Show 525, May 13, 2023: Executive Chef and Partner Chris Feldmeier, Bar Moruno, Silver Lake

Chris Feldmeier of Bar Moruno

Owner Executive Chef Chris Feldmeier at Bar Moruno in Silver Lake has recently introduced a Saturday Brunch and a Sunday Roast menu. We get the tempting specifics directly from Chef Chris.

“The Sunday Roast is a set menu of a main protein and two sides (sometimes three) for $75 that very generously feeds two and can definitely satisfy two adults and a child. Sunday May 14th is Rotisserie Pastrami Short Rib with Rye Flatbread, Sauerkraut, Pickles and Macaroni Salad.”

Chef Chris’ Saturday Brunch menu (available from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.) is inspired by menu items from Bar Moruno’s signature woodfired oven. Consider a wood-oven baked Hoe Cake which is presented in its own little cast iron skillet and Shakshouka made with organic eggs, roasted tomato, onion and piquillo peppers.

Included on the new Brunch menu are colorful libations. How about Chef Chris’ Bull Shot with vodka, sherry and beef bone broth? Also there is a “Nitro Negroni which fulfills one of the eight cups of coffee a serious caffeine person might have on a typical Saturday.”

Show 304, December 29, 2018: Restaurateur Trisha Langer, Daughter’s Deli – A Family Tradition, West Hollywood

Tricia LangerLanger’s Deli’s pastrami is legendary in Jewish deli appreciators’ circles. In 2001 Langer’s was awarded the distinction of “America’s Classics” by The James Beard Foundation, a prestigious honor for an independent, family-owned restaurant. Trisha Langer is the granddaughter of Al Langer, the founder of Langer’s Deli located across the street from MacArthur Park in Los Angeles.

After many years learning the deli trade at Langer’s from her Grandparents and Father (Al) she has branched off on her own (with her husband) to found Daughter’s Deli – A Family Tradition in the heart of The Sunset Strip in West Hollywood.

It’s a more modest establishment in size than Langer’s but the pastrami is still outstanding and hand carved. You order at the counter and your food is delivered to your table. There is also comfortable covered patio seating with a view of the action on the Sunset Strip. It’s breakfast and lunch, 7-days.

“Growing up with a family in the Deli business exposed me to a world of tastes, smells, stories, and experiences I wouldn’t have had otherwise. My first job as a little girl was rolling swiss cheese under the supervision of my Nana because I wasn’t old or tall enough to make my own catering tray for the holidays. Years later after graduating college and realizing the restaurant business was in my blood, I went to work with my family as they taught me some of the tricks and trades of the business. I spent fourteen years being mentored by my father bonding over Family traditions and recipes created by my Nana, Papa, and himself over the years.”

“In 2015, I married a family man who had passion for the restaurant business. He insists the moment he fell in love with me is when he asked how my day was, and I told him I had to pull my hair back and hand cut pastrami that day with my dad because we were busy. Three years later after having two sons, I decided to begin a new venture with him to create something like my family had created for me. Daughter’s Deli is a place we hope will emulate the feeling of A Family Tradition while serving quality food.” – Trisha Langer

We pull Trisha away from skillfully hand-slicing the ethereal pastrami for a visit.

Show 292, September 29, 2018: Philippe the Original’s 110th Anniversary Celebration

Richard Binder2018 marks a major milestone for both Philippe the Original in Downtown Los Angeles and its famous French Dip Sandwich. The classic French Dip will celebrate its centennial and the restaurant will celebrate 110 years in business. There’s an epic Monday, October 1st celebration planned, including $1.10 French Dips, live entertainment, the USC Trojan Marching Band and a whole lot more.

Today, Philippe’s boasts over 75 employees, serves about 20,000 sandwiches per week, more when the Dodgers are in town, and prepares about 100 gallons of its famous Hot Mustard (no horseradish used) every week. Unusually, the company has some employees who have been with the restaurant for over 30 years.

The Binder / Martin family has strived to keep the restaurant as original as possible throughout the years; sawdust floors, décor, payphone booths and some of the cheapest coffee in town at 45 cents a cup. It wasn’t until 2014 that the restaurant took down the cash only sign and began accepting credit cards. The Pastrami French Dip Sandwich is the most recent menu addition.

General Manager and proud 3rd generation Family proprietor, Richard Binder is at our service with what’s on the menu.

Show 215, March 18, 2017: Rick Reich, Proprietor, W.I.N.O, Brix at The Shore, Long Beach

Rick ReichWhen it comes to personable characters with their own sense of style on the Long Beach dining scene, Rick Reich of Brix at The Shore in Belmont Shore wears the befitting crown. It’s a taste of the Big Apple with its iconic, piled-high pastrami sandwiches, intimate wine bar ambiance and a standout rotating selection of craft beer. It’s all of 65-seats.

