Thursday, April 30, 2015
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Food Preview: Food + Wine Festival Palm Desert
by: guest blogger @iam_robot
The Food + Wine Festival Palm Desert is back for its fifth year, and this year’s celebrity chef and culinary master includes Iron Chef Cat Cora, Award- winning pastry chef Gale Gand, Broke Williamson, Ari Taymor, Zack Bruell, and Brian Malarkey, among others.
Aiming to benefit The Friends of James Beard Foundation, these chefs will educate attendees with cooking demos, unique exhibits, and various industry panels on March 27 – 29 in Palm Desert’s famed El Paseo shopping district. And let’s not forget about the Grand Tasting event – sip, nosh, and party your way through the heat with more than 70 premium spirits/wines/ beers and 50 premier Palm Desert-area restaurants.
Last week I had a chance to sample of the wonderful bites and wines to be featured at this desert food festival. There were many memorable dishes but my favorite was the English muffin with burrata, caviar & licorice herbs by Ari Taymor of Alma (named “Best Restaurant in America” by Bon Appetit).
My other highlight was Brooke Williamson’s (of The Tripel, Hudson House, and Playa Provisions) Gougere - a baked savory choux pastry made of choux dough mixed with cheese. It was buttery goodness – I had to jot down the step by step when she was demonstrating.
Brooke Williamson demonstrating her gougere recipe |
Posted by gourmetpigs at 8:00 AM 0 comments
Labels: alma, ari taymor, brooke williamson, burrata, food and wine festival, food festival, march event, palm desert, palm spring, preview, tasting event, uni
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Tacolandia Presale! (Plus, Last Year's Event Recap)
LA Weekly's Tacolandia returns for its third year on Saturday, June 6! While regular ticket sales will open on March 9, you can get a head start for some presale tickets starting today when you go to this link and use the code TACOPIGS.
Now, the event is getting bigger and bigger. While last year's event boasts 45 taquerieas for $25, this year's $35 admission promises 80 vendors curated by Bill Esparza! 55 have been confirmed so far including Amor y Tacos, Taco Maria, Aqui es Texcoco, along with Tacolandia veterans. The VIP admission is $55 which includes a separate entrance, a gift bag, and a VIP area with its own bar.
Not convinced you should spend the day feasting on as many tacos as you physically can? Read below for last year's recap by @iam_robot:
Being a Los Angeles transplant the last 14 years of my life, I’d think I have bragging rights on where to find great tacos this world has to offer. But after attending Tacolandia and devouring 25 different Taco variations, I have a feeling I could be looking for the perfect taco the rest of my life – And this is what makes Taco so fascinating…the variations are infinite and in the world of Yelp & Instagram, greatest taqueros/ taqueras are investing insane amount of thought, craftsmanship and labor hours to create the world’s most interesting taco.
In the end, I have to admit Tacolandia is probably the best food event to attend in terms of fun and bang for your buck. Two thumbs up to Bill Esparza (world’s 1st tacorazzo) for carefully selecting 45 super star taqueros and chefs from Southern California/ Mexico who performed admirably, and many times, exceeding imaginations. I can’t be happier how interesting ingredients (smelt, sprinkles, tongue, etc) and weird food (dickhead, offals, grasshopper, etc) were served up to satiate adventurous eaters like me. Below are some of the tacos served that day:
Cochinita Pibil by Chef Tim Hollingsworth (former Chef of the French Laundry) made the most visually stunning and delicious taco for the day.
Cochinita Pibil (Slow Roasted Pork) Taco is made with Oaxacan Corn Tortilla, Masa, Guacamole and crispy potato mole. Loved the interchanging flavors of heat and savory here.
Posted by gourmetpigs at 10:00 AM 2 comments
Labels: bill esparza, food event, food festival, la taco, la weekly, los angeles, mexican food, taco, taco festival, Tacolandia
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
All Star Chef Classic: March 11-14, 2015
There are a ton of food events and festivals in Los Angeles, but the All Star Chef Classic plays it a bit different? Ever wanted to watch a cooking show or competition in real life? You can with their events at the Restaurant Stadium, built just for this 4-day affair.
