New eats in our neighboring neighborhood!

First, our favorite pastrami-centric neighbor The Oinkster got an Italian sibling with Maximiliano, the latest from Chef Andre Guerrero, and we've long been meaning to stop in and try the classics everyone's been raving about, e.g. Margarita and Spumoni.  Then the owners of Eagle Rock's very own Mia Sushi gave ol' Marty's a makeover to open Cafe Lobos, another Highland Park hotspot offering all kinds of tasty comfort food.  Macaroni and cheese bar?  Yes, please.  And now as of yesterday, The Eastsider reports that the restaurant formerly known as Timbo's will soon reopen as Garvanza's Comida Por La Vida come December, a locally-owned eatery that plans to serve "Latin eclectic mix of foods from all regions."  So if you're still dining under the misconception that you need to drive to the westside, think again.  (And fyi: if you need us, we'll be in Highland Park.)

Wildwood on Meetup!

Wildwood feels like a proud papa, as we've recently signed up to sponsor local foodie groups on Meetup.  If you haven't yet gotten on that proverbial bandwagon, now's the time.  Sign up and let us support your group in order to receive 15% off any one of our cooking classes.  And a shout-out to Foodie Connection, the first group hungry enough to accept our sizzling offer.

Are You A Locavore?

Do you buy most of your meat and produce from local farmers? We love the sustainability and support to local businesses that being a locavore encourages, so we've done one better by growing our very own produce.  I think a wise person once said, "You'll never taste anything as good as what you've grown yourself."  We agree.

Our garden is coming along so nicely and I wanted to share some pics with you.  Feel free to link back to your garden- we love to share stories with our Wildwood community.

Our Japanese eggplant are growing by the day.  These "nasu" (that's eggplant in Japanese!) have only tiny, edible seeds and a skin much more tender than their larger counterparts.  Once they're ready, we'll probably just slice them up, brush them with olive oil, sprinkle a bit of sea salt and freshly ground pepper and then sear them over a hot hibachi grill inside of our wood oven until they're tender.  They'd also be fantastic slow roasted with a good smear of sweet, red miso paste.  Who's getting hungry?

Some yellow crookneck squash:

What's growing in your summer garden?  Let us know in the comments section, tweet us @wildwoodovens or post on our Facebook wall!