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.

Halloween Is Frightfully Fun in Downtown LA

Casey's Irish Pub

You may have heard that a holiday approaches.  So before you get your costume and drink on, it pays to know where you can enjoy the appropriate spooky ambiance, if that is the vibe you seek.  Yes, Halloween is on Monday night and to celebrate the sacred evening and share the spirit of competition, eight of the 213 Group's bars in Downtown LA are competing as to who can create the ultimate Halloween experience.  On Tuesday night I set out with illustrious panel of judges who visited all eight in a single evening to determine which bar could generate the most zombie spirit.  We were picked off one by one by creatures of the night and only a few of us including ThirstyinLA lived to tell the tale.  If you see my fellow judge FoodGPS, watch out, he may be after your brains.

Each establishment was given the same amount of money to work with, which was certainly a bigger challenge for Casey's as it is the largest space including an outdoor patio, than for several of the smaller sized establishments such as Cana Rum Bar.  Each bar was challenged to decorate their space in their chosen theme, to include zombies wherever possible, to have the employees dress up in theme and to offer a punch for only $5 through Monday evening.

Dexter's Kill Room

The winning bar will not be revealed until Monday night, but there is some serious coin on the line as 213 impresario Cedd Moses has decreed that the winning bar will get to keep the profits from this Saturday night.  Not only that but one lucky undead will receive airfare anywhere in the U.S.  Zombies in Hawaii anyone?  Who will the Most Valuable Zombie be?

The most disturbing decor of the evening was certainly at Tony's Saloon in the Arts District.  Customers can sip on Etorphine Vodka Chloride punch while they try and escape the plastic wrap.  You can struggle but you will not be able to free yourself as the bar has transformed itself into one of Dexter's kill rooms from the Showtime series Dexter. The punch is named after the drug that Dexter injects into his victims to immobilize and incapacitate them.  The blood spattered plastic wrapped environment is completely transformative.  It felt like a different establishment.  I escaped via the pizza establishment, but barely.

Smoke billowing from an unseen fog machine welcomed us to the underground lair of Casey's Irish Pub.  Cobwebs galore covered the entire bar and the zombified bartenders included Amy Winehouse.  Both a Jameson and a glass of their Bloody Zombie Punch will likely be needed to calm you down as the hungry, I mean helpful, zombie staff surrounds you.

Some of the best punch you can find in downtown, any night of the year, is at Cana Rum Bar.  Allan Katz's Fiending Frenzy was absolutely delicious and beautifully presented, served out of a crystal punch bowl.  The voodoo threatens to put a hex on all who enter but the punch itself may be the antidote to the curse.

Fiending Frenzy at Cana

Sympathy For The Devil, the smoke fizzing punch at Broadway Bar was eye catching, as were the wild paintings on the wall, reminiscent of the Haunted Mansion.  Several customers there could have been in the running for the Most Valuable Zombie (I'm thinking of Lorenzo and Hello Kitty), if only they surrendered and joined the 213 Empire.

Sympathy for the Devil (Broadway Bar)

Golden Gopher unnerved us all.  The theme of zombified fairy tale characters was disturbing to say the least.  Whether it was Pinocchio was a bloody long nose or Snow White oozing flesh, this felt like a sick John Waters and David Lynch collaboration.

The Undead Horde packs a punch at Seven Grand.  The staff in tartan kilts, zombie makeup and not much else were not shy about butting their booze where their rotting flesh is. The Horde is made with Devil's Cut Boubon and may be their way of separating you from your brain.  The corpses in bodybags hanging from the balcony outside complete the terrifying experience.

Cole's Red Car Bar is serving the Dead Rose Punch, which may involve a dead rose petal on top, to seal your doom, while at Las Perlas, Jalisco Punch is on tap.  The Day of the Dead lasts all weekend long there as the tasty Tequila based cocktail works its way through your bloodstream.

You don't have to wait until Monday night to experience this fright fest.  Just mosey on downtown, put on your costume and enjoy.  But remember to always have a getaway plan.  You never know when the zombies will strike and the smell of the punch and brains may lead them right to you.

