Potatoes to Poetry
International Flavor Jan Weimer, food editor of Bon Appetit, picks her favorite dishes:
“A Potatoes Anna-type dish at L’Ami Louis restaurant in Paris. It’s fried in goose fat, layered and baked on the stove until it’s crusty.” “A ripe Brie. I had one in France that was unpasteurized, with a grassy, tangy flavor and a smooth, rich, voluptuous creaminess.”
“Duck with wild mousseron mushrooms at Trois Gros restaurant at Roanne, near Lyon. The duck had an incredible depth of flavor with no fat whatsoever.”
“Before it became fashionable, I had a grilled chanterelle mushroom at a luncheon at Marcella Hazan’s in Italy. It was dusky and woody with a little bit of grill flavor.”
“The bread at Poilane. This is the master bakery in Paris. The whole-wheat bread is filled with walnuts.”
Book Learning
William (Koki) Iwamoto owns Chatterton’s, the Los Feliz bookstore that is a second home to many serious book lovers. He specializes in poetry books, “among other things.” These are his favorites:
“Letters to a Stranger” by Thomas James (Houghton Mifflin). “James was a young poet who killed himself after this book was published. A very strong collection.”
“The Collected Works of Jack Spicer” (Black Sparrow Press). “He was part of the beat experience in the ‘50s and ‘60s. He’s very important in terms of what’s going on in poetry today.”
“The Poems and Prose of Gerard Manley Hopkins,” selected and edited by W. H. Gardner (Penguin).
“Random House Book of Twentieth Century French Poetry,” bilingual edition, edited by Paul Auster (Vintage / Random House).
“Chieko’s Sky” by Kotaro Takamura (Kodansha). “Hauntingly beautiful poems about the author’s wife, who was slowly going mad.”
Magic Carpets
Brian Morehouse, former West Coast editor of Hali magazine, the bible of rug collectors, appraises Oriental rugs and teaches others about them in his UCLA Extension class. His favorites:
Heriz (Persian), for decorative appeal.
Kazak (Caucasian), for boldness.
Tekke (Turkmen), for the weaving tradition.
Konia (Turkish), for individuality.
Ningshia (Chinese), for the harmonious blend of colors.