold by the L.A.-based Grill 'Em All Truck or experiment with the French flair of the cuisine sold by the San Francisco-based Spencer on the Go Truck? Well, it looked like all 5,000 townspeople showed up to find out what this food truck fuss was all about -- and it seemed like nearly all of them got in line for Nom Nom, even though some had no idea what a Vietnamese sandwich was, and couldn't even pronounce banh mi with some gentle coaching.

Then came this week's "Truck Stop" challenge, the best one yet. Host Tyler Florence brought the remaining contestants to, believe it or not, Old Man Johnson's Farm, down by the river. There, he told the contestants that food trucks are nothing new, they just used to be called chuck wagons. And this week's challenge put the contestants' cooking skills to test in a game that so far has been dominated by Nom Nom's brilliant marketing skills: They had to make a five-course meal over an open fire, just like in the old days. Well, the twist "worked." Nom Nom crashed and burned, and Grill Em All ended on top. The prize was a stunner: The opportunity to park the truck at a local auto show, where they were guaranteed to do  a solid night's business, while Nom Nom and Spencer had to look for customers in Jonesborough, which basically shuts down each night by dusk.

Given this turn of events, it looked like Grill 'Em All had this week won. But then came the shocking totals: