Food Consciousness #3 - In Memoriam for Tito Long

My Tito Long passed away in February this year and I miss him terribly. The following emails relate a touching story of human compassion found in none other than the restaurant world. Sometimes it's not about covering food costs and how many numbers you've done for the night. Well done, Ben and Emily Ford. This shows true class.

Patrick Gealogo to Friends
date Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 3:36 PM subject Fwd: A little story about my Dad and Ford's Filling Station

Hi Guys, Ford's Filling Station is honoring my Dad, Long Gealogo starting next Tuesday the 31st - (also my Bro-in-Law Dodd's Birthday - so greet him if you know him!!)By placing nothing but Blue Irises as a dedication to him! This was the last restaurant where I was able to eat out with Dad and it means a lot to us that Emily and Ben Ford are doing this for Dad. Please read the emails below and pass this on to anyone who might like to eat at Ford's Filling Station in Culver City! It's owned by Ben and Emily Ford - And yes there is a relation to Indiana Jones and you'd know it if you saw the feature on FOOD Network. The info is at the bottom of this email. It's a highly rated restaurant and I personally love the food - as do my fellow co-workers here at the Culver Studios! Please make it a point to go there if you have a moment even for a drink - And mention that you are a friend of ours if you do! Thanks again for all of your continued support and Love, Patrick


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Patrick Gealogo Date: Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 2:49 PM
Subject: Re: A little story about my Dad and Ford's
To: "Beretta, Emily"

Hello Emily and Ben, Wow! Your email brought tears to my eyes! I didn't think that was possible now that I've spent most of them in recent weeks. That's a very thoughtful and beautiful gesture on your part. I would be honored - my family would be honored, to see them in your restaurant. I do give you my permission, but don't be alarmed if I cry like a baby while happily eating your very scrumptious Chowder.But I promise not to make a scene. I will make it a point to go there at lunchtime sometime next week for sure -I'm over due for the soup!!.

With All Sincerety,
Patrick Gealogo....


On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 2:18 PM, Beretta, Emily wrote:

Dear Patrick, Please accept our condolences on the passing of your father. Thank you for sharing your story with us. It means a great deal. Irises are just coming into season. Ben and I would like your permission to honor your father next week starting Tuesday by having nothing but blue iris in our vases as a dedication. Thank you for continued patronage, and we hope to meet you in person in the near future. We are usually around during the weekdays at lunch, so please ask for us the next time you are in.

Warm regards,
Emily and Ben Ford
Ford's Filling Station
310.202.1470 (restaurant) 310.202.0428 (fax)


From: Patrick Gealogo
To: Ford's Filling Station
Sent: Thu Mar 26 12:43:25 2009
Subject: A little story about my Dad and Ford's

Hi Guys, Recently, I ate at Ford's - I believe it was Friday the 19 the of February.For the very first time during my 9 year employment at The Culver Studios, I had the opportunity to eat lunch with my Dad & Mom, who just happen to be in the area.I suggested Ford's because I am addicted to the Clam Chowder in particular, and I wanted them to have a nice meal since they are usualy in the Pasadena area.We had a chance to talk about my latest projects, including creating a toy with my friend Nathan Hamill - the son of Mark Hamill, based on his artwork, and some of my other toys in manufacturing -- The food as usual was top drawer -- Dad a home chef himself - an Excellent one I might add, was very impressed with the subtleties of the food.the sevice was excellent and the Flowers at the table, OUR table were beautiful. My Dad asked what it was, but since I didn't know, I asked the bus boy who asked a waitress, and they told us that it was a Blue Iris -- the one at our particular table. We had a wonderful time and then it was time to say goodbye though they lived in Eagle Rock and I lived in Pomona -- Long commute to Culver City, I know.What I didn't know was that it would be the last meal I shared with my Dad.He passed away on Tuesday the 23rd of February of a sudden heart attack - in his sleep. My mother was devastated -- our entire family was devastated - since this is the first tragedy we've had in our very close family. From the day he passed, paranormal activities have occurred like his Ferrari turning on by itself, his Picture sliding sideways, etc (as in at least 10 paranormal occurrences) - I guess his way to show us that he isn't gone forever, just in a different location...=)but these occurrences were in addition to just very pleasant coincidences inlcuding a very special one concerning flowers. They day I went to the viewing for the very first time, I noticed a beautiful arrangement of flowers from my place of employment the Culver Studios, but what my sister had to point out to me in my grief was that ist was a huge arrangement of none other than Blue Irises...I cried b/c it was a flower that he had admired...and I'd never known him to admire flowers prior to that From now on whenever I go to Ford's I'll make sure to ask for a table with Blue Irises if you still have them. This is my last connection with him and also one reason I hope that your restaurant flourishes and remains a culinary staple in the restaurant world.

