Food

Anyone who was in Berkeley in the 1970s would have been exposed to great coffee and great food served in a casual atmosphere. While John Secretan was studying landscape architecture at UC Berkeley, he frequented the ubiquitous coffee shops on every corner (with nary a Starbucks in sight) and developed a taste ? nay passion ? for really good coffee. He also was able to dine out in some of the cutting-edge, but affordable, restaurants in Berkeley's "gourmet ghetto"; places like Chez Panisse that emphasized using the freshest local produce and artisanal products.

  Sande St.John, Woman’s Club Resource Chair and community activist, has advised our Board of Directors that some families in Laguna Beach need  food. “Additional new requests for aid, primarily for food, have challenged existing community resources,” St.John says. “The present economic crunch has made already bad situations worse for some families.” The Woman’s Club asks the community to respond. Please bring a bag of groceries to the Clubhouse, Friday, July 31, between 9AM and 4 PM. Club members will be there to receive donations and will transport them to distributions sites in our community.

It seems like everyone?s on a diet or about to go on one. There?s a new fad diet popping up every week endorsed by some celebrity or other, and for every new miracle reducing plan, there is an old one being discredited. Think grapefruit, Atkins or cabbage soup. On the other hand, we have recently discovered a diet that has been going strong for more than 2,000 years. Actually, it?s more than a diet but rather a whole system for wellness, comprising diet, daily routines, yoga and meditation, breathing exercises and spirituality.

Thank you for helping picking up the trash like Alex and Bob. You guys are the best at cleaning El Morro. Thank you very much to you both and I wish you have a happy Thanksgiving. Thank you a lot Dr. Culverhouse for making a good school for everyone and you are the best principal I ever had. I wish you would be a principal forever. Thank you Dr. Culverhouse. Socorro Garcia Popoca I'm thankful for my family, teachers, school and principal. I'm also thankful for every living thing and food and water and my bed. I'm thankful for my house and friends.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT For years, I've been hearing about the virtues of organic food -- coming from both middle-aged health food junkies and young urban foodies. Their argument that organic foods are chemical-free and taste better always made sense, but I resisted taking the plunge. Unless they were tending their own gardens, how could they be sure they were eating tomatoes fertilized with compost instead of Miracle Gro? Does everyone even understand what "organic" actually means?

Sign up to get city email alerts E-notifications are available for artists or community members interested in getting information about art news in Laguna. Other available notifications include traffic alerts, council agendas and job opportunities. To get the email alerts, register at http://www.lagunabeachcity.net/portal/default.asp . * Brooks Street to be closed on Halloween In addition to the city's annual closing of Oak Street in the 400 and 500 blocks on Halloween, now the city will block off areas of Brooks Street as well as part of a trial program.

Community, church group and Scout troops make season bright for 65 people without housing.Some 65 homeless persons were treated to a hearty morning meal and practical gifts at the fourth annual holiday breakfast, held Monday at Laguna Presbyterian Church. Ann Richardson of the Laguna Relief and Resource Center, Rick Shoemaker and the church outreach committee organized the event. More than 50 volunteers gathered food, gifts, entertainment and decorations and sat with guests at each table.

College Round-Up helps prepare students The annual Laguna Beach High School College Round-Up was held Oct. 5 in the school's Dugger Gym. Hundreds of students and parents came to talk with representatives from more than 90 colleges and universities, including several from outside the country. Students received brochures, applications, information on financial aid and more. They also had a chance to talk with people from the LBHS Scholarship Foundation and the military.

The clouds parted, the sun came out and the Laguna Beach community banned together for the 21st annual Thankgiving day outreach. What started over two decades ago as a small outreach has grown into a jammed pack event made up our colorful and diverse community.  So many familiar faces made the day an overwhelming success. Traditionally held at Bluebird park but moved to the Neighborhood Congregational church due to the threat of showers, which didn't seem to slow the estimated 500 plus people from coming out.  In fact, "this logistically was probably the smoothest outreach we have had, with the kitchen and seating so close" said Mary LaRusso A.K.A.

To many of us, food may be, well, food, but there are a lot of serious foodies in Laguna Beach for whom food is a passion and a cause célèbre, and even a way of life. However, do not dare confuse Laguna Foodies with the Laguna Beach Food Group. FOR THE RECORD: [An earlier version of this story referred to one of the groups as Laguna Beach Foodies. The actual name is Laguna Foodies.] The Food Group is an offshoot of Transition Laguna Beach, and its mission is to promote locally grown produce and to help people build "victory gardens" in their backyards.