At the Master Dinners (they are holding French, British, and American Master Dinners) you'll watch the chefs prepare your multi-course meal that you will then enjoy paired with wines. At some of the other events like Grill & Chill, 20 chefs will prepare bites that you can enjoy in the "Tasting Arena".
Last year's cabbage with crispy chicken skin from Paul Qui |
Posted by gourmetpigs at 8:23 AM 0 comments
Labels: all star chef classic, cooking competition, food event, food festival, inaki aizpitarte, los angeles, ludo lefebvre, restaurant stadium
Sunday, August 3, 2014
LA Loves Alex's Lemonade Returns + Last Year's Recap
LA Loves Alex's Lemonade is one of the favorite events of the year. This year, it will be held at a different location. They are bringing it to Wilson Plaza at UCLA on September 20 (from 12-4pm). This festival gathers some of the best chefs, restaurants, and mixologists, not only from LA but beyond - and they bring their A-game, all to fight childhood cancer.
Last year, Adam Perry Lang, author of Serious BBQ, was serving up some sort of BBQ sandwiches. I was avoiding the long line, but got there too late and they had run out of the sandwiches! It may have actually been a lucky strike, as I got this giant piece of rib as consolation.
Posted by gourmetpigs at 9:16 AM 0 comments
Labels: charity event, childhood cancer, food event, food festival, fundraising, la loves alex's lemonade, neil patrick harris
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
August Food Events in Los Angeles Not To Miss!
Saturday, August 2
Plate by Plate
This is Project by Project's Annual Tasting which benefits the Pacific Asian Counseling Services. This year's 50 participating vendors including hot new restaurants Republique, Faith and Flower, Superba Food and Bread, and many more great restaurants like b.o.s., Bistro LQ, etc (check out the full list).
Tickets are $150 for general admission and $250 for VIP, which can be purchased here.
Time: 6:30pm (VIP), 7:30pm (GA)
The Vibiana
6060 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Thursday, August 7
LUCKYRICE Feast
Lukshon's Sang Yoon hosts the third annual LUCKYRICE Feast, this time overtaking a club in Hollywood. Participants include LA's Chef Jet Tila, Starry Kitchen, Lukshon (of course), Hamasaku, and more, along with Portland's famed Nong's Khao Man Gai. To keep you hydrated, bartenders from Pour Vous, Harlowe, Hinoki and the Bird, La Descarga, and more will be on hand, pairing each dish with a Bombay Sapphire East cocktail. Check out the full menu here.
Tickets are $150 for VIP early admission and $88 for general admission. Tickets can be purchased here.
Time: 7pm (VIP), 8pm(GA)-10pm
Create
6021 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Saturday, August 9
LA Scotch Club Peatin' Meetin' VI
Tickets are $100 pp and can be purchased here. Event starts at 5pm.
Brookside Golf Club
1133 Rosemont Ave, Pasadena, CA 91103
Sunday, August 17
Food GPS Fried Chicken Festival
Angelenos love fried chicken so much that we are having the third annual fried chicken festival. This festival gathers some of the city's best chefs, though, including Kris Morningstar, Jason Travi of Superba, and Brian Dunsmoor, along with those known for their fried chicken like Jesse Furman of Free Range LA. Beers and cocktails will also be on hand to wash down all the chicken.
Tickets are $65 for general admission and $90 for VIP which includes one hour early admission and guaranteed seating. Tickets can be purchased here.
Event starts at 3pm (VIP early admission), 4pm general admission
Chinatown, 943 N. Broadway Los Angeles, CA, 90012
Thursday-Sunday, August 21-24
LA Food and Wine
The fourth annual LA Food and Wine Festival returns with over 20 events spanning 4 days. Attendees can take their pick from special lunches with celebrity chefs to the big grand tasting events. Among the events offered are Caviar and Champagne, lunch at Scarpetta with Scott Conant and Graham Elliott, lunch at Republique with Walter Manzke and Michael Tusk, the two grand tastings, Asian Night Market, and cooking demo by Iron Chef Morimoto.
