Friday Quickies #20: Upcoming Events and Virtual Food Blogging (Really!)

More fantastic foodie events:

Assorted LearnAboutWine events @ 40% off - I've been to a few LAW events before and they've always been very well put together, with experts who know their potables and lots of great accompanying sips and nibbles. To sweeten the pot, they are offering a 40% off discount for some of their April events, including: Intro Wine Camp (Apr. 6), Wine, Cheese and Chocolate Sunday School (Apr. 13), Wines of Argentina (Apr. 20) and Westside Wine Camp at 3 on Fourth in Santa Monica (Apr. 21) -- simply enter coupon code APRILSALE for the discount, but hurry because the offer expires on Apr. 6; I've already signed up for the Wine, Cheese & Chocolate Sunday School (turns out to be around $40/person post discount), hopefully I'll catch some of you there!

NeoMeze 5-for-5 - for wine tastings of a different nature (and location), Pasadena's Neomeze will be doing a 5-for-5 on Tuesdays to Thursdays 6-8 p.m. throughout April. Sample 5 wines for $25, and small plate pairings for an additional $5 each. David Haskell from the well-known (but alas, closed) Bin8945 has a hand in selecting the wine list, and anyone who's been to Bin before personally knows his passionate enthusiasm for wines and pairings.

Tokyo Table Sake Night, part deux - Tokyo Table will be doing their "Sake Nights" again in April (Thursday the 17th in Beverly Hills location, Thursday the 24th in their Arcadia location). I went to the one in Arcadia on March 27th (will make a longer post about it soon); in short, a all-you-care-to-eat-and-drink small plates and sake fest, with 16 kinds of sake (and 4 sake-tinis) and about 15-20 varieties of food to try (my favorites being the una-don, the sashimi, tuna tataki salad). $35/person.

Whole Food Cheese Breaking "Crack Heard Around the World" - April 12 at noon; Whole Foods in the Southern Pacific Region will partake in a synchronized cracking of 24-month-old parmigiano reggiano cheese wheels and attempt set a Guinesss World Record. Hear the crack, then sample and learn more about the cheese.

Grilled Cheese Invitational - April 19 at a TBD location; registration for new contenders closed -- but show up for this free event anyways to see some crazy Grilled Cheese fanaticism and maybe taste a few yummy sammiches. In addition to their usual categories: missionary (plain as it can get, but also hardest to win), kama sutra (unique/exotic ingredients galore) and honey pot (like kama sutra, but sweet), this year they're also adding spoons (somewhere between missionary & kama sutra, basically any type of bread, cheese and "lubricant" could be used, but no extra ingredients). Photos from previous events here.

Speaking of Grilled Cheeses . . . my Sims 2 world is starting to hit a little close to home. First, they added a grilled cheese aspiration . . . and with their latest expansion pack, my Sims can pursue the cuisine hobby, which includes -- yes -- blogging about food. I wish I made as much $$$ as they do simoleons pursuing the habit though . . .