Alyssa Baker grew up all over the West Coast during the 60s. By the time she was a teen in the mid 70s, she was living in the East Village. She eventually settled north of NYC with her husband, David, and raised 3 kids.
In an effort to escape the gray slush of East Coast spring, she would take her family on road trips in CA, where they'd feast on super fresh, colorful, delicious foods: Perfectly ripe mangoes from the mango man's truck on the Pacific Coast Hwy; Sitting on a curb in Echo Park eating blue-corn quesadillas with squash blossoms made-to-order from a Oaxacan woman with a cart. California seemed to be the epicenter of health where you can find the best salad of your life on every street corner.
