Upcoming Events! October 15-25

October 15-18. Okay, so this is not in LA area, but the Tequila Expo is going on down in Tijuana, and I'm planning to check it out with a few bloggers led by Street Gourmet LA. The festivities start at 1 pm every day on Av. Revolucion.

Saturday, October 17. Stonefire Grill celebrates the grand opening of its Pasadena outpost by giving out FREE meal to those who make reservation to dine between 5 and 9 pm. While your meal is free, tips are being collected and donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, so please, please tip well! More details on the Yelp event page. Reservations are required and limited to parties of four; call Meredith McWade at 818-991-4054 ext. 0. 473 North Rosemead Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91107

Sunday, October 18. LA's very own San Antonio Winery is holding "Taste of Italy" and has prepared samplings of food from various regions of Italy (with the wine pairing of course). The tastings include regions you rarely hear of such as Antipasto of Umbrian smoked dried meats, mushrooms, cipolline, artichoke hearts and olives (Wine: Armaldo Caprai, Grecante 2007) and Grilled seafood pescatore kebabs from Liguria (wine: Luzano Verdicchio de Castello di Jesi, 2008). 10 dishes in all + dessert for $50 pp. 2-5 pm, 737 Lamar Street. Call (323) 330- 8771 for reservation.

Monday, October 19. Truffle Dinner at Minestraio Trattoria. To see the menu and details, see my previous post here.

Sunday, October 25. Los Angeles Magazine once again presents The Food Event.
Last year's Food Event was a great fun with cooking demos and contest between the top chefs in LA.
This year promises to do the same with cooking demonstrations from exciting chefs such as Ludo Lefebvre from the heavily missed Ludobites (come back soon, Ludo!), John Sedlar from Rivera, Suzanne Tracht from Jar, Andrew Kirschner from Wilshire, and David Myers from Sona and Comme Ca. There will of course be tons of food and wine samplings from Petrossian, Gordon Ramsay, Westside Tavern, Loteria Grill, and numerous wineries.
The event is held at a lovely outdoor setting at Saddlerock Ranch in Malibu Hills. 1-4 pm.
Tickets are $95 and benefit the American Heart Association and Kids Courage Foundation.

Upcoming Events!

October 4 marks the beginning of this year's dineLA Restaurant Week. Running for 2 weeks (Saturdays excluded), dineLA has managed to gather over 200 restaurants this year. My personal picks: RH, Spago, The Bazaar, and lunch at LGO Pasadena.

October 7 is Choctoberfest! at The Grove. That's Chocolate, Wine, AND Beer for you. With ~30 wine+beer lined up and artisan chocolates, you can still feel extra good with the fact that this event benefits the T.J. Martell Foundation for Leukemia, Cancer, and AIDS research. The event is held 7-9 PM. Tickets are $60 at the door or $49 advance.

October 11 has tons of stuff going on. The afternoon kicks off in Pasadena with the third annual LA Chocolate Salon with over 35 chocolatiers, wineries, confectioners etc. Event starts at 11 am and last year they did run out of chocolates so come early. Tickets are $2o for advance purchase and $25 at the door. 11 am-5 PM. The Pasadena Center, 300 Green St, Pasadena, CA.

Say you go to the Chocolate Salon at 11 am and fill up on chocolates and wines until 1 pm, then you can head down to Venice for A Taste of Abbott Kinney. This event features samples - food, wine, spirits- from Venice's favorite restaurants, cafes, bars, etc (including Joe's, Beechwood, Jin Patisserie, and Intelligentsia) and also discounts at participating retailers during the event. Tickets are $60. 2-7 PM.

At night, there's Savor the Season benefitting Break the Cycle to end domestic violence. Last year's event was a blast and this year's line-up includes BoHo, RH, Reservoir, Water Grill, Cakes Suzette, Stefan's at LA Farm, Beverly Hills Caviar, and much more. The VIP section includes Oyster Gourmet, The Beer Chick, and more. Tickets are $100 or $250 for VIP access. 6-9 PM. Global Cuisine by Gary Arabia, The Lot Studios, 1041 N Formosa Ave, West Hollywood.

The Eastside of Food Events: East LA Meets Napa

One Friday evening, Union Station is transformed into a food and wine mecca. In its fourth year, East L.A. Meets Napa event, hosted by Altamed, gathered more than 1000 people on July 10 to taste the food of more than 40 Latino restaurants around town and the wines (and tequila) by Latino wineries or winemakers throughout the state.

