Wednesday, December 23, 2009

D.J. Waldie on the food of his suburban L.A. childhood

Hody's Lakewood Blvd., from gogonotes.blogspot.com

Don't miss D. J. Waldie's lovely essay in today's L.A. Times food section on his mother's cooking in the suburban Lakewood neighborhood of L.A. in the early 1950s. While the era of TV dinners and canned-everything was dawning, Waldie's mother eschewed convenience and managed to turn out sustaining, satisfying meals with much more taste than the neighbors' meals. When they weren't eating at home, they were chowing down at architectural landmarks like Hody's and Clifton's.
Also don't miss Patrick Comiskey's extensive look at seasonal ales. Speaking of holiday ales, check out Trader Joe's Vintage Ale 2009 -- as in 2008, it's made by Unibroue and a great value at $4.99 a large bottle.

2 comments:

Ellen Bloom said...

Yeah, I loved D.J.'s article. Reminded me of Mom's meals...yesterday and today!

David said...

I'll tend to agree with D.J. Waldie that every family had its own unique idiosyncratic rituals, when it came to meals and food costs during that time period.

It's quite humorous because of its honesty; and written from a child's point of view.

However, I'd recommend a little less melodrama, even if one's now an L.A. food critic.