What does Andrew Zimmern eat when he's in L.A.? Dare we ask...

As anyone who has watched Andrew Zimmern's Travel Channel show "Bizarre Foods" can attest, the host's wildly adventurous palate knows no bounds. Lamb's eyes, eggs with legs, testicles of all stripes, everything's fair game. And beginning Tuesday, he's expanding his horizons with a new series, "Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World," in which he explores unusual cultures and unexpected traditions in his own inimitable way. But, gulp, what does he eat when he's in L.A.?  

Photo credit: Travel Channel

Going crazy for goji berries

 

Can it be that goji, the supposed legendary miracle fruit of ancient Tibet, is being grown in Dinuba, Calif.?

Nothing is surprising when it comes to this tiny orange berry. Virtually unknown in the United States five years ago, it is now seemingly everywhere -- in martinis, granola, nutritional supplements, even Lindsay Lohan’s tanning spray.

But so far, this much-hyped “superfruit,” so trendy and expensive, is available only in processed form, in imported juices, powders and dried berries; the fresh berries themselves, eagerly sought by aficionados, have been unobtainable in the United States. That may be changing.

-- David Karp

RECENT & RELATED

Market Watch: David Karp's weekly look at local farmers markets

Cooking through the seasons: Your guide to buying the freshest produce out there -- and what to do with it once you get it home

Visit The Times' new interactive database of Southern California farmers markets to explore your local market. We hope you join the conversation, sharing your favorite markets and vendors and helping us make this the most comprehensive resource for local farmers markets.

Photo: David Karp / For The Times 

BA-K-47: America's No. 1 bacon-based assault rifle

After feasting my eyes on the vicious beauty of the BA-K-47, an AK-47 replica made of bacon (and wire), I'm not sure whether to call the NRA, the National Pork Board or Ted Nugent. Made with two full cases of bacon by the geniuses at This Is Freaking Ridiculous, I'm thinking this crispy, greasy a-salt rifle could inspire a whole line of meat-based weaponry. A Bakalashnikov? A Bacolt .45? A TEC-Porcine? The possibilities are endless.

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Courtesy of This Is Freaking Ridiculous

Sampler Platter: Frank Bruni stops critiquing, canned pork brains & xiao long bao

What do you do after getting kicked out of indie rock band the Shins? You open your own Mexican food cart. This and people who eat weird food for your voyeuristic pleasure, bans on 40-ounce beers and the legal battle over urban chicken-farming in today's Sampler Platter.

• The New York Times' Frank Bruni will leave his post as the paper's restaurant critic and move to the Sunday magazine. Now the jockeying begins: Who will replace him?
• Former Shins drummer Jesse Sandoval opens Mexican food cart in Portland. Portland Mercury
• Abby Abanes breaks down xiao long bao ("won ton soup in reverse") for you. LA Examiner
• Speaking of dumplings, LAist obsesses over mega-dumplings at Yu Ga Ne in Koreatown.
• Internet eating sensation Dave Chang takes on canned pork brains. AV Club
• If you like that, check out the original: Steve, Don't Eat It is an occasional feature on The Sneeze in which Steve samples potted meat, pickled pork rinds, Beggin' Strips, silkworm pupae, prison wine and some weird fungus growing out of a tree.
• Say goodbye to your 40-ounce beer. San Bernardino enforces a ban on all single cans and bottles of beer. The ban's actually been on the books since 1989. KCAL9
• Bacon, tofu, chili, guacamole — cook-offs are the hot new trend in NYC. New York Times
• Overland Park, Kan., is one step closer to allowing urban chickens. KCTV5

— Elina Shatkin

Photo: A man sits on a MacArthur Park bench with his 40-ounce bottle of malt liquor. Credit: Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times