Times and ticket prices vary by event. See the LAFW website for more information.
Sunday, August 24
LA Weekly Pancake Breakfast
The annual Pancake Breakfast features breakfast and brunch items from some of LA's top restaurants. With brunch comes mimosas, Bloody Marys, juices, and coffee.
Tickets are $30 if purchased before July 20. Tickets are available here.
Time: 11am-2pm
Park Plaza Hotel
607 S Park View St, Los Angeles, CA 90057
Friday-Sunday, August 29-31
The Taste
Los Angeles Times' The Taste has always taken place over Labor Day weekend, and this year is no exception. Unlike the LAFW, there are five events over three days at The Taste, including this year's Sunday Brunch which is co-hosted by Chef Thomas Keller.
Ticket prices range between $100-150, or $299 for a weekend pass. Purchase tickets here.
Paramount Picture Studios
Posted by gourmetpigs at 9:07 AM 0 comments
Labels: food event, food festival, La food and wine, la scotch club, la weekly, luckyrice, pancake breakfast, peatin meetin, scotch, upcoming events
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
5th Annual LA Street Food Fest on June 28 + Last Year's Recap
Summer is coming, and that means so is LA Street Food Fest! Can you believe this is their 5th year? On June 28, the 5th LA Street Food Fest returns to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and you can already buy your tickets.
This time, the festival starts at 4pm for VIP ticket holders and 6pm for general admission, so at least it won't be that hot! The ticket price includes free parking, all the food you can stomach, cocktails from six bars with LA's top mixologists, Ice Cream Social, craft beer from Eagle Rock Brewery and more, and this year also brings in an Iced Coffee Experience featuring a dozen coffee brands. Keep an eye out on http://lastreetfoodfest.com/ for the full list of participants.
If you've never been, check out last year's recap below from One More Bite Blog, who attended the event as my guest blogger:
~~~
Posted by gourmetpigs at 9:15 AM 0 comments
Labels: food event, food festival, june event, la street food fest, pasadena, rose bowl, street food, summer events
Monday, April 28, 2014
Tacolandia Returns on June 28!
A $25 all-you-can-eat taco festival curated by Street Gourmet LA? Yep, Tacolandia returns this summer on June 28. Tacolandia is probably the most affordable food festival out there, and the food is great!
Among the favorites last year making a return this year Mariscos Jalisco and their famed fried shrimp tacos
Posted by gourmetpigs at 9:07 AM 0 comments
Labels: downtown, dtla, food festival, los angeles, streetgourmetla, summer, taco, taco festival, Tacolandia
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Giveaway! Tickets to PPLA Food Fare on March 6
This year's notable participating restaurants include Chi Spacca, Star King Korean BBQ, Mexikosher, Lucques, Superba, Salt's Cure, Hamasaku, and many more. On the liquid side, there will be Kreation Juicery, Caffe Luxxe, Golden Road Brewery, and many wineries. There will be vendors so you can go shopping, along with fun silent auction items.
Let me get to the best part: PPLA is generously giving away a pair of tickets to the Food Fare!
The tickets will be for the evening session ($500 value) although if you prefer to attend the day session, you just have to say the word.
You can enter using the form below by midnight on Thursday, Feb 27th.
Just a note: some people click that they've tweeted but actually did not. I will randomly check entries and if you actually did not perform the action, I will remove that entry.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Posted by gourmetpigs at 2:19 PM 16 comments
Labels: contest, event, food festival, giveaway, march food event, planned parenthood, ppla food fare
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Save the Date: IAMLA's Annual Taste of Italy on October 12
We all know how great Italian food and wines are, and we have some great restaurants in Los Angeles, so a Taste of Italy festival in Los Angeles certainly sounds good! The 5th Annual Taste of Italy will be held on October 12, 2013, at beautiful, historic Pico House in downtown LA. The event benefits the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles, which is planned to open in early 2014.
