On a lark w/DTLA Artist Lawrence Fodor + Chef Kyle Powers | Art of Dining in Los Angeles, California

Friday, October 19, 2018

Our return to the DTLA loft of Lawrence Fodor was warm and welcoming thanks to the generosity of the artist in residence and the gorgeous people who gathered at our communal table.

On a super fun lark in DTLA with Chef Kyle Powers

We loved sharing with our guests how this talented artist recreates allegorical masterpieces from the past and transforms them into gorgeous relevant abstract visual paintings that translates to the modern world.

Lawrence Fodor rocking the vibe on a lark at his artist loft in DTLA

Chef Kyle Powers put all his good energy into a phenomenal menu – it helps to have an actual kitchen!

Chef Kyle Powers rocks the vibe on a lark in DTLA.

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MENU by Chef Kyle Powers:

1/buzz button tea 2/split pea soup w/langostino mouse, smoked ham + korean pancake 3/Beef carpaccio salad w/avocado-cauliflower puree + caper berries 4/Braised black cod, crispy black rice, kimchi tomato sauce, pickled fennel chutney 5/coffee flour pancake, whipped chocolate maple butter, salted pumpkin seed brittle

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We are grateful to have Wine Aficionado Tyler Rodriguez helping with plate + pour to keep all the good vibes flowing.

Tyle Rodriguez on a super fun lark in DTLA
Split Pea Soup enjoyed on a lark in DTLA

We also are thankful Alex Samples help us rock the entire event from gates to freight elevators to plates in/out and final wrap – in this stunning outfit.

What to wear on a lark? Whatever makes you feel beautiful.
Super fun times, thanks to our amazing guests, on a lark in DTLA!

Special thanks to: @lunareececeramics, @frenchbuckets, @hartleycashhaus, @theurbanspring, @bodylanguageyoga, @thestorytellerstudio. Photo credit goes to Mitch Maher of MBMaher.com who is also our favorite conversationalist. Create + Collaborate + Elevate

A little Fall love consisting of yummy hand made Alpaca throws from The Storyteller Studio in Louisville Kentucky
Setting the good vibes with @hartleyycashaus + @lawrencefodor
Soaking up the radiant artsy vibes of DTLA!

Modern. Organic. Inspirational. Social Dining.

Next lark Thursday 11/15/18 at The Hangout on 4th Street’s “Retro Row” in Long Beach. Grab your curious + adventurous friends and come on a lark with us!

xo~l

Because vision is everything…| Creating in Huntington Beach, California

We have walked through Pirate’s Cove a hundred of times dreaming of a table on the sand, where we could enjoy food and conversation while getting our feet wet — in style; we can’t express how bringing this to reality makes us feel.  Super big thanks to designer Laura Brophy, photographer Kendal Riley of The De Lauras & Wes (and Mike) of @theoclist for being a part of this amazing experience to get our creative on, thank our collaborators and dream of the future.

Special thanks to Chef Kyle Powers of Fork In the Road Catering who created a flight of the most delicious flight of soups for all to enjoy and to @lunareececeramics @theurbanspring @isles.interiors

Create. Collaborate. Elevate.
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Lark + Chef Kyle Powers + Sourced Collective | Lovin’ it Up in Laguna Beach, California

Thank you to all who attended our lark at Sourced Collective a charming old blue a-framed house on Glenneyre Street “where dreamers become doers”. We gathered around the communal table to enjoy the art of conversation, become inspired by design, raise our glasses in unison and enjoy delicious food.

We are grateful for our adventurous guests, Host Michelle Mercado, Chef Kyle Powers, Mike Otto of Tolosa Winery, Wunderland & Co., LetterSparrow and Andrea Luna Reece. We also had the pleasure of meeting @inviscus who brought their good vibes, appetites and curiosity to capture our story:

 

Thursday 3/24/16 Menu curated by CHEF KYLE POWERS {fork in the road catering}

upon arrival and paired w/chefs choice blackberry pie martini:

lobster roll toast + pickled mushroom flatbread

on the table and paired w/Tolosa Wine:

spicy clam in broth sip

grilled little gem w/picked plum & gorgonzola topped w/plum vinaigrette

skirt steak w/egg, celery root, beans chimi sauce.

