TiGeorges at Caveman Kitchen

George Laguerre (above), the owner of Haitian restaurant TiGeorges Chicken, which closed due to a fire and has yet to reopen, began working at Caveman Kitchen yesterday. Caveman is owned by a former protege of Laguerre and is his temporary base of operations. As of today he was cooking his goat, just like he used to, and can prepare his traditional chicken with 24 hours notice.

Based on Josh Lurie's report in Feast LA, I made my way today to Vermont Avenue, immediately South of the 10 freeway to try some of Laguerre's famous food.

I had the goat plate ($12), which included stewed goat, rice and beans (mixed together), plantain chips, a slaw and a salad. The goat was surprisingly tender, though not as soft as brisket. It was flavorful and was a mix of meat on and off of the bone. The juices also gave a nice element to the rice and beans. The slaw had a tremendous spicy kick to it, that I was not expecting. It was a large plate of food, a more than ample lunch (see below).

I will return (with notice) to try his chicken. For those of you who don't want to travel to Vermont & 22nd St to sample his Haitian delicacies, he will be cooking at Test Kitchen on September 5th & 6th, this coming Sunday and Monday evenings. Reservations on Open Table.



Caveman Kitchen is located in a stripmall immediately south of the Santa Monica freeway at 2215 South Vermont Avenue @ W 22nd Place. Phone: (323) 737-3717

62nd Emmy Awards Governors Ball: The Food

When the cast of Mad Men and the other Emmy Award winners left the Nokia Theater on Sunday evening, they walked across the plaza to the Governors Ball, where an army of caterers, waiters, florists and planners organized a seated dinner for over 3,500 attendees. This is the largest annual dinner in North America and required months of planning to enable the dinner to go smoothly and each guest to get their food hot and delicious.

With so many celebrities in attendance, this was no rubber chicken dinner. I will leave it to others to dish about who wore what. I will focus on the important stuff: what did they eat? Joachim Splichal's Patina Catering catered the three course meal of Summer Vegetable Salad, Rack of Lamb and Dark Chocolate Decadence. Wines were provided by Beaulieu Vineyards and the cast of Modern Family and Daily Show celebrated their statuettes with Moet & Chandon Imperial Champagne. Nobody was going hungry or thirsty at this bash.


The first course (above) was Summer Vegetable Salad, Avocado Mousse, Salsa Verde and Heirloom Tomato Water Gelee. The avocado mousse and the tomato water gelee (at the right side of the plate) provided a nice textural contrast to the fresh vegetables on the left. This year the Emmy Awards were held in August, instead of the traditional September, which provided Chef Alec Lestr, the Executive Chef of Patina Catering, the opportunity to focus "on summer ingredients instead of fall. We have beautiful heirloom tomatoes this year."


The main course was Rack of Lamb with Dried Fruit Crumble, Chickpea Puree, Basil Marinated Grilled Eggplant with Summer Vegetables and Rosemary Juice. The lamb was delicious and made it out to the table pink in the center. Chef Lestr began planning the meal and came up with 80 different dishes. By March he and his team had narrowed the choices to 20 for the Board of Governors to sample and the entree options included beef, lamb and chicken.

For the first time in a decade the Governors chose something other than beef by going with the lamb. For diners who don't eat lamb, the kitchen provided an option of Portobello Mushroom Ravioli or Lemon Studded Salmon Ratatouille. Almost 1,000 pounds of rack of lamb was served to the attendees.


Over 180 chefs and 13 executive chefs were on hand to prepare the food for the full house of 3,600 winners, nominees, presenters and academy members. The dessert course (above) was Dark Chocolate Decadence with Smoked Fleur D'Sel on Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge Brownie. This is not a dish you see every day, combining a dessert mix available in the supermarket with high end fine dining flourishes. Philippe Muze, the Executive Pastry Chef for Patina Catering, created the dish, which was a first for him. "I tested the brownie recipe and it came out well. Coming from France, we don't have these kind of products there. I love fleur de sel. I thought, what can I put with chocolate brownies? Fleur de sel gives some special flavor to the dish."


Chef Lestr (above) was surprisingly calm before the awards, "I wish every day was the Emmys. I want to feed 3,500 people every day. We have such an amazing team. With the theme of Starry, Starry Night, we thought, let's make the food beautiful," he said. His motto is "plan the work, work the plan."


The tables were decorated with the theme of Starry Night and the food was cooked on-site, on temporary kitchens set up in the adjacent parking lot and plated adjacent to the ballroom. Your correspondent was unfortunately not able to keep the Emmy statuette pictured in the photo above, despite having a perfect spot for it on my mantle. Below the full expanse of the room is visible in all of its scale and extravagance.

Pattaya Savory Hunter cocktail by Chad Solomon

Chad Solomon (pictured above) is one of the best bartenders anywhere, so when he let me know he was doing a one night stint at the Test Kitchen on Saturday with Julian Cox (with Walter Manzke in the kitchen), I made sure to be there. Chad worked at Milk & Honey for years in the beginning of the cocktail renaissance and he and his partner Christy Pope manage Cuff & Buttons and have consulted on cocktail programs all over the world and partnered with Audrey Saunders in the Tar Pit here in Los Angeles, before all three of them left that project.

