Recently Denise Wakeman posted a comment on a story. Who’s Meredith? she asked. Well, Meredith is one of the best things about Mäni’s. If you have a request, comment, suggestion, feel free to contact either one of us anytime. Meredith has a passion for nutrition, a gusto for nearly all foods.
Meredith comes to Mäni’s from Chicago, where she was raised by a serious vegetable-lover. Though as a child she was shunned by her broccoli-scorning peers, Meredith pursued a life surrounded by the good love of vegetables and fortifying, wholesome foods.
The siren song of Los Angeles, singing the praises of a progressive, innovative and diverse culinary landscape, became irresistible and captured Meredith in the winter of 2007. Upon arrival, Meredith was drawn to Mäni’s by their healthful, organic ingredients and vegan options.
While attending culinary school, as fate would have it, Meredith was lucky to be invited into the bakery and kitchen, working with Mäni’s famous pastries, alternative sweeteners, and fresh & organic ingredients. She truly enjoys waking up every day, knowing that she will get the chance to extend good health and delicious eats to Mäni’s patrons!
Wax Orchards is a wonderful company located in Washington state that makes natural fruit sweeteners. These recipes are quite similar to the blends of fruit juice reduction we use at Mäni’s to make many of our desserts and snacks.
In additional we’re carrying syrups and fudge sauces have at home on all kinds of foods. Come by and check them out.
Wax Orchards was founded in 1920 by August and Johanna Wax. With origins in fruit farming, the family began processing upscale natural foods in 1981. We pioneered the use of concentrated fruit juices instead of sugar and coined the term “fruit sweetened.”
This led to the production of unique preserves and toppings that filled the niches shown above and brought nationwide attention from the media.
Wax Orchards Fruit Sweet® and Pear Sweet™—natural fruit sweeteners—provide the basis for our entire product line.
Our fruit-sweetened preserves and condiments contain only fruit. The result is unusually fresh, intense flavors as well as fiber on the nutrition label, unusual in preserves. The sugars on the nutrition label are the natural sugars in fruit, a complex blend.
The American Diabetes Association featured Wax Orchards products in their “Gift of Hope” holiday catalogues for the eight years that they were printed.
USA TODAY: “Delicious all-natural fruit butters, toppings, sauces ... luxuriously thick and fruity.”
DALLAS TIMES HERALD: “A no-sugar fudge sure to fill our sweet dreams. Even joggers stop for this one, a hot fudge with no refined sugar in it.”
I found it interesting, to say the least, about comments made on yelp.com. There’s almost 60 of them, some wonderfully complimentary, others critical in certain areas.
All in all I believe there’s tremendous value in sharing information. Although positive feedback is great, constructive criticism is helpful to be told what needs our attention.
In any case I think you may find this entertaining and some useful info from other Yelp commentators.
Yvette and friend (eeks I forgot his name!!) recently re-located to LA from NYC. They found us through a green site, I think it was greentopia? Anyway I need to connect with them again to get all their info. But the point of all this is that because of Valentine’s Day, a holiday week-end, we had almost no selection left in our bakery cases.
So I grabbed a peanut butter cookie hot out of the oven and smothered it in our barley malt sweetened choclate. I wanted to make a good impression on these new Angelenos.
They loved the cookie.
Hope they comment on this story so I can get all my facts correct!
We will be installing a WiFi system so guests can log-on to the net and be connected while at Mäni’s. This will happen within the next few weeks. The service will require guests to obtain permissions from their server. Please be mindful that we cannot offer this service during peak times or when other guests are waiting for a table.
We’ll be asking for your help in drafting these new policies to be able to offer you this FREE service. This would be a great time to offer suggestions, ask questions and be part of the process of making this exciting new service work for everyone.
Join us and ask your friends their ideas on WiFi at Mäni’s on Fairfax.
Just click on the comments hyperlink below and tell us what you think.
