Plugs — Katy Peetz

L.A. food, drink, and leisure recs from a granola queen + LINKS

Quick reminder up top to take The Angel’s survey: What Do Angelenos Want From Restaurants Right Now? It will be live through Wednesday, April 23rd. We already have over 100 responses, keep ‘em coming — and pass the link along!

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Plugs is The Angel’s recs column. Every week, 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, plus a selection of Angel-curated links. (Plugs are for paid subscribers of The Angel only; upgrade your subscription to receive all six!)

#77 is Katy Peetz, a recipe developer, private event cook, former pastry chef, and former food editor. Before Katy and her family moved to Los Angeles (around the same time as me, ~4 years ago), she worked as the pastry chef for Roberta’s Pizza and Blanca in Bushwick and as the co-recipe developer at Gather Journal. She’s food-styled, produced food videos, and developed recipes galore. Nowadays, she continues to consult on recipes, most recently having developed the ice cream program at Roberta’s in Culver City, and cooks for private events. Katy also has a side hustle that everyone reading this is now lucky to know about, if you didn’t already: Banana Granola. It’s sweetened with fresh banana, made with nutrient-rich sprouted gluten-free oats, and is fantastic. You can order some here—try not to eat it all in one sitting. Here’s Katy with her Plugs (and pictures shot on film)!

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Restaurant — LULU

I had trouble only mentioning one restaurant so here I go with two! [Editor’s note: I let Randy do this, so Katy gets to, too.] Recently I went to LULU and it was hands down one of the best and most memorable meals I’ve had in a long time. I’m not sure a dining out experience can get more seasonal and local than LULU. The service is delightful and the cooking reminds me of why I ever wanted to learn how to cook in the first place. It’s deceivingly simple yet so much care and work has gone into sourcing ingredients and creating each dish, and you can taste it. Dine with 2+ people so you can try both the a-la-carte and the prix fixe menus, then share everything family style. Do not miss the millet muffin! I’ve spent more time than I’d like to admit scouring the internet for this recipe. Until I return to LULU I’ll be cooking through Alice Waters’ and David Tanis’ books trying to recreate the magic in my kitchen.

Photos by Katy Peetz.

Runner-Up Restaurant — Myung Ga Korean Cuisine

If you're into eating lava-hot Korean bubbling stews while listening to K-pop ballads in a no-frills environment, this is your place. Not in Koreatown, you’ll find this sweet little spot in La Cañada. An easy order is the galbitang (beef short rib soup in a nourishing bone broth), but I love its variation that includes vegetables, wooguji galbitang. The additional tender leaves of cabbage melt in your mouth. I also really love their soondae, a warm blood sausage stuffed with potato noodles and pork liver served with a side of spicy fermented shrimp dipping sauce. Some soondae are too strong for me, yet Myung Ga’s version tastes super light and is something I always look forward to.

Photos by Katy Peetz.