Welcome to the "805 Eats" dining blog where we'll keep you up-to-date on restaurant and food happenings in the 805. To send tips and comments, email edit@805Living.com.

The 805 Living Dessert

month of September

For the September issue of 805 Living Magazine, we commissioned Sweet Arleen to create a new sweet and savory bread pudding with studded bacon and drizzled with a salty caramel sauce.  Now you can all taste how awesome it is.  It’s currently the bread pudding flavor of the month at Sweet Arleen’s in Westlake Village.

Mother’s Day Dining

Sunday, May 8th

For the May issue of 805 Living Magazine, my dining feature focuses on LA restaurants.  (You can read the digital flip-book version of the magazine here.  My “Global Dining in LA” story starts on p83.)  Two of those restaurants have Mother’s Day menus.

Gordon Ramsay at The London West Hollywood is serving a 3-course brunch with a dessert buffet and Champagne cocktails.  Menu choices (printed here) include baked quiche, wild salmon and cucumber salad, and New York steak + eggs.   The price is $65.

La Cachette Bistro in Santa Monica will be serving an a la carte Mother’s Day brunch from 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.  Entrees include organic sunny-side-up eggs with eggplant and spicy tomato sauce ($14), roasted lamb sandwich with Swiss cheese and horseradish sauce ($14), and a Belgian waffle with fresh strawberries and whipped cream ($10).

More Foodie Gift Ideas

I’ve got even more foodie gift ideas for the holidays.

Italia Deli in Agoura Hills carries nice imported Italian products like San Marzano canned tomatoes, Dalmatia fig spread, and Stella D’Oro cookies–perfect for creating a nice gift basket.

A dear friend might appreciate a subscription to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture program).  The Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens in Goleta offers seasonal CSA shares for  as low as $215.  That buys a weekly batch of produce, locally grown, from January 4th to March 10th.  It helps support the farm AND promotes healthy eating (win-win).

Buy a $150 gift card to the wonderful Julienne restaurant in Santa Barbara any time during the month of December, and they’ll throw in a bonus $25 gift card.  Your recipient never has to know, (wink-wink).

A bottle of Champagne makes an elegant gift.  To help you choose which one to buy, Bernard’s Wine Gallery in Calabasas is throwing a Champagne tasting on Saturday, December 4th from 1-4 p.m.  The price is $75 to taste everything from a rare Veuve Clicquot to a Schramsberg Napa Valley Blanc de Blanc to a Extra Dry Prosecco by Fantinel.  The cover charge includes appetizers.

Foodie Gift Ideas

For the December issue of 805 Living Magazine, my Dialed In column featured food gifts for delicious giving.  Here are a few  more fun foodie gift ideas.

Global Gardens in Los Olivos conducts tastings of their specialty food items every day. For $3, shoppers can sample about 14 different products like their award-winning olive oils, fruit-infused vinegars, mustards, and spiced nuts. All food items are either made by owner Theo Stephan or sourced locally. Beautiful gift sets can be purchased in the store or online. For a very special gift, sign someone up for The Global Gardens Olive Oil & Gourmet Food Club. The recipient will be shipped a lovely bottle of olive oil, a fruit-infused vinegar, and two specialty food items like a tin of spiced nuts and a clove of colossal garlic. The price is $44 plus shipping either twice per year or four times per year.

Olive oil appeals to almost everyone, but foodies like me adore finding new and unusual ingredients. While exploring the Avocado Country Store of Morro Creek Ranch, I discovered avocado oil. The smoke point of avocado oil is extremely high—like 894 degrees. Since the best frying happens between 375 and 400 degrees, there is no reason this oil should ever break down while cooking. Ranch Manager Alan Cavaletto advised, “It’s great for popping popcorn. Every kernel will pop.” Cavaletto found this out the hard way since he had become accustomed to adding extra kernels to his pot when using Canola oil. “The first time I used [the avocado oil], I had popcorn all over the kitchen.” Because the Morro Creek Ranch avocado oil has a smooth, very subtle, buttery flavor and a good amount of omega-3 fats, it’s also great for frying eggs and sautéing vegetables. It costs $8 per 12.7-ounce bottle.

