In the Weeds: ‘I wouldn’t have Woon without mom,’ says Keegan Fong Written by Andrea Domanick, produced by Laryl Garcia Listen 11 min MORE Owner Keegan Fong and Julie Chen Fong, aka Mama Fong, teamed up for Woon Kitchen, a small noodle pop-up turned culinary destination in Historic Filipinotown. Photo by Cody James.
We re all familiar with warm and fuzzy stories about spending time in the kitchen alongside mom. But imagine turning that sweet, syrupy story into a business plan. Keegan Fong did just that.
Woon Kitchen in Historic Filipinotown is his collaboration with his mother Julie Chen Fong, a.k.a. Mama Fong.
Listen 57 min MORE An early photo of New York Times cooking writer Eric Kim, who spent an unexpected nine months back home in Atlanta with his mom during the pandemic, cooking by her side and learning some life lessons in the process. Photo courtesy of Eric Kim.
There’s something special about the relationship between a boy and his mom. In anticipation of Mother’s Day, Good Food hears from Eric Kim, who returned home to Atlanta to work on his upcoming cookbook with his mom. This week’s “In the Weeds” takes listeners to Woon Kitchen in Historic Filipinotown, where Keegan Fong and Mama Fong are making a mean bowl of beef noodles. Farmer Lee Jones shares how his family’s rags-to-riches farm went bust but rebuilt with vegetables that are sought after by the world’s best chefs. Edible flowers are blooming at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market. Artist and illustrator Lindsay Gardner pays homage to 112
A Chinatown market celebrates new and old Asian staples
Sesame L.A. in Chinatown’s Central Plaza.
(Zachary Gray)
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Sesame L.A. may occupy just 250 square feet of Chinatown’s Central Plaza, but owner Linda Sivrican has managed to fill her market with a childhood’s worth of memories by way of Asian condiments, pantry staples and snacks.
Inside, white metal shelves are lined with goods including red Chinese sausages and Lee Kum Kee hoisin sauce. Baskets are filled with candied kumquats, preserved plums and dried cuttlefish. But these familiar items are juxtaposed with modern artisanal products: pour-over Vietnamese coffee kits, gorgeous bottles of Japanese smoked soy sauce, and calamansi sparkling water.
Put five more hot sauces on your radar
El Chilito, Hail Mary Pizza, Holy Sauce, Woon’s Mama’s Way and Alta Adams hot sauce.
(Stephanie Breijo)
Five to try
Sbez, from the proprietors of Eszett restaurant, wasn’t the only hot sauce to surface during the pandemic. Here are five more local varieties heating things up.
Fresno hot sauce by Alta Adams
Chefs Keith Corbin and Daniel Patterson always served their remarkably bright hot sauce alongside Alta Adams’ signature fried chicken and in the mayo of the fried chicken sandwich but when the West Adams “Cali-soul” restaurant temporarily shuttered dine-in service and reopened with takeout, the sauce became formally available for retail. The chefs like to marinate fresh Fresno chiles with white wine vinegar, sugar, salt and water for at least one week before blending them with a bit of xanthan gum to thicken the mixture slightly. Think Tabasco with a lighter, brighter, more refreshing flavor.
The idea for the new Atwater Village provisions shop Wine + Eggs sprang from a simple craving. Owner and Atwater local Monica Navarro had just expanded her family and was looking for a place to pick up pasta, tomato sauce, and a much-needed bottle of wine in the neighborhood. After searching for all of those things under one roof and coming up empty, she took matters into her own hands.
A month before the pandemic, Navarro who also owns Wine & Rock Shop in Yucca Valley signed a lease on a storefront across the street from her other Atwater business, Individual Medley, and began putting together a list of items she would love to see on shelves. The Wine + Eggs team didn’t have to look far to find the sorts of delicious and exciting pantry items Navarro wanted to stock.