Some of the notable participating wineries include Sequoia Grove, J. Lohr, Cobblestone Vineyards, El Centauro del Norte, and many many more.

With plenty of food to sample, I did not manage to try everything. The restaurants everyone seemed to enjoy but I missed included Cook's Tortas, Birrieria Chalio, and Moles La Tia, but here are some of the highlights for me:

Chicken tamale with black mole from Guelaguetza.
Mole from Guelaguetza - a staple of LA. There's a reason they are popular. Here they serve up delicious chicken tamales with their sweet mole and fragrant rice.

Florales Tortillas with shrimp salsa from Rivera
One of Rivera's signatures - housemade nixtamal tortillas that are crispy and gorgeous to look at at the same time.

Chiles en Nogada from La Casita Mexicana
This was better in the larger version you get at the actual restaurant due to the ratio, but still enjoyable with the sweet walnut sauce.

Castillas de Puerco en Chile Negro from Teresita
Very tender and flavorful. This was a find I would not have known were it not for this event! It's really for these lesser-known places that these food events are so great for - an exposure to over 1000 people.

There were some unique desserts to be found also, including this handmade 3-D jello from Attila the Flan.
(That just looks so cool!)

Chocolate dipped jalapenos from D's Delights
I did actually try a bite - spicy! Not for me, not for me. But fun nonetheless.

I unfortunately had to run out of there after an hour to make it to my Andrew Bird concert, but in that one hour I had a lot of great food, great wines, and met many of my foodie friends including Mattatouille, LA&OC Foodie, Food She Thought, Wandering Chopsticks, FoodGPS, and Choisauce.

Justa Taste, Justa Laugh!

Just letting you guys know about the fundraising event coming up next week for the California Women's Law Center ! My advisor has been going to this since its inception and takes his female students with him (he told me to bring "any rich boyfriends [I] have available" to participate in the silent auction :P ).

Called Justa Taste, Justa Laugh, this fundraiser features food samplings of various restaurants (with women chefs and/or women-owned!) in LA and free-flowing wine. Last year's event even had an oyster bar!There will be a silent auction going on benefiting the CWLC. Last year's auction includes items from children's toys, restaurant gift certificates, all the way to an original sketch by Picasso, Miro, Degas, etc. The comedy show (this year featuring Latina lesbian comedian Reno) will start at 8:30.

Tickets are $125 and includes all food and wine and comedy show.

Upcoming Foodie Events!

Foodie events are starting to get lined up again this year, whoohoo!!

There are some really impressive ones coming up very soon:

Tomorrow, Friday Feb 27, Locali is having their official launch party. Between 5-8 pm get free samples of organic tamales from La Guera Tamalera and grass-fed hot dogs from Let's Be Frank. 5825 Franklin Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028.

Sunday, March 9. Jonathan Gold has lined up 30 of his favorite restaurants for the LA Weekly Gold Standard. Restaurant lineup includes Animal, Sona, the two Mozzas, Providence, Loteria Grill and Jitlada, among many other great ones. Tickets are $60 and include all food and drinks (wine/beer). 3-7 pm.
http://ow.ly/gvg

On the more "educational" side, on March 11, Zocalo is holding a discussion on "Can Food Really be Authentic?" Featuring Mozza's Nancy Silverton, Jazz from Jitlada, and Roy Choi from Kogi BBQ truck, the event is moderated by Jonathan Gold. 7:30 PM, Skirball Cultural Center.

Thursday, March 12. The Planned Parenthood L.A. Guild is holding a fundraising Food Fare, featuring an array of restaurants such as A.O.C, Anisette Brasserie, Clementine's, Joe's Restaurant, Pink's Hot Dogs, Pitfire Pizza, and XIV. Chefs Suzanne Goin (Lucques), Nancy Silverton (Osteria/Pizzeria Mozza), and Jon & Vinny (Animal) will also be there signing their cookbooks! Tickets are $125 for the afternoon and $175 for the night, but everything above $60 is tax-deductible.
http://www.pplafoodfare.com/tkts.asp

Also, as part of ongoing deals and steals, The Park in Echo Park is offering $15 3-course meal every Tuesday. This upcoming Tuesday they are featuring gumbo, jambalaya, and banana bread pudding. 1400 Sunset Blvd.

Great Chefs of LA. Great Food, Great Fun.

