Abbie Fentress Swanson
NPR
Los Angeles, CA, United States
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Past articles by Abbie:
It's Not Just A Bug, It's A Fine-Dining Feature At This Thailand Restaurant
A high-end Bangkok bistro has devoted its entire menu to insects, hoping to entice intrepid eaters to try what's been called "the future of food." But will haute bug cuisine catch on in other places? → Read More
From Trump to farm to slaughterhouse to restaurant
So many hands go into bringing our food to the table, from farm and slaughterhouse to market and restaurant. We hear about how President Trump's immigration policies will affect business at Taco María, Maddox Dairy and La Niña del Mezcal, and examine the travel ban's impact on the way even your sausage gets made. Plus, meet the people behind the local produce, fungi and seafood at the Hollywood… → Read More
Besha's goodbye, foraging tips and a new Night + Market cookbook
Besha Rodell files her last restaurant review for LA Weekly and Mia Wasilevich explains how to turn wild plants into great food. Jonathan Gold samples the Peruvian fare at Rosaliné and Gustavo Arellano talks up Burritos La Palma in the OC. Plus: A recipe from Kris Yenbamroong’s Night + Market cookbook, Korean-Mexican food in Seoul and apples at the market. → Read More
Live from New York, it's the Donut Dough-bate!
Our host Evan Kleiman and The Sporkful's Dan Pashman taste Du's Donuts in Williamsburg, alongside the original gangstas of New York City’s donut scene. → Read More
LA's Moves To Protect Immigrant Street-Food Vendors Come With A Catch
LA is the only major U.S. city where selling food on the sidewalk is illegal. President Trump's immigration policies have pushed the city council to change the law. But the devil is in the details. → Read More
The Nut Report – Good Food
Laura Avery gets schooled on macadamia nuts by Jim Russell, who has a grove of 200 macadamia trees on six acres in Fallbrook, California. Then, Ken Kennedy explains how the ongoing drought is affecting his English and black walnut crop in Reedley. → Read More
From Japan to US, with love and lager
When you think of Japanese food and drink, does your mind go straight to sushi, ramen and whiskey? How about yuzu brats, fried potato dumplings and imported German beer? That's what I discovered on a recent trip to Tokyo. → Read More
MAPPED: A pastrami sandwich food crawl in Boyle Heights
There’s no way we could have phoned this one in. Check out what we discovered on our pastrami sandwich crawl: French rolls, jalapeños, telenovelas, aquas de jamaica and all. → Read More
Growing millions of mussels beneath the Pacific Ocean waves
Millions of smooth-shelled mussels flourish in an underwater farm six miles off the coast of Huntington Beach. Our supervising producer Abbie Fentress Swanson takes us on a visit to Catalina Sea Ranch, ahead of its first shellfish harvest in July. → Read More
A lifetime of service in LA restaurants
Photographer Jessica Pons shares a collection of snapshots of the men and women who have worked for decades in some of the most iconic restaurants in Los Angeles. → Read More
MAPPED: Asian fried chicken crawl, 6 different Waze
Jonathan Gold gives us the scoop on where to find the best Asian fried chicken in Los Angeles. KCRW's Abbie Fentress Swanson and Camellia Tse made the rounds, drumstick by drumstick and wing by wing, and mapped Jonathan Gold's world of Asian fried chicken in LA. → Read More
WATCH: Chef Isa Fabro make isamadas at Unit 120
After returning to Los Angeles from a revelatory trip in the Philippines, Isa Fabro started making desserts that pay homage to her Pinay roots. Watch this driven, funny 39-year-old Filipino-American chef make her signature isamadas for KCRW’s video team at Unit 120 in Chinatown's Far East Plaza. → Read More
Sichuan food, 'Burned,' Kitchen Table Blues
Food writer Fuchsia Dunlop explains how Sichuan cuisine is changing in Chengdu. Investigative reporter Karen Foshay unveils disturbing findings about restaurants in LA. The Reverend Shawn Amos is striving to keep the blues alive in kitchens around town, one gig at a time. Plus, how grass-fed beef is raised at Rancho San Julian and what to try at Kali in Hollywood, per Jonathan Gold. → Read More
Pickles, hot chicken, GMO labeling, antidepressants and taste — Good Food —
Marion Nestle explains what's in the GMO labeling bill on President Obama's desk. Simran Sethi examines her loss of taste from taking antidepressants. Dianne Jacob gives tips on how to write about food and the Ans discuss their latest venture, a cookbook. Plus: pickling pointers from Little Dom's and a new hot chicken spot to try, per Jonathan Gold. → Read More
Angelenos: Get your hot chicken fix at Howlin’ Rays
Once southern food was hard to find north of the Mason-Dixon line. Now restaurants all over the country are serving grits, collard greens and waffles piled high with fried chicken. A strip mall in LA's Chinatown is drawing crowds with boxes of bright paprika-colored, mouth-numbingly hot Nashville-style chicken. → Read More
Howlin’ Rays Country fried chicken
Nothing can beat a box of Wayside Ole' Virginia fried chicken in the Fentress Swanson household. But this recipe for country-style chicken from Howlin' Rays does not disappoint. → Read More
Hive heists, artisanal food, local grains & bulgogi, Gangnam-style — Good Food —
LA Magazine food critic Patric Kuh gives us a history lesson on artisanal food and beekeeper Jodi Helmer reports on hive heists in almond groves. Then we discuss the revival of regional grain production with food writer Amy Halloran and Nan Kohler of Grist & Toll. Plus, a watermelon gazpacho recipe to beat the heat from 1212 chef Walter Greenwood and a recommendation for bulgogi, Gangnam-style,… → Read More
Preserving Green Book sites, shishitos, jackfruit, fake shrimp — Good Food —
Cultural documentarian Candacy Taylor explains the importance of preserving Green Book sites. EP & LP Chef Louis Tikaram gives us a primer on Fijian cuisine and jackfruit. The Atlantic’s Olga Khazan schools us on a synthetic shrimp start-up. Plus: Shishito peppers hit the market and Jonathan Gold eats popcorn ice cream at Paley. → Read More
Cast iron skillets, corn, slaughterhouses, Azerbaijani food — Good Food —
Chuck Reece gets to the heart of our love affair with the cast iron skillet. Peggy Lowe discusses the perilous work in slaughterhouses. We talk Azerbaijani cuisine with Feride Buyuran and fermented ice cream with Tyler Malek. Plus: French and Vietnamese spots to try and corn at the market. → Read More
To Run and Dine in L.A. – Good Food
One January evening, my friend Carolina Miranda and I ran 6 miles around Lincoln Heights, Cypress Park and East LA. Such long jogs were not part of the daily workout regimen. But we had signed up for the Hollywood Half Marathon and had to get our bodies used to pounding the pavement by April. Carolina, an arts writer for the LA Times, mapped the route and pointed out sites along the way: Los… → Read More