Picture Gallery below; addresses at the bottom:

Cole's Red Car Bar

Las Perlas

Jalisco Punch (Las Perlas)

Golden Gopher

Seven Grand

Tony's Saloon: 2017 E. Seventh St., DTLA.  Phone: (213) 622-5523
Casey's Irish Pub: 613 S. Grand Avenue, DTLA.  Phone: (213) 629-2353
Cana Rum Bar: 714 W. Olympic Blvd, STLA.  Phone: (213) 745-7090
Broadway Bar: 830 S. Broadway, DTLA.  Phone: (213) 614-9909
Golden Gopher: 417 W. 8th Street, DTLA.  Phone: (213) 614-8001
Seven Grand: 515 W. Seventh St, 2nd Floor, DTLA.  Phone: (213) 614-0736
Cole's Red Car Bar:118 E. 6th Street, DTLA.  Phone: (213) 622-4090
Las Perlas: 107 E. 6th St., DTLA.  Phone: (213) 988-8355

100 Glasses of Wine on the Wall: Fleming's Excels at Wine by the Glass

Fleming's Steakhouse in El Segundo is known for its steaks made with Prime beef but on a recent visit I was pleasantly surprised to find that they also have 100 wines available by the glass.  This may be the largest selection of wines by the glass I have encountered anywhere in the region and is a customer friendly development.  The list is regularly refreshed and the latest iteration of the "Fleming's 100" launched last month.

The list has a large selection of red wines, which naturally pair with steak, but also represents a broad range of sparkling, white and red wines.  The bubbly selection includes a Blanc de Blancs from Schramsberg, which I consider to be the best producer of sparkling wine in California.  The bubbles were small and continuous and the wine had a pleasant crispness to it.  Not overly sweet, a good start while perusing the menus or having a salad to begin.

Another good option in the champagne and sparkling wine section is the Roederer Estate Brut Rosé, a sparkling rose from Anderson Valley in Mendocino County, north of Sonoma.  This wine is made from pinot noir grapes and was fruit forward and pleasantly fizzy.

One of my favorite regions for red wine is Rioja in Spain.  La Vendimia from Palacios Remondo is a Garnacha and Tempranillo blend.  It is a well balanced rioja with fruit and leather aromas.  This will get your stomach juices ready for the inevitable steak to follow.

The wines by the glass can also be customized into a wine flight of three wines (2 oz pours each).  I enjoyed the flexibility of being able to try any three wines by the list.  There were no restrictions that they had to be from some subset of the list or only preselected options; if it was on the list of 100 wines by the glass, you could include it in your wine flight.  Especially in Southern California where diners often need to drive after their meals, it is excellent to have the option to not be forced into buying a bottle you won't finish or paying too much for a limited selection by the glass that may not have any choices you want.

It would be a shame to not try the Bone-In Ribeye when you come to Fleming's to work your way through the list of wines by the glass (hopefully not all in one visit).  My dining companion and I split the steak, which was made with Prime beef.  It was prepared a beautiful medium rare and was juicy and flavorful.  The ribeye was simply seasoned with salt, pepper and herbs and then broiled.  A steak like this will spoil you for meat at other restaurants.

Man does not live by meat alone, so we sampled the Asparagus and the Fleming's Potatoes.  The asparagus was a great veggie component to our meat and wine fest.  The Potatoes are a house specialty with cream, jalapeños and cheddar cheese.  This was the one component of the meal I cannot recommend as I found them to be heavy and not that delicious.  Stick to the baked potato or the french fries if you want a starchy component to your dinner.

With 100 choices, there is no excuse that you can't find something to your taste.  Even better the sommelier listened to what I was looking for and was able to recommend several choices that met my parameters.  Note that if you have wanted to try Silver Oak, but found it out of your price range, Fleming's list includes a Merlot from Twomey, its sister winery which shares the same winemaker.

This visit was hosted.

 Fleming's: 2301 Rosecrans Avenue, El Segundo.  Phone: (310) 643-6911.  Website: flemingssteakhouse.com

Osaka - Japanese by way of Peru in Hollywood

Peruvian cuisine is the "it girl" of the moment in Los Angeles culinary circles.  The cuisine first gained notice here when Nobu Matsuhisa opened his eponymous restaurant in 1987, bringing Miso Black Cod into the culinary lexicon.  That restaurant showcased Japanese food with Peruvian influences reflecting the years the chef spent living in Peru.  Peruvian food did not have another moment in Los Angeles until Ricardo Zarate opened Mo-Chica in Mercado La Paloma in the Spring of 2009.

2011 has seen the opening of three significant restaurants serving different styles of Peruvian cuisine.  Zarate (now a Food & Wine Magazine Best New Chef) followed up Mo-Chica with Picca, an upscale cantina with gourmet takes on Peruvian food.  This summer Mario Alberto, who had previously worked at Mo-Chica and The Lazy Ox, opened up Chimu, a casual Peruvian spot adjacent to the Grand Central Market.  Now comes Osaka, a Peruvian restaurant with Asian ingredients and techniques, from Adolfo Suaya of Surly Goat and BoHo and his partners from Lima: Diego de la Puente and Diego Herrera.  This is the 5th branch of Osaka, following the original in Lima, and others in Buenos Aires, Santiago (Chile) and Mexico City.

