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The Factory Gastrobar brunch

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

I don’t have a chance to drop by The Factory Gastrobar in Long Beach very often, but when I do, it is always well worth it. The Factory is the brainchild of Natalie Gutenkauf, a native of Long Beach and a great believer in local food long before the trend became popular.

Apart from a strong commitment to supporting her community, Natalie always sources ingredients as close to home as possible in order to guarantee the freshness of the dishes served at The Factory. You may have seen our earlier story on The Growing Experience farm in Long Beach, which we visited with Natalie and her chef.

Natalie and her crew will be at the Aquarium’s Sea Fare event on October 16th. Drop by then to see her and about 30 other excellent local restaurants.

A point worth mentioning is that Natalie is well connected to local breweries and she knows her beers. This is a goldmine for someone like me who enjoys a good microbrew, but can’t always be bothered to keep them straight. Solution: ask Natalie for a recommendation. She started by bringing me small glasses of a classic dunkel and a sessions ale to help me make up my mind. Nice. Every dining experience should start this way.

I should also note that we sat outside on The Factory’s ridiculously comfortable furniture on their dog-friendly patio. They’ll even bring you a dog treat so your pet can stay occupied while you enjoy your meal.

We chose a number of menu items almost at random. There are no losers on this menu, trust me. Here’s what we sampled:

• Beer-B-Q Pulled chicken slider
• Ale-Braised Bison Slider
• Happy Cow Slider, with caramelized onions and spicy mustard
• Spanish Orzo Salad, with manchego cheese, sunflower seeds, tomatoes, lemon and olive oil
• Jimmy’s Farm Box, with citrus miso dressing
• Steamed Mussels – Carlsbad black mussels steamed in new Belgium Brewery’s Mothership Wit [not a typo] Organic Wheat Beer
• Avocado, mozzarella, and grapefruit salad




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The Peace Garden

Monday, August 30th, 2010

On the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, celebrations all over the country sought to reconnect with King’s message of peace and equality. But at one end of Long Beach, California, one unassuming ceremony outshined them all.


The Saturday ceremony celebrated the opening of the Peace Garden in the Long Beach park named for Dr. King. In attendance were the various groups that have not only backed the Peace Garden project, but also who comprise the heart and soul of efforts to improve Long Beach from within: local councilman Dee Andrews, the Long Beach Department of Health, and the police department.


The Garden itself was built by teens participating in the Weed and Seed Program, which is housed in a King Park building that opens onto the Garden. A propos of its name, the Weed and Seed program simultaneously focuses on preventing crime and on fostering young community members through education, outreach, and mentoring. The Peace Garden is a refuge where Weed and Seed teens can contemplate both personal and vegetable growth, by working in the soil and contributing to the garden.


The morning ceremony drew representatives from the various groups involved, as well as families. After the speeches, a funk band fired up Michael Jackson tunes and community members danced on the gravel path at the Garden’s entrance.

The Garden path meanders between a series of redwood garden planters, each representing one of the ethnic groups in Long Beach , and displaying culturally distinctive artwork and plants. Words of inspiration can be found tucked into unobtrusive corners on rocks and signs, leaving visitors the pleasure of finding tidbits of encouragement on their own.
The Garden path starts at a hand-painted sign displaying the Weed and Seed principles next to a well-stocked bookshelf (I spied Melville’s Moby Dick on top of the pile). At the far end, past the planters, a table displays painted brick artwork created by Weed and Seed teens, each one a tribute to the creativity and dedication of the individuals involved. The brightly colored bricks bring to mind another famous speech that pinpoints the key to turning the Dream into reality: “…brick by brick, rail by rail, calloused hand by calloused hand.” (Obama, 2005)
What does a Peace Garden have to do with food? Everything. Weed and Seed’s directors recognize the importance of nutrition education in restoring balance within a community. The garden itself will be a part of a network of gardens in Long Beach , a “green belt” that connect the small community gardens with the larger urban farms. Each month, the Weed and Seed center plans to host a workshop on nutrition and cooking, empowering the community with the ability to make healthy decisions in the grocery store and at home. These workshops will culminate in the March 2011 nutrition festival, where families can learn how easy it can be to choose and prepare healthy and nutritious foods. If you’re in the area, I hope that you, too, will visit the Peace Garden and be inspired to get involved.

