I had a very Foodie McBody weekend this last weekend. Mr. McBody and I took my mom down to LA to visit friends and relatives and to visit the awesome Japanese American Museum. The weather was absolutely amazing.
It was really interesting being in LA for so many reasons. From the minute we got to the airport, I was struck by the incredible number of (by my estimate) size zero-to-2 women around. I mean, I rarely see women this stick-thin where I live. But it felt like they were everywhere. Plus, incessant ads for 1-800-Get-Thin on the radio, on billboards, EVERYwhere. And cosmetic surgery. It was such a “Toto, you’re not in Kansas anymore” realization.
On the other hand, there was such a visible overall commitment to fitness as well. AND massive foodie-ness everywhere. So… double edged sword, I guess. Triple edged sword.
The McBody part: I went for an almost five mile run along the Palisades and the beach on Saturday. It was absolutely gorgeous.
I had plenty of time, and I just told myself I was going to go as far as I wanted. I started out slow but after mile 2 (my magic moment) it started feeling really, really good. One of the great things was that I kept passing these “pods” of around 20-25 people, each running with a couple of coaches. LA Roadrunners, you guys are AWESOME! I must have seen a total of (no kidding) 500 people out there running that morning. At first, I saw lots of really fast teams but toward the end of my run, I saw this group out there that looked… like me! They were running like penguins. I got so excited because I could see their feet and they were moving at the same pace as mine. They were coming toward me and as they passed me, I turned around and ran behind them for a while. It was really fun, and a great aha! moment to think, there are training groups that go at my pace! I loved it.
On Sunday, I took a nice long walk along the same route. Beautiful.
But the HIGHLIGHT of my Sunday was a cooking class at Firenze Osteria, the restaurant of Top Chef‘s Fabio Viviani! Woo! I am such a HUGE fan of Top Chef and Fabio is one of the friendliest, Tweetiest chefs there is. And funny. AND an amazing chef. I was so excited to discover that he was going to be offering this class the same weekend that I was going to be in LA. YIPPEEE! I invited my young cousin-in-law’s fourteen year old son, who loves to cook, to come with me.
The “class” was actually a live demonstration in front of a restaurant full of highly amused people. Fabio is a great entertainer, warm and funny. He also really knows his stuff! He’s been cooking since he was a toddler. He’s been in restaurants his whole life. He told lots of affectionate stories about his grandmother and her handmade, old-country ways.
So the class was about how to make pasta in five minutes, which Fabio stretched out to about 45. But really it was shockingly simple. He quizzed us over and over: HOW many eggs if you are cooking for four people? “FOUR!” I was actually amazed at how easy he made it look. Then we got to taste it. Wow. It was so, so, so delicious. With this crazy delicious Bolognese sauce. Immediately people started clamoring for a “sauce class!” Which Fabio put into his iPhone immediately and promised to offer next month. Yahoo! (if only I could return…)
After the pasta, he demonstrated gnocchi. “The potato needs to be grinded, not mashed!” I was a little bummed to see that gnocchi involves (ideally) a stand mixer. Which is not the same as investing $40 in a pasta presser. I have wanted a stand mixer, like, FOREVER, but it always has seemed like too much of an extravagance. Let’s just say it’s on my permanent wish list.
The class was awesome. It was like going to a performance and a great meal and invited into a friend’s kitchen all at once. Y’all, if you are near LA and want a fantastic experience, I really recommend checking out Fabio’s cooking classes. Follow him on Twitter or watch his blog for announcements. I’m posting a lot of my photos in a slideshow below. You’ll see that his hands are often completely blurred, because they were never still. Total Italian!
foodfoodbodybody 
February 16, 2011 at 2:30 am
Love the run and cooking lesson! Glad you had a good time 🙂
February 16, 2011 at 2:42 am
What a fun experience! I know what you mean about LA being overwhelming with all of the billboards for lap-band surgery and plastic surgery. Makes me sad!
February 16, 2011 at 3:05 am
Your trip looks like it was a blast! I’m just sorry we didn’t have a chance to get together while you were down here. As for the 1-800-Get-Thin billboards, you don’t EVEN want to know how many I pass every day going to and from work. There’s one point where this is literally 4 of them back-to-back in a half-mile stretch of freeway.
February 16, 2011 at 5:18 am
Ha. I kept seeing tweets about you and Fabio and I was thinking of FABIO-FABIO, the guy with the hair that did the butter commericials (or whatever). I was a little shocked you loved him so much, but I thought, “Well, to each her own.” Ha!
February 16, 2011 at 7:47 am
LAUGHING as I thought the same longhairedfabio when I saw the tweets too!!
February 16, 2011 at 9:18 am
Your comments about all those thin people in LA made me laugh out loud! Sounds like something we should all do whenever healthy living gets rough. I’ll add that to my list of strategies. Next time I’m having a hard time sticking to my workouts, I’ll take a quick (6 hr) trip over from New Jersey to LA. I’m sure it’ll be worth the ride! 🙂
February 16, 2011 at 9:28 am
What a fabulous experience! I have to avert my eyes from the pasta though… It looks too seductive for words!
February 16, 2011 at 2:23 pm
The great thing about the pasta and the gnocchi is that the portions were very small and reasonable. Which makes it perfectly healthy.
February 17, 2011 at 8:19 pm
Your experience in LA/Santa Monica sounds great. There are a lot of great people in LA, but there is so much emphasis on externals which is one of the reasons I decided to move back to the Bay Area when I was 35. And, at that time I don’t think there were lots of billboards advertising weight loss.
February 17, 2011 at 9:29 pm
Sounds like a great trip. The beach looks SOOOO beautiful (and warm!) and I’m so excited for you that you saw Fabio and ate at his restaurant. Thanks for the fun post.
March 1, 2011 at 8:36 pm
OH MY GOD! FABIO!!! I love him. I loved him when he was first on Top Chef and I was so bummed when he was eliminated. 😦 That is soooo cool you met him. 🙂
March 10, 2011 at 8:37 pm
It’s kind of weird that people in a city where everyone drives everywhere are skinnier than people in the bay area, where we walk everywhere. (maybe not as many people walk as I think? People I know never tend to own cars..) But I guess it’s also partly the cultures of the cities, & the fact that so many ppl in LA are trying to act. Do you think more women work out in LA or SF? I tend to hang out with/talk to more men than women, so I can’t tell. My brother, who lives in LA, is VERY un image focused…he will wear the same clothes forever, and doesn’t work out at all. Yet, he has a lot of friends & does well there. I love Fabio! I was so sad when he got kicked off…