Last weekend was the opening of the IFT show in Anaheim. The last convention I had been to was Europain 08 and I figured it would be good to learn more about some of the ingredients and technologies as they are equally as important as the equipments and services sector. The show was smaller than I expected but proved to be interesting as well as a refuge from my short stay in a hotel across from the main gate of Disneyland.

The businesses and organizations present ranged from Food Science Programs to specialized gums to flavors and colors to freeze dried fruits and vegetables to herbs and spices to starches and derivatives to co-packers to commodity board representatives to giants of soy sauce to importers of Sri Lankan cinnamon to sellers of scientific instruments to trade publications and publishers. It was pretty exciting to see so many ingredient and service vendors under one roof and to be able to get so much information in one place. My bag kept getting heavier and heavier with brochures and cards and samples. In 5 hours I traversed the hall and was slightly wiped out from all the info. Thankfully most businesses had great handouts.

Transition to Eats Reviews...

This trip also served a good excuse to get out of SF and drive and drive and see some friends in the LA area and to eat some amazing food and visit some bakeries and cafes.

Driving east I knew I was leaving the Bay Area when I saw the hills of windmills. They always amaze me. Then south. “Congress Created Dustbowl” signs went for hundreds of miles down 5. Lush farmland surrounded by drying land. Man made waterways of concrete. “Farm water feeds America”. Gas every sixty miles. Bad fast food. Open agriculture trucks shipping garlic. Thin sheets of the papery skin blowing off slow. Fast driving. Then slowwww. Past Grapevine. A car was on fire. Signs advertise water at pull out stations. Old cars are there with hoods up. Approaching 4000 ft more cars are on the road. And more. And more. And more.

My first stop was to meet a friend from college and her boyfriend for dinner. It was off the 405 and was Oaxacan. And good. And inexpensive. The specialty was mole. I had Tamales with banana leaves. Amazing guac. The name of the place is El Agave Restaurant Oaxaqueno. If I didnt have to drive on to Anaheim... the margaritas looked pretty good...

Breakfast the next morning should be banned from memory. It was a national chain... enough said.

Skip to dinner. By this time I had met up with a former student from some time ago. She is doing quite well now and is teaching in the LA area. She made reservations and after a glass if wine and some cheese and amazing olives at her villa we made our way to the mall. In the mall we wandered past high end retailers to Marche Moderne. Amazing. We were seated in plush seats and were brought amuse bouche of scallop and lime and some greens in a tiny verrine. For an ap I had the salade compose which was of avocado and arugula and heirloom tomatoes and a ham of sorts. Perfectly dressed. Bread was La Brea and was fine. Next for the main I had the lamb shank with ratatouille. She had the clams which were ethereal. The fries were a bit underfried. The meat from the shank fell right off the bone and the veggies were cooked just right. It came out in a Staub cast iron crock (I sell these through Matfer). It all went down nicely with some CA red and neither of us had room for dessert. No way. But, we did look at the menu of course and it looked like a nice selection of house made items.

Next meal... breakfast. This was possibly one of my most decadent (and expensive) breakfasts in quite some time. We were at The Montage in Laguna Beach at The Loft. If you havent been, you should go if you’re in the area and don’t mind spending some money for great service, stunning views and well crafted food. Our table overlooked the Pacific. THe sky was blue and there were some clouds. Palm trees. A pool below. Coffee was a welcomed offer and was quite good. It was served in very nice, fine china which seemed to make it even more special. For a little starter we shared a house made croissant. Quite good. Flaky. Slight lack of depth for flavor but it was fresh and light. I got the Veggie Benny. Benedict. Cream cheese, portobello and grilled asparagus over house made flaky herb biscuits. On the side were some baby fingerlings split and roasted with a bit of herbs and salt. Perfect. After we needed a walk and we strolled the path on the top of the cliff over the beach. It was like another world and was that a famous person I saw?

Back to reality our first stop was to Pacific Whey Baking Co. I was guaranteed there would be a Lamborghini in the parking lot and surely there was. Bold yellow. The shop was nice and well stocked. They had an interesting custard danish that was huge and cut into slices. Very rustic.

Very similar in concept to my beloved pear and brioche tart but without the pear and sub Danish for Brioche.

Next we were off to 85C Bakery Cafe. There are over 350 in Taiwan and this is their first in the US. It was conceived of by food and pastry professionals from Taiwan who have competed extensively on the international circuit. I was impressed with their selection as well as their presentation of pastries. My friend loaded up a tray in the self serve area and we enjoyed some coffee outside.

I have to admit I am a fan of the plastic covered cups. Apparently I don’t get out enough because this was new to me. Popular with bubble tea, it has come to coffee. Like a juice box, just poke the pointed straw and off you go.

Here’s some shots of the classic Asian style bread and pastry display. Walk around with your tray and take what you please...

Cheese Dog. Didn’t try this one...

Ended up trying this Taro Swirl. The appearance of lamination doesnt go further than 2 mm deep. Under it is a soft roll with a taro filling.

Green Onion Bread. This soft bread was quite good.

They has a nice selection of cakes and pastries. These are probably the most appealing Asian style (French influenced) pastries I have seen. They had entremts, slices and individual portions.

Not photographed but sampled was the honey cake. Also called Kasutera. It was very light, just moist enough, not too sweet and had a clean honey flavor. I have a recipe from several years ago that I need to make again.

My last stop was to meet a friend/former student at a cafe before leaving town. He is a chef and a baker and is in between jobs. He brought with him the most delicate rings of sugar cookie and in the center was an almond florentine. They were perfect with the coffee. As always, Americanos out.

La Mill is in Silverlake close to the reservoir and they have an amazing selection of coffee and brewing options. If you love coffee, check this place out.