Brix at The Shore offers something the area is lacking: a place that caters to Generation X and Baby Boomers where these forty to sixtysomethings can make their own hangout with music from their era, everything from ‘80s alternative to Sinatra; a rotating wine list with an impressive and thoughtful selection of vintages; a collection of taps that pour craft beer; and an intimate environment that provokes casual conversation among its guests.

“I call Brix at The Shore an adult amusement park,” says owner Rick Reich, who also doubles as the restaurant’s sommelier. “Belmont Shore has plenty of places that appeal to college kids, but what the area was lacking was a hangout for a more established crowd who needed a place to unwind after work, enjoy a good glass of wine or beer, grab a bite to eat, and occasionally break out into song – trust me, it’s happens. We’ve had the entire restaurant singing to Dean Martin on a Saturday night. And that’s what makes Brix so appealing.”

The menu features an array of shareable plates, flatbread sandwiches, salads, deli sandwiches, artisan pizza, burgers and entrees.

We pull W.I.N.O Rick out of the kitchen (and from behind the well-stocked bar) to tell us all about it.

Sandwich Heaven

Chef Jet and Travis compare notes on their favorite sandwiches!

Show 68, April 5, 2014: Chef Micah Wexler, Wexler’s Deli, Grand Central Market, Part One

Micah WexlerChef Micah Wexler was born and raised in Los Angeles and always had aspirations to be a chef. At age 15, Wexler’s first job was working with legendary Italian Chef, Gino Angelini, at Vincenti in Brentwood.

In 2011 Wexler opened Mezze Restaurant as Chef/Co-Owner. Mezze was named one of the Top New Restaurants that year by Los Angeles Magazine and was one of Jonathan Gold’s Essential 99 restaurants.

Next month Wexler will open his newest concept, Wexler’s Deli, in Downtown Los Angeles’ iconic Grand Central Market. Wexler’s Deli aims to take the traditional deli back to its roots and provide a place of community, pride, familiarity, and quality.

The menu will feature traditional favorites of corned beef, pastrami, salmon, and sturgeon, all cured and smoked in-house. All condiments will be house-made.

April 5: OC Baking Co., Grist & Toll, Duskie Estes, Lesley Jacobs Solmonson, Relish Culinary Adventures, Micah Wexler

Podcasts

Segment One: Host Jet Tila and Producer Andy Harris
Segment Two: Master Baker Dean Kim, OC Baking Co
Segment Three: Nan Kohler, Managing Partner, Grist & Toll – An Urban Flour Mill
Segment Four: Duskie Estes, Executive Chef and Co-Owner, Zazu Kitchen + Farm, The Barlow
Segment Five: Lesley Jacobs Solmonson, author of Gin: A Global History
Segment Six: Donna del Rey, Relish Culinary Adventurers, Healdsburg, CA
Segment Seven: Chef Micah Wexler, Wexler’s Deli, Grand Central Market, Part One
Segment Eight: Chef Micah Wexler, Wexler’s Deli, Grand Central Market, Part Two

Chef Jet and Producer Andy preview the show.

The Inaugural Grilled Cheese Festival & Competition featuring the best of the OC’s chefs is coming. We’ll have the details on how you can attend.

Would you believe a stone flour mill in Pasadena? It’s a passion project for the two partners who are selling flour from grain sourced from local growers. That’s a great example of the locavore movement!

We last visited with Chef Duskie Estes of Zazu Kitchen + Farm & Black Pig Meat Co. right before they opened their spacious new restaurant at The Barlow in Sebastopol (Sonoma County) last year. We have an update…

You can’t have a classic bar without gin. We have a fascinating tutorial from the local expert affiliated with the Museum of the American Cocktail.

The gateway to the Sonoma County Wine Country for foodies is Relish Culinary Tours located right off the town square in Healdsburg. They offer cooking classes, private parties, culinary tours and creative catering. We’ll hear about what’s on their menu for Spring & Summer.

A Los Angeles fine dining chef who has cooked at Tom Colicchio’s Craft in Century City is a deliman at heart. He’s about to open a Jewish deli in Downtown Los Angeles featuring his premium, house cured meats.

All of this and lots more incredible deliciousness on Saturday’s show!

The Big Cheese Grilled Cheese CompetitionIn celebration of National Grilled Cheese Month in April, OC Baking Co. and Provisions Market in Orange will join forces to host The Big Cheese, Orange County’s first grilled cheese festival and competition. OC Baking Co. Master Baker Dean Kim will supply locally produced freshly baked bread to top OC chefs competing for the title of “The Big Cheese” on Monday, April 14th from 6 to 8:00 p.m. at Provisions Market in Orange.