Jessica Foster Confections in Santa Barbara has a Chocolate Lovers Club. Recipients of this indulgent gift are blessed with quarterly shipments (around $50 each) of assorted truffles, caramelized almonds, mint-infused truffle sticks and other chocolate goodies.

For a non-edible foodie gift, make your way to Brothers Restaurant at Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos. Brothers Matt and Jeff Nichols have a new cookbook out called Brothers Cuisine. The 242-page, full-color book has 145 recipes including Jalapeno Cornbread, Puree of Sweet Corn Soup with Maine Lobster, and Morel Mushroom and English Pea Risotto. It costs $35.

Blog Companion to Nutritious School Lunches Story

In November, our magazine dining feature outlined all that’s being done to improve school lunches served to our nation’s children. Here are links to even more resources on that subject.  If you want to learn more about what others are doing or get involved yourself, these websites are a great starting point. Just click on the links below.

USDA’s YouTube channel with a video about the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiatives
http://www.youtube.com/usda

USDA press releases on Farm-to-School Tactical Teams
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2009/09/0441.xml

The Nutrition Education page from the USDA, which has education and training materials along with information on grants and how to apply for them
http://healthymeals.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=14&tax_level=1&tax_subject=526

A good blog post from Obama Foodorama about creating school lunch infrastructure through government and private partnerships
http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2009/08/president-obama-announces-white-house.html

The Whole-Foods-Market-sponsored site The Lunchbox, which has tons of information and resources for school administrators, cafeteria works, students, parents, and advocates who are interested in improving school nutrition
http://www.thelunchbox.org/

United Fresh website where you can read about their Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program, which has expanded to include salad bars in schools
http://www.unitedfresh.org/ffvp

Write-up of press event with U.S. Representative Sam Farr (Dem., CA), which took place at Jesse G. Sanchez Elementary School in Salinas, CA.
http://thepacker.com/School-salad-bar-seen-as-model/Article.aspx?articleid=830796&authorid=577&categoryid=202&feedid=215

Life Lab website, the organization that helps schools develop gardens
http://lifelab.org/about.php

School Nutrition Success Stories posted by the USDA
http://www.fns.usda.gov/TN/Resources/makingithappen.html

California Department of Education Nutrition Services web page
http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/nt/

California Health & Longevity Institute at the Four Seasons Westlake Village
http://www.chli.com/

School Lunch Menus for the Oak Park Unified School District
http://www.oakparkusd.org/16451093013235043/blank/browse.asp?A=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&C=57522&1645Nav=|&NodeID=216

Musical Dining - Blog Feature

In the October issue of 805 Living Magazine, I wrote a feature about restaurants where music is a theme (or at least where you can see some live musical acts).  In the process of researching that article, I came across a number of good restaurants offering live musical performances.  I want to share those places with you.  So I’ll be listing one restaurant almost every day throughout the month of October on the blog here and talking about what kind of music they offer.

In the print article, I mentioned:

Charline’s Urban Tapas & Wine Bar (546 E. Main St., Ventura, 805-652-2255, www.charlines.com) with its smooth jazz and Southern small plates. Owner Kevin Williams brings in bands from Santa Barbara and L.A. like Bobby Watley & The Organ Trio or Satellite Orchestra. He also created the menu of interesting bites like fried mac & cheese balls, Gouda grits, catfish sliders, and buttermilk pie. “I go against the grain,” he said of his self-described “new-age jazz juke joint” named for his grandmother. The lights are low, the booths are luxe, and the martinis can be spicy. The blues, jazz, soul, and R&B artists play Wednesday through Sunday nights beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Melomaniacs will love the upstairs Entertainment Loft of Zoey’s Cafe (451 E. Main St., Ventura, 805-652-1137, www.zoeyscafe.com) for its nice acoustics and intimate atmosphere. An abbreviated menu of salads, pizzas, and dessert is available along with strong coffee drinks, beer, wine and cocktails. There’s a cover charge that varies with the artists playing. Mostly it falls between $5 and $20. Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. you can catch emerging singer/songwriters—a real treat. For a taste of the talent, visit www.syd-music.com to see Syd in action or  www.myspace.com/brandonharriswalker for a snippet of Brandon Walker’s tunes. Thursday through Saturday nights catch more acoustic acts playing pop, jazz, rock and folk tunes, often of their own making. See Zoey’s special event web calendar to see who’s playing and to link to the artists’ web pages.