Do well by eating well - attend these benefits

Two upcoming charity events will offer Los Angeles food aficionados the opportunity to try dishes from a variety of top chefs in the area while benefiting good causes. Helping the community by munching on food from Nobu, the Border Grill, Jar and Starry Kitchen? What a great idea.


Simply diVine
On Saturday, August 21, the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Simply divine: A Summer Soirée for the Senses”, is an outdoor evening at the upscale Two Rodeo Drive, home of Tiffany & Co among other luxury retailers. Attendees will sample gourmet food, wine and spirits in the European style street.

Participating restaurants include Lucques, AOC, Ford’s Filling Station, The Bazaar by Jose Andres, The Border Grill, Umami Burger, and Jar among several others. Over a dozen wineries will also be participating in the benefit. Chef Susan Feniger, owner of Street, the Border Grill and Ciudad, is one of the co-chairs of the event.

Tickets to the event are $150 and $500 for VIP tickets which include admission to a VIP reception wine tasting at McCormick & Schmick’s in advance of the party. Proceeds benefit the programs of the Center. The event is from 8 – 10:30 pm, with the VIP tasting beginning at 6:30 pm. Tickets and more information are available here.


Plate by Plate
On Saturday, August 14th, Project by Project will be hosting its 8th Annual Tasting Benefit, Plate by Plate, at the California Science Center. Each year Plate by Plate benefits an organization serving the Asian & Pacific Islander community and this year the beneficiary of the event is the Health Justice Network.

Approximately 25 local chefs including Thi and Nguyen Tran of Starry Kitchen, Eric Greenspan of the Foundry on Melrose, Laurent Quenioux of Bistro LQ and Ricardo Zarate of Mo-Chica will be participating in the event by making small dishes to taste.

In addition to the chefs, several wineries, spirits companies and other beverage purveyors will also be providing samples of their products to sip on. The event is from 7 – 10 pm, with a VIP reception from 6 – 7 pm. Tickets are $125, with VIP tickets at $200. Tickets and more information are available here.

Starry Kitchen Opening Party

In honor of its 3 month anniversary and the launch of dinner service tomorrow, Starry Kitchen had a grand opening party last Thursday to celebrate their success. The restaurant was filled with friends, family, supporters and plenty of bloggers and hosts Nguyen and Thi Tran and their staff provided a cornucopia of their signature food, the star of which was their legendary green crispy green tofu balls.


Founder/owner/host Nguyen welcomed the crowd from the kitchen.

Chicken drumsticks, sandwiches, glass noodles and of course crispy green tofu balls were all part of the Starry Kitchen grand opening bounty.

Below are a couple of pictures of the happy crowds hanging out and enjoying the celebration.

Some of the many bloggers in attendance were Bill Esparza, Pat Saperstein, Josh Lurie, Javier Cabral, Diana Hossfeld, the Minty, and literally about a dozen others.

Don't forget to check out Starry Kitchen's new dinner service on Thursdays & Fridays, beginning tomorrow!

Starry Kitchen is located at 350 S Grand Ave (California Plaza). Phone: (213) 617-3474. Website: www.starrykitchen.com