This year's Annual Great Chefs of Los Angeles was held in the CBS Studio Center. Tents were set up outdoors among the bungalows of the studio. It was such a nice day to walk around outdoors sampling food while gawking over the chefs like celebrities (I wasn't the only one, I swear!)

Food and drinks were everywhere. Andrew's Cheese Shop was offering five different cheeses with bread and quince paste.


As far as drinks go, besides the numerous wineries, Sauza offered up margaritas, Courvoisier Cognac and Starbucks liqueurs, and Absolut LA was also there.
Non-alcoholic offerings from Izze sodas, Steaz for organic tea, water from Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, and POM pomegranate juice were also available. Dehydration was definitely not a problem here :)

Among the tastings there were (clockwise) cochinita pibil from Ciudad Catering, Ahi tuna (which will later be topped with caviar!) from Mark Kearney Group, a caramel apple with white chocolate from Melissa's World Variety Produce, kabocha squash agnolotti from BLVD 16.


Josie was also there serving some amazing gruyere quiche!

For La Terza, Chef Gino Angelini brought over his slicer and served up some prosciutto and salami parmiggiano!


The Dragos were also there. Yes, all four of them, and many of their different restaurants have their own booth. I think they probably took up half of the booths ;)

The Drago restaurant served wild boar with soft polenta and fig sauce (left). It was a bit cold already but we loved the combination! If only it was a bit warmer it might've been our favorite of the day. Another of the Drago restaurants (Tanino?) served smoked scallops with pomegratanes.

Other highlights from the events are the Pork Belly from Animal (the Two Dudes were there serving) and pork rib grilled cheese sandwich from 8 oz.

Both were delicious! The 8 oz sandwich is definitely going to bring me there for a real visit!

8 oz also had their bartender, Ryan, there, serving up some Pomegranate Sidecar and Orange Ginger cocktail! Strong and yummy.

Neal Fraser was there manning his booth for Grace and giving out dungeness crab salad with shiso on these cute little plastic spoons.

I got seconds, and also got a picture with Neal (to distract him from me grabbing a second spoon!)

Fraiche had an amazing chocolate dessert that the girl there didn't really tell us the name of - but it was great and despite my bad first experience there during a company dinner, I may now give it a second try.

Indulging in food and drinks aside, let's not forget that this event is a fundraiser for the National Kidney Foundation of SoCal. The restaurants and sponsors not only have donated the food and drinks, they also donated some great items for both the silent and live auction!

I bid on the dinner for 4 at Grace and BLD but, alas, did not win :(
I also debated on a basket of Sauza, Plymouth, Cruzan rum, and Courvoiser but then wasn't sure if that was such a good idea after all :P At least not for my liver. And brain.

Some highlights of the live auction: A dinner for 20 cooked by chef Gino Angelini went for $5000. To top it off, a lady who originally lost this auction asked if he would do a second one for $5000 too! Gino said yes, and there you have it. Two dinners for 20 at your home for $5000 each! Go NKFSC!
4 people will get to spend 8 hours in the kitchen of Animal with Jon and Vinny, ending with a dinner and "all the wine you care to drink" (in the TwoDudes' own words) went for $1250.
A day with Chef Govind Armstrong from picking the produce all the way to dinner at Table 8 went for $1750.

One of these days I'll start making real money and can actually bid on these things ... Til then I will offer my small support on the silent auction items! Oh, and eat all the good food.

October Food Events

**UPDATED**

September was packed with food festivals and events. October's slowing down some, but still busy busy ...

Now-Oct 26. Torrance's Oktoberfest. Alpine Village, 833 W. Torrance Blvd., Torrance, CA 90502, 310-327-4384.
Saturday, Oct 4. 31st Annual Oktoberfest (Montrose)
Sunday, Oct 5. 2nd Annual Luxury Chocolate Salon. Pasadena Civic Center
Monday, Oct 6. Phillipe's 100th Anniversary - 10 cent sammies!
Thursday, Oct 9. OC Weekly's Best of Bash 2008. iLounge, Irvine.
Saturday, Oct 11. Santa Barbara Harbor Seafood Festival
"Pumpkin & Squash" Cooking class with Chef Lawe @ The Langham (Pasadena).
Sunday, Oct 12. LAW Wine, Chocolate, and Cheese Tasting Class.
Monday, Oct 20. Dinner and Wine Pairing w Recipes from the Emperors of Ancient Rome. Osteria La Buca. (I thought this might interest the historians in all of you!)
Saturday, Oct 25. 9th Annual Japanese Food Festival. Kyoto Grand Hotel & Gardens.
Sunday, Oct 26. The Food Event: From the Vine. Saddlerock Ranch in Malibu Hills
Fri, Oct 31 - Sun, Nov 2. 4th Annual LA Intl Tamale Festival. MacArthur Park.

