Inhoudsopgave van September/October 2019 - Sunset

THE WEST IS WHERE THE UNEXPECTED IS EXPECTED. Take the solo trip I planned one year down the Pacific Coast Highway. I borrowed a motorcycle, threw a leg over the saddle, and taped directions to the tank. Point A: San Francisco. Point B: Big Sur. That was just about it. As I made my way down Highway 1, I thought of advice the writer Paul Theroux once shared. “Leave the camera at home,” he said. “You’ll remember the journey more.” My mother, a lifelong nurse, had offered her own kind of wisdom upon learning of my two-wheeled indulgence. “Bring good underwear,” she said. “If you end up in the emergency room, they might have to cut offyour pants.” Both had a point: Travel’s better when you live a little. Practice…

Glass & Ceramics Viviana Matsuda of Mud Witch, San Francisco Japanese Mexican artist Viviana Matsuda first tried her hand at ceramics when she inherited a set of supplies after the passing of her father, who had trained as a potter in Mexico. Today, the 32-year-old San Francisco native makes colorful mugs, vases, and pots using mostly mid-fire and high-fire clay out of her cozy Mission District studio space. The playful shapes of her work go beyond eye-catching items that are fun to hold. “The base of my designs is always inspired by women’s bodies and body positivity,” she says. “That’s why a lot of them are called Chubby Cup or Venus, and why I use squiggly shapes to represent curves.” Matsuda’s signature “neutral rainbow” color palette is inspired by her…

NURSERY Following a cram session on vintage nurseries, the designers eschewed the notion of wallpaper in Rambo’s room in favor of a custom safari mural. “I wanted it to feel like it could have been original to the house, maybe uncovered under layers of paint,” says Jake, who worked with L.A. muralist David King to fashion the muted, hand-painted menagerie with a soft pencil-drawn effect. “I think he nailed it,” says Daniela. “It’s a very sophisticated kid’s room that still feels full of childlike wonder.” Vintage pottery; popuphome.com. GAME ROOM The couple shrugged off a formal dining room to make dedicated space for a must-have: a library and game room. To make it happen, Jake and Sally embarked on a floor-to-ceiling built-in bookcase paired with a banquette that’s now Daniela’s…

Lin, Top Chef winner and mastermind behind DTLA hot spot Nightshade, is a bona-fide Chinatown expert. “I used to live in New York’s Chinatown and have gone deep in the Chinatowns of San Francisco, L.A., Vegas, Chicago, and Portland,” says Lin, who recently returned from a food tour of Vancouver and is raving. “It has an old-world-meets-new-world vibe that’s super exciting,” she says. “And there are new restaurants opening all the time.” New Town Bakery and Restaurant: This mom-and-pop joint makes amazing baked goods including dan tat (egg tarts) and baw law bao (pineapple buns). The dim sum is also great. Chinatown BBQ: Barbecue pork and crispy pork on rice is my go-to comfort food. I always order a side of stir-fried lettuce with oyster sauce. Fat Mao Noodles: Great fast-casual Pan-Asian noodles…

The Nomad Hotel Rooftop, Los Angeles VIEW: The downtown L.A. skyline ORDER: The dry-aged burger and fries thenomadhotel.com/los-angeles The Harbor House Inn, Mendocino, CA VIEW: Wharf Rock and the Pacific Ocean ORDER: A tasting menu of dishes such as seaweed with purple sea urchin theharborhouseinn.com The Mountaineering Club, Seattle VIEW: Mount Rainier, Puget Sound, downtown ORDER: Oysters with brown butter mayo themountaineeringclub.com…

Stop beer indie entrepreneurs are inventive new styles and reinterpreting classics. or waste of cross-country shipments. Here’s how to dive in. growler supports local businesses and cuts out the carbon ventive Every pint, can, craft-boom, wherein refining in-sourcing supermarket six-packs and join the West Coast SIP SEASONALLY See these cans? They’ll be gone by the time you read this. Today’s best brewers experiment, iterate, and evolve based on available ingredients and previous releases. Not to worry: Scout new styles and taproom specials by following local breweries on Instagram—it’s the preferred platform of the biz and a boon for beer knowhow, launch dates, and conversations. GO TO SCHOOL Tasting-room menus can be sparse on info. The best teacher is a bored bartender, so visit your local craft-beer taproom during a slow…

