The Choosy Foodie: Los Angeles - Issue #7
Free-From Restaurant Gems (GF, DF, V, etc...), AI in Food, & Boneless Wing Lawsuits!
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Hi all,
Hope everyone is well.
I recently went to a friend’s wedding and was pleasantly surprised to find this Challah bread from Momala’s Gluten Free Bakery (which I’ve wrote about before!) waiting for me at my table:
The bride & groom both eat GF, so I knew I’d have options, but I wasn’t expecting to have a personally assigned Challah (the traditional Jewish bread I grew up on that has now become a French Toast favorite in LA - you know the one…)
The effort to have it there for me (and others with dietary restrictions) warmed my heart in a way I know you (my readers) understand - so I thought I’d share. And, above all, it was f***ing delicious.
With that, let’s get into it…
WHAT'S COOKING LOS ANGELES?!
A LITTLE NOD TO THE FREE-FROM OUTSKIRTS OF LA COUNTY…
Many of the well-known free-from restaurants and bakeries getting most of the attention these days are in LA-proper. Some of them have become chains, some started selling boxed mixes to the masses, and others have landed somewhere in-between. But I’ve noticed a couple gems on the outskirts of the county where something a little less cookie-cutter and a lot more interesting is happening:
Joi Cafe in Westlake Village 🍔 - This entirely organic, gluten-free and vegan restaurant is located closer to the border of Ventura County. I can tell you first-hand that it may be small, but it’s got a hyper-local vibe, and it’s certified delicious - from salads, to plates, to burgers, to smoothies. My favorites off the menu include the “Sausage & Hash (w/a pancake)”, “Joi Lasagna” & “Beast Burger”.
Twice Baked in Long Beach 🧁- This entirely gluten-free bakery is a true gem with many diary-free & vegan options as well. The coolest thing about Twice Baked is that they always have specialty holiday items and new/rotating bakes (from churros, to scones, to knishes & more). I love this concept & it’s why they call themselves “a gluten-free bakery with an artisan touch!” I can get behind that!
What Else is Simmering...
(news)- In other Long Beach news, this culinary bookstore👩🍳📖 is attracting food fanatics with its unique collection of new & vintage books & writings.
(restaurant/food news)- You can now get a plant-based poached eggs🌱🥚& plant-based lamb🌱🥩at several LA restaurants! Check out Swingers Diner (Hollywood), Junkyard Dog and/or Flore Vegan (Silver Lake). Or try the vegan lamb at three of chef Matthew Kenney’s LA restaurants 🌱👨🍳.
(restaurant news)- Famous vegan chain Cafe Gratitude recently closed its Art’s District location🔐, leaving only Larchmont, Venice & Newport Beach.
(restaurant news)- Another vegan chain, Sage, is closing it’s Culver City location🔐and turning it into a grab & go concept.
(video / product)- The soft launch video of Oatly’s plant-based cream cheese🧀 (in Philadelphia) put a smile on my face.
(product)- Del Pacifico’s shrimp burger patty🦐🍔 is made of solely chopped wild-caught Blue Mexican Shrimp, black pepper, garlic, and olive oil.
(product)- This GF & vegan cereal🥣comes with edible glitter! (welcome to kid heaven and parental hell😉).
(product)- Reese’s new plant-based peanut butter cups 🥜🍫are DF & GF (according to the ingredients listed, but don’t quote me…).
WHAT ARE YOU REALLY EATING?!
AI in 5 years will be used in both front-of-house and back-of-house operations focusing on forecasting, reporting, predicting inventory, and labor needs to start, [Bhavin] Asher, [CTO of GRUBBRR] told The Food Institute. Restaurant operators see many customer-facing benefits with this new technology, including ordering, smart upsells, and more personalization.
(video)- Speaking of AI, this TikTok-er is comparing ChatGPT generated recipes to human chefs’🤖.
(article)- Some best practices for thawing and freezing meat🥩🍗 (hint, let it thaw in the fridge, and if you freeze it, freeze it in smaller packs/portions).
(article)- Paraquat, a deadly herbicide linked to Parkinson’s disease goes on trial⚖️amid 1,000’s of farmers who filed lawsuits.
(article)- With research into the negative effects of acrylamide, you should probably continue to scrape the burnt pieces off your food.
(article)- A new study on technical food additives⚗️determined that 60% of foods purchased by Americans contain coloring or flavoring agents, preservatives, and sweeteners.
(article)- And as a follow up, here’s a list of some of the American foods banned in other countries🙅♀️🚫!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
(article)- A man in Chicago has filed a lawsuit claiming that boneless wings are really just nuggets🐔. The class action suit comes against Buffalo Wild Wings. (“That’s it honey, I’m finally putting my foot down on this one!”)
(article)- In Italy, EVOO is making it’s way into Starbucks🫒drinks.
(article & image)- This vegan airline passenger was served a banana with chopsticks 🍌🥢(and in business class may I add…). Yikes!
(article)- Loving this creative, immersive & interactive page of Eaters’ shopping mall food articles.
(article & video)- Check out the Svalbard Global Seed Vault 🌱🔐, the world’s largest secure seed storage, located 1300 kilometers beyond the Arctic Circle.
Closing Thoughts…
As always, feel free to hit reply and shoot me an email or DM on Twitter. I’d love to hear your feedback on how I can improve this newsletter to better suit our free-from community.
I’ll be in your inbox next month!
Hugs,
Noam
🙆🏻♀️ website: noamleead.carrd.co
📖 book editor: Happier Being by Dr. Tal Leead
**If you’re reading this newsletter and haven’t subscribed yet, please do and support my work. It’s free! You’ll get future issues sent to your inbox once a month!**
Thanks for all these wonderful GF recommendations and restaurant updates!