The LA Food Podcast Can anyone save The Original Pantry Cafe? Plus, drama at The Ruby Fruit and a round-up of recent eats feat. Stir Crazy, Calabama and Hiho Cheeseburger.
What is going on at The Original Pantry Cafe in downtown LA? Reports of a labor dispute threatening to close down the storied institution have been swirling all week. We try to make sense of the noise, and ask ourselves is there any hope for the house that Richard Riordan built?
Secondly, Silver Lake lesbian bar The Ruby Fruit just added controversy to its menu. The bar has been fighting for survival since the wildfires took a massive hit to their bottom line. And while they’ve generally received an outpouring of support, an investigative piece from Eater suggests that not everybody is so enthused with how the bar has handled its business.
Finally, what do raw milk, women's history month and Gordon Ramsey all have in common? Well, they all make an appearance in this week’s epic round of Chef’s Kiss, Big Miss.
Helpful Links:
The LA Times’ Cindy Carcamo on the Original Pantry Cafe situation
Jake Hook (@dinertheory) on Original Pantry https://lataco.com/original-patry-closing-downtown-la
Mona Holmes and Rebecca Roland on The Ruby Fruit https://la.eater.com/2025/2/21/24370002/the-ruby-fruit-silver-lake-lesbian-sapphically-inclined-wine-bar-employees-inclusion
Re:HER Women’s History Month https://www.regardingherfood.org/whmf
LA Times’ Daniel Hernandez on pajarete https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2025-02-25/raw-milk-pajarete-mexican-culture-muscoy-compton
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