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Category Archives: Los Angeles

Five Things to Do in LA

9 / 7 / 1311 / 29 / 18

I recently went to LA and mostly stayed in Topanga Canyon, a village-like community nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains. While I was visiting, the cops found 5,000 tons of marijuana plants growing in Topanga State Park, probably not far from where we hiked that same morning. I don’t think anyone in Topanga was surprised, there’s kind of a green haze floating over the entire place. Maybe that’s why once you’re up there it’s hard to leave. When I did go down the hill, here are a few things that I would recommend doing (most of them scouted out in advance by my bff).

Eat breakfast at Old Place

I love a man behind a bar with a husky voice and good arms. It’s all the more fitting when he’s serving me coffee in a tin cup in a restaurant that resembles an old western saloon. Old Place was converted from an old country store in the 1970s, and it feels like a time capsule in the middle of nowhere (or more specifically the Santa Monica Mountains). The beer tap in front of me was made with some kind of animal horn, country music played in the background, and the 20-foot bar runs parallel to a number of wooden booths hidden by their high partitions. The porch outside feels weathered. The food isn’t amazing, but it’s good and worth the experience. The granola comes in a giant bowl of fresh berries and melons, tasty almonds and pecans, and creamy yogurt, and it would easily serve three people. The fritata, which came out in a mini cast iron pan, was fine. The bacon was super thick, but wouldn’t cowboys want it that way? Go early to avoid a wait.

Chill at Point Dume Beach

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You have to walk down some steps, cross a slightly hairy bed of rocks, but it’s worth it. Point Dume is a quiet strip of beach past Malibu hidden by the dramatic cliffside above it— from the top all you see is blue waters and the view doesn’t change too much from the sand. There were a few wet dogs running around, a couple playing early 90s rock (could have been worse), but otherwise the crowd was minimal and low key.

Shop at Melrose Trading Post

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$3 gets you in to this antique/flea market that doesn’t feel much different from any other antique market in California except that it’s smaller and more manageable, and amongst the booths of dyded cutoffs and costume jewelry there are actually some good deals.

Grab an ice cream sandwich at Coolhaus

2012-08-07 22.48.07

Outside of the Trading Post is an ice cream truck, which isn’t normally my thing, but I was hot and the bullshit green juice I had at some pristine salon-looking juice shop wasn’t satisfying me. The gluten free coconut almond cookie was chewy and soft but held up well as I ungracefully munched my way to the chocolate cointrea ice cream.

Get some sample dresses at Shopaholic Sample Sales
This one is for the ladies. Find beautiful, affordable, samples from a range of designers. They had a huge selection of dresses from formal to casual, and some great leggings and casual tops. It’s a small store so it’s not so overwhelming, but every time I went back to the rack I was damned to find something new. The dressing room is one big shared room, so remember to wear cute underwear.

Old Place, get there early
Point Dume There’s a sign and a small parking lot on top of a cliff, best to park in the residential area. This should get you there.
Melrose Trading Post , Sundays from 9-5, $3 entry
Coolhaus , Follow on Twitter for locations
Shopaholic Sample Sales

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LA for Dinner, LA for Breakfast

11 / 24 / 1011 / 28 / 18

A good guide is one who picks you up from the airport and says,”You hungry? Great, I know delicious Thai place. It’s a total dive.”

The thing I love about a 12-hour trip is that you have a very short window to have a bad meal. Couple it with a cousin that knows how to eat and you’re bound to have two great meals like this:

Dinner: Sri Siam Cafe makes a duck curry that melts in your mouth- pineapple, peppers, whole tomatoes and perfectly cooked duck. A Tom Kha Gai with some heat, a beef salad to cool you off, and a Sapporo to wash it down. Here the owner runs out in his chef’s coat to make a delivery, there’s neatly written Thai script on the whiteboard (OK, I don’t know what messy Thai script looks like), the “mild” means “damn spicy,” and you can bring your own beer in from the liquor store next door. A chill and authentic lil dive.
Breakfast:  If the bacon waffle I had in NY and Jumpin Java’s Cinnamon-Kiss French Toast had to get in the ring together and battle it out for fattiest fat girl breakfast, I’m not sure who would win. The baguette is dipped in brandy egg batter and glazed in sugar and cinnamon, towered on top of caramelized bananas and walnuts, and showered with powdered sugar. I’ve never put aside a cup of butter and a bottle of syrup so immediately.

 

Jumpin Java is a pleasant throw back- The faded green and yellow color scheme hints at their 15 year history and so does the genuine friendliness of their servers. They’re nice, but not overly nice- cause they know you’ll wander back.

Oh! And if it’s a sunny day you can sit outside and then head over to the farmer’s market just two blocks down.


Got the travel bug?

http://jumpinjavarestaurant.com/ (Studio City)

http://www.srisiamcafe.com/ (North Hollywood)
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Hi! I'm Ferron Salniker. Storyteller, consultant, and tour guide.