I took a look at the menu and one drink jumped out at me, the Pattaya Savory Hunter. It is not every day I walk into a bar and find a drink named after me so I was pretty excited. It was also rather surreal to hear people come up to the bar and ask for two Savory Hunters. The drink is a spicy drink, which Solomon knows I enjoy, and is a variation on a beverage that Christy Pope presented at the Red Hot Rover earlier this summer.

It was a fun surprise and very cool. Thankfully I loved my namesake drink and it was among the best selling drinks of the night. Apparently the customers had impeccable taste.

Pattaya Savory Hunter includes: Lemon Myrtle Infused Gin, Coconut, Lime Juice, Cilantro, Thai Chile, Purple Orchid w/ Ginger Essence. The flower on the top is for presentation and to carry the ginger fragrance. The cocktail (pictured below) was spicy but balanced and used several Southeast Asian flavors such as coconut and chiles. Alas the infused gin will make it difficult to replicate at home.



Yes, I removed the flower before I drank the Pattaya Savory Hunter. Watch out Bricia , now we both have namesake drinks! lol

Cocktail All Stars Tonight at First & Hope

Tonight at First & Hope Supperclub, the downtown restaurant and bar opposite the Music Center, Aidan Demarest and Marcos Tello present Cocktail All Stars, where five top bartenders will be mixing cocktails for the sipping pleasure of Los Angeles's growing cocktail community.

Bartenders include Demarest, Naomi Schimek who won a Rising Star award at this year's Tales of the Cocktail, Julian Cox of Rivera restaurant, Sean Hamilton, a finalist in Bombay Saphire and GQ's Most Inspiring Bartender event, and Brent Falco of First & Hope. The party begins at 6 pm and continues through 11 pm. If the Red Rover that Demarest and Tello hosted in the spring at the same location was any guide, this should be a crowded and fun evening.



First & Hope. 710 W. 1st Street (@ Hope St.). Its in the corner of the plaza. Phone: (213) 617-8555. Website: firstandhope.com

Ludo Fried Chicken: Mobile Crispy & Tasty

Ludo LeFebvre has been tantalizing Los Angeles with his Ludo Fried Chicken for months, beginning with the debut of his infamous chicken balls at the LA Street Food Fest downtown in February. His LudoBites truck is bright red and will begin more regular rounds next month, but at this point is still doing special events only. You can catch up with the truck tomorrow at the OC Foodie Fest.



The menu has expanded beyond just the balls to include Buttermilk Chicken Strips, Chicken Wings and Ludo's Crispy Chicken Sandwich (pictured below). The sandwich is made with several of the chicken strips in a bun, with slaw on top. The style is reminiscent of Bakesale Betty in Oakland and the sandwich that the Animal dudes produced for Cart for a Cause.



The new menu also includes side dishes such as french fries, honey lavendar biscuits and Ludo's slaw. There are even desserts. Unlike my previous experiences with the Ludo Truck, the line moved very quickly, perhaps the fastest I have seen at any food truck. The process is continuing to be tweaked to make it go even faster.



And for the lovers of chicken balls, now there are four dipping sauces to choose from: piquillo pepper, honey smoked bbq, Bearnaise mayonnaise, and honey whole grain mustard. Yes, Ludo is loving the honey these days!

You can follow the truck on Twitter to see where it is going next. Stops to date have included Fox, Cube, Sunset Junction and tomorrow's OC Fest. Bring your appetite and if you forget cash, Ludo takes credit cards.

Heaven Hill Dinner tonight at The Den of Hollywood

Tonight Heaven Hill Distilleries, the producer of Evan Williams and Elijah Craig bourbons, will be hosting a dinner at The Den of Hollywood. The five course dinner will feature each course paired with signature cocktails featuring spirits from the Heaven Hill portfolio.

You can RSVP for the event by calling (323) 656-0336. There will be multiple seatings beginning at 6:30 pm. Additional information is here.

Late Night Bar Menu at the Palm

The Palm in Downtown LA recently launched a new Prime Bites menu in the bar area for only $3.50 per dish from 9 pm to closing on Monday - Friday evenings. (Hours vary at other Palm locations.) Dishes include Kobe Beef Sliders, Prime Cheese Steaks and other bites that are normally priced at $7 - $12.

Last week a confederate and I checked out this special, sampling the Kobe Beef sliders, the Filet Mignon Capri Sandwiches, and the Prime Cheese Steaks. The Kobe Beef Sliders (middle picture) were by far our favorite.





If you are looking for a good value or some food to munch on prior to a night of downtown drinking, you can't get more for your money than the Prime Bites menu at the Palm downtown.

Note that the West Hollywood location serves the menu at these prices from 4:30 - 6:30 pm.

The Palm is located at 1100 S. Flower St, at the corner of Flower and 11th Sts. Phone: (213) 763-4600‎ Website: thepalm.com