E-mail Laura Stec About this blog: I've been attracted to food for good and bad reasons for many years. From eating disorder to east coast culinary school, food has been my passion, profession & nemesis. I've been a sugar addict, a 17-year vegetarian, a food and en...  (More) About this blog: I've been attracted to food for good and bad reasons for many years. From eating disorder to east coast culinary school, food has been my passion, profession & nemesis. I've been a sugar addict, a 17-year vegetarian, a food and environment pioneer, macrobiotic, Master Cleanser, ayurvedic, and officially-designated health-nut or party-girl (depending on the year). Professionally, I've worn many industry hats including: line cook, corporate chef, Food Coach, caterer, product developer, restaurant reviewer, culinary school teacher, corporate wellness educator, food co-op clerk, author, and even Cirque-du-Soleil lead popcorn concessioner! For years I managed an outdoor kitchen, deep in the bear-infested woods of Tahoe, and also for hospitals (the most unhealthy kitchen I ever worked in?), Singapore high-rises, mule-pack trips, Canadian catholic rectories, and more events than I could ever recall. Yet I still keep discovering. Actually, I adapt everyday by new lessons learned from teachers, customers and students. However there is one food truth I now hold sacrosanct: Eaters are motivated by pleasure. So no matter what we discuss here - recipes or restaurants, food politics or pairings, local events, food as art, or even as God, I will always come from a high-vibe, party perspective. Oh I do still long to change the world with great tasting food, but know in my heart, "If it ain't fun, it don't get done!" So - wanna come to the Food Party? By the way - it's a potluck.  (Hide)

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You are a brave woman Laura, We have driven "Briefly" through Slab City, it was a disturbing experience, especially when you learn that there are kids living there (we saw a yellow school bus dropping off kids). It is populated by a mostly transient community of social outcasts (many addicted, mentally ill) who can't or won't conform to the rules of “Babylon" (outside world), yet the dirt roads are graded by Imperial County, and it's regularly patrolled by the Imperial County Sheriff's Office, Fire service is provided by the Niland Fire Department. School buses come from nearby communities to pick up the few children living there, all at taxpayer expense. So much for living off the grid. No thanks.

I agree with jhskrh. It is one thing to visit a desert hellhole and another one to actually be stuck living there. Barstow and Death Valley immediately come to mind...a land of renegade transients, many with either substance abuse or mental health issues. No thanks

Slab City is not a safe place for solo travelers, if you must go, recommend going with a group in daytime. Skip the overnight stay. “It's safer to assume that Slabbers are also armed (and also dangerous). Many are veterans with PTSD, meth addicts, and people suffering from mental instability. In general, it's best not to walk around the Slabs at night. Be smart and carry something for self-defense at all times. Non-lethal pepper spray is a great self-defense item." It is a quirky place no doubt but don't go solo.

"...populated by a mostly transient community of social outcasts (many addicted, mentally ill)..." "Slabbers are also armed (and also dangerous). Many are veterans with PTSD, meth addicts, and people suffering from mental instability." This sounds like an ideal place to resituate all of the homeless in California.

What a craphole and anyone who would actually want to live there must have rocks in their head. On the other hand, it was interesting to learn that there are places in California that are no different than a backwards 3rd world country.

I often feel these blogs are therapy. Commenters work out their own issues. What we write says things about us. How we interpret and respond is our reaction, not that of another. Our comments reveal OUR inner thoughts, fears, motivations, feelings, or lack there of. If I write with fear, then I am revealing I am fearful. If I write with positivity, then I am revealing I am positive. If I write something funny, then I show I have a little funny in me. We learn about ourselves through writing. What inspires you to comment and why? Pay attention to how you reacted and name the emotion you. Feel. best, fastest, cheapest therapy around. I feel better already

@Laura Steve Dealing with everyday life is therapy. As a practicing clinical psychologist, I concur that those who choose to reside in Slab City do so as a means of dealing with life on their own terms. Slab City is obviously not for everyone but it apparently provides a comfortable haven for mentally ill individuals and substance abusers who are are incapable of dealing with life in more conventional environments. Chances are Slab City will never become a noteworthy vacation venue for the masses and rightfully so.

Correction: Laura Stec...an autocorrect spelling oversight/error.

I would consider driving through Slab City just to show my somewhat spoiled children that there is much to be grateful for. Slab City would be an eye opener and the prospects of actually having to live there would be met with extreme resistance. And so in many ways, your travelogue is an educational experience on how the underclass lives.

"What a craphole and anyone who would actually want to live there must have rocks in their head...it was interesting to learn here are places in California that are no different than a backwards 3rd world country." Having been to both Rwanda and Gambia I concur with this assessment and suspect that if Slab City offers any overnight accomodations, it is probably a bullet-riddled, rusted-out camper shell (sans pickup truck) or a delapidated trailer enhanced by empty booze bottles and discarded beer cans lying about. As for therapy, this is the kind of place that someone might turn to in order to effectively fall off the face of the earth.

What per cent of the local population is fully vaccinated against COVID and are there any Airbnb offerings other than... "a bullet-riddled, rusted-out camper shell (sans pickup truck) or a delapidated trailer enhanced by empty booze bottles and discarded beer cans lying about"? Do they have a Slab City Visitors & Convention Bureau?

I read somewhere that Slab City is named after concrete slabs left by the military and there is no local government or close proximity to healthcare facilities. Though the Imperial Valley Sheriff's Department occasionally patrols the area, most crimes remain unreported. SSI, Social Security, and meth sales are supposedly the area's primary source of income and Slab City is considered home to many ex-felons, fugitives, and poorer retirees who have foresaken a more mainstream existence. No wonder there is no Denny's, Safeway, McDonalds, or a BofA branch.

Palo Alto thanks has its own Slab City, that trailer court in Barron Park.

*L* Pardon the bad writing as I got called away to shoot a rack of pool. Meant to say/write: Palo Alto has its own Slab City, that trailer court in Barron Park.

I can think of some places I've been where - in hindsight - I thought: there were real risks to my personal safety, something bad could've happened. Maybe I shouldn't have taken the risk. But I did, and I had the good fortune to come away with an interesting memory without harm. Sometimes luck is good, sometimes it is bad.

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