A Must! Table-to-Farm with FIG's Chef Ray Garcia at McGrath Farm

The phrase "farm-to-table" is everywhere, but Chef Ray Garcia from FIG at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica brings the table to the farm, quite literally.

FIG has frequently had Farm Dinners before, where a local farmer will come to the restaurant and talk to the diners about their products. Well, now they think it would be better if the guests come to the farm and see directly where the produce grows! And whoever thought of it, they were right. Our farmer's dinner at the McGrath Family Farm in Camarillo was one of my favorite dining experience to date.

They will soon open this farmers' dinners to the public and I was fortunate enough to join a sneak media preview at McGrath Family Farm. We took a bus from the Fairmont Miramar up the coast.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by Phil McGrath, who then personally gave us a tour of his farm. McGrath Family Farm (and the Camarillo/Oxnard area in general) is known for its strawberries, which they said was one of the most expensive crops to grow. At their market, they had both Gaviota (big and juicy) and Seascape strawberries (small and sweet).

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PDX Cocktail Stop #1: Happy Hour at Clyde Common (Portland, OR)

So much to drink, so little time. Wandering Chopsticks and I decided to jam pack it all in one day. After a morning of wine tastings, we went to Clyde Common for some happy hour cocktails and food.

The bar at Clyde Common is headed by Jeff Morgenthaler, a famous and prolific bartender/cocktail writer, and comes recommended by many of my cocktail-loving friends. Alas, he was in California the day I was there. To absorb all the wines we had (before we start over with cocktails), we ordered some food from the happy hour menu (the happy hour is M-F 3-6pm, and they also have late night happy hours).

Being the cheap Asians that we are, we couldn't NOT order from the happy hour menu, both food and drinks. WC wanted the Fried chickpeas ($3)

I was initially skeptical, but these turned out to be addictive. The crispy batter was dusted with spices. Can't. Stop. Poppin'. At $3, these make a great bar snack.

I ordered the Flatbread, white bean puree, ricotta salata, raisins, pine nuts, greens ($6)

The flatbread itself was too soft and doughy for my taste, but I loved the toppings, especially the combination of the smooth bean puree with the crunch of the pine nuts and the sweet golden raisins.

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Munching Around Santa Monica with Six Taste Tours

What better way to explore one area's food than a walking tour with an expert, tasting 4-5 places all in one go? Six Taste Tours, started by two USC alums, aim to do just that with their tours in various regions in LA, including Thai Town, Little Tokyo, Arcadia, and more. Each area's tour is guided by an expert in that particular area/cuisine. I was invited to go on the Santa Monica tour recently with their guide, Therese.

Godmother sandwich, with on ocean view.

I don't want to spoil all the fun of the tour for you, so I will just go through some of the things we ate and leave you with some surprises if you ever take the tour!

They said they consider the Santa Monica tour to be their international tour, and you will see why. Our first stop was Rockenwagner Bakery.

Rockenwagner Bakery
12835 W Washington Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90066
(310) 578-8171
www.rockenwagner.com

Our guide, Therese

Other than the baked goods, Therese told us that Rockenwagner has a great Austrian coffee. We tasted some and it was indeed pretty smooth.

Apparently Hans Rockenwagner and his pastry chef invented the pretzel croissant by dipping a croissant in caustic acid, so of course we had to try some! Because of the pretzel-like crust, the croissant doesn't leave as much of a buttery mess on your fingers. 

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