Mäni’s on Fairfax is a place where people tend to hang out, have a coffee, enjoy a fantastic dessert and a great, healthy meal. But where do you hang out when you’re not at Mäni’s? Where do you hang out when you’re online? Do you belong to any social networks? We want to know! Please take our survey and let us know where you hang out when you’re on the web.
Our holiday gifts will be available to order starting Tuesday, December 5, 2007 You’ll be able to specify an amount to spend, which will determine the size and approximately how many people it will serve. Or you can select which mini products from our list you’d like.
Our cool assortments start at $50 and include 4 of the following mini Mäni’s products in a clear ribboned cellophane bag: Choose from: -chocolate chip cookies -peanut butter cookies -snickerdoodles -triple chocolate brownie bites or walnut brownie bites -macaroons -chocolate dipped almond shortbread -cherry almond scones -cranberry walnut scones -raisin scones -raisin barley scones -blueberry coffee cake -apple spice cake -breakfast loaf - pumpkin cranberry or morning glory -granola 12 oz bag -assorted chocolate truffles
As you probably know we’re just few blocks from the Writers Guild at 3rd & Fairfax.
Over the years, so many writers have taken up space here especially off hours, to just sit and write.
We feel for all the writers and Hollywood in general about this unfortunate situation. Our hearts go out to all those affected and hope this matter will be resolved quickly.
Lots of you commented on the story, actually there were 44 comments posted! And it’s important you know what all your input means to us.
First we are assured that our customers enjoy our desserts made with alternative sweeteners as much as ever. Then we see that people like choices, and we have choices, as we mentioned previously, many choices in sweeteners and products.
So we will continue to offer quality products made with several different sweeteners, like we’ve been doing for years and years. 18 of them to be exact.
Thanks for all your input. And in case you haven’t tried everything we make yet, please ask for a sample tasting of any product we have in our bakery cases. Or even the soup of the day for that matter!
Yesterday, someone asked me why I decided to sponsor a benefit for Camp Max Straus.
So here’s why…
I met my friend David in the 4th grade at Melrose Avenue Elementary School. Yes the one a block away from Pink’s. He had just moved to the Westside of LA from Boyle Heights, in East LA. He lived with his single Mom and his older brother Harry. It was 1959.
In the 60s during college, David decided to be a camp counselor and help underprovided kids. He knew how hard it was growing up in the city with only one parent. Never going on a family vacation, never having a Dad to play with or nurture him.
Obviously I never forgot that or the other numerous obstacles David overcame in his childhood.
David is planning to be at our event on Thursday, along with my parents, cousins and other extended family and friends.
Thursday, June 21, 2007, Mäni’s on Fairfax will be hosting a fund raiser to benefit Camp Max Straus. We’ll be serving hot and cold hors d’oeuvres crafted by our chef, Jose, and of course the star of the day, Pastry Chef Kristina’s Scharffen Berger Flourless Chocolate Cake.
So come by, eat cake, make a donation to Camp Max Straus, donation of $18 will be greatly appreciated, and Enjoy!
CHOCOLATE CAKE TASTING THAT’S GOOD FOR YOUR HEART Mäni’s Bakery teams up with Camp Max Straus to Benefit Underserved L.A. Youth
WHO: Mäni’s Bakery Café benefit for Camp Max Straus
WHAT: Presenting a chocolate cake tasting that makes you feel good and is good for you. Mäni’s Bakery Café is premiering a new healthy flourless chocolate cake at a tasting event with 100% of the proceeds benefiting Camp Max Straus. The tasting event also features hors devours and other Mäni’s delicacies. Mäni’s new flourless chocolate cake uses fruit juice reduction and Scharffenberger dark chocolate. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that dark chocolate can lower high blood pressure and is rich in antioxidants.
Camp Max Straus provides year-round residential and weekend mentoring programs for underserved children between the ages of 7-12 who primarily come from single (or substitute) parent homes regardless of their ability to pay. The camp is non-denominational and is owned and operated by Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles. It serves approximately 1,500 children each year.