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Question about the safety of wild vs. farmed salmon

Monday, August 9th, 2010


Here’s a question we recently received: Is farmed salmon really as safe to eat as wild salmon? …The short answer is yes.

Dr. Charles Santerre of Purdue University, whose area of expertise deals with women and children and their sensitivity to toxins, states that, “The best choice for pregnant women is farmed or wild salmon. These fish are high in healthy nutrients and low in pollutants. Farmed salmon is more affordable and available year round. The concerns over PCBs in farmed salmon have been evaluated by experts and found to be insignificant compared to the health benefits.”

Santerre puts into context the definitive study on PCBs and other contaminants in Pacific salmon (wild) and Atlantic salmon (farmed): Ronald A. Hites et al., “Global Assessment of Organic Contaminants in Farmed Salmon,” Science 303, no. 5655 (January 9, 2004): 226-229. (Note that the term “organic” is used in the chemical sense, not the agricultural sense.)

The Hites paper specifically begins saying, “…our preliminary study showed no significant difference in methylmercury levels between farmed and wild salmon.”

Hites found the average PCB level in farmed salmon to be 37 parts per billion (ppb), and the average PCB level in wild salmon to be 4 ppb. Compare this to the tolerance limit set by both the FDA and Health Canada: 2000 parts per billion.

The US EPA has a lower reference dose is based on the actual consumption rate and one’s body weight. For 132 pound person eating 12 oz. of cooked salmon per week, this limit is 50 ppb, according to this paper by toxicologist Charles Santerre: Charles R. Santerre, “Balancing the risks and benefits of fish for sensitive populations,” Journal of Foodservice 19, no. 4 (2008): 205-212.

Santerre advises that, in order to minimize PCB exposure regardless of species or level, cook the fish and cut off the skin.

Furthermore, Santerre notes that, “Americans receive 42% of dioxin-like compounds (which includes some of the PCBs) from meat products; 17% from dairy products; 12% from fruits and vegetables; 10% from poultry and eggs; 13% from other foods; and only 8% from fish products. Thus, when eating fish and not one of these other foods, consumers may actually be reducing their intake of dioxin- like compounds including PCBs.”

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Four Fish Dinner at Ammo – Sustainable Tastes Better

Monday, August 9th, 2010


What does it take to get people interested in eating responsible seafood? Sustainability is confusing. Certainly it doesn’t help when the word is loosely tossed around in social and business settings as if it were the next political movement. Is the answer to blanket people with scientific reports, possibly scaring them towards more responsible seafood? There is biology indicating that we could be harming our oceans by fishing in environmentally unfriendly manners, yet at the same time, there is a significant amount of science showing that we need to eat more seafood. So how is it possible to achieve this balance?

Fortunately for groups like Seafood for the Future, Paul Greenberg, author of Four Fish- The future of the last wild food, recently introduced an effective strategy which is already involving people in making more conscious decisions about the food they eat. In one condensed effort he put aside all the calculated seafood talk and told a story. Actually he told many stories, covering four different species of fish and the voices of fisherman and fish farmers all over the globe. At the heart of his story is the relationship between a once abundant food source and the people that live on its survival. To make this story even more relevant, and actually follow through with a call to action such as “eat more sustainable seafood,” Paul Greenberg himself, the man,the myth, and the soon-to-be legend, co-hosted a dinner in Hollywood at AMMO restaurant last night (Sunday, August 8th) featuring only sustainable seafood.

If the goal of AMMO chef Daniel Mattern (formerly of Lucques, AOC and Clarklewis in Portland) was to make the diner think “wow sustainable tastes better!” than he succeeded 100%. Arctic Char, Carlsbad Oysters, Mussels, Clams, and Barramundi were all prepared with both simplicity and perfection. Chef’s skill was seamlessly laced through each dish, not in an arrogant manner, but instead as brief but bold brushstrokes, making each dish that much more flawless and further exemplifying our mission here at SFF that “seafood should be approachable.” Textures were certainly not forgotten either, something that can easily magnify any fish dining experience. The crisp celery in the hot smoked arctic char salad was an unexpected but impeccable addition and certainly a playful crunch. The fennel amongst the clams and mussels added essential tooth, and the innovative use of flat leaf Italian parsley within the grilled Barramundi dish played brilliantly against the richness of the fish. For those people whose number one seafood choice is the “bad boy” Chilean sea bass, chef’s grilled Barramundi should quickly jettison this new fish to the top spot as he has mastered the art of making barramundi as rich as fried rocky road ice cream.

