Breakfast places in Ventura

Here's another article I wrote for my food writing class. It's a guide to breakfaat in Ventura:

It’s the smells, the sweetness of pancakes and syrup, the tang of orange, the bitterness of coffee, the savory eggs and potatoes, that make a great breakfast as comforting and satisfying as a warm hug on a cold day. You’d think it would be easy, after all breakfasts tend to be fairly easy in concept, but as anyone knows who has had a disappointing plate of rubbery, cold bacon and congealed eggs served with leaden pancakes, it’s not so hard to make a bad breakfast.

A great breakfast needs to throw dietary considerations to the wind, which is why they should at most, be a once-a-week treat. Weekend breakfasts are a time-honored tradition, allowing for lingering over a cup of hot coffee with toast and the newspaper.

Ventura is a breakfast Mecca in the county. There are so many great breakfasts available, it’s almost impossible to list them all. This is more or less a list of just-breakfast places, that focus on the morning meal and in most cases also serve lunch: The kind of place that closes at 2 p.m. each day.

Pete’s Breakfast House is a local favorite and there are long lines each weekend morning. They serve up a great, traditional breakfast, but the charm of Pete’s is the casual “Everybody knows your name” atmosphere, where regulars shout greetings to people behind the counters. People rave about the omelettes, and the pancakes and waffles are very popular.

Allison’s Country Café is also popular with the weekend crowds. With its emphasis on their light, fluffy biscuits served with homemade raspberry jam that is available by the jar, this is a delightful, homey restaurant that is country without pretense or artifice. The menu focuses on eggs, waffles and hotcakes, along with the legendary biscuits.

Golden Egg Café is right down the street from Pete’s, which seems kind of a shame because it has never really had a chance to be considered on its own merits. There are outdoor tables available, which are pet-friendly. The menu features basic breakfast food and the bacon is thick and very nicely cured.

Art’s Corner Café focuses on customers. So much so that caricatures of regulars, drawn by area artist Chris Martinez line the walls. Art prides himself on his soft, fluffy pancakes and the French toast is the old-fashioned thin sliced bread kind. The chile verde is also featured, as well as really large portions of eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage and ham.

Eggs N Things is a small Ventura County chain that is well-known by locals. They serve every customer a small Swedish pancake that’s served with a dollop of boysenberry jam. The eggs benedict can be a bit uneven, with eggs arriving at random stages of doneness. But the food is very good overall.

Café Nouveau has been discovered and it’s not going well. The delightful breakfast restaurant located in an old, renovated house with an exquisite outdoor patio is wonderful if you catch it at the right time. The menu is good, with breakfast burritos, eggs, French toast – the thick kind, but the service is quite spotty and can be downright rude. The lines on the weekend are long and the wait staff gets so flustered that they have trouble filling orders.

Franky’s Restaurant was long a Ventura favorite. But under new ownership, it's a shell of its former self, with a truncated menu and the elimination of the iconic fountain. The old staff is gone as is the tomato/basil dressing. The menu focuses on healthier choices.

Ojai travel piece

This is from my food writing boot camp class I took in West Hollywood. This was supposed to be a food/travel piece, but somehow the mention of how to get there using the scenic route was considered somehow irrelevant???? And the whole getting away from it all angle was considered trite:

Anyway, here it is.