“The Chef community in Orange County is a tight knit one with many talented individuals I’m proud to call my friends,” commented Chef Greg Daniels, who oversees the kitchens at Haven Gastropub in Orange and Pasadena, as well as taco asylum in Costa Mesa. “Grilled Cheese is something we can all relate to and, thanks to OC Baking Co.’s support, this event is a way for us to get together for a lighthearted competition.”

Nan KohlerSerious home baker Nan Kohler and her business partner (Marti Noxon) have recently opened (December) Grist & Toll, an Urban flour mill in Pasadena. They are selling flour milled on the site from grain sourced from local growers.

The attractive blond wood stone mill from Austria is visible through a window and is the real star of the show.

They sell flour to home bakers as well as select restaurants including Union Restaurant in Pasadena.

Baking classes are on the way.

Chef Duskie Estes and Salumist John Stewart of Zazu Kitchen and FarmWhen we first met Sonoma County-based Chef Duskie Estes last Spring when she was about to move Zazu Kitchen + Farm from Santa Rosa into an incredible space at The Barlow in Sebastopol. It’s now located on the grounds of a long-closed Gravenstein apple processing facility. Some of the tin clad warehouse buildings remain and have been artfully repurposed. The rest of the complex duplicates that rustic look.

Duskie and her husband, John Stewart, are the King & Queen of Porc from the Grand Cochon competition in 2011. They also operate the Black Pig Meat Co.

Most of the mains change nightly at Zazu. A signature starter is the “I (heart) Pigstrami. John cures the pork for this little sandwich served on artisan rye with sauerkraut and house-made Guinness mustard.

Saturday and Sunday brunch is a major attraction here. At brunch the “can’t miss” item is the “As seen on TV” maple glazed donut with bacon jimmies. Outrageous…

Also popular is the king + queen of pork bacon-in-the-batter waffle with bacon toffee and house-made espresso gelato.

Lesley Jacobs SolmonsonThe Museum of the American Cocktail (based in New Orleans) is kicking off their “Touring the Cocktail Series” in Los Angeles with Lesley Jacobs Solmonson, the author of Gin: A Global History. She also is the food and cocktail columnist at LA Weekly. The provocative program is “A History of Gin in Five Cocktails.”

Gin is the undisputed king of cocktail spirits. Built upon a neutral spirit base, great gin is a symphony of juniper, spices, botanicals, and citrus.

Five signature gin cocktails will be available for sampling that evening. It’s set for Monday, April 7th at Dominick’s Restaurant in West Hollywood.

Donna del Rey of Relish Culinary AdventuresWhen it comes to providing the welcoming gateway for discriminating foodies to the Sonoma County Wine Country no one does it better than the hard-working Donna del Rey of Relish Culinary Adventures in Healdsburg. Relish offers cooking classes, private parties, distinctive culinary tours, and creative catering.

Recently Donna and her crew provided support for the Artisan Cheese Festival.

For the ultimate experience they offer “Relish Sonoma County,” a 3-Day Culinary Adventure of Sonoma County.

Coming up on June 21st is a hands-on Culinary Birds cooking class with Chef John Ash.

Micah WexlerChef Micah Wexler was born and raised in Los Angeles and always had aspirations to be a chef. At age 15, Wexler’s first job was working with legendary Italian Chef, Gino Angelini, at Vincenti in Brentwood.

In 2011 Wexler opened Mezze Restaurant as Chef/Co-owner. Mezze was named one of the Top New Restaurants that year by Los Angeles Magazine and was one of Jonathan Gold’s Essential 99 restaurants.

Next month Wexler will open his newest concept, Wexler’s Deli, in Downtown Los Angeles’ iconic Grand Central Market. Wexler’s Deli aims to take the traditional deli back to its roots and provide a place of community, pride, familiarity, and quality.

The menu will feature traditional favorites of corned beef, pastrami, salmon, and sturgeon, all cured and smoked in-house. All condiments will be house-made.

Podcasts

Segment One: Host Jet Tila and Producer Andy Harris
Segment Two: Master Baker Dean Kim, OC Baking Co
Segment Three: Nan Kohler, Managing Partner, Grist & Toll – An Urban Flour Mill
Segment Four: Duskie Estes, Executive Chef and Co-Owner, Zazu Kitchen + Farm, The Barlow
Segment Five: Lesley Jacobs Solmonson, author of Gin: A Global History
Segment Six: Donna del Rey, Relish Culinary Adventurers, Healdsburg, CA
Segment Seven: Chef Micah Wexler, Wexler’s Deli, Grand Central Market, Part One
Segment Eight: Chef Micah Wexler, Wexler’s Deli, Grand Central Market, Part Two