Taste of the Nation: This Sunday in West Hollywood

This Sunday from 1 - 4 pm the annual Taste of the Nation fundraiser moves to The Lot in West Hollywood to raise money for Share our Strength, the charity devoted to ending childhood hunger. 100% of all money raised will go to local Los Angeles food banks, which have seen increased demand during the long recession.

More than 40 restaurants will be participating, including newcomers such as Cliff's Edge, NIGHT + MARKET and Cooks County as well as classics such as Campanile and Joe's. Libations are given even more prominence this year, with many local bars, mixologists and craft brewers participating. The Spare Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel will be featuring Plymouth Gin cocktails, Harvard & Stone will be featuring Miracle Mile Bitters and St. George Spirits and for the folks in the VIP tent, Steve Livigni, Pablo Moix and the whole Pour Vous team will be making a bevy of French influenced cocktails. There will be a Craft Beer Tent, which this year is focusing on collaborations between breweries and beer bars. Pairings include the Bruery and Beer Belly as well as Brewery Ommegang and The Golden State.

Tickets for the event are $25 for children 12-18 years old and $110 for adults. VIP tickets are $160. You can purchase tickets here - just click on the large "purchase tickets" link on the Taste of the Nation blog. Organizers have said that few tickets remain and they expect to see out, so I recommend you purchase your admission tickets quickly so you don't miss out on supporting a great cause and getting to try so many great restaurants and bars. Prepaid parking is $25.

Waylynn Lucas of Fonuts at a prior Taste of the Nation

Taste of the Nation: 1041 N. Formosa, West Hollywood | June 10th, 1 - 4 pm | Website

Taste of the Nation: This Sunday in Culver City

This Sunday from 1 - 4 pm the annual Taste of the Nation fundraiser returns to Media Park in Culver City to raise money for Share our Strength, the charity devoted to ending childhood hunger.  100% of all money raised will go to local Los Angeles food banks, which have seen increased demand during the long recession.  46 restaurants will be participating, including newcomers such as A-Frame and Lexington Social House and classics such as Michael's and Patina.

This year Taste of the Nation will also be featuring local bars, mixologists and craft brewers.  Julian Cox, who gained renown for his cocktail program at Rivera, will be showcasing some of the drinks from his most recent project Sotto.  The Spare Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel will be featuring Plymouth Gin cocktails and this is the first year that there will be a Craft Beer Tent which will feature brews from the Bruery and Eagle Rock Brewery among others.

Among the high profile chefs participating are Michael Voltaggio, Top Chef winner and chef/owner of the forthcoming restaurant ink, and this year's Food & Wine Best New Chef Ricardo Zarate, who will be showcasing dishes from his soon to open restaurant Picca.

For the sweet tooths in the crowd, Waylynn Lucas will be representing Fōnuts, her new doughnut concept. Lucas was the pastry chef at Patina and the Bazaar as well as for the whole SLS hotel, so if her past treats are anything to go by, these will be a hot ticket.

Tickets for the event are $25 for children 12-18 years old and $100 for adults ($125 at the door).  You can purchase tickets here - just click on the large "purchase tickets" link on the Taste of the Nation blog.  VIP tickets have already sold out, so I recommend you purchase your admission tickets quickly, before the entire event is sold out.

Taste of the Nation at Culver City Media Park: 9070 Venice Blvd, Culver City
Sunday June 12th, from 1-4 pm
http://tasteofthenationla.org/blog/

Caroline on Crack presents a Taste of the Nation benefit at The Spare Room

What are you planning Thursday night?  If the answer is anything other than going to the Spare Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, change your plans as Caroline of Caroline on Crack has organized a benefit for Share our Strength's Taste of the Nation that you are going to want to be at.

So what is in store for you on Thursday evening at this swanky spot?  The evening's design consists of a Connect Four tournament of 4 games going on at the same time as well as the two lanes of bowling for three hours (an hour a game).  A $50 donation gains you entry to the festivities with punch and appetizers as well as one hour of bowling.  Bowling normally costs $100 for one hour so this is a pretty good deal.  Even better if you win the bowling tournament, you will get a free night's stay at the Hollywood Roosevelt and 2 tickets to Taste of the Nation in Culver City.  Now, that's my kind of prize.

For a $25 donation, you get entry to the party, punches and appetizers and entry into the Connect Four Tournament.  The grand prize for the gamers is an hour's bowling at The Spare Room and 2 tickets to Taste of the Nation in Culver City.

Now if you are too chicken to bowl or play Connect Four against the fierce competition, you can still attend this sure to be infamous evening by paying an admission fee of $15.

Attendees will have the opportunity to purchase tickets for Taste of the Nation at a discount from the regular $100 price.  Bowlers get $25 off and gamers and non-competers get $15 off.

How to get on the guest list for this party?  It's easy!  Just  sign up for the games, specifying which tournament you would like to participate in, by RSVPing to Caroline at carolineoncrack@gmail.com.

The party runs from 6 pm - 9pm and you must RSVP to get on the list.  It is for a great cause and is sure to be a lot of fun, so join me at The Spare Room this Thursday evening.

The Spare Room @ the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel: 7000 Hollywood Blvd.

For more information, see Caroline's website.

Taste of the Nation 2010 Recap

Last Sunday over 1,500 food fans, chefs and vintners got together to raise money for Share Our Strength, an organization dedicated to fighting childhood hunger in America, at the annual Taste of the Nation event in Culver City.

Over 40 local restaurants participated by providing sample size portions of their food. Attendees could try as many of the foods as they wanted, and fortunately the lines were manageable for almost all vendors, with the exception of the Gelato Bar, whose icy offerings were much in demand on a hot day.

Chef Michael Voltaggio of The Dining Room at the Langham in Pasadena did a cooking demonstration on the main stage and also got inked a new tattoo in honor of the charity event.

Mozza, Bottega Louie, Patina, Bar 210, Hatfields, The Bazaar, Sprinkles, and Loteria Grill were just some of the restaurants represented.

My favorite tastes of the day included the short ribs with potato puree from Hatfield's, the hamachi from Patina, the torchon of foie gras and the salad of heirloom tomato, watermelon and feta, both from Bottega Louie. Both of the Bottega Louie offerings were excellent and the watermelon and tomato salad was perfect and refreshing on warm summer day. I can't wait to get to the restaurant to try the full menu.

The FIG station was serving hot dogs, in order to promote their newly launched FIG Hot Dog Cart, which is available poolside at the Fairmont Hotel on weekends. It seemed silly to offer a full sized hot dog (they were quite large) at an event at which people were grazing from dozens of booths. I was also disappointed when after it turned out that both toppings on offer included pork (which I don't eat), they weren't willing to let me try one without the toppings (which I could see them adding literally in front of me.) "We are pork friendly," the smug member of the kitchen staff said. His attitude made me question whether I should bother returning back to FIG again.

Below are selected photos from the event:

Executive Chef Tony Esnault & Pastry Chef Waylynn Lucas of Patina.

Marcel Vigneron of Bar 210 with his pomegranate spheres.

Karen Hatfield of Hatfield's plating.

Sam Marvin of Bottega Louie.

The wonderful torchon of foie gras with apple gastrique and marcona almond brittle from Bottega Louie.

The albacore sashimi with onion sauce in a cocktail glass from K-Zo.

The delicious vanilla panna cotta from Mozza.

Taste of the Nation - Preview Fundraiser @ Synder Diamond

Last Monday Taste of the Nation Los Angeles held a preview fundraiser at Snyder Diamond in Santa Monica featuring cooking demonstrations by Laurent Quenioux of Bistro LQ, Walter Manzke (ex Church & State) and Quinn Hatfield of Hatfields restaurant. A crowd of 100 foodies came to see the cooks each demonstrate and serve a dish and support the cause of ending childhood hunger in America, which is the mission of Share Our Strength. Quenioux and Hatfield are pictured above and Manzke is pictured below.

This event sponsored by the host Snyder Diamond and by Angeleno Magazine, was one of several preview events designed to raise money as well as awareness about the main event in Culver City on June 6. You can buy tickets here.



Before the cooking demonstrations began, attendees mingled, drinking wine and sampling cheese from the Cheese Impresario. The featured cheeses were all from Wisconsin and generous portions were served. A highlight for me was the 10 yr aged Hook's Cheddar, from the same cheesemakers who created the 15 yr I wrote about previously. It was great to speak with someone so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about cheese.

The first cooking demo featured Chef Quenioux's Wild Mushroom Tapioca, Mirabelle Plum Coulis, Tonka Bean Chantilly, which had an interesting texture and was served in small cups which showed off the multiple layers of the dish. This was followed up by Chef Manzke's Alsatian Tarte Flambee, which he demonstrated in front of and then cooked in an amazing oven. It is a savory flatbread with bacon, onions and cheese. I did not sample it due to the bacon but those around me were looking for second helpings.



The last demonstration was Chef Hatfield making a signature item, his Croque Madame with Hamachi, Proscuitto, Quail Egg. He described it as "a simple dish that relies on product." He originated this dish when he worked at Rocco DiSpirito's Union Pacific, in the Flatiron District in New York City. Due to its labor intensiveness he could not produce it on short notice for Rocco, so he was able to keep this signature dish for himself. He said that the "ham plays like soy sauce but the fish plays like cheese in a ham and cheese." I did not try this dish either but it looked beautiful with the tiny quail eggs atop the little sandwiches. A feast for the eyes as well as the stomach.

In addition to the three chefs, Devin Pedde and Chris Owens (pictured below), from Intelligentsia Coffee in Silverlake and Venice, respectively, were on hand to provide samples and discuss coffee. Their third Southern California location will be opening later in Pasadena, but no opening date has been announced publicly yet. Intelligentsia was one of the sponsors of the event.



Check the Taste of the Nation website for more information about upcoming events, including the 2010 Taste of the Nation Los Angeles in Culver City on June 6th.

Bistro LQ: 8009 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA. Phone: (323) 951-1088‎
Hatfields Restaurant: 6703 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles. Phone: (323) 935-2977‎
Snyder Diamond: 1399 Olympic Blvd, Santa Monica, CA. Phone: (310) 450-1000