Los Angeles a week before the Oscars. The temperatures are almost summery, not a single cloud clouds the bright blue sky. I’m here for the first time. What did I actually imagine? I had no plan at all. I just wanted to let myself fall into this city, the dimensions of which are almost impossible to grasp, and let everything take effect on me. Twelve hour flight and 9 hour time difference. My body groans, I want to sleep and at the same time not close my eyes. I need something that feels normal. And what’s better than going to the market first? To see what’s available here right now. And then there is the Mexican food that I finally want to get to know better. And of course I have to go to a bar too.
Santa Monica: The Best of the Farmers Market
Don’t be under any illusions about the prices here – LA is one expensive plaster. A pizza here without any exotic extras can easily cost $28 (don’t forget that there are also taxes and tips). And anyone who thinks that the prices at the Viktualienmarkt back home in Munich are juicy is guaranteed to gasp here. $6 for a bunch of carrots? Easy. $11 for a freshly made smoothie made with sun-kissed Mexican tangerines? You have to want to afford it (but unfortunately it tastes great).
It’s best not to even start complaining about it. It’s much better to just enjoy the atmosphere here. So I’m going to Santa Monica, where it’s not far from the beach every Saturday Farmer’s market is. And because I’m a little disorientated looking for a parking space at first, a security employee from a bank comes towards me with a beaming smile and explains to me where I can best park the car and how parking fees work using a QR code. Everyone here is really nice and helpful. Especially the market traders, all of whom, with their friendly, unobtrusive manner, give the impression that nothing in the world is nicer than offering perfect beets and carrots. Or exotic cultivated mushrooms. The Santa Monica Market makes it easy to feel at home straight away. I stroll past the most beautiful citrus fruits and discover them Celtuce (asparagus salad) and treat myself to a really great bagel. The bagel thing is easy to do here.
After I was sure that I had really seen everything, I sat down with the bagel and the tangerine-ginger smoothie on the beach, which is only a 5-minute walk from the market. Inside I’ve arrived a little more and it just feels great.
Mexican Food in the Arts District
The Arts District on the eastern edge of downtown LA is definitely not the greenest part of the city, but it is full of surprises. Cool little shops (such as a shop with only Japanese cutting boards), bars and some of the hottest restaurants (Damian, Baroo, Girl & the Goat, etc.) are here. The few trees on Santa Fe Avenue are full of purple flowers and artistic graffiti can be seen on every corner. However, my plan to experience great Mexican food doesn’t seem to be working out quite well. Damien, an acclaimed fine Mexican restaurant, doesn’t open until 5 p.m. At this point in time – 2:00 a.m. for me – my body is sending the signals that mean sleep rather than eating. That’s too much for the first day. After all, I was at the market early in the morning. But fate has insight and that is Ditroit Taqueria and is Damian’s “daytime branch”. Here, in a rather inconspicuous backyard, you can find everything your heart desires in terms of carnitas, guacomole and quesadillas. And the best part? It opens at 11:00 a.m. And so my first “dinner” (at three in the afternoon) consists of guacomole and quesadilla with carnita and a Mexican beer.
Sunday morning at the Hollywood Farmers Market
It’s going on Hollywood! On Sunday mornings the traffic here is almost normal and I discover that driving in LA is a lot of fun. It is also only 14 kilometers to the farmer’s market that is touted as the best in the city. So “not to miss”. I skip breakfast because, in addition to the pure vegetable and fruit stalls, there are also plenty of stalls with healthy snacks and delicious dishes. A miso-filled onigiri, for example, that is fried on a charcoal grill. Or a sandwich with cashew and herb cream. A band is playing right next to the first stalls on the market and it quickly becomes clear that this market is already moving towards a “happening”. And somehow that’s nice when you look at it colorful cabbage to hear a little blues. Here I have a long chat with the owner at the olive stand, who offers me one wonderful pesto after another. Ultimately I become weak with his Meyer lemon pestoa pesto made from the aromatic tangerine lemons that are only available from us in late autumn (with a lot of luck). It really is breathtakingly good. And so that it can travel safely to Germany together with a chili crunch oil, it is packed particularly well.
At least I buy seeds for them at another stand Collard greens (actually a collard cabbage not unlike the marrow stem cabbage that my aunt grows in the Black Forest), but of course it’s much cooler to buy this.
And no, I didn’t spot any celebrity actors shopping at the Hollywood market. Maybe I just don’t have the eye for it and they were everywhere.
Since when do they really care about the speed limit here?
Yes, exactly, driving here is a lot of fun because everything is wide and spacious and no one honks at you in annoyance if you drive a little slower. But they overtake from all sides and when a monster truck rushes past you, you get a slightly uneasy feeling. They are simply huge. And then there are the Tesla drivers. Somehow there is no speed limit for them. Because you can accelerate quickly with an electric car like this, they drive back and forth between lanes like crazy or speed in the left lane at more than 25 kilometers per hour more than is actually allowed. “I always thought you were so strict with the speed limit here,” I ask a friend there. She just shakes her head and says that since Corona everyone has been shitting on the speed limit and that the police have apparently capitulated to it. Aha. Well then. When it comes to speed, I tend to be the less reserved sort, so I sometimes really accelerate on the highways. And lo and behold – there was never a fine notice. At least not yet. It’s only been four weeks.
Manhattan Beach
Evil tongues say that when you ask them about the truly magical blue of the sky, it comes from the smog and maybe that’s the case, but the light and the colors at the sea are something special. And this blue is always best experienced on the beach. The wide Manhattan Beach is one of the city’s most popular beaches. In a supermarket I discover sun spray with sun protection factor 70, which of course I have to have. And sit on the beach with ice-cold coconut water. Oh, California… it’s pretty great here.
and a few more foodie tips
Kitchen Land
On Google Maps the only description is “Specialist shop for kitchen supplies”. Not more. I always think kitchen shops are great, so let’s go. And then suddenly I’m in the Korean “Kitchen Wonderland”. Everything here is from Korea. The prices? Hardly higher than in Korea. I’m in a frenzy and buy all sorts of bowls, sieves and chopsticks. And there is a huge Korean supermarket next to it. The shelf for kimchi alone is more than 15 meters long. Completely detached, I pack my shopping basket full because it’s not that easy to get good gochugaru for kimchi in Germany. I have a huge selection here.
9580 Garden Grove Blvd #110, Garden Grove, CA 92844, United States
now serving
largest cookbook store on the West Coast. There is a great chance of finding books here that are published by small independent publishers and that never make it across the pond. Of course that sounds tempting. In the end, none of them made it into my shopping basket, but it just felt good to spend an hour just indulging in cookbooks. All I buy is a food magazine and an artistic tea towel. I’ll forget both in my rental car later. A loss that still hurts now.
727 N Broadway #133, Los Angeles, CA 90012, United States
spicy margarita at Tony’s Saloon
Tony’s Saloon is just the kind of American bar you see in movies. Dim, long counter, there’s a pinball machine somewhere. Not that the place is famous for its spicy margarita, but it’s really good here. The secret? A few drops “Smoke paprika bitters” next to the slices of green chili that go into the shaker. It was so good that we didn’t just leave it alone. Of course I had to do it straight away at home.
2017 E 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90021, United States
The next report continues to Joshua Tree National Park. Silence, stars and a blooming desert.