Osaka may follow in the footsteps of the other Peruvian spots that recently opened but it is certainly its own restaurant, blending Peruvian and Japanese as well as the strong influence of its Hollywood location.  The decor is quite dramatic.  Designer Kris Keith of Spacecraft created three rooms: a front bar, an outdoor pisco garden, and the main dining room, centered on a 40 seat ceviche and sushi bar.  There are ropes hanging from the ceiling in the dining room and to enter the restaurant, diners pass by a water feature and pond, which is effective in transporting customers away from the noise of Hollywood Boulevard.

I was recently invited to visit Osaka and try some of the menu.  My visit began with a Pisco Sour made with ORO Acholado Pisco that was a delicious beginning.  The cocktail is only $9, a deal for a delicious cocktail in Hollywood.

I sampled various items including the Tiraditos and Ceviches, which were some of the menu highlights.  The halibut (below left) and the tuna (below right) were nicely seasoned and attractively presented.

The Niku Abura nigiri, made with seared beef, was another hit.  It is second from the left in the photo below.  The salmon (left) had a buttery texture, while the beef was warm and had a sweet and savory marinade that made me want second helpings.

The menu is divided into Causitas, made with Peruvian yellow potatoes, Anticuchos (skewers), Tapas, Soups, and Signature Dishes, in addition to items from the Sushi & Ceviche Bar.  Entrees range from $15 - $25 but at Osaka it is best to make your meal of many little dishes, so you can have a variety of tastes and flavors.

If you are inclined to order a Signature Dish or two for your table, the Miso Truffle American Kobe Skirt Steak is a fitting way to settle in to the heartier stage of your meal.  This dish is not shy about announcing its presence on your plate as the miso puree and truffle salt provide an aromatic accompaniment to the tender kobe beef.

It really feels like a night on the town when you step into Osaka, whether for a round of Pisco sours or a full meal of sushi, ceviche, and cooked dishes.  Osaka may be serving the "it" cuisine of the moment, but service is welcoming and there is genuine excitement about the cuisine and dishes that is apparent from the hostess to the waiters and busboys.  So stroll down the Walk of Fame, have a cocktail, munch on ceviche and tirado and enjoy the glamorous room.  It is Hollywood after all.

Osaka: 6327 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood.  Phone: (323) 785-0360.  Website: http://www.osaka.com.pe/

Tacos at Komida

Komida, the new taqueria from Chef Brock Kleweno opened in the Hollywood & Highland complex in Hollywood earlier this month.  The restaurant, which is a bricks and mortar outpost of his Thursday night taco truck at the Yamashiro Farmer's Market, serves gourmet tacos with an Asian twist.

Unlike many of the Kogi-imitators, the tacos are no simple kalbi in a tortilla but rather are creative Asian fusion with quality ingredients.  I sampled the Black Cod, the Spiced Hoisin Duck Confit and the Soy and Red Wine Braised Short Rib (below).  The Miso Hoisin Black Cod was my favorite taco as the fish had a rich and sweet flavor.  The salsas are also recommended and can be coordinated to which taco you order.  These are no ordinary tacos and they are full of flavor.

The vibe is comfortable and surprisingly casual for the Hollywood & Highland complex.  The Komida space includes an outdoor patio which is where I recommend sitting.  The entrance to the restaurant is decorated with a homemade mural listing out the menu items and the whole environment is playful.

The tacos are expensive compared to taquerias ($4- $6) but Chef Kleweno is using a higher level of product and Komida provides ambiance which most taco trucks and taquerias do not.  Best to think of it as an inexpensive restaurant than joint like Tacos Mexico and you can appreciate what they are doing.

Komida is open Thursday evenings from 5 - 9 pm and Saturday mornings from 10 - 2 pm.  So get some tacos while you shop at the Hollywood Farmers' Market tomorrow morning.

Komida: 1738 N. Orange Drive, Hollywood.  Twitter: @komida_la  Facebook: Komida.LA

FarmShop Now Offers A La Carte Dining at Dinner

FarmShop, the pricey but delicious restaurant that opened in the Brentwood Country Mart in December, began dinner service in September, with a prix fixe menu of one starter, one entree and cheese or dessert for a set price.  Modeled on Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc in Yountville, the food is served family style and there are no choices (except between cheese or dessert).