When he’s not touring the globe with Metallica, curating his horror-movie poster collection, or partnering with craft distillers Blackened whiskey, Kirk Hammett finds time to tend the vegetable garden at his 19th-century Northern California homestead. How exactly does a globe-trotting metal god find time to tend his garden? I’m a better harvester than I am a grower. What I usually do is have someone start everything and then I can step in and take over and start watering and pruning and harvesting. And digging in the dirt is good for strengthening my hands. There’s something really grounding about the magnetic energy of the earth in my hands. I can feel it. Sounds like you’ve got the fun part of the job. Give us an inventory of what you get to…

IT’S BULB SEASON. This year, try planting some of the more unusual species and varieties on the market: 4-foot-tall alliums, bluish-purple native camas, reticulated iris with kaleidoscope-like flowers, and vibrantly colored wild tulips for hot, dry sites. When buying bulbs, the options are endless, so we have narrowed down the list—these are some of the toughest bulbs for western gardens that can be planted in fall for stunning spring blooms. BULB-GROWING QUICK TIPS BUY & PLANT BULBS IN BULK Bulbs look better when planted in masses, rivers, or large groups. Instead of planting in groups of three or five, buy in bulk. Van Engelen (vanengelen.com) sells bulbs by the 100s, 500s, and even 1,000s. Other sources for quality bulbs include Brent & Becky’s Bulbs (brentandbeckys.com), Easy to Grow Bulbs (easytogrowbulbs.com),…

Yang grew up eating in the Chinatowns of Flushing, Queens; Sunset Park, Brooklyn; and Manhattan before moving to Los Angeles after getting cast in ABC’s hit sitcom Fresh Off the Boat. It took him a couple of seasons of eating mediocre takeout before he dove into the thriving San Gabriel Valley regional Chinese restaurant scene. “When I finally got there and ate some real Chinese food, I felt like I was home,” Yang says. Savoy Kitchen: Head to this tiny restaurant for the Hainanese chicken rice. It’s super tender and is served with ginger sauce, a garlic sauce, and a slightly spicy chile sauce. Jazz Cat Hotpot: It’s cool to be able to cook your own food, and you can dip whatever you want in the broth, like raw egg and fish…

1 North Fork 53, Nehalem TASTE: Oregon Coast Chai northfork53.com 2 Salmonberry Saloon, Wheeler TASTE: Netarts Bay oysters salmonberrysaloon.com 3 Garibaldi Portside Bistro, Garibaldi TASTE: Smoked Ribs (only available Thursday–Saturday) (971) 265-1567 4 Fishpeople, Garibaldi TASTE: Wild Alaskan Salmon Jerky fishpeopleseafood.com 5 Debbie D’s Sausage, Tillamook TASTE: Hot Pepper Beef Sticks debbiedssausage.com 6 Blue Heron French Cheese Company, Tillamook TASTE: Smoked Brie blueheronoregon.com 7 Werner Beef & Brew, Tillamook TASTE: The Werner burger paired with a Werner’s Coastal Brown Ale (503) 842-7577 8 Nestucca Bay Creamery, Cloverdale TASTE: Slow-ripened, tangy Kiawanda-Welsh-style cheese nestuccabaycreamery.com 9 Meridian Restaurant & Bar, Pacific City TASTE: Clam Chowder headlandslodge.com/dining/meridian 10 Pelican Brewing Company, Pacific City TASTE: Beak Breaker Double IPA pelicanbrewing.com…

Psychedelic Pickles Creatively spiced brined veggies bring superlative snap to snacking and cooking. “WE LOVE GETTING funky with pickles, whether as a side to fried chicken or using the brine as an oyster mignonette,” says Kayla Abe, cofounder of San Francisco’s Ugly Pickle Co. She and partner David Murphy source would-be discarded produce from farmers in an effort to reduce food waste, and they’re just two of the cool kids leading today’s wide-ranging western pickle renaissance. Herewith, nine of the most delectable pickles in the West. EXPERT ADVICE KERNELS OF TRUTH Level up your rice game with a seasonal rice subscription. Portland-born, Japan-based Momoko Nakamura (aka Rice Girl) helps preserve traditional Japanese farming methods with her company, Kiki Musubi, which blends brown rice varietals according to the season and delivers…

