New Melting Pot Tours at Original Farmers Market

(Gerry Furth-Sides) This summer a Melting Pot Tour proved in the most fun way that you can visit an iconic (read “tourist) place and always learn more about it! Tour company owner Jodi Flowers, who combines midwest common sense with southern charm, led us to places that boasted 40 years or more at the market. For details //farmersmarketla.com/visit and //meltingpottours.com

Jodi added a whimsical touch by alternating savory with sweet! We got to know fellow tour members by sitting and eating along way. And the absolutely best was saved for last. The two-hour expedition flew by as fast as 15 minutes.

The Farmer’s Market started with Fred Beck & Roger Dahlhjelm idea to build a “Village” at the corner of 3rd & Fairfax where local farmers could sell their fresh fare.  Entrepreneur E.B. Gilmore agreed to give it a go. So July 1934, a dozen farmers and a few other merchants parked their trucks at the corner of 3rd & Fairfax and sold their fresh produce from the back of the trucks.

I already know from working at Western Research Kitchens, once across the street, and working with the market that it was a failure in winter until Mrs. McGee had the “bright” idea to put in strings of overhead lights!

Our tour began at Du-par’s Pie Shop, legendary for their baked fresh daily pies and as old as the market itself. The first location was founded in 1938 at the Los Angeles Farmers Market by James Dunn and Edward Parsons, who combined their surnames to create the restaurant’s name.  Their restaurant, with its famous “comfort food” and hospitality, also earned fame as a landmark because of the clock right overhead. Los Angeleno’s would know the location straight away right from the phrase, “Let’s meet under the clock.”

Moishe’s Restaurant serving Mediterranean food with a Lebanese flair offers gyros, chicken shawarma sandwiches, lamb dishes and hummus. Their seasoned falafel, crunchy on the outside and tender inside, served with a little Greek salad was excellent. Please see the bottom photos for a meal. 

Magee’s Kitchen is an original Market restaurant famed for its corned beef. When I worked with the Farmers Market Mrs. Maggie Magee was 100 and still involved enough with the market to go on television and talk about it!

 Magee’s House of Nuts is almost more famous for their ground peanut butter, which you can see flowing out of a huge shiny metal grinder daily. Regulars travel miles to buy to buy it for themselves or as a unique gift.

Littlejohn’s English Toffee House actually makes specialty candy on the premises. Their fresh toffee is surprisingly crisp and super buttery. It comes sticks or slabs. The slab are covered in delightful, rich milk chocolate and finished with crunchy, crushed almonds.

Patsy D’Amore’s Pizza is historic is still baked in the original brick oven that Patsy (Salvatore) brought out to Los Angeles with him from Boston almost 100 years ago! A variety of toppings is available and the friendly staff is patient and happy to accommodate. Housemade meatballs, lasagna and spaghetti are also available.

Photos on the walls show Patsy celebrity fans of the past, including Frank Sinatra. Second generation daughter Filomena D’Amore is the proud proprietor. Patsy at one time owned the most popular restaurant in Hollywood, Villa Capri. The waiter captain, Ciro Marino, the youngest member of the staff as he boasts, told the staff that if they listened to him they would own their own places. Today his children own Marino and the the others still thrive: La Scala, Madeo, Matteo and Carmine’s! History!

A true old-fashioned butcher shop, Huntington Meats offers their dry wit along with traditional roasts, steaks, chops, ground beef in its long, full counter. A dazzling array of sausages includes Cajun, three-cheese, chicken sausage, Italian from mild to what they call,d “Wow”. Huntington is an exclusive purveyor of renowned Harris Ranch meats.

Jim loves to tease and it turns out so does his staff. They are also the kindest, most generous and thoughtful crew you can find no matter how large or small an order is and it’s a destination drive for me.

Bennett’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream has to be tried to be believed. This “Choffee Choffee” is about the best ice cream I have every eaten and this is a food that I once wished was all we ate for every meal. Proof that I am not alone are the cascades of Blue Ribbons all over the shop.

One of the last of a vanishing tradition, Scott Bennett and his staff make their own ice cream from fresh ingredients mixed on the spot. You can watch the process through Bennett’s kitchen window. The flavors are true and put to good use in inventive ways, such as Scott’s cabernet sauvignon sorbet or his pumpkin ice cream. Click here to learn about Scott Bennett, owner of Bennett’s Ice Cream.

For those of us who visit Los Angeles attractions “when we have out of town guests,” this is yet another lesson in enjoying what the city has to offer. It is as refreshing as any vacation could be.

Barbara Hansen and I were invited to visit Olvera Street with a LocalFoodeater and his daughter for her school project on Los Angeles Historical sites (and I had suggested nine other places ahead of it, and then we loved it as though for the first time because we stopped at all the museu

Original Farmers Market, 6333 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90036, 323-933-9211 (toll free: 866-993-9211 ). Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 10 AM-8 PM, Friday-Saturday, 10 AM-9 PM.