Awesome article in today's LA Times about a few 'fusion' places in LA. It features interviews with two of my favorite local food people, Tai Kim of Scoops and Viet Tran of Viet Noodle Bar in Atwater Village.
The article isn't talking about fusion in the sense of weird Asian-French-Indian-Mexican hybrids, but rather a more organic fusion that comes with starting with a set of tried and true recipes, then tweaking them according to the new and exciting ingredients available here in abundant Southern California. I like this. Tai makes fun of hipsters and calls his particular style 'confusion', and Viet is fascinating and sweet in introducing us to bits of Vietnamese cuisine we never imagined existed.
Both men, along with Jorge Mora, the the man behind the Guadalajaran smoothies (with a SoCal twist, of course) at Olimpus Juices (I have to -- have to -- go here! Like, now.), get into the artistry behind creating their flavors and the Zen-like concentration with which they craft their product, whether it's ice cream, soy milk, or smoothie. Go read now.
More:
- My own chat with Viet a few months back.
- My long-standing love affair with Scoops. (What's not mentioned: the pint of white chocolate/mint/banana that Tai gave me as a birthday gift on Monday night. See that? Love.)
[thanks to sarah palmer for the photo]
I'm finally catching up with your blog after a brief hiatus. I finally met you in person during this hiatus (yay!). I digress.
ReplyDeleteI read the nytimes article prior to catching up with your blog. My first thought went something like this, "Scoops...TANNAZ!" Glad you saw the article, too.
dude, the fact that you came to LA and didn't go to scoops still has me reeling. on the upside, it means you have to come back. at which point, there will be much scoopsing and rejoicing.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it is definitely a bit ridiculous that I didn't make it to Scoops...return trip!
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