Last week, a Ms. Harrison called us at the Laguna Food Pantry. It seems she had more oranges and lemons from her trees than she could possibly use. She asked if we would we like the rest. It occurred to me that others of you might also have Harrison's happy dilemma. If so, we'd be glad to distribute your extra fruits and vegetables to the hundreds of families who come to our pantry for free groceries. We normally provide them with meats, frozen foods, rice, beans, cereals, bread, and sometimes even dairy products, but fresh produce is often hard to come by. The Laguna Food Pantry is on Laguna Canyon Road between the dog park and the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.

You'd think that folks who care enough about needy people to work very hard to feed them would have charity to spare for each other. Not always. Take the case of Helping Hand Worldwide and the Laguna Relief and Resource Coalition, both based in Laguna Beach. Helping Hand has accused the Coalition of mishandling and misappropriating donated food, and of violating federal laws. Although local police and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cannot find any evidence of this, still the accusations are made.

A man and a woman were arrested after a robbery at the Chevron gas station at 604 S. Coast Hwy. on Friday evening. Diana June Mendoza, 18, of Laguna Beach, was charged with robbery, burglary and possession of a controlled substance. Oscar Alberto Cea Valladares, 18, was also charged with burglary. A 17-year-old juvenile from Laguna Beach was released to a parent, according to Lt. Jason Kravetz. Laguna Beach police received a call at 9:11 p.m. that three young men put food items under their sweat shirts and ran out of the gas station.

Sapphire Food Fare is back at a Laguna Niguel school. The second Food Fare of the year will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 12 at St. Anne School, 32451 Bear Brand Road. The event, put on with help from Sapphire Laguna Chef Azmin Ghahreman, Sapphire Culinary Group and Sapphire at School, is a farmers market for the whole family, according to a news release. There will be fine foods and produce for sale, including cheese, chocolates, fresh seafood and grass-fed beef. Chefs will be present to show off recipes and samples of food that can families can eat to be healthier.

Now Laguna Beach foodies don't have to travel far up Coast Highway for a taste of Umami Burger — the Los Angeles-based burger restaurant is coming to town. The restaurant plans to open a location at 610 N. Coast Hwy. in January, CEO and founder Adam Fleischman said. Fleischman, who has a background in wine, applied his adoration for subtle flavors with his menu, which is focused on "umami," a Japanese word for the "fifth taste. " "When I was trying to exit the wine business I was looking for something else to do," he said.

We have all seen national headlines about childhood obesity, Type 2 diabetes in children and the overall health and social costs of U.S. obesity rates. Michelle Obama has been a champion of raising awareness of these critically important issues. But where is Laguna Beach in this picture? On Oct. 19, Coffee Break hosted both our school district Food Service Manager Debra Appel and local registered dietitian Melanie Silverman to bring interested parents and educators up to speed on local nutritional practices in our schools and guiding common-sense basics.

Sign up to get city email alerts E-notifications are available for artists or community members interested in getting information about art news in Laguna. Other available notifications include traffic alerts, council agendas and job opportunities. To get the email alerts, register at http://www.lagunabeachcity.net/portal/default.asp . * Brooks Street to be closed on Halloween In addition to the city's annual closing of Oak Street in the 400 and 500 blocks on Halloween, now the city will block off areas of Brooks Street as well as part of a trial program.

College Round-Up helps prepare students The annual Laguna Beach High School College Round-Up was held Oct. 5 in the school's Dugger Gym. Hundreds of students and parents came to talk with representatives from more than 90 colleges and universities, including several from outside the country. Students received brochures, applications, information on financial aid and more. They also had a chance to talk with people from the LBHS Scholarship Foundation and the military.

Travelers at John Wayne Airport will get a taste of Laguna Beach starting early next year with the addition of two local concessions in the newly renovated terminals: the Fresh Market and the Hobie Sand Bar. The Laguna Culinary Arts' Fresh Market, a fast-casual concept that serves chef Laurent Brazier's signature French Mediterranean cuisine, will offer paninis, salads, homemade soups and a variety of other choices. The chef drew inspiration from Mirepoix, the Laguna Culinary Arts restaurant in Laguna, which offers four-course prix fixe dinners three nights a week.