Summer in the City: Smorgasburg Does L.A.

Los Angeles - or any major city, for that matter - suffers no lack of food festivals during the summertime. Add one more to that list: Smorgasburg has arrived on the "Left Coast," and runs until September. The artisanal market of food, beverages, crafts, and vintage goods originated in Brooklyn, where it has been known to draw nearly 10,000 visitors of a weekend. The L.A. version is scheduled to be held on Sundays from now until September at the Alameda Produce Market downtown, which is part of the ROW DTLA development. My sisters and I checked it out a few weeks ago and we're ready to go again.

Gets my vote for best vendor name.

While held in the devil-may-care spirit of summer (even in L.A. where the sun is almost always shining!), summer festivals are not without their pitfalls. Smorgasburg is unique in that revelers don't fall victim to one of the greatest public scourges: inconvenient and expensive parking. There is a gigantic indoor parking structure that greets you before you enter the Alameda Produce Market, with two hours free. Which is great, if you only stay for two hours. 

Moveable feast:Todos Verde agua fresca,
Raindrop Cake, and lobster rolls from
Red Hook Lobster Pound.

However, all bets were off when my sisters and I discovered that the American Apparel compound next door also featured an American Apparel outlet. I scored a couple of all-cotton sweater vests/shells for $6. Literally, scored: the versatile "bone" sweater was $5; the identical one in the less popular "nude" or beige was $1. When we finally emerged from our shopping spree, I owed $10 for parking. I decided to cut my losses that day and rationalize that I paid $16 for parking, which is not atypical in the city.

Talk to the hand: My new favorite hamsa
pendant from Santa Monica Healing, and bargain but
quality sweater (cotton is truly king!) from
American Apparel outlet store.

Some tips for enjoying Smorgasburg:

1. It's hot downtown. Wear sunscreen and a hat, if that's how you roll. Or use a parasol, like my stylish sister does.

2. Take a good look around first. Unless you plan to hang around from 10 am to 6 pm, there is only so much you can eat, so choose wisely.

3. Eat dessert first. Really. 

Tired of waiting for you: Frozen pudding from Little Spoon
eased the tardy arrival of siblings.

4. Go when it opens. The illusory liberality of a whole day only means that vendors might run out of food. Which, as we learned, many do well before the 4:00 hour, when we decided to meet. 

Amusing artwork at American Apparel outlet.

5. Laugh. A lot. It burns calories.

Summertime Blues: Regression and Blueberry Muffins

When I was a kid in the ready-mix 1970s, blueberry muffins were a major treat, made from that Betty Crocker mix that came with a tiny can of "wild blueberries." The blueberries were tiny dark and mysterious orbs swimming in an inky pool of liquid, presumably from Maine or some other exotic locale far removed from Southern California, where the only crops we could boast of were citrus, concrete, and smog.

Years later, when access to large and flavorful fresh blueberries was possible, it never occurred to me to want blueberry muffins, mainly because as a yummy superfood, blueberries are so good on their own. However, this recipe from the Zabar's recipe blog got me with its superbly lit photo of blueberry muffins, bursting with fruit. This weekend, I decided that regression would be a good antidote after the rigors of a shortened work week after the July 4th holiday - and an unexpected flea infestation due to racoons having burrowed under the house.

I woke up today feeling as if I had been on a treadmill for nine hours - to be specific, a treadmill with a washer and dryer attached it it. I spent yesterday emptying my closet, bagging garments that potentially had fleas or eggs. I laundered everything that could be washed and have several piles of clothes for the dry cleaner. To bolster the efforts of the pest control company that sprayed inside and outside the house, I sprinkled the carpets and closets with salt, which is supposed to act as a desicant and dehydrate the fleas to extinction.

So far, it seems to be working. The itchy feeling is lessening and the fleas that I've found seem bloated and near death. It has been a terrible, unclean feeling, itching away after just having taken a shower, or even away from home, when I've found the odd flea, bloated and near death from gorging itself on my veins.

I realize these are first-world problems. But these days, even the first world doesn't seem all that safe, in the wake of evildoings and the snuffing out of lives here at home and across the globe. The Boomtown Rats' song, "I Don't Like Mondays," which was about a school shooting, seemed like a farce back in the day. Although based on real events, the idea that someone would do such a horrible thing was unthinkable. Today, flags being flown at half-mast is the new normal; I think we would stop in surprise if it was displayed aloft and proud again.

The most benign definition of regression that I could find on Merriam-Webster.com defines it as "reversion to an earlier mental or behavioral level." With all that happens today, a bit of regression probably wouldn't be such a bad thing. Maybe we could all go back to finding joy in things like the promise of unknown treasures like a can of tiny blueberries grown in a far-off place.

NOTES:

1) The "batter" will resemble more of a dough; don't be scared off, it bakes beautifully.
2) Eat with a fork - the abundance of blueberries makes these muffins impossible to handle, and wonderfully so!

GMS Heading to Foodista's International Food Blogger Conference

This month, I'm looking forward to the International Food Blogger Conference, to be presented by Foodista in Sacramento. Events include a "farm-to-fork" tour of the historic Sacramento Delta, with a look at California Endive Farms and an opportunity to watch the harvest of Bosc pears at Stillwater Orchards. Other events include talks on culinary travel writing, beverage trends, food waste, and "Putting Flavor Into Words"; a "Taste of Sacramento" fair presented by local restaurants and businesses; and a sidewalk "Farm-to-Fork Feast" near the State Capitol Building, prepared by Chef Jason Poole from Dawson's.

Sacramento was not the original capital of California; the first Constitutional Convention was held in 1849 in Monterey when the state was under Spanish and subsequently, Mexican rule. The capital was moved to Sacramento in 1854.

Despite this runner-up history, Sacramento has a rich history in its own right. Sutter's Fort, which was established by John Sutter in what is now downtown Sacramento, was used to distribute the fruits, vegetables and other resources that were found in the area to the city's earliest settlers; Sutter also built mills in the nearby foothills. It was at one of these mills - in what is now Coloma - where John Marshall, a Sutter employee, found gold in a stream in 1849. The city was incorporated that year.

In the interim between 1849 and 1854, several other cities served as California's capital for a short time, including San Jose, Vallejo and Benicia. Sacramento's proximity to rivers that led to San Francisco and other ports allowed access to the state's growing economy by both land and sea. And as the original site of the Gold Rush, the city had a certain cachet.

One can certainly strike gourmet gold in Sacramento, whose foodie town potential is bolstered by the local agricultural industry and the innovation of the skilled, imaginative, and ambitious farming and culinary community. Watch this blog for my adventures in the Capital City later this month!