There will be live entertainment from Italian artists and "chanteuses".
The $55 general admission ticket gets you 6 food tickets and 4 beverage tickets (more tickets are available for purchase at the event). The $125 VIP ticket gets you VIP entrance (and red carpet photo), 6 food and 6 beverage tickets, a VIP gift bag, and 20% off your purchase at Gastromercato. Tickets can be purchased here.
PLUS, get $5 OFF your ticket purchase with code GOURMETPIGS.
Want to win VIP tickets for you and your friends? You can create a video of yourself singing Taste of Italy or the SoCal Italian American history for a shot to win (see more details here).
When: October 12, 2013. 5-10PM
Where: Pico House
424 N. Main St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Posted by gourmetpigs at 12:46 PM 0 comments
Labels: food event, food festival, iamla, italian american museum of los angeles, little italy, pico house, taste of italy, wine event
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Help Beat Childhood Cancer at LA Loves Alex's Lemonade on Sept 28
Summer isn't over yet and there are still more great food events coming up! One of my favorites is LA Loves Alex's Lemonade (see my recap from the 2011 event) which raises funds to fight childhood cancer and it all started from a little girl called Alex and her lemonade stand ... The LA event last year raised half a million dollars!
This year's event will take place on September 28 and is hosted by Chef Suzanne Goin and business partner Caroline Styne (AOC, Lucques, Tavern), and Chef David Lentz (The Hungry Cat) and brings in LA's superstars like Providence, Bestia, Animal, Trois Mec, Rustic Canyon and more. Mixologists, sommeliers, and wineries will also be there including Eric Alperin from Varnish, Silverlake Wine, Hitching Post and many more.
Oh, as a bonus, Neil Patrick Harris is an honorary committee member. He was there in 2011 so you might catch a glimpse of him again.
Here are the details of the event:
When: Saturday, September 28, 2013, 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Where: Culver Studios, Culver City, CA 90232
Tickets are $175 each and can be purchased here, or if you have the funds you can get the $1200 Meet and Greet tickets (includes ticket to chefs dinner on Sept. 27, access to a Top Sponsors reception prior to the event, and early admission including a behind the scenes tour of the event to watch the chefs prepping)
Children 12 and under get in for free with accompanying adults.
Posted by gourmetpigs at 8:39 AM 0 comments
Labels: alex's lemonade, charity, childhood cancer, culver city, food event, food festival, fundraiser, la loves alex's lemonade
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
LA Picnic on Sept 7, Benefiting St. Vincent Meals on Wheels + GIVEAWAY!
In my opinion, one of the best charities to support is St. Vincent Meals on Wheels, which provides hot meals to homebound seniors, and they do a lot of great fundraisers. St. Vincent MoW delivers over 4000 meals a day and only receive about $1 per meal in donation, which costs them $7 to deliver with current gas prices. That's why the fundraisers are so important!
This year, they're doing their first LA Picnic on Saturday, September 7. The event is presented by Lexus and co-hosted by LA Kitchen. Starting at 10:30 am, guest chefs will join attendees at the table for a picnic style brunch on the grass lawn of a historic hacienda at the Original Farmers Market.
Michael Voltaggio Photo courtesy of StVMoW |
Tickets are $95 each or $150 for VIP tickets and can be purchased here. The VIP tickets get you the same thing as the general admission tickets, but the difference goes to feeding more seniors (20!). It's more about the good deed!
Now, to spread the word about this wonderful event, St. Vincent's Meals on Wheels has offered up a pair of tickets to one of lucky readers! To enter the event, just use the entry form below and help us spread the word!
