We explore a riveting case of wine fraud, a masa master in Boyle Heights tells us how its done and Jonathan Gold takes us to The Derby for bacon wrapped steak.
Highlights from this week’s show:
1. Grapes of Wrath? The Biggest Wine Fraud Case in U.S. History–Wine writer Michael Steinberger details the most notorious case of wine fraud in U.S. history. Rudy Kurniawan sold millions of dollars worth of counterfeit wine between 2004 and 2012. An FBI investigation revealed an elaborate operation in his Arcadia home where he produced fake labels and filled expensive and rare bottles with cheaper blends. Kurniawan was found guilty of fraud in December and will be sentenced later this month.
2. 3 Ingredient Meals, and the Wines that Go With Them–Lou Amdur is the proprietor of Lou Wine & Provisions next door to Sqirl in Virgil Village. His forthcoming shop Lou Wine Shop & Tastings will be in Los Feliz Village. He shares with us the art of making delicious meals using just three ingredients; plus, he offers the perfect wine pairings. Find his recipes and wine suggestions here.
3. Jonathan Gold Revisits The Derby–Jonathan Gold is the Pulitzer Prize-winning food writer for the Los Angeles Times. This week he revisits The Derby, a restaurant that opened in 1922 in Arcadia intended to cater to jockeys and horse racing fans. Jonathan originally reviewed it twenty years ago and he joins Good Food to tell us what’s changed and what’s stayed the same. He says, “It’s not quite a food experience but it’s definitely an eating experience that everybody should have at least once.”
Jonathan recommends the bacon wrapped filet mignon and an Old Fashioned. Make it a double, and you’ve got “a Big Gulp of bourbon.”
The Derby Restaurant
233 E Huntington Dr.
Arcadia
(626) 447-2430
All of Jonathan Gold’s restaurant suggestions can be found on the Good Food Restaurant Map.
4. Masa: How It’s Made and How to Use It–Eddie de la Torre’s store is called Carnitas Uruapan in Boyle Heights. He provides the fresh masa for his brother’s delicious tortillas at Guisado’s, a taqueria next door. He details what goes into the process of making perfect masa and what to make with it.
5. Vidalias Means Spring in the South–Spring in California means fava beans, peas, asparagus and artichokes. In the American South – Spring means Vidalia Onions. Kim Severson is the Atlanta Bureau Chief of the New York Times, and she talks about her experience in the Vidalia fields in Georgia.
6. Market Report–Robin Smith of Mud Creek Ranch says it’s prime avocado season which is great for Cinco de Mayo parties. She has at least five varieties for sale at the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market.
Laura Avery talks to Chef Jun Tan of Cube Cafe about what he’s cooking with fava beans. Find a recipe for Pasta with Sausage and Fava Beans on the Good Food blog.
7. How the Other Half Ate–Katherine Leonard Turner is the author of How the Other Half Ate: A History of Working-Class Meals at the Turn of the Century. Below are some images from her book.