Sweet coffee bread pudding w/lavender budino

⌘veggie option⌘ mushroom ravioli w/capers, celery leek puree & herb oil micro salad garnish

Simple. Refreshing. Inspirational.

Come on a lark with us!

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Meet Ramen Chef Angelino Baltazar of Costa Mesa, California

The best thing about lark is that is malleable in so many ways. At the core of our business model is the idea of supporting and nurturing passion discovered in people we meet along the way – and sharing it with others. Chef Angelino’s enthusiasm, professional demeanor, and open mindedness impressed us and we soon learned of his desire to open a ramen restaurant and offered him an opportunity to “go on a lark”.

Lark #17 leads us back toThe Hood Kitchen Space to embrace Chef Angelino’s dream. Now is your opportunity to meet the chef behind the menu, but first this brief Q&A:

What inspired you to follow your culinary dream? 

I wouldn’t say inspiration was really part of how this happened. I just really love ramen and Japanese food. Eventually I was really tired of driving far for Ramen and I just decided to do something about it. When the opportunities came up I just decided not to hesitate and I took them.

Do you remember your first ramen bowl? 

I never had good ramen until I was in college. Until then I mostly grew up on the instant ramen.

Where do you want to end up?

I want to end up owning and hopefully changing the landscape of restaurants in Long Beach. 

What is the thing about ramen that most people don’t understand or know?

This is hard. There’s actually a lot. I’m going to sound like I don’t make sense

Ramen is actually not from Japan originally. It’s originally from China.

Ramen is complicated and simple at the same time.

There is more than one kind of ramen. There are specific regions of Japan that serve distinctive styles.

Ramen has no rules and a lot of rules at the same time.

There’s more than one way to make the broth, but the devil is in the details, extremely subtle, but significant details for every style of ramen.

There’s more, but hopefully it should give you a good idea. There is a reason most ramen shops are small and most of the really good ramen shops only make one kind of ramen.

How long does it take you to make the noodles? 

It actually depends on the time of year, how cold it is, the humidity, the kind of noodle I am making for the broth. Eventually I started working with Sun Noodles, constantly changing the recipe and adjusting what I needed. It took me about a 4-5 months of tweaking the noodles just right. Shout out to Sun Noodles.

What do you prefer to drink when enjoying ramen? 

Cheap Japanese beer or whiskey high ball.

Where/Why did you choose the name Omiyage Kitchen for your restaurant? 

I had to pick something related to my story of how I ended up here. Omiyage actually translates directly to souvenir, but the context is off. Omiyage is something you bring to someone when you travel and it is usually something edible specific to that region. I thought it would be fitting to have a name that represents the reason for me leaving to go to Tokyo just to learn about ramen so that I could eventually come back to start a ramen shop here in the States.

How did you get the opportunity to travel to Seattle/Japan?

Someone who knew I wanted to start a ramen shop called me and said they were leaving to go to Japan and they could make some introductions. So I left. I quit my job and a week later I was on a plane with some money and no idea on how to speak Japanese. There is a actually a lot more to the store I leave out.

I worked in Seattle because an opportunity had aligned with timing. It’s pretty straightforward; you just have to tell yourself to go do it.

Any funny stories to share about these experiences?

YUP. But I’d prefer to share them over beers in front of a person.

Did you go to culinary school? 

Nope. Save yourself the trouble and just go stage somewhere nice for a really long time. You are much better off.

How did you get linked up with The Hood Kitchen?

I had originally started working there from a company a few years back.

How do you know Chef Kyle Powers?