WHEN: Thursday, June 21, 2007 (5 PM – 8 PM)
WHERE: Mäni’s Bakery Café 519 S. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles COST: $18 suggested minimum donation, 100% of proceeds to benefit Camp Max Straus
RSVP: Advance confirmations encouraged, not mandatory, to (323) 456-1151.
Take a two minute look at the back of house. See our cake studio, kitchen and a quick view of how we make your favorite treats. Hosted by Mäni’s founder/owner, Larry Maiman.
If you owned and operated Mäni’s Famous Bakery Cafe on Fairfax and you thought you had a star baker, young and enthusiastic, what would you do? Yes, you’re correct, that’s the situation I found myself in, so I said: “How would you like to take a course a California’s formost institution of higher learning for bakeries?”
OMG! was the reply, so Joel is off to San Francisco Baking Institute You see, I’m aware that I’m living vicariously through my amazing staff. That’s why we have so much fun here and do new things. Actually at this point we have more new products coming online than ever before in such a short period of time.
But back to Joel. I think we have a win-win situation on our hands. He has a bakery to create and succeed in and Mäni’s has a new star, maybe even a super star. Joel is just back from the city by the bay and very anxious to put his new ideas into new products for YOU, and me too, since I love trying every single new product. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it!
Some of you enjoyed your favorite muffin here last Thursday. Some munched on a sandwich or salad. Some of you were aware of that day being about helping the less fortunate.
In either case you helped reach our goal of raising as much as possilbe to benefit a local charity, Aid For Aids LA
Last Thursday Dine Out LA had a very successful event. Mäni’s customers came and participated and when the day was over we donated over $1,100.
Thank you all very much for making Mäni’s a smashing contributor to this event!
Cheeta the Chimp turned 75 and was lucky enough to have his birthday cake made by Mäni’s on Fairfax. He’s pictured here on the cover of West magazine, a section of Sunday’s LA Times
Cheeta became famous in 1934 when he starred in the original Tarzan movie with Johnny Weissmuller. While living in Palm Springs, his sweets have been limited. Mäni’s to the rescue… Cheeta’s birthday cake was our Chocolate Raspberry Fortress cake, sweetened with our famous fruit juice reduction, and made to look very festive in hot yellow with pink and blue frosting. He really appreciated having that cake and being able to eat the whole thing without throwing off his blood sugar level.
The article reveals my initial skepticism about blogging, way back in 2005, but as you know, we consider it an integral part of Mani’s now. You can read the article, Blogging for Business, and then let us know what you think in the comments below.
A couple of years ago I received a hummingbird feeder for Christmas. I thought it was cool and love to watch those tiny birds buzz around, but I couldn’t come up with a place to put the thing that would allow viewing easily.
So I stuck the contraption, still in its box, in the garage. Of course then it was out of sight and out of mind, until yesterday. During our recent cold snap, I noticed a tiny bird outside my window, looking for a flower to feed on. Jogging my memory about the feeder, I dusted off the box and opened it and read the instructions.
I read how to make nectar. One part sugar, four parts water. But how could the founder of Mäni’s accept feeding sugar to some lovely creatures? So I spent the next hour combing the internet and found out yes, it’s true, the best nectar is pure sucrose watered down. I even read Audubon Society postings and they verifed the information. Only pure sugar and water. But when you think about hummingbirds, it makes sense. Because these little birds spend most of their time flapping their wings 50 to 90 times a second! That’s over 300,000 flaps per hour. Therefore they must have a diet that gives them extremely high energy, constantly. So let’s leave the sugar for those guys!
I’ve never commented publicly before on our national issues, but I feel compelled to share my view with you.
On my way into Mäni’s this week, I was listening to a radio show. They were discussing how the $600 billion spent on the Iraq war could have had other/better uses.
At first I thought they were referring to the ‘left’ and how liberals would have perhaps preferred the money was used for healthcare or similar societal benefits. But then they started talking about how the ‘right’ would have used that money. Maybe for lowering taxes or balancing the budget.
