L-R: Blue Window co-owner Kajsa Alger, Border Grill cofounders Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens is already one of the city’s most well-known destinations for arts and culture but now they’re raising the bar on their food service. The historic Huntington’s five dining venues – 1919, the main café, the Red Car coffee shop, the Freshwater Dumpling and Noodle House in the Chinese Garden, The Patio Grill and the Rose Garden Tea Room – will get a sustainable makeover courtesy of Bon Appétit. The catering company is bringing Border Grill cofounders Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger and Blue Window co-owner Kajsa Alger to The Huntington this November.
The new menus will feature scratch-made food that follow the company’s Farm to Fork program guidelines – at least 20 percent of ingredients must come from small farms and ranches within 150 miles of their kitchens. The chefs also use sustainable seafood, hormone-free milk and cage-free eggs.
“We are tremendously excited about this new endeavor,” said Laura Trombley, Huntington President. “At a time when cuisine has become key to every type of cultural experience—from museum going to concert watching—we believe it’s critically important to have dining here reflect the high quality that is The Huntington standard. Food is no longer incidental—it is part of our culture. And, according to some, it is everything,” she said in a press release.
The three Los Angeles chefs will not only add diverse fare to The Huntington’s menus but also host a series of cooking classes, “dinner salons” with special guests, and offer catering for community-focused and private events.
1919, the main café at The Huntington Library, will feature a menu similar to the fresh, Mexican fare of Border Grill, including their famous tacos on handmade corn tortillas with organic rice and beans, quesadillas, ceviche, and seasonal aguas frescas. The café’s small-plates bar will include freshly made sushi, using seafood sourced according to Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch guidelines. 1919 will reopen on November 2.
On November 9, the Freshwater Dumpling and Noodle House, in the Chinese Garden, will debut their menu of regional Chinese dishes. The menu mirrors the garden’s diversity and will also include dishes from Nepal and Mongolia.
Indulge in a rotating seasonal menu of local and organic ingredients drawn from the rich culinary heritage of Los Angeles’ many communities at The Patio Grill, located next to the Shakespeare Garden. Although it’s only open on weekends, this unique menu includes everything from Mediterranean fritters and Greek salads to Caribbean shrimp skewers, bacon-wrapped hot dogs, and much more, and is sure to be a favorite eclectic dining spot. The Patio Grill opens on November 12.
Finally, on November 16, the Rose Garden Tea Room will reopen with a menu created by Bon Appétit Management, not the culinary trio responsible for The Huntington’s other eateries. Stay tuned for more details and, in the meantime, peruse The Huntington’s extensive cookbook collection.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens is located at 1151 Oxford Road in San Marino. Visit www.huntington.org for more details.