Posted by gourmetpigs at 9:02 AM 8 comments
Labels: charity, contest, food festival, fundraiser, giveaway, la picnic, st vincent's meals on wheels, tickets
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Gorge on Labor Day Weekend with LA Times' The Taste
The Los Angeles Times once again takes over labor day weekend with The Taste with 5 different food and drinks events throughout the weekend. It's not just going around tasting food and drinking, though. The Taste has cooking demos and various panels (last year I got to taste pinot noir while listening go a guy rap about wine). Tickets for each event are $65 (or $85 after August 29), with the exception of the $125 opening night. Here are the schedule of events and what to expect:
LA Times' Noelle Carter served up brisket sliders at the preview |
Saturday, August 31, 11am: Field to Fork
There will be cooking demos with Ari Taymor from Alma (named Bon Appétit's Best New Restaurant this year!) at noon, Michael Cimarusti, and Sherry Yard.
Saturday, August 31, 7:30pm: Flavors of LA
There will be a Power of Pop-up panel with Jonathan Gold, Starry Kitchen, etc
Sunday, Sept 1, 11am: Labor Day Block Party.
There will be cooking demo with Nancy Silverton, Evan Kleiman. Noelle Carter (responsible for LA Times' Test Kitchen) will also be hosting a Competition BBQ panel.
I had a preview of some of the things served at this event, including Dog Haus who will either be serving their spicy Thai dog or the Pastrami Dog. Coni Seafood's seafood tostada with sea snails and that amazing smoked marlin pate was one of the highlights of the night. Creme Caramel infuses custard desserts with Asian flavors with their pandan flan and Chinese sausage bread pudding (move over, bacon!)
There will be plenty of drinks, too, including Mionetto prosecco. Circa in Manhattan Beach will showcase one of their bottled cocktails. The Richard Pryor is made with Demerara rum and a cherry wood-smoked house made cola (with lime, of course)
Sunday, Sept 1, 7:30pm: Cocktail Confidential
The more drink-focused event will feature a craft cocktail demo with the famed co-hose Matthew Biancaniello, Serena Herrick (Allumette), Christiaan Rollich (AOC), and Brady Weise (1886). There will also be cooking demo with Michael Voltaggio.
Sucka Punch from Sunny Spot at last year's Cocktail Confidential |
Posted by gourmetpigs at 9:05 AM 0 comments
Labels: cocktail confidential, food event, food festival, la times, Labor Day, labor day weekend, taste la, the taste
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Decorating Cakes with Duff Goldman for LA Food & Wine
The LA Food and Wine Festival brings back a series of food events over four days on August 22-25, from Italian festival with Giada De Laurentiis, Asian Night Market with Iron Chef Morimoto, lunches at restaurants around town, to the Lexus Grand Tasting on the last day.
The last event of the series is a cooking demo with Duff Goldman. As a preview for the festival, I got to go to Duff's Cake Mix on Melrose to decorate a cake. Duff Goldman was also in attendance. Before getting down to decorating we mingled with some wine and Chef Eric Greenspan's grilled cheese sandwiches.
We started with a white cake, just like a white canvas for painting.
The theme was California cuisine so we decided to make a "kale salad" and started rolling out the green fondant. I used a leaf mold to make the "kale", made red fondant balls for cherry tomatoes. We made sliced carrots and avocadoes, copying LA OC Foodie and Shop Eat Sleep's cake of avocado, sushi, and taco.
Voila! Our kale salad cake!
The other attendees' cakes were pretty impressive.
Posted by gourmetpigs at 3:06 PM 1 comments
Labels: cake decorating, charm city cakes, DIY cake, duff Goldman, duff's cake mix, food event, food festival, La food and wine
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
The Taste of Mexico Returns Oct 11, Presale Ends July 31
Last year, the Guelagetza siblings even got these sweet outfits for mixologists Steve Livigni and Pablo Moix.
