Magnolia Bakery on the West Coast

A small sampling of the delectable baked goods at Magnolia Bakery

The inviting and charming Magnolia Bakery

Magnolia Bakery - a legend in New York is now open on Third Street in West Hollywood!

While there are many bakeries in L A. - what sets Magnolia apart is the fact that everything is baked fresh throughout the day. They use only the finest ingredients and bake in small batches.

Magnolia Bakery's Banana Pudding is legendary. Their fresh pies and cakes are packed with wonderful ingredients such as dried cranberries, rhubarb, Dutch cocoa, and caramel meringue. Their delectable cookies include chocolate chunk, peanut butter, iced molasses and coconut macaroon.

Magnolia's cupcakes are one of their most popular items. A few of their unique cupcake flavors are Hummingbird with banana, pineapple, pecan cake and cream cheese frosting and

Snickerdoodle with cinnamon cake and meringue icing. Most of the items are not too sweet which is a nice change. The shop feels as if you have entered another era. It is very inviting and nostalgic. The staff is great as well. Let's hope they open on the Westside soon...

http://pryorevents.com are fans of Magnolia Bakery.

Pressed Juicery - Healthy AND Delicious

The helpful team at Pressed Juicery in Brentwood - Paris and T J

A sampling of the juicery's delicious and nutritious drinks.

The three cleanses that are available

It is such a pleasant surprise to find something that's delicious as well as healthy.

The juice at Pressed Juicery is made on a hydraulic press which extracts the healthiest and most pure part of the fruit and vegetables. The process minimizes

oxidation and releases vitamins, minerals and enzymes into the juice. This is impossible to yield from a regular juicer.

I recently discovered their tiny space (just twenty one square feet) adjacent to the Brentwood Country Mart. They also have locations in Malibu and West Hollywood.

Their three and five day cleanses are quite popular. Given the fact that the juce is so wonderful this seems like an easy way to rid your body of toxins.

I have since bought "Greens 1" which contains kale, spinach, romaine, parsley, cucumber & celery, "Greens 2" which is the same as greens 1 + the addition of apple juice and lemon, "Roots 1" which has beets and carrots added, "Alkalizer" which is a spicy and refreshing blend of apple, lemon, ginger and cayenne and "Detox 3" which is simply fresh grapefruit juice and mint.

Every single sip has been incredible.

The juice is not pasteurized so it is not advised for pregnant women or young children. I love that Pressed Juicery donates part of their proceeds to a different charity each week.

http://www.pryorevents.com are big fans of Pressed Juicery.

Chris Brugler Catering

I recently had the pleasure of enjoying a wonderful meal made by caterer

Christopher Brugler of Chris Brugler Catering.

We began with a perfect appetizer (pictured above) - sweet potato cakes with a black bean salsa and chipotle aioli. Other appetizers included mushrooms stuffed with chorizo and golden raisins and mandarin orange crab cakes. Flavorful and delicious Charred butternut squash soup followed. It was served with Chris's famous cranberry and walnut challah.
Our entree (above) - braised short ribs - served with roasted tomatoes, asparagus, potato puree and Bordelaise juice. The short ribs were moist and tender and seasoned perfectly.

We cannot forget dessert! White cholcolate bread pudding with caramel and vanilla ice cream was made with the wonderful challah. The strong espresso chocolate pot de creme was a nice contrast to the sweet bread pudding.

Chris Brugler began mastering his craft while he was still in culinary school on the east coast - working as a chef at The Ritz Carlton.

He spent six years with Ritz Carlton, including four years at five star, five diamond Ritz Carlton Buckhead. Chris moved to the west coast and began cooking for private families. He was asked repeatedly to cater parties for his client's friends. Lucky for everyone - Chris now caters dinners and parties of all sizes.

Chris also has a challah baking business - Challah King. He bakes eleven differnt varieties and the delicious bread is sold at Nate&Al.

You can view menus and find out more at www.chrisbruglercatering.com

Homeboy Industries

The delicious Homegirl Cafe at Homeboy Industries. They serve breakfast and lunch Monday - Friday, beginning at 7:30am and brunch on Saturday from 9:00am - 2:30.

Homegirl Cafe is at 130 West Bruno Street by downtown Los Angeles. It's two blocks from Union Station.

I have been intrigued by Homeboy Industries since reading Greg Boyle's amazing book - Tattoos On the Heart.

Greg Boyle started this amazing organization which provides programs for at risk youth. Thousands of young adults who were formerly involved in gangs are now leading gang-free productive lives thanks to this program.

Homeboy Industries offers legal advice, counseling, vocational training and one of the most requested services - tattoo removal. They perform over 4,000 tattoo removal treatments each year.

One of the skills that the participants learn is how to become competent employees. Through on-site job training, Homeboy assures that these Young adults will keep their jobs for years after leaving the program.

They employ hundreds of workers at their printing press, bakery and on-site cafe.

I recently visited Homegirl Cafe for lunch. The food was quite delicious and served with an appreciative smile. The freshly baked cookies I brought home from their bakery were wonderful.

After lunch we were taken on a tour of Homeboy Industries. From the garden where their herbs are grown to the room where tattoos are removed - we were given an informative explanation of their unique facility. Our tour guide was beyond appreciative for this extraordinary program that gave him back his life. He said he expected to spend the rest of his life in prison but he now looks forward to a wonderful life - all because of this incredible program. Their motto "Jobs not Jails"

really tells it all.

Pryor Events are fans of Homeboy Industries.