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Mountain View News Saturday, October 10, 2026 
FOOD & DRINK & SURVIVING 88 
Mountain View News Saturday, October 10, 2026 
FOOD & DRINK & SURVIVING 
DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DINE 
I've spent more than 20 years telling people where to eat, whatto order and, occasionally, what to avoid. Apparently, I don't 
always listen to my own advice.
Last Monday, I found myself sitting inside Clearman's North 
Woods Inn, a restaurant famous for steaks, prime rib andportions large enough to feed a small family. What did I order? 
Salmon. 
Yes, fish at North Woods Inn. And you know what? I thoroughlyenjoyed it. Strike one. 
A few days later, my friend Hans, who recently moved fromPasadena to Monrovia — go east, young man! — startedsending me glowing reports about BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse on Huntington Drive. BJ's? A chain 
restaurant? Say it isn't so, Mr. Dills. 
I've spent years encouraging readers to support independently owned restaurants. Heck, I've even 
helped launch Eat Local, an organization dedicated to giving neighborhood restaurants a fightingchance. And now I'm headed to BJ's? Strike two. 
But Hans was persistent, and with Dodger baseball on the big screens and happy hour prices thatsounded like they belonged in another decade, I figured I'd better investigate. 
Besides, research is research. My first impression? Not bad. Not bad at all. 
The crowd was lively, the televisions were tuned to baseball, and the atmosphere had that comfortableneighborhood sports-bar feeling. You know me. Give me some baseball conversation, a few horseracing enthusiasts and a bartender who knows what they're doing, and I'm usually a happy customer. 
I'm still getting the lay of the land, but I liked what I saw. 
Now let's talk money. A $6 cocktail? In Southern California? In 2026? Happy Hour prices.
My friend Ronson was equally pleased with his $4 Coors Light. At those prices, we almost felt like weshould apologize to the bartender. Almost. 
The happy hour food prices were equally inviting. I wasn't expecting a culinary revelation, but I wasn't 
looking for one, either. Sometimes you want a comfortable seat, a ballgame, a reasonably priced drinkand something good to nibble on. Is that asking too much? Apparently, in some restaurants, it is. 
Which brings me to something I've been thinking about lately. I still believe in Eat Local. Strongly.
Independent restaurants are the backbone of our communities. They're the places where the ownerremembers your name, where the bartender knows your favorite drink and where your money helpssupport the neighborhood. But let's be realistic. 
When a restaurant bill includes sales tax, followed by a payment screen suggesting another 20% tip,
even a modest meal starts looking like a financial commitment. And that's before you've ordered 
dessert. 
How do we expect people to dine out more often when the final bill keeps climbing?
The independent restaurant owner isn't necessarily the villain here. Food costs, labor, insurance, rentand utilities have all taken a bite out of the business. The customer is feeling it, too.
And sometimes a chain restaurant with purchasing power and a well-priced happy hour offers anattractive alternative. Does that mean I'm abandoning Eat Local? Absolutely not. 
It means I'm also a customer, just like you. I appreciate good value, friendly service and a place whereI can enjoy a Dodger game without checking my bank balance between innings.
So there you have it. Fish at North Woods Inn on Monday and happy hour at BJ's later in the week. 
Two rules broken in seven days.
My father, Elmer Dills, probably would have shaken his head. Then again, he might have ordered the$6 cocktail. 
I'm not ready to hand BJ's a glowing endorsement after one visit. I'll be back, because consistency 
matters more than first impressions.
But I will say this: Hans may have discovered something worth exploring out east.
And as for my restaurant rules? Do as I say, not necessarily as I dine.
North Woods INN Corner Huntington and Rosemead BJ’s 400 E. Huntington Dr. Arcadia 
Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 


CHRISTOPHER Nyerges 

A CAUTIONARY TALE ABOUT WILDCRAFTING 

“Wildcrafting” refers to the art of collecting your herbs directly from the wild.
It’s what I do most of the time for the herbs that I use. 

Doing so means that you must know how to identify the plant in the wild,
otherwise you might end of sick or dead. 
As a practical matter, most herb users just go to the herb shop or health food store and buy theherbs they want. So where does the herb shop get their herbs? They buy them from various 
wholesalers. There are many such wholesalers in the country, and though some of them mightdo some of their own growing, most purchase herbs from various individuals who collect inbulk from the wild, and then dry the herbs and send them to the wholesaler. It’s definitely nota get-rich-quick scheme, but it can provide some side income for the person who enjoys theirtime outdoors, and who knows where enough specific plants grow to make it worth their while. 

I did this for a few years, off and on. 

Here’s how this began. I got a list of wholesalers who buy herbs in bulk from wild craft 
collectors. I sent each of them a list of the herbs that I thought I could collect in bulk. I got 
responses from three of them, and began collecting. I was offered so much money per pound 
of dried herb. I went out and collected herbs that were abundant. I always carefully collected, 
and never uprooted plants. I took large bags to my parents’ attic and laid them out on the huge 
floor. When dry, I boxed them and sent them off to the wholesalers and eventually I receivedmy check. The price seemed fair. After all, I knew what a little box of the herb cost at the local 
store, and the wholesaler had to make money and the store had to make money. 

Over the years, I sent boxes of nettle, passionvine, epazote, yerba santa, eucalyptus, mullein,
horehound, and others to the wholesaler. I always prided myself on collecting and sending off100% clean herb. That means I carefully picked out any stray twigs, leaves, or other debris. 

After a while, though I enjoyed this as a side gig, I went on to other activities for earningincome. However, one of the wholesalers would occasionally call me, asking if I could supply 
an herb. Once I declined when it was Datura, since I was uncomfortable with what it might be 
used for. Then I was called and asked if I could get a box of Ginkgo biloba leaves. 

“Sure, I know where the leaves fall,” I told him, “but it will take forever to clean it from all the 
dirt and debris.” The tree is a common street tree, but it would not be worth my while if I hadto take the time to separate debris from the ginkgo leaf. 

“Oh, just rake it up into a box and send to me,” he told me. 

“You don’t understand,” I responded. “There is a lot of debris where those leaves fall, and itwould just take me too long to clean it.” 

“No, don’t bother,” he continued. “Just rake it all up and put it in a box and send it to me. Didn’t 
you know you can always have up to 15% adulterant?” 

I was quiet for a moment. “What’s that?” I asked. “Fifteen percent other stuff? Is that what 
you’re saying?” 

“Yes, just rake it all up and send it.” 

He went on to tell me – for the first time – that the industry standard – or at least, his industrystandard – was that it was OK to have at least 15% foreign debris in the box of herbs sent to him.
I declined and never did wildcrafting for money again. 

And when I would hear about someone getting sick or dying from some herb in a tea bag thatthey purchased from an herb store, I always remembered what my buyer told me, that 15%
adulterant was ok. In most cases, you would never know the difference, but what if that 15%
adulterant was the leaf of poison hemlock, or wild tobacco? 

These days, I collect whatever herbs I use and I know they are 100% free of adulterants. I am 
not casting aspersions on the whole herb business, because I believe most of it is ethical. But if 
you are making money by the number of pounds of an herb you can collect and send off, andthe money is not really that much, then I can see that some individuals might cut corners. 

That’s my story as a wildcrafter, and it has led me to being careful about what herbs I collect,
and which I buy.