When I realized that this was not so much of a polorizing issue, it was an issue that all Americans could benefit from, it got me thinking more about how important it is to really discuss this out in the open.
So I signed up to support Senator Kennedy’s proposal to require congressional approval before force levels can be increased in Iraq.
After just raising the minimum wage of our dishwashers and other entry level restaurant workers, it just made me think, I’m I doing enough to make sure our country is doing the right thing?
I would really like to hear from you our customers. What are your thoughts? How important is this? Am I in sync with our customers, or way out there?
Happy New Year to all our super customers, friends, staff, purveyors and partners who bring you Mäni’s on Fairfax every day. 2007 looks pretty exciting for Mäni’s. We have new bakers, pastry chefs, and new ideas for new items, and ideas for improving some of our existing products and services.
So make sure you let us know if there’s something you think should be brought to our attention.
Our new winter menu will be out shortly with new great tasting breakfasts, lunches and dinner items.
Look for fresher products due to scheduling and procedure changes. More on this in the next week or two, so stay tuned to this blog for details.
Thanks for all your support in recent years. Have a really great 2007 from all the folks at Mäni’s on Fairfax. See ya soon!!
As most of you probably know from posting your comments and reading the comments from other guests, YOU have been involved in this issue. Here’s the official tally as of today: 19 people support substitutions on the 400 calorie menu and 7 said no, leave it as designed.
We’ve decided that overall customer satisfaction is more important than having something be exactly as we developed it. Since we’re here for you in the first place, being overly rigid, is really not our intention. We want to expose healthier food and nutritional ideas to people, not force anyone to follow a specific regimen. So within the next week or so, we’ll be working out ways to accommodate substitutions for a modest charge of $1 to $2.
Here’s some excepts from comments:
Speaking as someone who has allergies to certain foods - such as carrots - and being a vegetarian, I always appreciate it when places make substitutions for me…
Offer the choices and let the customer order what he or she wants. That way, he or she will be happy.
If someone wants the 400 cal balanced version, great. if they want to substitute, great too.
I think the 400 calorie menu is great! I like going to restaurants that offer me this sort of healthy option. I say keep it as it is.
We’re going to look at our overall substitution policy on our regular menu as well and see how that can also be changed to make it easier to satisfy our guests, our kitchen, and our servers.
We’ll continue to make quality, healthier food and bakery goods. Food that’s good and good for you, so let us know what you think.
Thanks for your continued support. All of us at Mäni’s appreciates your business, the time you spend at our blog, and coming to Mäni’s on Fairfax.
If you used to eat spinach, when do you think you’ll start eating spinach again?
The latest warning from the Food & Drug Administration on Saturday September 23, 2006 limits the warning to three counties in California: San Benito, Santa Clara and Monterey. That leaves all the other 55 counties in California being perfectly safe for growing, harvesting and packaging spinach. Many farms have fine crops, waiting to be harvested, with not enough of a market to do so. I think most of us remember why we eat spinach in the first place. It’s good and good for you.
We’d like to get a sense of where you stand right now. Use the comment link below to let us know:
1. I’m ready to eat spinach now
2. I’ll give it another 2 weeks
3. It’s going to take longer than 2 weeks for me to start eating spinach again
Jonathan deserves a thank you himself. The event, in its 9th year is essentially the brain child of Mr. Chu. He decided health care for those who can’t afford it was a cause worthy of his time and has worked to make Extravaganza For The Senses a huge financial success
As we’ve been hearing, the Federal Drug Administration on Thursday, is advising against eating bagged spinach because of suspected E. coli contamination. Although the warning is for bagged spinach, many are taking the safe route of not eating spinach at all, at least until we learn exactly what is safe. It’s understandable we’ve ‘lost our appetite’ for spinach for the time being. Therefore Mäni’s on Fairfax has discontinued all salads made with spinach until the FDA tells us exactly what’s safe in the spinach department. You may read the entire story in the LA Times article warning against eating spinach
When we started our blog a couple years back, I didn’t quite get how useful it would be to us and others. I also didn’t understand the whole ‘blogosphere’ and how we would be a part of it. But I’m beginning to realize how much information we and other blogsites have been dissemminating.
