Barbara Hansen

  • My Five Top Tastes of February 2018

    Korean steamed dumplings from a restaurant in a market head this month’s top tastes. Representing Indian fusion are spicy Punjabi tacos. Because it’s Lent, you can try tortitas de camarón, a Mexican specialty for the season....

  • Something New–Greek/Sonoma Wine

    Georgós wines are Greek, sort of. They’re also as American as Sonoma County. To explain, Georgós Zanganas, company founder (above), came up with the idea of producing bona fide Greek wines. And in Sonoma, which is an easy trip from San Francisco, where he lives....

  • The 5 Top Tastes of January, 2018

    I eat around a lot and want to let others know about the great things I find. To do this, I’ve started making lists of top tastes. Here is the first, the top five tastes in and around Los Angeles for the month of January. They range from a Bangladeshi turnover to a Salvadoran drink […]...

  • A Great, Easy Beef Stew from Georgia

    Chashushuli–I can’t pronounce it, but I love it. What is it? A beef stew from the country of Georgia that’s like no beef stew I’ve ever tasted. It’s full of fresh herbs, stirred in just before serving. And it contains an ingredient that I haven’t seen in other recipes–ground fenugreek....

  • Grover Zampa Indian Winery Reinvents Itself

    (Gerry Furth-Sides) It was one of those spring days in Los Angeles where nothing could go wrong.  The Grover Zampa wine tasting for wine writers and influencers at India’s Tandoori Brentwood hosted by owner, Matin Shah, proved it.  No elevator? Guests happily took the stairs.   Can’t make it for lunch?  Matin lai...

  • Learn Food Styling from the Experts

    This frilly salad is exactly what you need right now, spa food to help you recover from holiday excesses. A light mix of spinach, sliced apple and fennel, it was developed for the luxury spa Rancho La Puerta at Tecate by food stylists Denise Vivaldo and Cindie Flannigan....

  • Eastern European Kohlrabi–a Top Trend in Veggies

    These aren’t some sort of green, intergalactic aliens. They’re kohlrabi. And I’m crazy about them. According to Robert Schueller of Melissa’s Produce, they’re a hot produce trend for 2018, an old-time vegetable that is making a comeback. But they seemed strange as aliens to me, and I had to guess wh...