Through an Amateur Dodgeball League. KIDDING!

Actually, we met by chance. I had just come back from Japan and Kyle had an opening and somehow we’ve just been working together ever since.

What is your next favorite meal/food?

I actually don’t have one specific meal or food that is my favorite. It’s just always a constantly changing. I’m just really curious about a lot of ingredients.

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And this curiosity is what we love about Chef Angelino! Here’s to collaborating, creating, and knowing that anything is possible. See the ramen inspired menu FullSizeRender (28)and come on a lark with us!!

LARK UNDERGROUND DINING & MARKETPLACE

saturday 11/7/15 from 7:30pm-9:30/10pm
The Hood Kitchen 
$95 per person, all inclusive good vibes, food & drinks
questions, please email: hello@larkartisanmarket.com
purchase tickets*: let’s go on a lark!

*non-refundable/absolutely transferable

Meet “Fork In The Road” Chef, Kyle Powers

Constantly looking for collaboration and inspiration, on a lark, I met Chef Kyle Powers and was immediately drawn to his kind and calm demeanor.  He is one of those people that you just feel good standing next to.   He developed his culinary skills in the kitchens of restaurants as opposed to the traditional cooking schools (the sign of a true rebel!).  After seeing him in action and tasting several of his creations, I realized the culinary world chose him and we all are better for it.  We are thrilled to have Kyle create our menu, select the wine, and mingle with guests at our next lark on 9.19.14 in Sunset Beach.  So you can get to know him better, below is a short Q&A to get the conversation started!:

What is your earliest culinary memory?

My earliest culinary memory is waking up on Saturday mornings at 5 years old, turning on cartoons, and then deciding to make breakfast for my parents.  I would always get in trouble because I wasn’t allowed to touch the stove.

What is your view on the (slow) food movement?

I feel like the world of food has changed a lot but mainly for those interested in that change.  We need this change to happen with more people and communities, especially for our health.

Which cooking words or phrases do you most overuse? 

I use them without thinking! Then, when I feel like I’m overusing, I stop and figure another way to get my point across—which leads me back and then to over usage! Lol. But a popular word/term I can’t really stand is “foodie”.

What is your most treasured culinary possession?

Right now I love using my pressure cooker.

What is your motto?

My motto for when I cook is to “Be Different”.  My motto for others is “Anyone Can Cook”.  When I do my Cooking Demos I try and teach confidence in the kitchen versus just recipes.

What is your greatest culinary extravagance? 

It is probably almost making it on Food Network Star a few years back.  But currently it’s watching our business grow.  See

What is your is your idea of the perfect meal?

My idea of a perfect meal is when I taste something that I’ve had before, but it makes me think I haven’t had it before.  Add wine to that and I’m happy.

What do you most value in your friends?

I value my friends immensely. My favorite thing is that we can go days or even weeks without having seen each other and maybe have only chatted a couple times, but the effort we all make to stay connected is absolutely amazing. They support me more than I can ever ask or imagine.

Which living person do you most admire?

The living person I most admire is my wife Marisa. She is the biggest reason we have a successful business and she has endured a lot this past year.  With our first pregnancy and first born I learned how to never give up and get through some really tough situations.  I relate that to working in the kitchen everyday.  She deserves multiple medals for being an amazing wife, a great businesswoman, a supportive sibling, caring daughter, and most of all a mother.  She can do all of those things and still find time to make our own sunscreen, baby food and detergents for our home.  She just recently made deodorant.  What can I say? How can I not admire her?!  I’m simply blessed beyond belief! And she makes my mom proud!

What is your favorite spice?

My favorite spice always changes. Other than salt I really like Juniper and Cumin too.  But whatever spice I use I want to use it in the most unique way possible.

What simple advice do you give others regarding food? 

Take time to cook! #bebravecreate

What is your most marked characteristic?

I am calm in the kitchen – and in general.  The calmness brings out creativity for me.

