Plugs is The Angel’s recs column. Every Saturday, you’ll get six picks — a restaurant, a bar, a shop, an ingredient, a person, and a treat — from someone in Los Angeles who knows what they’re talking about. (Plugs are for paid subscribers of The Angel only. However, if you’re in the restaurant industry and want a free subscription, hit me up. :))
#11 is Gillian Ferguson, the longtime producer of Good Food on KCRW with host Evan Kleinman and an accomplished food reporter with bylines in the Los Angeles Times, T Magazine, Lucky Peach, Los Angeles Magazine, and Bon Appétit, among other publications. Over the years, Gillian has written a wide range of insightful, fun, and valuable stories about the organization on a mission to help Angelenos take proper care of their backyard fruit trees, how a former tech exec became a Malibu farmer and produce forager for big-name chefs, and why the chopped salad became a celebrity obsession, to name a few. Also, like me, she is obsessed with the heavenly multigrain pancakes from now-closed AXE in Venice. (Editor’s note: Matt Rodbard and Daniel Holzman have a recipe for them in their excellent cookbook, Food IQ.) Here are Gillian’s L.A. plugs!
Restaurant — The Apple Pan
Weird things happen when you turn 40. For me, I became obsessed with The Apple Pan. It has become my go-to for every occasion. Parents visiting? Apple Pan. Fermentation specialist from one of the best restaurants in the world is in town? Apple Pan. My kid wants french fries? Apple Pan. I just can’t get enough of the U-shaped counter, the maximalist use of iceberg lettuce on the burger and the no-nonsense service. A friend of mine once compared it to the little house in the movie Up, and I think about that every time I’m there. May it last forever.
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