You’d think coffee, coming straight from the ground, would be an obviously organic food. Nope. Turns out coffee beans are probably as chemically processed as a Big Mac. But things are different at the all-natural Urth Caffé, the first exclusively organic coffee company in the United States. After they spent two years in Italy to […]
Author Archives: Leiti Hsu
Rove and Relish: Selling frozen perfection in plain and green tea
Pinkberry creator Young Lee oozes Asian action star. Taller than Bruce Lee and more handsome than Jackie Chan, he is clad in a black jacket and Tom Ford shades that border on obnoxious. Wondering if any self-respecting mafia would allow itself to be associated with something “pink” and “berry,” I half-expect Lee’s underworld cronies to […]
Rove and Relish: Hidden bistro’s menu is worth discovering
NOOK 11628 Santa Monica Blvd., #9 $6-$10 (small plates) $10-$18 (big plates) I couldn’t help feeling like a cool cat when I found Nook. Tucked in a mini-mall between a pizza parlor and a Chinese restaurant, this bistro is so bona fide good that the only signage it needs is a stoic orange arrow over […]
Female chefs stand the heat to make headway in the kitchen
leiti hsu She’s seen it all. Restaurateur and chef Suzanne Goin encountered the refrigerator that “stank like bloody hell” in a restaurant kitchen in southwest France. “So this is where they keep the dead bodies,” she joked to herself, wondering what the contents were. The restaurant sat next to a river, and the menu featured […]
Rove and Relish with Leiti Hsu
I believe very little of my Chinese mom’s off-the-wall claims about food. She once told me that if you eat too many instant noodles, your body will just lie there, preserved, after you die. To rot, or not to rot? Which is worse? I continue to take Mother’s advice with as much salt as is […]
Rove and Relish with Leiti Hsu: Roll 'n Rye
Roll ‘n Rye 10990 Jefferson Blvd. $10-$15 Great roast beef can make a guy go gaga, and Roll ‘n Rye in Culver City has my friend held captive. “This is the kind of sandwich that I don’t want to share,” he admitted. “I just want to run to a dark closet and hide and eat […]
Food Fanatic: Bread and Porridge
Bread and Porridge 2315 Wilshire Blvd. $10-$20 Brunch is the best meal of the day. It’s less pretentious than dinner, and it offers the selection of lunch. Plus, brunch includes those might-as-well-be-dessert foods usually reserved for breakfast, without requiring you to wake up at an uncivilized hour. (I’ve always felt that French toast, pancakes and […]