Ojai: Getting away on a road less traveled

When life is too hectic, when traffic is too traffic-y, crowds are too crowded and you head’s wound so tight it could snap off with the slightest jostle, it’s time to get away. But this can’t be a getaway that causes more stress than it relieves. This needs to be a getaway that offers ease of access along with an entirely different, laid-back environment.
Ojai, California, is nestled in the mountains just north of Los Angeles in a place that seems far, far away from the endless mini-malls and big box stores that seem to be the norm in the Southern California landscape.
Getting there can be a delight. Sure, there is a more direct route – you take the 101 Freeway north to Hwy 33 and go on north to Ojai – but half the fun of getting away is getting there, especially if it’s scenic. Take the 101 Freeway north from Los Angeles. In Ventura, take Hwy. 126 to Santa Paula. Get off at the signs for State Route 150 and follow the two-lane marked road though the town and up into the hills.
This is a drive, with its Alps-like views, and a two-lane road that meanders alongside the Santa Paula Creek that can quiet the most stressed soul as soccer games and payback dinners fade into the background and an obligation-free weekend away beckons. In the spring the mustard weed blooms and the hillsides explode in yellow, rising into the deep blue that is the sky. Other times of year are equally delightful, unique and waiting to be discovered. The road rises through the hills and levels out in what is known as the Upper Ojai, a series of ranches set in a high valley, with fields of apricot trees and grazing cattle..
You pass by Beatrice Woods’ Ojai Foundation, the Boccali tree farm and end up at the village/crossroads of Summit, where a lone hamburger stand, which is almost always closed, sits by the side of the road. The road starts to wind again and right at the top is an overlook where visitors can view Ojai stretched out below, evoking a Van Gogh landscape, with its Medeterranian-style vineyards, fields of oranges and red-tile roofed homes all nestled at the foot of Topa Topa mountain, which forms a distinctive backdrop for the western half of Ventura County.
Highway 150 delivers visitors outside of town, where the road is lined by stone walls and the orange trees spotted from above. A local favorite, Boccali’s restaurant, which serves pizza and pasta where the not-so-secret ingredient is the homegrown tomatoes, is immediately on the left where the old California oaks offer dappled shade over the picnic area where diners enjoy their meals.
The center of town is heralded by the downtown arcade, with its distinctive scalloped arches facing Libbey Park, the heart of the town. Libbey Park is home to an annual tennis tournament, a music festival, Shakespeare and other performances in the small ourdoor amphitheater.
While Ojai is home to the Ojai Valley Inn, which is a high-end escape for the privileged, there are a number of smaller places available for the weekender. The Lavender Inn, 210 E. Matilija St., is a bed and breakfast that offers rooms that are as quaint as the bed and breakfast’s name. The inn offers cooking classes through the Ojai Culinary Institute, with such topics as farmers market specialties, Italian treats and holiday cooking taught by local chefs and food experts. But if even a cooking class is too much pressure, the Lavender Inn offers massages and other relaxing spa services.
After a morning of travel has generated a healthy appetite, it’s time to take a break and grab a sandwich or salad at Rainbow Bridge Natural Food Store, directly across from the Lavender Inn. The store offers a variety of organic foods and pre-made or made-to-order specialties. Take your lunch and head to nearby Libbey Park, where you can enjoy small town people-watching in the sun. If you’re lucky, local performers will be entertaining. You can stroll around the wooded park after lunch and visit the Libbey Bowl. The outdoor stage offers kids – and childlike adults – a chance to perform, if only for the local frogs.
Spend the afternoon shopping and browsing at the local galleries. Ojai is an artists’ retreat and there are many local artists who display their works. This is the kind of small town where shopkeepers are relaxed and friendly. Visitors have been asked to “watch the store” as owners run down the street to “grab a bite.”
One of Ojai’s great joys is the Pink Moment. When the sun sets on most days, the unique topography causes the rosy rays to appear to get trapped by the atmosphere, bathing the town in a pink glow. The very best place to watch this is Meditation Mount, a facility where people are welcome to contemplate the unspoiled view in the Peace Garden.
Dinner in Ojai offers a multitude of possibilities, from fine dining at Suzannes, Azu and Auberge to more casual, but still high-end fare such as that offered at Pangea or Feast Bistro. One thing about all restaurants in Ojai share is an emphasis on local fresh produce. Chefs tend to be inspired by the abundance and variety of vegetables and fruits that are locally grown and they use them well. Just outside of town is the Deer Lodge, 2261 Maracopa Highway (Hwy. 33) where wild game is prepared by a chef who is adventurous enough to offer a smoke trout chile relleno with a chili cream sauce that will have diners licking their plates.
After a good night’s sleep, wake up to a buffet breakfast at the Lavender Inn or try out the more traditional fare at Bonnie Lu’s Country Café or Eggs N. Things. After getting a bellyful, head to the local farmers market where vendors from local farms offer all kinds of treats – from fresh, locally grown apples and strawberries to root vegetables and a myriad of greens and herbs. This is a great place to gather flowers for the week or to stock up on salad greens and fresh, local eggs. Try out the “soap lady,” with her homemade soaps, the “salt lady,” who offers organic Celtic salts to be used as rubs alongside her many herbal potions, or the lavender booth, dedicated to all things lavender.
Ojai is nestled at the foot of Los Padres National Forest. There is a ranger station on Ojai Avenue, just outside of town where visitors can get day passes and directions to area trails. A number of hot springs can be hiked to in the area, along with a bike trail that runs from Ojai down to the ocean in Ventura.
If you’ve worked up an appetite from the morning fun, don’t overlook Rubens Burritos, which is a tiny little hole in the wall that serves huge and tasty burritos, or Ojai Pizza, which also has a great lunch menu.
You can head out of Ojai from whence you came, along Highway 150, or you can choose to go down Hwy 33 to where it swings by the ocean and runs into the 101 Freeway. Either way, the unique small-town charm of Ojai will stay with you – at least until the Monday morning productivity meeting.

