Why I haven’t written about Hugo’s restaurant before, I don’t know. I like this healthy, organic-friendly dining spot so much I had my birthday dinner there a couple years ago. In fact, when I lived in West Hollywood, I dined at Hugo’s once every couple weeks — the KCRW discount the restaurant offers being an extra incentive.

If you haven’t been there yet, here’s one big reason why you should stop by the West Hollywood spot — Hugo’s has something for everyone, from a green juice concoction for those on a cleanse to Chimichurri Steak with mashed potatoes for the really hungry people.

My recommendation for eco-pescatarians: The Barramundi Nicoise Salad. Sadly, this delicious eco-friendly twist on the nicoise — the delicious barramundi the restaurant serves is sustainable — is only occasionally offered as a special. However, last I checked, the restaurant lets you add on seared barramundi to any salad — which is what I liked to order (below) when the nicoise wasn’t available.

For the raw-gans, there’s the Kelp Noodle Salad (below) — a cool healthy lunch with a tangy-sweet mango sesame dressing. If you haven’t tried the super low-cal, light kelp noodles before, get them here!

That said, Hugo’s isn’t just about light, salad-y fare. You can get some delicious organic comfort food here too. One of my favorites is a special available around the holidays: the Portabella Potato Pancake Sandwich (below)! The crispy potato pancakes — stacked with grilled portabella mushrooms, grilled onions, roasted red bell peppers, goat cheese, and fresh basil pesto — aren’t exactly low-calorie, but they are a rich and delicious treat.

The rest of the year, there’s the flavorful Tika Masala Vegetable Patties (below), made with organic sprouted mung beans and other yummies then covered in a savory Indian sauce. I also like the filling Moroccan-Style Stew and the Tres Tacos!

Green diners love that almost everything at Hugo’s is organic and local, while picky eaters love the precise labeling system of Hugo’s menu. Little symbols mark vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and organic items — and many dishes are veganizable with organic tofu or veggie patties. Of course, carnivores can rest assured that their meals are sustainable too, since Hugo’s gets Chino Valley Ranch organic veg-fed eggs, free range turkey, and other better-for-the-planet proteins.

Not all of Hugo’s dishes are wins, however. I’ve had some very bland dishes there — where taste really seemed to have been sacrificed for nutrition’s sake — and was bitterly disappointed by the restaurant’s Scharffen Berger Hot Chocolate, the description for which sounded like a rare treat (“from rare Venezuelan criollo beans and whole Tahitian vanilla”) but ended up just being a so-so hot beverage. The restaurant’s especially weak on desserts. I’m not too taken with the blandish vegan New York Style Blueberry Cheesecake — and I once tried a quinoa cake special that tasted like a big, bland, brick.

But what Hugo’s does well, it does really well. My favorite dessert at Hugo’s is the vegan Pumpkin Pie — a deliciously spicy smooth treat in a coconut and pecan crust and topped with pumpkin seed brittle (above)! And the healthier pecan-stuffed Brownie Tort (below) isn’t bad either

What’s your favorite dish at Hugo’s?

Hugo’s Restaurant. 8401 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. 323.654.3993. Locations also in Studio City and Agoura Hills.

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Earlier this month, I raved about the organic juice Ritual Cleanse. Now, I’ve found a liquid cleanse that’s also all organic and all raw — but includes wellness shots and free nutritional consulting — for $60 a day!

This cleanse is the Earthbar Rejuvenation Cleanse. The WeHo juice hotspot’s just started offering customized juice and smoothie cleanses — and I got to try one out on a fast day for my Crazy Sexy Diet cleanse. The day started with me dropping by Earthbar as soon as they opened at 8 am to pick up a cooler full of six, 16-ounce drinks and two wellness shots — then racing home to get started.

First thing down the hatch: The Wellness Shot, a concentrated mix of lemon-ginger-cayenne elixir that overpowered my senses enough to jolt me awake! Then I sipped the two alkalizing green juices — Total Greens and Gimme Greens — both available by the glass at Earthbar locations all day.

It’s amazing how green juices can keep you full all morning. They’re energizing without being filling — at least if you’re only juicing for one day! For lunch, I drank the raw almond milk — lightly flavored and sweetened with dates and vanilla bean — for a little extra protein kick.

Early afternoon came the E3 Live shot, an organic, wild-harvested blue-green algae drink that tasted — like bland green water. I quickly moved on to tastier fare though. The Liver Cleanse — a mix of ginger, lemon, beet, green apple and aloe — was sweetly nourishing without being too sweet. And the fresh coconut water was so deliciously refreshing that it put those Tetrapaks of less-than-fresh coconut water to shame.

