Patina Toasts 10th Anniversary With Build-Your-Own Tastings For $10/Dish

On October 10th, Patina Restaurant in downtown LA will be celebrating their tenth anniversary in a big way. On that day only, guests can design their own tasting menu for just $10 per dish. For Patina, that's an amazing deal!

I was lucky enough to taste a few of the dishes that will be served on October 10th during a lunch preview.

The man behind the food at Patina now is Executive Chef Charles Olalia who was previously Chef de Cuisine, with experience at French Laundry and Guy Savoy. 

My lunch started with an Amuse bouche duo of Paradise Cove oyster topped with caviar and vichyssoise, and a Scallop and potato chip sandwich

What a decadent start to a weekday lunch! The scallop "sandwich" was a unique combination.

Bread service: olive bread

Big Eye Tuna Tower, soya onion, avocado, oven dried tomato, yuzu granite.

Paired with Albarino from Galicia, Spain. 

I thought this tuna and avocado combination would be like any other tuna tartar-like dish, but I was wrong. The flavors here were surprising and delightful and the tuna was fresh and almost melted in my mouth. The Albariño was a great wine, crisp, lightly sweet. This was my favorite pairing and wine of the day.

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Giveaway! Tickets to LA County Fair

As you may know from my post last week, the LA County Fair in Pomona is going on until September 30. Fun fried food, Star Trek exhibit, circus performers, beer and wine tasting ...

Because I attended the preview they gave me 4 admission tickets and a parking pass. Unfortunately for me, this month is crazy busy and I can't go so instead I'm giving away the tickets to you guys! I'll be splitting the prize into two so each winner will get two tickets and one will also get a parking pass :) Just follow the instructions on the entry form below and good luck!

Entry-Form

G&B Coffee Elevates Coffee Experience at Grand Central Market(DowntownLA)

The Grand Central Market in downtown LA is experiencing a revival with the opening of some great destinations, including G & B Coffee, which used to be located inside Sqirl. The coffee bar is also visible from the street and pedestrians can just walk up to it without going through the market itself first.

G & B Coffee wanted coffee to return to being a social experience, more like a bar, where guests can interact with baristas and other guests instead of moving down the line to get your pourover.

By the way, I came here for a preview tasting so for some, the pictured portions are much smaller than the full size that you'll get when you purchase.
G & B doesn't roast their own coffee, instead you'll find a rotating selection of their current favorite coffees from other roasters. Right now they seem to be liking Heart from Portland, but they'll have 6-10 different varieties each day so there will always be something for everyone.
The most popular item may be the almond latte. Kyle Glanville, one of the co-founders, thinks that soy tastes weird with coffee, so instead they have almond milk made in house which is only slightly sweet and is quite good. It has a nice subtle flavor that goes well with coffee.

The coffee shop sells pastries from Pete the Baker, who used to do pastry for Storefront Deli in Los Feliz.

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