Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/113109
This cross-pollination between bar and bakery goes a long way at the Muddy Leek, where Flood, Burkons and Kanawi work together like a well-oiled���and eco-friendly���machine. In L.A.���s famed Topanga Canyon, where Flood and Burkons both live, Flood home-composts everything he can from the restaurant, including fruit remnants from the bar, and the two men can also be seen foraging for ingredients such as wild fennel, milk thistle, radishes and nettles, all of which are featured on both the bar and the food menus. Flood is also a home-brewer, and brings the leftover mash to Burkons, who transforms it into a spent-grain bread that���s served to the Muddy Leek���s guests. With local ingredients highlighted at the kitchen and bar, it���s no surprise that Marcos Tello collaborates with The Raymond���s Kanawi also seeks out local spirits for the Pastry Chef to creative innovative garnishes to Muddy Leek���s cocktail program. ���We try up the cocktail ante. Here, he holds up an ice to stay as close to home as possible,��� he cube with a mini ���r tree suspended inside. says, referring to the use of products like Downtown L.A.���based Greenbar Collective���s TRU Organic Vodka, featured in the bar���s popular take on a Moscow Mule. But Kanawi admits that when it comes to spirits, the locavore movement can only go so far: ���In the bar world, it���s a little tougher to stay local than for the kitchen,��� he says. ���There���s a barrier in that people will always want a tequila or a scotch���and you���re not going to ind a local substitute for a great amaro!��� A Great Garnish Meanwhile, on the other side of Los Angeles, one of the city���s most renowned barmen, Marcos Tello helms a cocktail program at 1886, the backroom bar of The Raymond restaurant. Unsurprisingly for those who know Tello���s reputation for perfection, 1886 offers a full cocktail experience: From the well-practiced ���throw��� performed by bartenders, to the cheeky-yet-classic cocktail menu, 1886 whisks you away to another era, a time when ladies and gentlemen enjoyed each other���s company���and a cocktail���under the shade of a Pasadena oak tree. But Tello has found new ways to up the cocktail ante at 1886 by tapping into the talents of The Raymond���s pastry chef, Jeffrey Haines. ���Jeffrey has some great ideas, and as a practiced and talented chef, he brings techniques from the kitchen to the bar,��� says Tello, referring to touches like the ancho-chili meringue that gives the (adorable) El Frosty cocktail its extra oomph. Together, Tello and Haines have put garnishes front and center: ���It is time that garnishes get the attention they deserve,��� comments Tello, ���and by working with the kitchen, we can explore new ingredients that will add a layer of complexity to our drinks.��� But, says Tello, there���s more to the bakery to bar concept than ingenuity; it���s plain old-fashioned business sense. ���Joint menu planning between the kitchen and bar is crucial,��� he says. ���There���s already so much cross-ordering happening, and if your bar team isn���t communicating with the kitchen, there���s deinitely an added expense.��� But, says Tello, more than anything, it���s about getting those creative juices lowing. ���When you���ve got so much talent in the kitchen, so many people with great palates and ideas, why wouldn���t you work together?��� Touch��, Tello. For more photos, please visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TastingPanelMagazine. The El Frosty, created by Lacey Murillo, is served up at 1886 and topped with an ancho-chili meringue made by Pastry Chef Jeffrey Haines. march 2013 / the tasting panel / 87