Great Chefs of LA Go Green

Here's another upcoming event to keep in mind! It's certainly one that I would looo~ve to go to! With chefs from Grace, Josie, and Animal, this is bound to be an event your tastebuds would remember.

Tickets ain't cheap at $150, but it does benefit the National Kidney Foundation of So Cal. AND it also promotes eco-friendly products and organic foodstuffs. Good causes indeed!

Here are some facts from the Press Release:

WHAT:
The 22nd Annual Great Chefs of Los Angeles brings together the city's most celebrated chefs, tastemakers and vintners for an afternoon of great food, wine, music and auctions to benefit the National Kidney Foundation of Southern California. This year’s "Go Green, Go Organic" theme promotes eco-friendly and recyclable products as well as conscious living and sustainability, and emphasizes organic foodstuffs throughout the event.

WHO:
Honorary Chairs and George and Ann Lopez host the afternoon’s festivities. Host Chef Govind Armstrong of 8 oz. and Table 8 and Chef of Honor Gino Angelini of Angelini Osteria and La Terza lead a stellar lineup of top toques from around town, with entertainment provided by DJ Mike Palmieri.

Featured chefs and tastemakers include:
• Tim Goodell, 25 Degrees
• Andrew Steiner, Andrew’s Cheese Shop
• Jon Shook & Vinny Dotolo, Animal
• Simon Dolinky, Blvd 16 at Hotel Palomar
• Raymond Alvarez, Border Grill
• Calogero Drago, Celestino Ristorante & Panzanella
• Celestino Drago, Enoteca Drago, Il Pastaio & Drago Ristorante
• Jason Travi, Fraiche
• Neal Fraser, Grace
• Manuel D. Medina, West at Hotel Angeleno
• Josie Le Balch, Josie Restaurant
• Frank Leon, La Loggia Ristorante
• Tom Fraker, Melissa's Produce
• Henri Abergel, Mistral
• Joachim Weritz, Moonshadows
• Alberto Morello, Olio e Limone
• Giacomino Drago, Piccolo Paradiso & Il Pastaio
• Ann Hickey, Plush Puff Gourmet Marshmallows
• Joni Fay Hill & Denise Daclan, Saltistry
• Tanino Drago, Tanino Ristorante & Panzanella
• Brian Moyers, The Blvd at Beverly Wilshire
• Nicola Mastronardi, Vicenti Ristorante

Wines will be provided by:
• August Ridge
• Banfi Vintners
• Bernardus Winery
• Buttonwood Farm Winery
• Chalone Vineyard
• Cobblestone Vineyards
• Duckhorn Vineyards
• FIFTYROW
• Frank Family Vineyards
• Frog's Leap Winery Goldeneye
• Grgich Hills Estate
• Jaffe Estate Wine
• Laetitia Vineyard and Winery
• L'Aventure
• Vintage Point
• Paraduxx

WHEN:
Sunday, November 9, 2008
12 to 3:30 p.m.

WHERE:
CBS Studio Center
4024 Radford Dr.
Studio City, CA 91604

TICKETS:
$150 per person
To purchase, visit www.kidneysocal.org.

Another Sunday Offering

Another event to keep in mind for this Sunday (especially if you like beer!) is LearnAboutWine's German Beer Tasting.

This Sunday (Sept 21), 3-5.30 PM.

LOFT218

530 Molino St Los Angeles, California 90013

You will be tasting the following beers:
Altbier
Berliner Weisse
Bock
Dortmunder Export
Gose
Hefeweizen
Kellerbier
Kölsch
Maibock
Märzen (the original Oktoberfestbier)
Munich Helles
Pilsner
Schwarzbier
Rauchbier
Roggenbier
Zwickelbier

That's a lot!! You will learn about these beers from "beer scribe" Tomm Carroll, who has written for LA Times, among others.

This class costs $75. There's an advance special price of $50 (may be too late now ...) or if you become a member of LearnAboutWine, then the event is $40.

This will be my first LearnAboutWine event, so I will definitely report back after Sunday!