Interestingly, every item on the menu was farmed. And while Greenberg doesn’t explicitly state that he wholeheartedly supports all fish farming in his book, his positive and encouraging statements were certainly a breath of fresh air in the world of Anti-Fish Farming campaigns.

Here are three condensed lessons to be learned:

1. Sustainability is more than numbers, it is about a story and the interrelated nature of the story’s elements. By not eating fish all together, communities reliant on the economies created through this trade will be destroyed. On the same note, however, by overfishing species, many communities are in peril as they no longer have a product to support their profession. Every story about this paradox is a springboard towards awareness and eventually mobilizing people to act through compromise and improvement.

2. Four Fish is a must read and a great gateway novel into the world of sustainability

3. If you haven’t been to AMMO restaurant, go ASAP- you won’t regret it

Ammo’s Sustainable Seafood Menu:

“Four Fish”

Carlsbad oysters on the half-shell with shallot mignonette & fresh horseradish

Hot-smoked Arctic char with marinated beets, chopped egg & celery seed vinaigrette

Pan-roasted mussels & clams with summer shell beans, pickled chili, and fennel pollen

Grilled barramundu with eggplant caponata, basil & aioli

Roasted figs with honey ice cream

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AMMO Restaurant
1155 N. Highland Ave.
Los Angeles, CA

323.467.3293

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Your Seafood is Safe

Friday, July 30th, 2010


Is my seafood safe to eat? This question has been a conversational backdrop long before the Gulf oil spill–As coastal development explodes, international fishing pressures collide and sensationalized stories about mercury gain national attention, people continue to worry about the safety of their seafood. Fortunately for us Americans we have mandatory systems in place managed by both local authorities, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that function solely to ensure the safety of our seafood.

In fear of getting into the regulatory gobbledygook concerning the seafood on our plates, here is the straight forward answer: Yes, it is safe to eat the seafood that is served on your plate. Let’s look at the facts:

FACTS

1. FDA operates a mandatory safety program for all fish and fishery products under the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the Public Health Service Act, and related regulations.

2. In Louisiana the first step taken to keep tainted seafood from the market was closing about one-third of federal Gulf waters to commercial fishing – roughly 80,000 square miles.

3.Seafood in general has to meet the most stringent safety regulations of any food industry in the United States. (read more about HAACP and fishery products on the FDA website).

4.The Louisiana Department of Health and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries along with federal agencies such as NOAA and FDA and EPA are testing more seafood than ever. To date all the tests are coming back showing that Louisiana seafood is safe to consume

It is hard to speculate a silver lining in the midst of any disaster, however, there certainly are lessons to be learned. Immediately after the spill in the Gulf, it became evident that people are unaware of where their seafood comes from. Peruse any newspaper, blog, or website concerning food, and the questions seem limitless. People want to know if their seafood is safe to eat, and more so where it is coming from.

Given that in 2008, imports made up 83% of the seafood consumed in the U.S, the US plate has not been affected by the travesty in the Gulf. In the aftermath, however, it is essential that we support domestic seafood. By consuming domestic well-managed seafood that is in abundant supply, and supporting local communities, we refocus our attention on local waters and marine resources.

Another response encourages dialogue regarding our food supply. Only shop at restaurants and retail operations that are honest about the seafood they sell and fully cognizant about the transparency of their distribution chain. Most importantly, have faith in the systems that have been put in place to manage our fisheries and food systems. These mechanisms include a healthy set of checks and balances between the government, private enterprises and NGO’s.

Here are a few good resources to learn more about the safety of your seafood:

Fishwatch

FDA

National Fisheries Institute

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