Our consultant, Denise Wakeman from Next Level Partnership wrote an article regarding the conversation of being out there in the blogosphere: Building a Better Blog and relating that article to Mäni’s . Denise has tons of great information on her site about leveraging the internet in your business with lots of tips and how tos.
If you’ve been to Mäni’s on Fairfax lately, you probably have noticed many new helpful, smiling faces behind the counter, in front of the counter, there to help you. Please let us know if you’ve noticed a difference in customer service. So if you’ve just stopped by to pick up some of your favorite bakery items you should be finding things a little faster. Your feedback and suggestions have made Mäni’s more convenient to pick up a muffin, truffle heart cookie, eclair or any of your favorites.
Also remember there is 2 hour free street parking during the day on the north side 5th Street and 2 hour free street parking on Maryland on the north side of the street in both cases just west of the alleys. Please check the days of the week: Monday morning is street cleaning on Maryland and Tuesday morning on 5th Street.
Also, feel free to call and have any item(s) ordered a day in advance and we’ll bake them especially for you! Mäni’s on Fairfax is open everyday and every evening Sun-Thurs until midnite. 1AM on Fridays and Saturdays! So stop by and see how things have improved.
Your comments are also highly sought after. So comment here, send an email. Or drop a suggestion card in our comment box on the front counter. And thanks for all your support!
Recently many of our Mäni’s team have commented on their favorites. So that’s got me thinking… Since I’ve been around the longest at Mäni’s, only next to our baker, Rodolfo, I’m going to share my favorites with you and also some inside information you may appreciate.
The apple cherry turnover has been a favorite of mine for years. Here’s why. Generally and especially in a breakfast product, I prefer whole grains. All of our turnovers are made with organically grown whole wheat flour. And the apples and cherries have a flavor that just makes my mouth water, even after all these years! Now here’s the inside scoop. If it’s not too busy, ask your server/counterperson if they could warm up your turnover in the pizza oven, not the microwave. Wow, that’s wonderful!
Now for that afternoon or evening snack if you’re a chocolate nut like me, get the chocolate chip cupcake and have it brought to room temperature, either by 20 seconds in the microwave or let it stand on your kitchen counter for an hour or so. This changes the consistency of the chocolate and the cake and brings out the rich flavor.
And if you’re a chocolate truffle heart sandwich cookie aficionado and prefer it either softer or harder, ask your Mäniac to find that kind if we have that. By the way if you prefer it softer, just eat it at room temperature. If you like it harder, eat it right out of the refrigerator.
If you have tips you’d like to share, just write it in the comment section below. Enjoy!
Look for Larry towards the back of the table.
The apple cherry turnover has been a favorite of mine for years. Here’s why. Generally and especially in a breakfast product, I prefer whole grains. All of our turnovers are made with organically grown whole wheat flour. And the apples and cherries have a flavor that just makes my mouth water, even after all these years! Now here’s the inside scoop. If it’s not too busy, ask your server/counterperson if they could warm up your turnover in the pizza oven, not the microwave. Wow, that’s wonderful!
Now for that afternoon or evening snack if you’re a chocolate nut like me, get the chocolate chip cupcake and have it brought to room temperature, either by 20 seconds in the microwave or let it stand on your kitchen counter for an hour or so. This changes the consistency of the chocolate and the cake and brings out the rich flavor.
And if you’re a chocolate truffle heart sandwich cookie aficionado and prefer it either softer or harder, ask your Mäniac to find that kind if we have that. By the way if you prefer it softer, just eat it at room temperature. If you like it harder, eat it right out of the refrigerator.