Talk about a fork in the road. Metaphorically speaking, the best fork in the road in Griffith Park is found at The Trails, a popular coffee/snack cafe and almost obligatory stop before or after hiking.
As the lucky of us know, Griffith Park is a sprawling 4,210-plus acres natural and landscaped park situated in the eastern Santa Monica Mountain range, smack in the middle of Los Angeles. Considered the “largest municipal park with urban wilderness area in the United States,” Griffith Park sports a 53-mile network of trails, fire roads and bridle paths (complete with ridges, canyons, creeks, and fabulous variety of flora and fauna). The park attracts local hikers as well as savvy tourists seeking exercise in the midst of California nature and sunshine. And the Trails cafe is a well-known secret stop that hits the spot for breakfast/lunch/snacks before hiking or after.
The Trails sits across the street from the end of the park’s Ferndell trail and the trailhead to the Griffith Observatory’s west trail loop.
If you are a novice wanting a wonderful and not-too-taxing L.A. hiking/snacking experience, here’s what you do:
Find the entrance to Griffith Park at the intersection of Los Feliz Boulevard and Fern Dell Drive (a sign and bear-cub statue marks the spot). Drive into the park and park in the first place you find on the street (no meters—hurrah!).
Now look for the Ferndell sign (on the left, about a block inside the entrance). Ferndell is a charming, quarter-mile path bordered by a man-made stream, shaded by sycamores and surrounded by a lush green garden that includes an awesome variety of ferns. Walk through the iron gates and enjoy.
When you come to the end of Ferndell (at the playground) you have several choices: either turn left and walk across the street where you will find The Trails, or veer right and start the loop trail leading to the Griffith Observatory. The 2.5 mile west trail loop rises in elevation to offer overviews of the Observatory, The Hollywood sign and the L.A. basin, before curving back to Ferndell and The Trails.
So, what’s special about The Trails?
The cafe is actually a small wood cottage/hut where one usually stands in long lines to order at a window. Seating is outdoors at a variety of picnic tables set under an umbrella of shade trees.
Hikers like the cafe’s totally laid-back, dog-and kid-friendly atmosphere; the outdoor rustic woodsy setting; the coffee and the food.
As to the latter, the avocado and the egg salad sandwiches, quiches, cookies and pies are particularly popular as are the Eggs in a Basket, which, I am told, are made like this:
EGGS IN A BASKET
Sliced bread
Butter
Eggs
Pesto (made from basil, olive oil, parmesan, garlic, salt & pepper, but no nuts)
Grated Parmesan
Finely chopped rosemary
Finely chopped chives
Fresh ground pepper
Cut 3-inch circles from the slices of bread. Generously butter a muffin tin. Fit each bread circle inside a muffin cup, molding bread to make a “basket.” Brush each bread basket with a generous amount of butter. Drizzle 1 teaspoon pesto inside each bread basket. Crack an egg into each buttered basket. Drizzle more pesto over each egg and then sprinkle with grated parmesan, rosemary, chives and pepper. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven until the egg is set as you desire, usually 11 minutes for runny centers to 13 minutes for firmer.
Anyone hooked on smoked salmon has probably heard of Inverawe and Robert & Rosie Campbell-Preston.
(Basic smoked salmon pate recipe by Rosie Campbell-Preston. Serving suggestions by Sweet Leisure.)
Travelers adore Spanish Paradores for a multitude of reasons.
and another ancient building. In addition to country-fresh air, the window ushered in a sound track of medieval times in the form of footsteps clopping on the cobblestone walk and bells from many churches ringing in the hour.
Ferran Adrià, a great Spanish chef who created the experimental restaurant El Bulli, once wrote about the evolution of creative cooking. He places reproducing recipes previously created at the bottom of the creative pyramid and technical-conceptual creativity at the top.
The city, in the province of the same name, sits in the sparsely populated Extremadura region of western central Spain, about 186 miles from Madrid and 137 miles from Portugal. Despite having a UNESCO World Heritage Site walled city center that is so little changed from medieval times that the town serves as movie set, Cáceres was off the tourist radar.
4 cups coarse dried bread crumbs cut from leftover crusty French or Italian bread
SENSE OF HUMOR expressed by papier-mâché animal trophies hanging on tall walls and the names of specialty drinks in the bar, e.g. the Kilt Lifter.
When you first meet Johnny Fugitt he radiates a gentlemanly persona. Winning smile. Charming manners. Not a spot on his shirt nor bulk to his body (which is contrary to what a steady diet of barbecue might suggest). Not that a second meeting doesn’t yield the same reaction. It’s just that Johnny seems more of a modern day Thoreau looking for cabin in the country than what he actually is: an officer in the United States Navy Reserve, a graduate of the London School of Economics, a world traveler and an accomplished writer who authored the very appealing “The 100 Best Barbecue Restaurants in America.”