Beginning this week, FarmShop is now serving an a la carte dinner menu as well, so if you aren't in the mood for what is on the set menu or you want more or fewer dishes, you can create your own meal.  Dishes include Sweet Corn and Avocado Salad, Roasted Organic Chicken and Steamed Bouchot Mussels.

I am particularly excited to try the lamb, which is rumored to be joining the menu soon, as well as the Sunday night fried chicken.

FarmShop: Brentwood Country Mart: 225 26th Street, just South of San Vicente Blvd, Brentwood.  It is located adjacent to ReddiChick.

Full menu below:

today's dinner Friday October 21, 2011

tonight's family style three course menu forty-eight per person Sweet Corn & Avocado Salad Wild king Salmon Andante Dairy's Rondo or Frog Hollow Farms Warren Tart TO START Red Butter Lettuce Salad windrose farm carrots, radish, soft herbs & red wine vinaigrette     11 Sweet Corn & Avocado Salad herbed farro, sungold cherry tomatoes & garden mizuna     13 Frog Hollow Farm Warren Pears burrata, pomegranate, smoked almonds & wild arugula   14 Roasted Butternut Squash Soup  wild mushroom conserva, crėme fraîche & pepitas     10 Chickpea Hummus crispy chickpeas & wholegrain lavash    12 Salmon Rillettes fresh and smoked salmon with pickled vegetables& olive oil flatbread     16 Speck Ham marinated melon, heirloom lime & fennel pollen     14.5 FOLLOWED BY   Calotte of Prime Beef oven dried munak ranch tomoatoes, crispy potatoes & chimichurri     35 Pasta Mancini Alla Chitarra walnut-mint pesto, ricotta cheese & hot pepper     18 Wild King Salmon smashed baby beets, green olives, dill-yogurt & arugula    29 Roasted Organic Chicken corn & sweet peppers, calliope eggplant & pistachio salsa verde    26 Steamed Bouchot Mussels french curry, mustard, white wine & frites     27   ON THE SIDE   Smashed Beets spiced yogurt & wild arugula     8 Crispy Potatoes rosemary & garlic     7 Fried Eggplant local honey     8 Marinated Olives  preserved orange     4.5 Heirloom Tomatoes opal basil     6          CHEESE   Andante Dairy’s Rondo goat & cow     9.5 Bellwether Farms Pepato sheep     9.5 Fiscalini’s Bandaged Wrapped Cheddar cow     9.5 any three for fifteen dollars/ served with local honey & flatbreads        DESSERTS Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake dark chocolate mousse & candied hazelnuts     8 Lemon Custard huckleberry sauce & pistachio shortbread     8 FHF Warren Pear Tart frangipane, mission fig marmelade & mascarpone cream     8

The Food Event this Sunday October 23rd

Late summer and early fall have brought a bounty of food festivals to Los Angeles.  From The Taste to the Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival, gourmands, wine aficionados and have had the opportunity to attend events at a variety of price points and themes.  This Sunday, one of the highlights of the food scene arrives, the annual Los Angeles Magazine "The Food Event."  The name says it all, for $95 attendees get to try the cuisine of over 30 local restaurants and sip wines from half a dozen wineries, all in the beautiful setting of Saddlerock Ranch in Malibu.  The event will be held from 1 - 4 pm on Sunday October 23rd.

A food event is only as good as the participants and there is a good mix of restaurants participating, including several that have opened in the past year, such as The Royce (Pasadena), Manhattan Beach Post (Manhattan Beach), Sotto (West LA), Lukshon (Culver City), Farmshop (Brentwood) and Public Kitchen & Bar (Hollywood).  In addition several LA classics such as Patina, Michael's and the Saddle Peak Lodge will be on-hand.

There will be chef cooking demos by Karen & Quinn Hatfield of Hatfield's, Rory Hermann from Bouchon Bistro in Beverly Hills, and Ricardo Zarate of Picca & Mo-Chica, a best new chef winner of Food & Wine magazine.  The host Saddlerock will be one of the wineries sampling their wines and cocktails will be on hand from Veev and Chambord.

If you purchase your ticket online, it is only $95, slowpokes who wait to purchase at the door will pay $110, so it pays to plan ahead with this one.  This is the 6th annual event, and LA Magazine has their act together, so expect a well organized and fun afternoon of munching in the Bu.

The Food Event:  Location: Saddlerock Ranch, Malibu.  Date/Time: Sunday October 23rd, 1 - 4 pm.

Purchase tickets here: http://thefoodevent.eventbrite.com/

Additional information here: http://www.lamag.com/thefoodevent/

Remember, attendees must be 21+ years old.