Friday Quickies #71: Good, Bad and Ugly of August

So wrong, yet so right . . . wine with slim jim at last year's White Trash Wine Tasting.

First it was, when did August get here? Now it's, August (and by association, summer) is almost gone?!?! Well since it is LA/OC, I still got a few more months to rock that swimsuit (whether I have the bod for one, that's another matter entirely.)

Anyhow, the recent past and near future has totally been a case of the good, the bad and the ugly, brought to you speedy Friday Quickie style:

The good ~ since my initiation into the delightful fun that is LudoBites, I had the pleasure of making two more return trips before bidding the pop-up au revoir. The dishes were just as tasty (yes, I did re-order that foie gras croque monsieur and caviar panna cotta each time) and I love the company on both occasions, being able to reminisce and savor our favorite dishes with other LudoBites rebounders while observing the first-hand excitement that I felt from other initiates. In any case, definitely made the holiday-free August a lot more special and I eagerly anticipate Ludovic & Krissy's return to the L.A. dining scene following their well-deserved vacation!

And now, the bad ~ it's not usually my nature to blog about subpar experiences, but my friends Caroline on Crack, Sarah of the Delicious Life, and Connie of Hey Hey Scenesters and I were caught up in a disorganized blogger tasting of Wokcano's new specials. Caroline's pretty much spot on with her wrap up of the night (there were non-existent specials, outdated menus and spotty service) and even revived her "Places I'll Never Show My Face In Again" column for the occasion. But really, we were all good-humored enough to laugh off this maelstrom of mishaps, and their PR & corporate folks were extremely apologetic for our experience.

Last but not least, the ugly ~ I'm going on a dine-out diet for September! Ok, there are a few caveats, mainly for events I've already planned out far in advance (Bistro LQ dinner, White Trash Wine Tasting, a border-crossing food marathon), September will pretty much be devoid of eating and drinking out. Crazy, I know -- but it's also a great opportunity to trim my waistline while padding the wallet, not to mention catching up on my ever-expanding backlog of posts while re-embracing my love of actually COOKING my meals at home. So sorry fellow foodies, asides from potlucks, exercise meetups and maybe a hosted media/blogger event, I'll pretty much be a hermit next month.

Of course, this final ugly fact is all the more uglier with the fun going-ons in the future . . .

Saturday, August 29, 1 to 4:30 p.m. - having fun tasting restaurant bites, sipping wines and possibly sighting a celeb or a few at the Malibu Wine Classic. Sample fare from the likes of SaddlePeak Lodge, Water Grill and Monsieur Marcel alongside vino from over 60 wineries! $79/person and proceeds benefit ChildHelp to provide services and assistance to neglected and abused children.

Sunday, August 30, 6 p.m. - for lovers of local-seasonal fare, AMMO will be partnering with Windrose Farms and Tablas Creek Vineyards for their next farm-to-table prix-fixe dinner, the six-course menu includes housemade herb pappardelle with hand-cut basil & almond pesto, grilled Moro Bay tuna with roasted vegetables and marjoram, and a trio of refreshing sorbets in farm-fresh flavors of cucumber, melon and lavender. Not too shabby for $45/person ($30 w wine pairing)

Sunday, August 30, 2 to 5 p.m. - beer fans of OC rejoice, since the OC Beer Festival is going on at Silverado. For $40, attendees get to enjoy unlimited pours from over 60 brands, including SoCal favorites such as The Bruery, Ballast Point, Angel City and Pizza Port. To help you wash that beer down, there will also be barbecue and In-n-Out available at the site.

Every Wednesday for duration of Hell's Kitchen - Talk about cooking on the fly! STK has just kicked off a "Eat What You Watch" special on Wednesdays, where the kitchen will whip out dishes inspired by the previous night's show. All the fun and flavor, no need to worry about staff having emotional breakdowns and tears in your food.

Saturday, September 12, 5 to 8 p.m. - Yes, it's another two weeks out but it's the Colorado Wine Company's White Trash Wine Tasting (or as they call it, WTWT '09 -- what what, or woot woot, indeed!) Cheese and wine is Soooo over and done with; wine with pork rinds? Now we're talking! For $20, you can enjoy four lovely wines with the likes of bacon-wrapped lemonhead candies, tater-tot-topped casseroles and cheez whiz rolled in wonder bread. Here's my recap from last year's event. RSVP quick, I already did, this event is always a sell-out.