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Laksa albondigas & fried chicken conchawich (conch Laksa albondigas & fried chicken conchawich (concha flavored with tumeric, coco & makrut lime leaves) are my food baby dreams. Terima kasih @nora_haron ❤️
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 #brunch #indomex #bestfoodinoakland #popup  #feedyoursoul #tasteintravel #foodphotography #foodwriter #instafood
Oh hi friends👋🏼 I’m back on the gram after Oh hi friends👋🏼 I’m back on the gram after getting a concussion in December that made it painful to read or write or look at the screen until a couple of weeks ago! It has been a long journey since I couldn’t do much besides chill on this floor in the dark and listen to records (not even something I can deeply complain about) but sometimes I still come here to ground myself and thank the universe for my magical lil brain. I hope to never take reading, writing, or remembering what the hell I was getting in the kitchen for granted again. 
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If you or a loved one ever gets a minor brain injury please holla at your girl and I will share all the resources and healing tips my fam and chosen fam found me. I am forever grateful to them and to get back to work.
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#concussed
This date last year was the first day of our @mezc This date last year was the first day of our @mezcalistas Michoacán tour with a bunch of friends in the industry from across the country.  We drank snake mezcal and ate carnitas and followed the light up the hills for inaquidens agaves. How things have changed for all of us. Putting tour dates on the calendar for the end of 2021 makes me feel hopeful (stay tuned!) In the meantime, sipping my copita pretending like it’s from the still and scrolling through the memories captured by @renecervantes. 
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#michoacan #travelgram #instatravel #traveldeeper #travelmexico #pasionxmexico #tasteintravel #livecolorfully #instacolor #igtravel #whereitravel #mezcal #mezcaltour #mezcalovers
Taiwanese breakfast today is daikon cakes, dan bin Taiwanese breakfast today is daikon cakes, dan bing, fan tuan with purple sticky rice, red bean mochi with osmanthus, Taiwanese breakfast sandwich, and dou hua with ginger syrup. Remember to support your local restaurants & makers if you can this weekend and always❤️
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#picnicbreakfast #brunch #picnic  #feedyoursoul #tasteintravel #foodphotography #foodwriter #instafood #taiwanesefood #shopsmall
🌊Family day🌊 🌊Family day🌊
Doin so much social media consulting these days I Doin so much social media consulting these days I get exhausted by the screen and don’t really get on my own gram. Plus this quarantine is an emotional roller coaster and I’m setting hella boundaries on and off the screen so I can stay grounded and grateful. But then I miss seeing all my friends’ work and all the art & activism & community that everyone is making happen. So hi friends, keep at it, also here is one of my favorite quarantine creations - an agave bandanna from @tuyo_nyc 🖤🤍⚡️
When missing breakfast in Istanbul🌹 . . . . . # When missing breakfast in Istanbul🌹
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#turkishbreakfast #brunch #picnic  #feedyoursoul #tasteintravel #foodphotography #foodwriter #instafood
New article up on Life & Thyme as part of a series New article up on Life & Thyme as part of a series on institutional racism and agriculture, link in bio • repost @lifeandthyme "Most of the country’s 2.5 million farmworkers are of Mexican descent, and at least half are undocumented. Wages are generally low; in 2019 farmworkers earned less than what workers with the lowest levels of education in the U.S. labor market earned. They typically endure long hours, face occupational health and safety hazards, lack health coverage, reside in crowded housing, and many of them live below the federal poverty guidelines. At least six percent of farmworkers identify as Indigenous, and for those without English or Spanish fluency, accessing medical care or information can be even more difficult. And while immigrant farmworkers are some of the most vulnerable to Covid-19 due to these circumstances, they have been deemed essential workers. ⠀
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This inequity of including people in an economy for their labor and skills and yet excluding their humanity in narrative and policies is part of maintaining racial and economic power structures—and the nation’s food system was built on it." -- L&T Contributor @ferronlandia⠀
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Today on Life & Thyme, Ferron Salniker explores how a history of immigration, trade and discriminatory economic policies have made U.S. farms dependent on exploitable labor mostly by Latinx immigrants. Read, "How Immigration and Trade Policy Have Shaped U.S. Agriculture" at the link in our bio.⠀
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#lifeandthyme
Been resisting social media, submitting to water a Been resisting social media, submitting to water and California. Plumas County to Topanga Beach this week 🐬🌊
New piece up on the women behind the Black Chef Mo New piece up on the women behind the Black Chef Movement, who are fueling protesters in NY. Repost from @lifeandthyme: 

“McCallum and Davis are responding to a singular moment in history, facing the combined hardships of an economic crisis, increased hunger, the Covid-19 pandemic, and swelling protests across the country demanding transformation of our political and economic systems. Black Chef Movement is meeting the needs of this moment in its own way, continuing a tradition of Black activists showing up to nourish communities while organizing for liberation.” — L&T Correspondent @ferronlandia
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Honoring a historic tradition, New York chefs Kayla Davis and Rasheeda McCallum founded the @blackchefmovement to feed and fuel a movement. Read the full story at the link in our profile.
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Photos by L&T Photographer @jonvachon
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#lifeandthyme #blacklivesmatter #nyc #ny
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