Showing posts with label bryan tsunoda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bryan tsunoda. Show all posts

Friday, March 25, 2016

Superstar chefs at the sixth annual Palm Desert Food & Wine Festival, April 8-10

by guest blogger @btsunoda

Superstar chefs Cat Cora, Ricardo Zarate, Valerie Gordon, and Suzanne Tracht are among the lineup for the sixth annual Palm Desert Food & Wine Festival, April 8-10, 2016

The three-day festival, held in the heart of Palm Desert’s famed El Paseo shopping district, is produced by Palm Springs Life magazine in conjunction with co-producers Tony Marchese and Dominic Peterson. The Festival begins Friday, April 8 with a four-course gourmet luncheon, expertly prepared by celebrity chefs and served in an elegantly-appointed tent. The luncheon is followed by two days of Grand Tastings, featuring delectable morsels from more than 40 restaurants, created by renowned chefs from all across California. More than 70 premium wines and champagnes will be offered. In addition there will be 20 live cooking demos.

I recently attended a media tasting event and was able to preview some of the tasty bites, wine and liqueurs that will be served.
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A sampling of premium beer and wines were available for us to taste. The Kenwood Yulupa Cuvée Brut was a well balanced sparkling wine with hints of fresh peach. It was a great way to invigorate my palate for what I was about to sample.
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Executive chef Engin Onural from The Venue Sushi Bar and Sake Lounge in Palm Desert prepared 3 offerings of common menu items: sunomono, ceviche and California roll. Last December, Best Chefs of America bestowed the title of “Best Chef” to Onural.
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Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Happy Hour at Estate Restaurant and Bar (Santa Monica, CA)

by guest blogger @btsunoda

When the conversation at the next table is easier to hear than the person that I’m eating with, I’m generally not having a good time. This type of occurrence has been more frequent of late because many restaurants have adopted a bistro format with small tables and uncomfortable chairs. I recently had the opportunity to visit Estate Restaurant and Bar to experience their new happy hour menu, and luckily, Estate's layout provided plenty of space to diners to be comfortable.
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The interior of the Estate Restaurant and Bar is a modern take on what restaurants used to be like. Estate Restaurant and Bar has different seating areas and plush booths and individual seats. Because they don’t attempt to use every square inch of the restaurant, there is a general feeling of spaciousness. Even the bar has cushioned comfortable chairs.

Their happy hour menu had plenty of discounted food and drinks. We started off with the Tuna Crispy Wonton Tacos  ($9)
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Instead of frying taco shells, they use wonton shaped like a tortilla, just like classic tuna tartar. The contrasting colors and textures were both visually stunning and delicious. The tuna was fresh and the ginger nicely enhanced the tuna.

Char siu pizza with hoisin sauce? I had to see what that was all about.
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