Wednesday, July 6, 2011

July Food Events. Go Wild!

There are A LOT of food events going on in July. Are you ready?

Friday, July 8
East LA Meets Napa
This annual event is the marriage between Mexican food in LA and Latino-owned wineries in California. Set in the beautiful courtyard of downtown's Union Station, the event benefits AltaMed, which provides quality healthcare to underserved communities.
6pm, Union Station. Admission: $200.

Saturday, July 9
ColLAboration Craft Beer Garden
12-9 pm, 8950 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood. Admission: $10 (includes membership glass, good for future events. Beers are $5-6 each)

July 16 and 17 may be Carmageddon, but with events in every neighborhood, you can still party it up while avoiding the freeway!

Saturday, July 16
LA Street Food Fest
For the eastsiders, head to the Rose Bowl for the 2nd Annual LA Street Food Fest Summer Tasting Event. This year they're splitting it into three events with different themes, to minimize crowd, but each event will feature the same great line up of LA's street food and restaurants, and some guest chefs from Mexico! Each event will feature Ice Cream Social, tequila, gin, beer, and all that good stuff. The evening event is 21+ only.
Time varies by event. Rose Bowl, Pasadena. Admission: $60

Extravaganza for the Senses
If you're in Hollywood, head to the Extravaganza for the Senses. This annual event benefits the Saban Free Clinic and features over 40 restaurants including Chaya, Public Kitchen and Bar, Oliverio, and more. There will be silent auction going on too, if you feel like "shopping."
6pm (VIP), 7-10pm (general). Sunset Gower Studios, Hollywood. Admission: $225 VIP, $100 general.

ColLAboration Craft Beer Garden
12-9 pm, 8950 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood. Admission: $10 (includes membership glass, good for future events. Beers are $5-6 each)

Saturday-Sunday, July 16-17
Eat Real Fest
Westsiders, fear not, you can also avoid the 405 closure at Eat Real Fest. This festival features all manners of food things that are local and sustainable. Street food vendors, marketplace, local small-batch brews, hands-on workshop for making bitters and sauerkraut, jamming and pickling contests, demos. Entrance is free and you pay as you go, so there should be no reason not to drop by.
Saturday 10:30am-9pm, Sunday 10:30am-5pm. Helms Bakery, Culver City. Admission: FREE.

Saturday, July 23
ColLAboration Craft Beer Garden - Belgian Independence Day Celebration
12-9 pm, 8950 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood. Admission: $15 (includes collector's goblets. Beers are $6 each)

Sunday, July 24
Angeleno Magazine's Live and Dine LA
Join Angeleno Magazine as they announce and honor the best in Los Angeles dining, partake in food created by LA's best chefs and restaurants including Ray Garcia (FIG), Roy Choi (A-Frame), David Feau (The Royce), and many more.
4:30pm (VIP reception), 5:30-9pm (grand tasting). Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows, 101 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica. Admission: $150 VIP, $95 grand tasting

Galco's Soda Pop Stop's first ever Summer Soda Tasting Event
Yep, Galco's first ever soda tasting is coming to benefit The Southwest Museum. There will be soda pops (obviously), "poptails", live music and auction.
5-8pm. Galco's Soda Pop Stop, 5702 York Blvd, Los Angeles. Admission: $15 ($12 advance)


Wednesday, July 27
Farm-to-Table Dinner at The Terrace at The Langham
5 course menu featuring fresh, seasonal produce from local farms, with "perfectly paired" wines.
6:30pm cocktail reception, 7pm dinner. The Langham, Huntington Hotel, Pasadena. $95pp (wine pairing included)
Call (626) 585-6218 for reservations.

Thursday, July 28
An Evening On The Beach
This stylish event benefits St. Vincent's Meals on Wheels, which helps feed seniors around the city. Ten great LA chefs including Celestino Drago (Drago, Drago Centro), Mark Gold (Eva), Tim Guiltinan (The Raymond), and Sherry Yard (Spago) will prepare your meals, while you eat them on the sands of Santa Monica beach. There will be cocktails crafted by the 1886 Bar at The Raymond (my favorite bar in Pasadena), and they promise oysters on the half shell all night long.
6-10 pm. Jonathan Beach Club, 850 Palisades Beach Rd, Santa Monica. Admission: $150 (VIP is sold out)



Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Brü Haus: Brentwood's Gastro Pub, Now Open

Brü Haus has opened its doors right next to Cabo Cantina with around twenty draft beers and about the same number in bottles. Brü Haus is possibly Brentwood's first gastropub; at least I can't think of another.

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The main fare at Brü Haus is the sausages with interesting selections (including a Berliner currywurst) and vegan options, burgers, and pretzels. They have about 20 beers on tap and an equal number in bottles.
Bru Haus Pub

Make sure you get some of their housemade sauces (sambal aioli, jalapeno ranch) to go with either your sausages, burger, or fries (or sweet potato tater tots). My favorite was the bright pink beetchup. Yes, that's beet ketchup. Sounds weird but I was hooked.
Beetchup

Friday, July 1, 2011

The Aviary Kitchen Table Experience (Chicago)

Ten cocktails, paired small bites, and over 2 hours of watching The Aviary bartenders and chefs in action inside the kitchen - or as they call it, the cage. That's the Kitchen Table experience at Grant Achatz's new bar, The Aviary.

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Since I wasn't able to snag a reservation at Next Restaurant on my last Chicago visit, I opted for the Aviary's $165 10-course cocktail tasting at the Kitchen Table. While the main lounge area featured plush booths and dim lighting, the kitchen table (inside what's dubbed "the cage") is a tall metal table and two stools facing the minimalist kitchen and "bar" (with perfect lighting for photographs, I may add).
Inside "The Cage"
Even though this was a cocktail tasting, they still wanted to start off with a sparkling wine, so Course #1 was an Alsace sparkling wine with strawberry puree, which was paired with Compressed watermelon with soju, topped with sesame seed.
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Compressed Watermelon
I had begged my companion to come here with me even though he can't drink much alcohol. I'll drink his share, I said. But when they saw he wasn't finishing his first cocktail, he told them he doesn't really drink, and Aviary decided to do a non-alcoholic version of the tasting for him. In some cases, that just meant water instead of liquor. In others, it was an entirely different drink (that still pairs with the bite).

Course #2: Rhubarb cocktail with Peychaud ice
Rhubarb Cocktail, Peychaud Ice
Instead of adding a dash of bitters, those ice spheres you see contain Peychaud bitters which release flavors as the ice melts instead of diluting.
This was paired with Cantaloupe compressed in champagne and topped with prosciutto, an elevated version of the typical prosciutto and melon.
Compressed Cantaloupe

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