I saved the best for last — The thick, rich, and chocolatey Raw Recovery Shake, made with fresh coconut milk, raw sprouted protein and fiber, antioxidant cascade, and raw cacao — lightly sweetened with dates and stevia. The delicious raw chocolate drink’s decadently filling and nourishing — without the cloying too-sweet taste or the food coma-inducing heaviness. True to the cleanse’s purpose, this drink’s a lot less sweet than, say, the Mayan Cacao shake on Earthbar’s regular menu — but even more filling and, IMHO, tastier.

That’s Earthbar’s basic program — which comes to $60 a day. But as I mentioned, each cleanse comes customized. There’s no one-size-fits-all program you can just order online with a credit card. Instead, you need to email cleanse@earthbar.com to get your cleanse, at which point Earthbar’s Noah Bubman will get in touch with you to talk about your nutritional needs and health goals — then tailor the program to suit your needs. That might mean you might get a ginseng tea to boost energy, carnitine shots to boost your metabolism, or other tinctures and herbs to customize, augment, or modify the cleanse.

So your Earthbar Rejuvenation Cleanse might look rather different from mine. If you do it, let me know what goodies you got to try — and how you liked it. At the moment, Earthbar’s cleanse is available by pick up only from the West Hollywood store, though plans are in progress to add a delivery option.

Earlier: Ritual Cleanse: Fresh, organic juice feasts made deliciously easy

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On Earth Day, I took an after-work hike up Runyon Canyon in West Hollywood, then settled in for the night with an eco-themed movie — to watch the screen show a fellow West Hollywoodian hike up Runyon Canyon!

Who is this neighbor doing the same thing I’m doing but making a film about it? That would be Sebastian Copeland, environmental photographer extraordinaire — except to be fair, he and I don’t exactly hike alike. Unlike me, Sebastian hit the trails wearing a 100-pound vest. Why? Because he was training to trek to the North Pole. On foot.

Sebastian accomplished that cold goal back in 2009 — and documented his journey into an eco-documentary that came out this month called “Into the Cold: A Journey of the Soul.” The film begins with Sebastian undergoing an intense training regime in California before moving on to a hardcore winter boot camp in Minnesota — then follows the eco-activist to the arctic — where he, with a fellow traveler called Keith Heger, makes the slow two-month, 400+ mile trek on foot to get to the North Pole.

Why this crazy cold walk? “Into the Cold” seeks to draw attention to the effects of climate change. Sebastian made his trek on the centennial of Admiral Peary’s 1909 trek to the North Pole — capturing gorgeous images of the Arctic for posterity — because by the bicentennial in 2109, the Arctic as we know it will no longer exist, thanks to global warming.

Along the journey, Sebastian and Keith suffer frostbites, dangerous icy adventures, and temperatures below -50 degrees Farenheit. But aside from a few anxious moments, “Into the Cold” is a quiet film. After all, most of Sebastian and Keith’s adventure consists of a painfully steady, near-silent plodding along in a white barren landscape for days on end.

As such, I actually wished for more soul, more introspection in this documentary. When asked about his personal reasons taking the trip at the beginning of the film, Sebastian says he seeks some sense of peace — yet doesn’t go any further into what compels him towards these highly-challenging, painstakingly difficult trips. The end of the film left more questions than answers. Did Sebastian find the peace he was seeking? What, if anything, did he find for himself in this journey of the soul? Is personal peace possible in a melting world?

Mostly, “Into the Cold” left me with a sense of discomfiting wonder — at the beauty of the Arctic (seen in HD, no less), and the restlessness of the human soul. “Into the Cold” is now available on DVD for $24.95.

Photos via Into the Cold

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My new go-to spot for a fast superfood fix: Earthbar. Here you can get a quick sweet meal full of healthy, organic ingredients — like the Acai Bowl (above). This healthy vegan twist on the yogurt parfait has three layers: A blended, yogurt-like bottom of acai, banana, hemp milk, and add ons of your choice — in my case, almond butter for an extra nutty protein kick, homemade granola in the middle, and fresh bananas and strawberries on top.

The Acai Bowl actually comes in a large cup — and makes for a very filling lunch! For a lighter meal or snack, Earthbar also offers lots of fresh organic juices and smoothies. My friend Traci got an Earth Berry organic smoothie (below) — blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries sweetened with agave and blended in coconut water.

