Full of Life Flatbread in Los Alamos

My friend Vidi, who is originally from Los Alamos, invited me on a tour of her quaint hometown.  The building facades would fit right into the set of an old western.  Founded in 1876, Los Alamos ("The Cottonwoods") is a part of the Santa Barbara County and is ~50 minutes south of San Luis Obispo.  It used to be a stagecoach stop way-back-when, and now is the only surviving depot of the Pacific Coast Railway.    

We started the afternoon examining various paintings in a couple art galleries, sampled olives from around the world at Bell St. Farm, participated in a local olive oil and vinegar tasting, appreciated some pottery in the studio of a local potter, and then finished the day at Full of Life Flatbread, which everyone just calls Flatbread. 

Olives from Bell St. Farm 

Picholine- France (long & green, lemony)

Niçoise-Coquillos- grown in Spain, cured in France (small & pinkish-brown, nutty)

Castelvetrano- Sicily (plump & bright green, buttery)

Gaeta- Italy (meaty & dark purple, tart)

Black Beldi- Morocco (wrinkly & black, briny)

 Flatbread's Garden

Flatbread is known for its gourmet flatbread pizza and creative specials.  Produce is either picked from their garden, gathered from the farmer's market, or retrieved from local vendors. 

Vidi and I got to sit right by the pizza oven and watch as the owner Clark Staub masterfully wielded his pizza peel.  Staub also collaborates with chef Brian Collins in menu creation.

Strawberry and Rhubarb Salad

Alcea Rosea fresh goat cheese, red and white strawberries, pickled rhubarb, sweet rhubarb purée (red dots), arugula and crème fraîche purée (pale green), arugula flowers, wood sorrel (heart shaped leaves)

This salad was absolutely divine! I felt like I was eating something produced on Top Chef. Dipping the strawberries in the goat cheese and the rhubarb purée was a fabulous combo of sweet and tangy. The arugula purée with crème fraîche also paired wonderfully with the strawberries. Sorrel reminded me of arugula, just woodsier, and the arugula flowers provided a lemony twang. 

Inspired Idea for Home Kitchen
Make an arugula salad with lemon zest (in lieu of the arugula flowers), goat cheese, and strawberries or raspberries.

Dress it with a vinaigrette that uses berry jam for a riff on the sweetness and beautiful color of the rhubarb purée.  I used ollalieberry jam and my vinaigrette turned a beautiful shade of pink!

3 T lemon juice, 3 T olive oil, 2 tsp berry jam, pinch of salt

Side of arugula dressed in lemon juice, olive oil, and mustard seeds

I originally thought the salad was going to be a green salad tossed with strawberry and rhubarb, so I asked for extra greens since Vidi and I were sharing. Turns out that greens weren't part of the original equation, but the chef let us have the arugula as long as it was kept separate from his masterful presentation.  The arugula came in very handy for sopping up every last drop of the purées. 

If you love arugula & goat cheese, Flatbread is the place for you!  We even got a small bowl of arugula to enjoy with our pizzas (only happens if you ask).

Arugula Flowers 

Mushroom & Onion Flatbread

Herbed tomato sauce with caramelized onions, fresh mushrooms, & mozzarella

This pizza was tasty, but paled in comparison to all the other wonderful treats of the night.  I was disappointed that the mushrooms were minced into smithereens. 

 Cal Poly Pig Head Terrine Flatbread  (a special)

Smoked Red Cabbage Sauerkraut, Duck Fat Braised Potatoes, Stone Ground Mustard, Figueroa Mountain Danish Red Cream Sauce

We decided to get this pizza, too, since it sounded so unique. (Note: we definitely brought home slices of both pizzas.  Having gourmet flatbread pizza for lunch is never a bad thing!)  The sauerkraut's smoky tanginess was the perfect foil for the rich pork terrine and potatoes.  Red cabbage was an unexpected surprise, since sauerkraut is usually made with pale green cabbage. Red cabbage is one of my favorite veggies, due in part to its brilliant color.

  Complex and buttery, the pork terrine was this pizza's pinnacle ingredient.

The waiters at Flatbread are great about initiating an explanation of all the ingredients.  I wanted to know more about how terrine is made and the waiter was happy to explain. 

Pork Terrine Process

The pork head is simmered for 6-7 hour in a mirepoix (carrots, celery, onion) and slowly releases its gelatin.  The liquid is separated from the meat and then pork is shredded and molded into a terrine dish with the gelatin poured on top.  After refrigeration, the terrine is cut like a pâté and scattered across the top of the pizza. After exposure to the pizza oven's intense heat, the gelatin melts, infusing the entire pizza with extra flavor. 

Inspired Idea for Home Kitchen
Roast red cabbage and sliced new potatoes until done. Toss cabbage with some dijon mustard, smoked paprika and a dash of vinegar to emulate the smokey-sauerkraut flavor.  Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive to mimic the richness of the pork terrine and duck fat and garnish with a sprinkle of parsley. 

 Chocolate Lava Cake with Salted Caramel with Date-Cinnamon-Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

 Everything was made from scratch and amazing! The chef even agreed to an additional topping of berries, which I think should be a fixed ingredient with such a rich dessert. You can't beat a mouthful of molten dark chocolate swirled with salty caramel and finished with fresh strawberry. 

The delicious ice cream tasted primarily of cinnamon and contained NO SUGAR.  It was sweetened only by many dates! 

Inspired Idea for Home Kitchen
For a fun and simple dessert focused on the senses, place the following on a plate in a concentric pattern: 

~a couple dates 
~ 1 square of 72-85% chocolate 
~dollop of plain Greek yogurt drizzled with homemade salted caramel sauce and a sprinkle of cinnamon
~ berries

Eat a bite of date, then a bite of chocolate, followed by a spoonful of the yogurt and berries. Think about each taste and how eating a saccharine date followed by bitter dark chocolate is so much more enjoyable than eating a date all by itself.

RATING

Full of Life Flatbread gets 5 stars for fabulous food and 5 stars for friendly, helpful, and prompt staff.