On a Clear Day You Can See Forage

OK, not my best title. But this kills me. Forage is a new restaurant in LA that had a nifty conceit: They asked their patrons to bring in home-grown or locally-sourced produce, and the chef would cook it for them! You know, like the ancients. Or like Stone Soup.

Unfortunately the health department did not like this plan, so Forage is now asking customers to bring in fruits and vegetables to be donated to community food pantries, while the restaurant serves food from certified sources.

The Foragers are sad. “This event puts us at a crossroads, and we’ve spent the past week or so thinking about what is important to us,” they write. “All of this changes everything and it changes nothing at the same time.” Well, there you go.

Certainly this is nothing that the restaurateurs could have foreseen. Who would ever think to look at the health department rules and regulations when launching an establishment that deals with food? Who would think to look at the regulations governing the central idea your enterprise is based on, i.e. foraging?

That said, my new store called “Scavenge!” will be opening soon. Please bring things by for me to sell.

—Snacktime