Unlimited Caviar for Charity

These days, seems like it's not enough to just ask for donations to raise money for charity. You have to do it in style.

It starts with a limousine pickup, driving you to a mansion in Bel Air. After a cocktail reception, you partake in unlimited caviar (from the "entry level" to the Russian Osetra sturgeon) and champagne, three courses from Top Chef Marcel Vigneron, smoked alligator, and more, listen to live string quartet and piano performances. You leave with a gift bag supposedly worth $1000 in restaurant gift certificates (and caviar facial serum?).

Extravagant? Yes, indeed. And it will costs a pretty penny, starting from $500, but if this sounds like a great night to you, be assured that your money is going to a good cause. The Beverly Hills Caviar Charity Event benefits the Harold Robinson Foundation, which provides free, nurturing camp to inner city and underprivileged children in Los Angeles. Each year, HRF sends thousands of children to an 81-acre facility in the Angeles National Forest.

The deets:
Tickets start from $500pp. Buy them here.
Date: Thursday, November 15th.
6pm cocktail reception, party starts at 7pm.
The parking location will be disclosed to RSVP'd guests. A limo will take you from the parking lot to the mansion (VIP ticket includes limousine pick up at your home).

Keeping Up the American Tradition: Moonshine!

What is America's oldest drink? Why, it's moonshine. This clear corn whiskey all started in 1612 in Jamestown (apparently excess corn production is an old issue in this country) and really took off in the early 1900s during the prohibition. These days, it seems to have disappeared, but now it's starting to make its way back into mainstream America.

I met with Chuck Miller, co-owner and distiller of The Original Moonshine, and his wife Janette. We talked about the history and process of his corn whiskey - over some moonshine, naturally.

Chuck Miller's grandfather started making moonshine in Virginia in the 1930s. In the mid 80s, Chuck started thinking of starting the production back up again using the same recipe his grandfather had used. It took a couple of years to get the license but they finally got up and running in 1987. The whiskey and brand at its current state didn't come until later, though, when a restaurateur from New York, Adam Perry Lang, looked around to start making and marketing moonshine. He had Chuck experiment with the distilling and filtering for flavor (he found that the best was distilling it four times and filtering twice).

Can you picture it?
The Millers grow their own corn for the Moonshine in their farm/distillery in Culpeper, Virginia. They boil the corn mash (the leftover corn mash goes to their cows) and make their whiskey in the same copper tanks his grandfather used during the prohibition. It's boiled twice until it becomes 150 proof, then they filter it through charcoal.

The distillery is open to the public but the roads are closed during the winter. They do plough snow so they can make their shipments.
Sounds like what it might've been like back in the day.

The Original Moonshine at 80 proof is some strong stuff, but still smooth and drinkable. It's aromatic, yet tastes clean.
Some places around town have started using it in cocktails, as well. We tried two Moonshine cocktails from The Hudson: the "Hitman" is made with muddled blackberries and a peppery one called the "Spicy Shine" (which was everyone's favorite).

Komida: From Prom to Hollywood

One of the first times Yamashiro's Chef Brock Kleweno played around with Japanese influences tacos was at last year's Blogger Prom. They had also been very popular at the Thursday farmer's markets at Yamashiro, so it's only natural that their next move is a brick and mortar restaurant. That brick and mortar place is apparently a large space in the back of Hollywood and Highland center (towards Orange Dr, but there's no car-accessible entrance on Orange), in what used to be a club/lounge called H Wood.

There are definitely the expected Japanese influences in their tacos, salsas, and even guacamole.

The prices seem pretty steep for tacos, but each order comes with a serving of chips topped with their addictive wasabi guacamole and pickled onions and peppers.

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