Most Sincerely,
Patrick Gealogo

Food Consciousness #2 - I'm Back!

i returned last night from a mini-break (four days) in San Francisco/Sonoma.  my boyfriend Matt and i and the two dogs embarked 11pm thursday night and arrived (ugh) about 10am friday morning in Sonoma.  yeah, it was a rough drive, and there were a lot of stops, especially for the dogs.  our first stop was D's Diner where i ate a delicious burger, and Matt had their famous breakfast burrito. consequently, that was not my first burger.  after watching the numerous in-n-outs that were flying past on the I-5, i demanded that we stop at the next and i had my fave #1 with onions and a dr. pepper.  no animal fries this time as it was 2 am and a road trip. afterwards, we finally made it to see Matt's brother, girlfriend and their new baby girl. after sleeping most of the day to recover, i awoke and we all had a delicious persian dinner of rice, braised chicken, ground spiced turkey, steak and yoghurt.  

the next day we woke early for some delicious scones (strawberry, ginger and white chocolate and plum, nectarine and honey) and tea at the Wildflour Bakery.  afterwards we headed to Doran Beach, where the dogs got to run in the waves, eat seaweed, and dig little holes to hide their heads in.  it had been cold up until this point when the sun started to burn off the clouds.  once the dogs were thoroughly salted, we headed for a quick burrito and then back home.  after sitting on the deck and getting some sun, we headed into town for lunch at East West Cafe where i dined on a delicious salmon benedict.

then we headed to San Francisco to meet up with another brother and his family.  they have two boys and one in particular went crazy for the dogs.  we all chatted and made a great dinner of burgers, grilled vegetables, and salad.  afterwards we walked to the nearby store and got some ice cream.  we opted to stay the night.  now here's where it turned bad.  the next morning, Matt wasn't feeling well, so much so that he was throwing up and stayed in bed the whole morning sweating and shaking.  the only strange thing was during dinner when he felt his lips tingle while eating the eggplant.  no one else felt strange.  he wanted me to have fun anyway, so i headed off to the castro street faire where i walked and walked and god that's a big street faire.

i came back and proceeded to read A Year In Provence by Mayle in its entirety while Matt recovered.  i love perusing people's bookshelves, and this happened to be on my, "i'm supposed to have read this already," list.  by this time it was afternoon and we walked to a nearby pet store for dog food.  once the dogs were fed, we walked back through the street faire and had crepes at the Squat & Gobble.  we people watched, ate, people admired the dogs, then we walked to Dubose Park and had the dogs run around.  at this point we made dinner plans with Matt's friend Eric, and we headed back.  

after a nice nap, we met up with Eric at Osha Thai in the Mission.  We dined on spring rolls, pumpkin curry, chili basil beef, and coconut rice.  we had one of those great catching up conversations, talked about where we lived now, how SF is changing, new projects we're working on, and just enjoyed the atmosphere, food and company most of all.  upon leaving we noticed the 826 Valencia store (of Dave Eggars fame) and Paxton Gate, a store which had a full size taxidermied African Lion on display in the window; we would be back the next day.  we said our goodbyes and went back.

we awoke to our last day in the bay area, and met upstairs with the family for a last breakfast.  the kids were off to school, parents off to work, and we decided to go to Tartine since those two stores wouldn't be open until noon, and we'd have to be on the road by then.  Tartine is probably the best bakery i've ever been in.   while Matt waited outside with the dogs, i stood in line and made my choices: shortbread, chocolate oatmeal cookie, coconut macaroons, pain au chocolat, croissant, soy chai latte all to go.  once we got into the car we started eating, and that croissant was so flaky and buttery, i will never have to eat one again until i go back.  the chocolate was the good kind of dense and bitter, and the shortbread melted away as i swallowed.  mmmmm.

the road trip back was quiet.  we stopped by Pea Soup Andersens for the traditional pit stop and a "pea" then made our way through the grapevine, and back to LA.  

it was a much needed trip; a return to normalcy and simplicity for me, and the realization that again i want something MORE.  i am quietly plotting to move to the bay area, SF in the next five years.  working here is too important to both of us to just pack up and leave at the moment, and so it will be time well spent career wise.  by then i hope to be teaching, and perhaps Matt will be running a satellite design house.  goals are good.  

-I

p.s.  while we were in SF for those two days, we didn't have anything with us, as we left it up north.  it was only supposed to be a day trip, but with Matt getting sick and wanting to catch up with friends, well, we ended up wearing the same clothes, no dog food (which we later found in the car anyway) and no camera (iphone died) to take pics.  please note all the photos are from flickr, but are authentic to the subject.  

p.p.s. THANK YOU to Dan, Ziba and Sepideh and Mark, Emily, David and Benjamin for being great hosts!