Where would you most like to travel?

Our next big trip will be to Italy!!! But best food trips were to New York and Portland!

Who do you follow / admire in the food world? 

My favorite chefs are Jamie Oliver and Rick Bayless. I feel Jamie Oliver is really trying to change the world with food and how kids are seeing food.  I also really admire my friend at Red O in Los Angeles Chef Justin Haefler.  His story is unbelievable and I think he is going to do huge things in the food world.  His focus is on healthy eating without being a specific type, vegan, vegetarian, etc.  FYI – Red O is a Rick Bayless restaurant out of Chicago that is now in L.A. and Newport Beach.

What made you realize that you were a good cook?

When my wife said, “let’s start a catering business”, I thought maybe I CAN cook!  [editor note: Fork In The Road Catering ]

What is your favorite wine / food combo? 

There are way too many great ones to choose from!

What arbitrary kitchen rule would you like to break or establish? 

Being that I didn’t go to culinary school I think I break a lot of rules without even knowing it, but it works 95 percent of the time so I don’t really pay attention to the “rules”.  If something doesn’t work I figure out how to make it work.

Chef Kyle Powers w/wife & business partner Marisa
Chef Kyle Powers w/wife & business partner Marisa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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See Chef Kyle’s mouth watering menu and learn more about our upcoming lark here:

Pop-Up Dates, Etc!

We hope to see you there!

xo~L

Why Pop?

Popping up a restaurant and marketplace in different locations is a cool and fun way to bring people together to share what we are passionate about in life.  For me, this is the perfect combination of friends, food, wine, and design (an abridged list as you may surmise).   It is also a way for “Lark” to figure out where it fits in this world, a sort of living business plan.  Our motto is “do, reflect, refine, and do again”.   We often tell people it’s about “doing” instead of “dreaming of doing”.   We hope this leads to becoming experts at pop-ups and, later on, having our own brick and mortar.  However, we are grateful to have discovered the opportunity to bring people together for a wonderful and unique experience doing what we love.  The beauty of popping up is that each event is fresh and different.  The combination of locations, people, food, design are constantly changing and evolving.  This makes it easy to call it an adventure, ahem, Lark.

-Lisa Gutierrez-Martinez, Owner/Creative Director

Ready to greet out guests!  at our AoSA Underground Dinner Party in Huntington Harbor.
Ready to greet out guests! at our AoSA Underground Dinner Party in Huntington Harbor.

Q & A with The Mad Platter Kitchen Chef, Kristen Trinh

Enjoy this Q & A with Kristen Trinh of The Mad Platter Kitchen.

Q. When did you realize you wanted to become a chef?

A. What inspired me to become a chef was my husband and I had a conversation one day about how much he appreciates my cooking and noticed how happy I am when I am cooking for him and our friends.  He lightly mentioned that I should try out culinary school. I honestly never thought about it before, but it made perfect sense to me and so I did.

Q. What is your earliest memory of cooking?

A.  I would say earliest memory of cooking was with my grandmother during holidays. We had family gatherings all the time and I would always help my grandmother in the kitchen. That’s what sparked my interest and passion for cooking.

Q. What is your favorite cuisine to cook?

A. My passion for cooking has led me to create delicious dishes from all regions all around the world, but my favorite food to cook is Southern Italian.

Q.You went to the Art Institute right?  Would you say that is where you obtained most of your skills?

A. In 2007 I went to Art Institute of Orange County where I studied the ‘Art of Cooking’ and graduated a year later.

Q. What roles did you play at Laguna Culinary Arts Cafe & School?

A. I started work at Laguna Culinary Arts in 2008 where I became a Fromage and worked in the kitchen for basic food prep. I slowly worked my way up to not only cooking in the kitchen but menu planning, food cost. managing the cafe, and instructing classes. From there I grew a strong interest to become a private chef and branch off to do catering and meal planning on my own which is where I am at today.

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