Need something you can really chew on? Earthbar’s bars are fresher, superfood-ier alternatives to the run-of-the-mill energy bar. The organic bliss bar, for example, is made with raw almonds, cashews, goji berries, cacao nibs, agave, hemp seeds, maca, flax seeds, sea salt — all for $3.75. (more…)

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The organic dining competition’s heating up in West Hollywood. Tender Greens, O! Burger, and Hugo’s Restaurant now have a new green friend — Fresheast, an organic, pan Asian eatery in West Hollywood.

This casual dining spot serves your favorite Asian dishes — made organic and healthy. Opt for the Korean Bulgogi Bowl (above) made with Harris Ranch certified natural beef, Chinese Mongolian Chicken made with natural Jidori Chicken, or the Japanese Green Tea Salmon (below) made with certified organic Shetland Salmon. Thai and Indian dishes are represented too.

But for veg and vegan readers: Fresheast isn’t all about the meat. In fact, (more…)

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Los Angeles is known as THE car-centric, traffic snarled city. But if you’ve ever been in a car in New York City, you know that traffic there’s really, really bad too. So why aren’t New Yorkers constantly complaining about their horrific traffic? Because they don’t have to deal with it — they’ve got a great subway system and a newly expanded bike network too!

That’s why the news that building L.A.’s Subway to the Sea would only relieve traffic congestion by 1 percent doesn’t disappoint me at all. Once that subway gets built, it’s bye-bye to fighting traffic — and hello to hopping on a subway train that’ll get me from Union Station to UCLA — in just 25 minutes.

The 1 percent statistic was announced as part of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/ Environmental Impact Report for the Westside Subway Extension — or to put it in layperson’s terms, a draft study of how extending the Purple Line down Wilshire (and perhaps the Red Line through West Hollywood and Beverly Hills too) all the way to the beach would affect the city.

Even if you’re a diehard driver, there are good selfish reasons to support the Westside Subway Extension. Think a 1 percent improvement’s too measly an improvement to be worth pursuing? Zach Behrens at LAist points out that without the subway, traffic will get a whole lot worse instead of very slightly better: “Population growth means more vehicles on the road. Metro estimates about a 26% increase in daily vehicle miles traveled within the westside subway extension area.”

Ready to start riding the subway? Well, it’ll be a little while. Steve Hymon at Metro’s The Source blog spells out just how long you may have to wait:

Under the long-range plan adopted by the Board of Directors of Metro last year, the subway would reach Fairfax by 2019, Century City by 2026 and Westwood by 2036 using a combination of Measure R sales tax money and federal funds. Why so long? Because the subway to Westwood is expected to cost about $4 billion and sales tax money flows into local coffers over time — not all at once. Measure R funds also have to fund a plethora of other projects promised to county voters.

However, there is a plan to speed up construction of the subway. The 30/10 Initiative being pursued by Metro — and backed by many other politicians, environmental, business and labor groups — would use federal loans and other financing to try to build 12 Measure R transit projects in the next 10 years. So there’s hope.

Want to help get the subway built sooner rather than later? Then you’ve got to get involved with making the Westside Subway Extension a reality. Read the executive summary of the draft EIR (PDF) — or if that 64-page PDF is just too painful, read Steve’s quick bullet points about the report at The Source.

Then get thee to one of the public meetings about the draft EIR! Those will happen from 6 pm – 8 pm on:

>> Mon., Sep. 20, LACMA West – Terrace Room, 5th Fl., 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.

>> Tue., Sep. 21, Westwood United Methodist Church – Fellowship Hall, 3rd Fl., 10497 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

>> Wed., Sep. 22, Plummer Park – Community Center, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood.

>> Mon., Sep. 27, Roxbury Park – Auditorium, 471 S Roxbury Dr., Beverly Hills.

>> Wed., Sep. 29, Santa Monica Main Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica.

After Metro collects feedback until Oct. 18, Metro officials will select a route for construction on Oct. 28 — after which will come a final environmental impact report, followed by actual action to start building the subway (the process is more complicated than I’ve made it sound; see page 2 of the executive summary for the wonky details).

Earlier: Find out what the Subway to the Sea stations near you will look like

Images via Metro

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Don’t have the time or money to invest in both an organic face mask and a scrub? Get both in one in Josh Rosebrook’s Active Enzyme Exfoliator, a new skincare product made with all organic and wild-crafted ingredients!