Food Consciousness #1 - Umami Mama's Story

while working in the kitchen, the inevitable question comes up between cooks. "Why did you want to be a cook?" you get answers like, "I love food," or "I needed a job and I liked the commercial for the culinary school," or "I WANT TO BE THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR." sometimes its more cohesive, such as, "I was a cook in the army, and I really enjoyed it and wanted to learn more," or, "I come from a family as a third generation chef, and I can't imagine doing anything else." obviously these answers show the extremes, from the absolute naive and insipid, to the mature and conscientious. my answer falls somewhere in-between, with a good mixture of child-like inspiration and monk-like discipline.

my path to becoming a cook started in the summer of 2005. nine months prior i had been struck with bi-lateral pneumonia and endocarditis and it had taken all of those nine months to recover. i did manage to get a job doing office work for a law firm, but once you've stared Death in the face, many things become clear, like what you really want to do with your life. i know it sounds cliche, but honestly, Death gave me a rare and precious gift. the gift was a question: "What would you be happiest doing all day long." my answer was simple: " i'd be happy peeling and cutting carrots all day long." strange that Death would be concerned for my well being, but there's the cosmic joke. i had experienced unlimited pain, complete weakness, and bad hospital food for MONTHS, and i wasn't in the mood to tolerate anything. so, the idea of peeling and cutting carrots all day long was, in fact, HEAVEN.

when you are hooked up to machines and can't do anything for yourself, you have a lot of time to think and plan. i remembered in high school taking one of those tests to see what would be the best career path. my top three careers were: 1. Doctor, 2. Chef, 3. Writer. now, i was more clever than i should have been, and pretty much knew how to answer the questions to get the results i wanted. having insurmountable "proof" on my side, i was all set to be a Doctor. huh? well, you know the old story of parents wanting what's best for their kids since the kids don't know what's good for themselves. i forgot the whole notion of "Chef" and "Writer," simply because they weren't real goals. as my parents told me, i was meant for something more.

so, after nearly ten years of working in the entertainment industry (yeah, i ended up going to film school on a lark!), almost dying, and finding myself completely, existentially "Adrift" (yeah, i ended up getting a philosophy degree also), i realized that i no longer wanted to be a paper-pushing, smooth-talking, high heel and pencil skirt wearing, office managing bitch. i wanted to do something real. something that had true worth and skill and meaning. i wanted MORE.

they always say, "Do what you love." i had overcome so much, that i realized i did have the strength and courage to finally do what was so clear to me years before. i loved cooking. i loved food. i loved the history and traditions, cultural meanings, taboos, religious practices, centuries old techniques that are still used today, and i loved reading cookbooks and food writing. and truth be told, it all started with PBS and watching The Frugal Gourmet.

i remember as a kid, aside from watching the twilight zone, kung fu theater, benny hill, star trek and foreign films (yes, strange kids grow up to be even stranger adults) that i loved watching cooking shows. now of course there was julia child, new york master chefs, yan can cook, but it was "The Frug" and his blend of wit, history and storytelling that taught me food is more than just sustenance for the body, but also for the soul. it's because of him that i eat hummus, that i begged my mom to buy me a chinese cleaver and wok when i was nine (still have the cleaver and use it at work everyday), that i first learned how to roast garlic, the intricacies of a jewish passover meal, how to cook with wine, the joy of sharing this with friends and family, and the importance of making food something special.

we sometimes forget how hard we work at things like putting the right outfit together, decorating our homes, naming our pets, choosing a hairstyle, what car to buy, and other personal aesthetic choices that portray ourselves in a better light. but truthfully, Brillat-Savarin said it best; "Tell me what you eat and I'll tell you what you are." what better an indication of who we are than by what we choose to consume, satiate our base desires, and express our frivolous self-indulgence. even more so as a cook, whose art is in creating and upholding standards of true taste and culture, that the quote can be easily changed to, "Tell me HOW you cook and I'll tell you WHO you are."

and so, it seems the path was clear from the very beginning, but i had to go the long way around and figure things out, not the hard way, but my own way. now, all the loose ends are coming together. cooking and writing, my crazy notions and perspectives, and a true sense of self-worth. working as a cook has given me the opportunity to do something and make it the very best it can be, no matter how simple or daunting the task; whether it be chopping herbs or making a complicated jus, and it is because of this that i truly value my time, efforts, actions, everything i do in and out of the kitchen.

in the future, i hope to eventually teach, and of course keep writing. dare i say it, but i think i love writing more than cooking these days. evolution? perhaps, but food and cooking is still my inspiration for it all.

-I