SOUTHWEST This month: SEDONA, AZ The insider: KALI GAJEWSKI CO-OWNER, SEDONA BEER CO. Kali Gajewski and Mac Crawford are the husband-and-wife team behind the newest of just two microbreweries in Sedona. She’s committed to building a craft-beer scene in her hometown with small batch, continuously evolving brews using local ingredients as much as possible. DO / When Gajewski has visitors in town she takes them to Devils Bridge, West Fork, and Red Rock Crossing to hike. Guided mountain-bike tours from Over the Edge are also a hit; they can be tailored to accommodate any ability level. DRINK / Tucked into Oak Creek Canyon, Indian Gardens is Gajewski’s must-stop for coffee; they roast all their beans locally. “I always send out-of-town friends out for a day of beer and wine tasting,” says Gajewski.…

California’s agricultural epicenter is just about the last place you’d expect to find the world’s most elite surfers. But 11-time world champion Kelly Slater has flipped the small town of Lemoore in California’s Kings County—best known for producing crops such as grapes and almonds—into the most unexpected destination for one of the West’s most iconic sports. Surf Ranch, started by Slater and owned by the World Surf League, is a 20-acre engineered surf town of sorts, and includes a massive, sustainably powered wave basin. “The wave is the world’s longest rippable, open-barrel manmade wave,” says Amy Denman, WSL communications manager. “It is truly extraordinary and something that needs to be seen to be believed. The system can generate various waves, from beginner waves to high-performance waves.” It was also vital…

Las Vegas’ Chinatown is three miles long with more than 100 restaurants packed in and around Spring Mountain Road. It’s a favorite dining destination of Su, the James Beard–nominated chef who serves updated versions of Hainanese chicken rice at his Downtown Las Vegas spot Flock & Fowl. “Chinatown is the official after-work hangout for chefs who work on the strip,” Su says. “After working a 12-to 14-hour shift, I come here to feed my soul.“ Aburiya Raku: Their tofu is the best I have ever had, and I always order an assortment of skewers from their robata list. Yunnan Garden: My go-to orders at the deli counter are pig’s ear, sliced beef brisket in chile sauce, and seaweed salad. When I’m dining with friends and family, we order their smoked duck, fish-flavored…

INSTAGRAMMABLE INTERIORS SANDS HOTEL & SPA Indian Wells, CA If Mad Men had ever filmed in Marrakech, the set would have looked a lot like Sands Hotel & Spa. Celebrity interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard reimagined the 1950s-era property as a 46-room, Moroccan-meets-midcentury-modern desert retreat with Bedouin-style pool cabanas, Beni Ourain rugs, and brass-accented furnishings. Forget the celebrity paparazzi of Palm Springs’ heyday. Instagram sensation interiors have made this a magnet for influencers who come just for selfies in the black-and-white Moroccan-From $329; sandshotelandspa.com BEST NEW INDIE HOTEL THE CARPENTER Austin, TX If Ace Hotel Group created the blueprint for the hipster hotel, then the Portland-based hospitality firm Mighty Union, whose cofounder is an Ace veteran, is updating it. Their newest project rewrites the recipe for a next-gen indie hotel.…

HOT HOTELS Proper Hotels & Residences; Virgin Hotels San Francisco; Hotel Amparo, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Thompson Seattle; Vista Collina Resort, Napa; Woodlark, Portland; Timbers Kauai, HI; Terranea Resort, Ranchos Palos Verdes, CA; Palisociety; Ward Village, Honolulu; The Ranch, Malibu; MacArthur Place, Sonoma; The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas; Lodge at Kukuiula, Kauai, HI; Snowpine Lodge, Alta, UT; SCP Hotels; Casa Mami, Pioneer-town, CA; The Ramble, Denver; The Francis House, Calistoga, CA; Eritage Resort, Walla Walla, WA; Atticus Hotel, McMinnville, OR; Gold Diggers, Los Angeles ESSENTIAL EATING & DRINKING Channel Islands Provisioners, CA; Santa Barbara Picnic Co., CA; Jordan Vineyard & Winery, CA; Willamette Valley Vineyards, OR; The Rooftop at Harmon Guest House, CA; Basement Bar at Hoxton Hotel, Portland; Barbershop Cuts & Cocktails at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas; Raised…

Welcome to the California Prunes renaissance! Rich and smooth, with an ability to enhance both sweet and savory flavors, California Prunes are naturally nutritious and surprisingly versatile. Add California Prunes to your pantry to satisfy all ages with fresh takes on anytime snacks or as a new ingredient for cooking and baking. @CAforPrunes CaliforniaPrunes.org…