Patina Alumni Reunion Dinner and Party

On Wednesday November 2nd, Patina Restaurant is having an all-star alumni dinner in which several of the most prominent alumni of Joachim Splichal's flagship restaurant come back for one night to cook a multi course feast.  Walter Manzke, Eric Greenspan, Octavio Becerra, Michael Otsuka, Theo Schoenegger, and David Feau will all be back in their old stomping grounds in their chef's whites.  Current Patina chefs Tony Esnault and Sarah Koechling as well as Splichal himself, will all be whipping up signature dishes.  The dinner is $150, all inclusive.  Reservations can be made by calling the restaurant.

A more affordable way to join in the celebration is the after-party at Kendall's Brasserie, for which tickets are only $30.  Oysters, pinot and pork products are all on the menu, along with some quality time with the talented crew of toques.  If you have spend much time with chefs, you know they can likely drink you under the table, so come and relax and share some wine.  You might even challenge Chef Manzke to a oyster eating contest?  Why not?  Life is good.

Reservations: (213) 972-3331.

Tonight: Dine LA Quickfire Competition Champion Crowned in Battle Dessert

Tonight at Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill at LA Live, Chefs Mark Peel (Campanile), Akira Hirose (Maison Akira), Octavio Becerra (Palate Food + Wine), and Eric Greenspan (The Foundry on Melrose), the four finalists in the Dine LA Quickfire compeition, will duke it out for the title of Champion in the final round of the competition, Battle: Dessert. Judging them will be Sherry Yard, the author and pastry chef at Spago, Russ Parsons from the LA Times and Evan Kleiman from Angeli Caffe and KCRW's Good Food.

Each chef in this battle won their preliminary round to advance to the finals.  The championship battle will be held from 6 - 8 pm tonight (Tuesday) and will be open to the public, so bring your sweet tooth as well as your camera. Savory food will be on offer as well, including $6 appetizer specials of spicy tuna tartare and slider trios.

Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill at L.A. LIVE
800 West Olympic Boulevard. Phone: 213.748.9700 Web site: here.

Cart for a Cause - from Animal to Chef Greenspan

Last week was Animal chefs Jon Shook & Vinny Dotolo's second and final week of manning Cart for a Cause. They put out my favorite of the charitable Tuesday lunches to date, an amazing fried chicken sandwich with corn on the cob. The sandwich was served with a slaw on a bun and the chicken breast was juicy and flavorful and the crispy breading stayed on the breast and didn't come apart. I could eat that sandwich on a weekly basis and be a happy man.



This week, Shook and Dotolo have passed the baton to Eric Greenspan, of the Foundry on Melrose and soon to be proprietor of his own grilled cheese mecca. He will be serving a choice of either a Greenspan Grilled Cheese Sandwich or a Salad of Ablacore Tartare. Each lunch costs $10 and includes a beverage as well.

Tomorrow Tuesday May 4th, the Cart for a Cause truck will be at 11766 Wilshire Blvd, at Granville, 2 blocks west of Barrington Ave in Brentwood/West LA between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm.


Each Tuesday a different chef prepares a gourmet meal in the Cart for a Cause cart, for sale at $10 each, and the proceeds benefit St. Vincent's Meals on Wheels.

To learn more follow Cart for a Cause on Facebook & Twitter

The recipe for Eric's Albacore Salad is below:

Albacore Tartare with Carrots, Garlic, and Pomegranate

FOR THE TARTARE:
1 oz extra virgin olive oil in fused with garlic
1 oz sashimi grade Monterrey Albacore,chopped into a near paste
Salt and pepper
6 oz carrot juice, reduced to ½ oz
6 oz orange juice, reduced to ½ oz

Mix all ingredients.

FOR THE CARROT AND GARLIC SALAD:
1 baby yellow carrot, shaved on a Japanese mandoline
1 baby red carrot, shaved on a Japanese mandoline
10-15 pomegranate seeds
1 clove of garlic, thinly sliced

Place the garlic in a small saucepot of cold water. Bring to a
boil. Strain. Repeat 2 more times, then fry the garlic. Mix with
other ingredients and arrange on top of the albacore tartare.

FOR THE POMENGRANATE PONZU:
6 oz Pom brand 100% Pomengranate Juice, reduced to ½ oz.
1/2 oz soy sauce
1/2 oz garlic oil

Mix all ingredients and drizzle liberally on the plate.

FOR THE CARROT PUREE:
1 large carrot, peeled
4 oz carrot juice

Simmer the carrot in juice until soft, then place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.

Grilled Cheese Invitational - 2010

This is the last cheese related post of the day. This past weekend about 8,000 Angelenos lined up to attend the 1st 8th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational. Unlike at the innagural LA Street Food Fest, the lines to get in moved very quickly. Admission was $10 and entitled attendees to a sample of a Tillamook grilled cheese sandwich and the opportunity to purchase mini grilled cheese sandwiches from a variety of vendors.

The lines for purchasing sandwiches/food was frequently very long, a consequence of less than 10 vendors selling grilled cheese sandwiches and the capacity crowd of 8,000 excited fans and judges.
The best of the sandwiches I ate was the fresh burrata with cherry tomatoes and salsa verde from the Campanile/Point booth. It was $4, double the price of the other sandwiches. Spendy but tasty. Chef Mark Peel was there in person working the grill.

Chef Eric Greenspan of the Foundry on Melrose and the upcoming Grilled Cheesery was also there grilling up with his staff. His line blended in with the Hot Knives folks, making it confusing.

It was fun and a good vibe but it was too hard to actually get some of the product. Waaaay better than the LA Street Food Fest, but there was still room for improvement if your goal was to sample several grilled cheeses that you couldn't normally get. I skipped the Grilled Cheese truck as their product is available all the time - why wait an hour in line in the heat for something that I can get another day without the wait?

Also sampled the Greenspan sandwich and one called "band Camp" from the Hot Knives folks which included cheddar and apple butter. I found it way too sweet - the apple overpowered everything else. The lines at Hot Knives were also the worst and most confusing as there was one line to pay and another to get your sandwich. As the lines were so long and the Hot Knives folks changed their offering each hour, when you got in the ordering line there was no way to know what sandwich you were likely to get when you finally made it to the front of the food line.


The photos to the left are of Mark Peel at the griddle and Eric Greenspan at his tent.