Posted by gourmetpigs at 9:43 AM 0 comments
Labels: food event, food festival, la guelaguetza, mexican food, pablo moix, steve livigni, taste of mexico
Sunday, July 14, 2013
July 21: Angeleno Mag's Live and Dine LA (+ 2012 recap)
Live and Dine LA is Angeleno Magazine's celebration of their Restaurant Issue, and it's always one of my favorite events, featuring LA's best restaurants at the beautiful Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows. This year's event will start at 4:30 pm on Sunday, July 21. Tickets are $95 and can be purchased on http://2013liveanddinela.eventbrite.com/. This year, the VIP ticket gets you two nights of extravaganza. The $250 VIP ticket (can be purchased here) gets you a four-course dinner made by Chefs Ray Garcia, Michael Voltaggio, and Ricardo Zarate with wine and cocktail pairing, and also admission to the main tasting event on July 21.
Live and Dine LA is more about quality rather than quantity, but there are still way more than enough food. Here are some my favorite bites from last year:
Blue Cow Kitchen and Bar served Mendocino's pork belly banh mi atop a banh xeo (Vietnamese "crepes")
Posted by gourmetpigs at 8:33 AM 0 comments
Labels: angeleno magazine, fairmont miramar, food event, food festival, live and dine la, restaurant issue, santa monica, summer event
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Sneak Peek of LA Street Food Fest, June 29 2013
LA Street Food Fest is returning to the Rose Bowl on June 29. While I recently did a recap of last year's Food Fest, I previewed some of this year's vendors and there are some new ones you should be excited about!
Despite being white meat this was an awesome piece of fried chicken!
2. Donut Snob.
Donut Snob has no retail store and you can usually only get them by pre-order, so the Food Fest is the perfect time to try these amazing donuts! No, really, they are some of the best in LA.
4. El Coraloense had all kinds of ceviche tostada during the preview. I tried the crab ceviche
Posted by gourmetpigs at 1:44 AM 1 comments
Labels: Dante fried chicken, donut snob, events, food event, food festival, la street food fest, pasadena, rose bowl, street food, taco
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
June 29: LA Street Food Fest Summer Tasting Event
The 4th Annual LA Street Food Fest is back on June 29 at the Rose Bowl! As usual, your ticket will be all inclusive. Inclusive of what? Well, all of these awesome things:
1. Food from 100 food vendors ...
Since the vendors from Baja were so popular 2 years ago, they brought even more last year! La Guerrerense, kraken tacos from Kokopelli, tacos de Camaron enchilado from El Mazateno are but a few.
Simpang Asia had these mini versions of nasi bungkus, how adorable!
The higher end LA restaurants could also be found here. Some of the highlights were the fried pig's feet from Chef Neal Fraser, cannolis from Sotto
Posted by gourmetpigs at 8:35 AM 0 comments
Labels: event, food festival, la food fest, la street food fest, pasadena, rose bowl, summer, summer tasting event
Monday, September 17, 2012
Go Thee To Baja! Baja Culinary Fest Oct 11-14
October 11-14 is the 2nd annual Baja California Culinary Fest! Thanks to the generosity of Chef Javier Plascencia, I was able to attend the 1st annual festival last year and with more experience, this year's is promising to be even better. There are many different events over the four days, from special dinners, a gastro tour of Tijuana, a visit to the Ramonetti cheese cellar, a festival in Rosarita, and many more.
From a whole leg carved on-site by Cheripan, Tijuana's premier Argentinean restaurant.
Posted by gourmetpigs at 8:53 AM 0 comments
Labels: baja, baja culinary fest, baja mexico, food events, food festival, lacrimas negra, mexican food, mexico, quesadilla, tijuana
Sunday, September 2, 2012
LA Loves Alex's Lemonade Returns Sept 29
There are plenty of food charity events in LA, but LA Loves Alex's Lemonade is still one of the best out there with famous chefs arriving from all over the US to raise funds to fight childhood cancer.
Michael Cimarusti from Providence was previewing his new casual restaurant, Connie and Ted's, with the best clam chowder I've ever had. I'm still waiting for this place to open so I can have this again!
Posted by gourmetpigs at 9:08 AM 0 comments
Labels: charity event, childhood cancer, culver city, food event, food festival, fundraising, la loves alexs lemonade
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