In this yummy skin concoction, an honey mask meets a gentle walnut scrub. Concocted by Josh Rosebrook, senior stylist at West Hollywood hair salon The Parlour on 3rd, this exfoliator’s full of organic herbal extracts — from bilberry to white willow bark to ginkgo leaf — combined with very finely ground walnut shells and organic essential oils in an organic honey base. Open the jar and you’ll get an intense herbal scent — by which I mean real, organic, botanical herbs, not the weird synthetic stuff that gives Herbal Essences its not-so-natural odor.

For green beauty seekers used to exfoliating with a scrub, washing off, then reapplying a face mask, Josh Rosebrook’s exfoliator will simplify your routine. Just apply a small amount of the product in a circular motion to exfoliate, then leave the stuff on to work its magic as an herb-and-enzyme honey mask — for as little as 10 minutes to as long as an hour — before rinsing off.

I was a little nervous before using Josh Rosebrook’s exfoliator because I was concerned the walnut shells would be too abrasive for my skin — but I found that the shells were ground into very fine granules that did their work gently and that the honey and enzyme mask left my skin feeling healthy and pampered. That, plus the fact that this exfoliator’s really about as organic and natural as a product can get, makes me think the product will be replacing my usual Arcona Cranberry Gommage as my favorite exfoliator.

There is a downside to this coveted skin care elixir full of high-end organic ingredients, however. At $60 for a 2-ounce jar, Josh Rosebrook’s exfoliator doesn’t come cheap. A small amount of the product goes a long way, though, and if you were spending more than $60 to buy separate scrubs and masks, this exfoliator could actually save you money.

Find Josh Rosebrook’s Active Enzyme Exfoliator at The Parlour on 3rd, both in store or by calling 323.651.4200, and expect other L.A.-area spas and boutiques to start offering this product in the fall.

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>> Malibu’s Paradise Cove’s no longer Parasite Cove, thanks to the city’s Clean Ocean Project, a new facility that’ll capture runoff stormwater, cleaning and disinfecting the dirty water before sending it out to the ocean. Writes Heal the Bay’s Mark Gold: “The end result should be dry weather straight “A”s for years to come, and maybe even “A” grades during the rainy season too.”

>> L.A.’s turning into a cyclist’s paradise for a day, when CicLAvia rolls into town. Come Sun., Sept. 12 from 10 am to 3 pm, 7 miles of roads from Boyle Heights to East Hollywood will be closed to cars — and open to bikes and vibrant, car-free streetlife. (via LAist)

>> Prep for CicLAvia by taking the FREE Confident City Cycling Course sponsored by the City of West Hollywood. Local bike activist Ron Durgin will be teaching the class, which includes a class session on Sat., July 10 and an on-the-road session Sat., July 17. Classes frun from 11 am – 4 pm both days; contact Ron at 424.288.1747 or rdurgin@gmail.com to sign up. (via Be a Green Commuter)

Photo by ubrayj02

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365 new dresses for $365 in 365 days. That’s the happiness goal of sorts Marisa Lynch set for herself when, just months before her 30th birthday, she got laid off. Losing a job means hitting the streets with a resume to some, wallowing in grief for others. But for Marisa, it meant getting the sewing machine out and upcycling thrifted fashions. Every day.

“I was just in this not-feeling-good, crummy kind of mood, and I didn’t know how to kick it,” says Marisa. That’s when Marisa saw Julie & Julia. “[Julie] was finding something to do every day that made her feel great. I was jealous. I thought, I want to find that.”

Thus, New Dress A Day entered the blogosphere. The task: To make a new fashion piece a day — on a budget of a dollar a day — for an entire year.

Think the uber-frugal budget and tight turnaround requirements can only mean shoddy, unfashionable duds? Not for Marisa. All you have to do is see take a quick glance at New Dress A Day to see that while this West Hollywood resident may be short on money and time, she’s never short on style.

(more…)

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This post was originally written 7/19/09. Since then, CSA programs have really taken off in L.A. — so I republish this post when new programs sprout up. Eat local in 2010!

Thanks to the growing interest in local, organic food, Angelenos can suddenly pick from a wealth of community supported agriculture programs with locations all over the metropolis. CSA programs basically let you invest in a local farm — for which you’re rewarded with weekly boxes of fresh local produce grown from that farm.

Some of the programs below have stretched that definition of the CSA a bit, to pool produce from more than one organic local farm, for example. Still, the general goal — to connect you to local, seasonal produce and the farms and farmers around you — remains the same. Your options:

(more…)

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