Palisades-News-July-8-2015

Palisades NewsJuly 8, 2015 Page 13Cookie Good Produces Tasty TidbitsBy SARAH STOCKMANSpecial to the Palisades NewsDuring the 2007 writers strike, longtimePalisadian Ross Canter wasout of a job. Unable to write, uninterestedin picketing and lacking a sourceof income, Ross was unsure what to do. Hiswife Melanie, who up until that point hadbeen raising their two kids, suggested thatthey follow his long-time dream of openinga cookie business.It was inevitable that Ross would end upbaking. As Melanie puts it, he has the bakingand cooking gene integrated into everycell of his body. Born a third-generationCanter, as in the Canters who own Canter’sDeli on Fairfax Avenue, Ross grew up in aworld of food. He baked for fun as a kidand supplemented his unpaid college summerinternships with a brownie businesscalled Brownie Points.Ross’s first big foray into the cookieworld was at the Marquez ElementarySchool Halloween Festival, where he creat -ed a cookie called Trick or Treats that containedall of his kids’ favorite Halloweencandy. After that, he started turning his favoritedesserts and flavor combinationsinto cookies. He spent his weekends bakingand his weekdays writing, but he foundthat he wanted to spend more time bakingand less time staring at his computer.The writers strike was just the sign Rossneeded that perhaps it was finally time topursue his longtime passion, and so CookieGood was born.Starting as a handful of emails sent tofriends and professional associates, thehome-based business grew quickly. SoonPalisadians Ross and Melanie Canter opened a Cookie Good store in Santa Monica last November.Melanie and Ross had to rent a commercialkitchen to fill all the orders they received.Their kids, Mia and Gabe, who were atthe time attending Palisades High and PaulRevere, respectively, helped them bake afterschool and during breaks. Finally, about ayear ago, the Canters decided it was timeto open a store.The Cookie Good store, located at 2448Wilshire Blvd. (between 24th and 25thStreets), opened last November. Thecookies sold aren’t your standard fare, althoughthey’re not too frou-frou either.Ross says that he never wanted to make arosemary or lemon verbena cookie becausehe’d never eat it.“I like creating cookie flavors that peoplehave had before, like in ice cream, so theyPacific View Estates and Sunset MesaBy MICHAEL EDLENSpecial to the Palisades NewsPacific Palisades ends at the boundaryline between the Pacific View Estatesand Sunset Mesa, just past the GettyVilla, roughly the corner of Coastline andSurfview.The Pacific View Estates includes SeaReef, Sea Breeze, Blue Sail and about half ofSandy Cape. Most of the nearly 100 homeswere built by Sam Gilbert from 1963 to1965, and range in size from 2,200 to 4,000square feet.Gilbert developed the sites with largerlots than the adjacent Sunset Mesa area, andmost of the homes have views and deedrestrictions to protect those views. (Sam’swife, Rose, was a legendary English teacherand benefactor at Palisades High School.)Sunset Mesa is a community of about450 homes built from 1961 to 1964. Therewere a few basic styles and five main floorplans, with deed restrictions that are clearin their protection of individual owners’ocean-view rights.The houses range in size from 1,800 to2,900 square feet, and are located on widestreets with sidewalks. The Pacific View Estatesare located in a fairly narrow, canyonarea; the Mesa is a mostly flat area.Even though Sunset Mesa is technicallya part of unincorporated Los AngelesCounty and mailing addresses are in Malibu,from a real-estate marketing point ofview, the area is generally considered anextension of Pacific Palisades. Some of themore affordable Palisades-area homes withocean views are in Sunset Mesa.In 2014 there were 18 homes sold in thetwo areas, ranging from $1.42 million onSurfwood to $3.8 million on Blue Sail. Themedian average sale price was $1.87 million,which was 11 percent higher than2013 when 25 homes sold.As of June 30, there was only one homeon the market, asking just under $1.7 million.Eleven homes have sold so far thisyear, from $1,737,500 on Kingsport to$4.65 million on Surfview.Michael Edlen has been ranked #52 of allagents in the country with nearly $2 billionin sales and more than 1,200 transactions.He has tracked Pacific Palisades sales since1987. Call: (310) 230-7373 or emailmichael@michaeledlen.com.Photo: Bart Bartholomewknow what it tastes like,” Ross said.The cookies at Cookie Good are justthat. You can find Birthday Cake next toFrosted Flakes and Blueberry Pie. Pancakes&Bacon sits next to Red Velvet andS’mores. Added to the array of cookies arebrownies and blondies, gluten-free cookies,cookie milk and cookie popcorn.The cookie flavors rotate every week, butthe bestsellers, including Birthday Cake,Caramel-Pretzel-Chocolate Chunk, Cookies& Cream and Chocolate Chip, are alwaysavailable. Ross is constantly on thelookout for new inspiration for his cookiesand is happy to take customer suggestions.Gabe Canter graduated from PaliHi inJune and will attend the University of Michi -gan at Ann Arbor. His sister Mia, who graduatedfrom New York University in 2014,is pursuing an acting career in New York.Ross is happy with his cookie-bakingdecision. He loves working in the bakery,and although he still spends time writing,as his blurb on cookiegood.com says: “NowI think of myself as a ‘baker who writes’”rather than “‘A writer who bakes.’”Cookie Good is open Monday throughFriday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdayfrom 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Single cookies are$1.95 and a dozen are $23. Cookies can bepurchased in the store, ordered online, deliveredlocally and shipped anywhere. Visit:cookiegood.com or call (424) 280-4100.