The tale of fenugreek

 
  
This is the piece I worked on for Laurie Buckle's class in food writing. I'm having so much fun with this class.
At the local farmers market every Sunday in Ojai, California, is an organic produce booth. With its bunch of knit rainbow-hatted, dread-headed sales people, it is a Mecca for health food afficionados from around the artists’ enclave north of Los Angeles. Each week people clamor for the fenugreek, which is available alongside such exotic offerings as wild arugula, nettle, rosemary, cilantro, and other seasonal herbs and greens. The salespeople are happy to help customers who have questions about the more exotic or unusual offerings.
Fenugreek is used in both seed, dried and fresh forms extensively in Middle Eastern, Indian and Asian cooking. The Latin name is trigonella foenum graecum. Trigonella refers to the triangular flowers and foenum graecum means Greek hay, supposedly because it was used to sweeten the smell of inferior Greek hay, according to botanical.com Web site.
Fenugreek does have a strong, characteristic odor. Some say it smells kind of like maple syrup, and in fact, fenugreek is used to make maple syrup flavoring, but others find it has more of a earthy, curry-like smell, which is appropriate because fenugreek seeds are often used in making curries in India and Pakistan.
The leaves, also known as methi, are used in Middle Eastern cooking, often in stews. Fenugreek has also been used traditionally for various medicinal reasons and the powdered seeds are often sold at health food stores to lower blood sugar, as an anticoagulant and to help breast feeding mothers increase lactation, although the latter use is under debate. But the amounts used in cooking have little effect on health and fenugreek is added to increase the complexity of flavors.
Fenugreek seeds are a spice and fenugreek leaves are considered an herb. They can’t be used interchangeably.
“Fenugreek seeds are NOT a good substitute for leaves. Think of the difference in flavour between fresh coriander (cilantro) and coriander seed. You can use them as a substitute but you'll get a different flavour. If you do use fenugreek seeds DO NOT overheat them or you will really know what bitter tastes like. Add them with the liquid,” says David Smith of England, who writes and maintains the Web site The Curry House (http://www.curryhouse.co.uk)
Fenugreek has a rather bitter flavor, which can be off-putting for the American palate, but if you counteract the bitterness with other brighter ingredients, the resulting dish can be complex and delicious. And with many of the medicinal/health effects of cod liver oil, fenugreek not only adds to the flavor, but also to the nutritive qualities of the foods in which it’s used. A word of caution, though. People have noticed a distinctive smell to their sweat and urine after eating fenugreek, some say it’s like maple syrup.
Fenugreek is often used with potatoes. The guy at the Ojai produce stand recommended it in a potato casserole or in soups. Other recipes call for using fenugreek in dals, or the pureed lentil dishes that are often served in Indian cuisine. The following recipes take both of those ideas, Indian-style spices and healthy cooking concepts, to create dishes that have a depth of flavor that is rather unique to the Western palate.
This lentil soup recipe is low-fat (if you consider extra virgin olive oil a fat), is inexpensive and is actually a vegan dish that people who profess an allergy of all things labeled Health Food find tasty.

Lentil soup with fenugreek2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
8 cups vegetable broth
1 16 ounce package lentils, rinsed and cleaned
1 teaspoon salt
1 heaping teaspoon garam masala
5 to 6 bay leaves
1 cup fresh fenugreek leaves

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven. Add onion and saute, add carrots and celery. Saute until vegetables start to sweat. Add minced garlic. Cook until garlic becomes fragrant. Add vegetable broth. Add lentils, salt, garam masala and bay leaves. Cook for 30 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add fenugreek leaves. Cook an additional 15 minutes or until lentils are tender/chewy.
Serve with pita crisps

Pita crisps
Cut 4 pita rounds into fourths and divide each fourth into two pieces. Spray cookie sheet with olive oil. Place pita pieces smooth side down on cookie sheet. Spray pita with olive oil. Sprinkle with granulated garlic powder (not garlic salt). Cook in 350 oven for 8 minutes.

Using butter with extra virgin olive oil raises the burning temperature of the butter, making it suitable for longer term higher temperature cooking. Plus this is a really easy way yo get the taste of ghee (clarified butter) without going through all the trouble of making your own. You can use extra virgin olive oil exclusively to make the recipe healthier. The Vindaloo seasoning is an Indian-style spice mix from Penzey’s spices, which carries a wide variety of curry spices.

Potatoes with peas and fenugreek

6 medium waxy potatoes, such as red or yellow potatoes cut in 3/4 inch pieces
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1½ teaspoons Vindaloo seasoning
1 cup frozen peas
½ cup fenugreek leaves
½ cup spring onions, coarsely chopped (Scallions can be substituted)
Sea salt to taste

Boil the potatoes in salted water for about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain and start to fry oil/butter mix in a heated skillet. Add Vindaloo seasoning and cook until potatoes start to brown. Add peas, fenugreek leaves and spring onions. Cook until peas are thawed. Salt and serve.

Just some photos for now

I've been busy taking a food writing boot camp course with Bon Appetit Managing editor Laurie Buckle. It's a total blast, although it's in L.A., which means I have to overcome my fear of driving there -- I'm not down with the insanity of the L.A. interstate system. The drive gets longer and longer each time and I leave earlier and earlier and get there later and later.

These pork chops are made with some purple peppers I grew, along with some green ones. I added onion and apple and made a wine reduction. It was really nice with pork chops, which I just sauteed in some olive oil.

The flourless chocolate cake comes from Bon Appetit magazine. It's amazingly easy and insanely rich. I added the raspberries, along with a little raspberry extract in the ganache. A slice of heaven.