Friday Quickies #56: May Day (almost) edition

Collage of cookbooks whose authors will be attending LA Times Festival of Books, thanks to Michael Weisberg (on the LATFOB staff) for providing individual cover images

Is May already on our heels? April came and went SO quickly! Time really does fly when you're having fun (esp. when eating and drinking with great company, as I did several times this past week -- foodventure posts to come.) But moving onto my brief quickie...

What do you get when you combine cooking, reading books and celebrity gawkage (three of my fave things, by the way) - the cooking stage at LA Times Festival of Books, where nationally and locally-renowned celebrity-chefs, cooks and authors -- from the dashingly charming Curtis Stone to our Two Dudes Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook and the cute-as-a-button Giada de Laurentiis -- will be signing their respective books (available for purchase at the festival) and demo-ing their recipes (schedule of signing/demos here). I'm bummed out about not being to attend this year (had other things in the works before I found out the event was this weekend) but I highly recommend attending. Being the book event of the year, of course there will lots of peeps attending so plan your transportation/parking strategies accordingly.

Also, if you plan on dining out on Thursday, April 30 -- do check out the list at Dining Out for Life -- where a number of eateries around town will be donating 25% or more of their sales to Project Angel Food, a nonprofit dedicated to delivering meals to folks struggling with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other serious illnesses. Notable participants include Angeli Caffe, Susina Bakery, Lucifer's Pizza, Jar, The Little Door/Little Next Door and Whist at the Viceroy.

Lastly, another PSA for my other blog; just noticed this week that the comments feature wasn't working there (and thanks to foodblogging friend Diana for pointing it out), so that's been fixed.

One year ago I went ga-ga over LA Mill
Two years ago I had my 2007 splurge meal at Providence

Special Foodventure #83: LA Magazine's The Food Event: From the Vine (Malibu)

assorted dishes offered by Chaya Brasserie at The Food Event '08

Yes, it was another one of those fantastic food and drink event filled weekends. Following my white trash wine tasting yesterday, my friends and I took a trip to Malibu for LA Magazine's 3rd Annual "The Food Event: From the Vine" at Saddlerock Ranch. (Freebie disclosure: was ready to spend the $50 for the event - especially since a good portion will be benefiting the LA Food Bank and Concern Foundation, but when I emailed their folks for any discounts I can pass on to my blog readers, they graciously extended a media pass to me as well.)

The scenery (rolling vineyard hills, plus assorted farm and exotic animals) was great and the weather was decent, so we had a pleasant time enjoying our nibbles and sips. Here are some of the highlights of the four hour event:
~ food served was generally delicious, was surprised by how many raw and near-raw meats were served given the warm afternoon weather (buffalo tartare, hamachi poke, and the ubiquitous ahi tuna with something). Particularly memorable bites included the above truffled orecchiette from Tra di Noi -- tossed in a bowl carved out of a parmigiano-reggiano wheel -- and the below assorted sweets (mini pumpkin and chocolate-PB pies, apple tart-doughnuts, cupcakes) from Rustic Canyon with pastry chef Zoe plating and serving -- seen here with their oxtail-stuffed arancini. Other notables included a spicy coconut-lobster-mushroom chowder from Darren's in Manhattan Beach, the refreshing blueberry mint lemonade from Lemonade and Saddle Peak Lodge's pheasant mousse tartlet with cranberry.
~ wine was more a hit-and-miss here. Like the LA Winefest, people were more drawn to the chilled whites and rosés because of the warm weather and the mostly light foods. It was also a bit unfortunate that there didn't seem to be any dessert wines around to complement the various sweets that several tables were serving. But there were some good finds including: Irony Winery's Chardonnay, whose light oakiness complemented the natural character well and smelled like an apple pie with a smooth palate, Gnarly Head's Old Vine Zinfandel that had nice desserty notes and nice bite on the tongue, and Peju Winery's Red & White Provence Blend that was refreshing, easy-to-drink with great berry bouquet (and definitely well-paired against all the raw fishy foods we had there).
~ and of course, the celebrity-chef gawking. I was so excited to be able see (and taste!) so many of LA's food-famous in action, including Grace's Neal Fraser making a uni-kabocha-mascarpone risotto above, Animal's Vinny Detolo and Jon Shook whipping up a wonderfully tender BBQ rib and the final "Iron Chef v. Top Chef" battle with Sashi's Makoto Okuwa, who used to be one of Morimoto's assistant chefs, against Betty Fraser of Grub from season two of T.C. I didn't get to judge but did get to taste both their creations (Betty's butter-poached shrimp with pumpkin against Makoto's chicken-mushroom baos with truffle oil and yuzu zest). Close match, but Betty won again! Other foodies I spotted, recognized and chatted with included Nancy Silverton of the Mozzas, Denise Daclan from Saltistry, Cheese Impresario Barrie Lynn and fellow foodbloggin' friend Gourmet Pigs.

In short, a fun and tasty Sunday and I am more excited than ever about checking out some of these meaning-to-try restaurants. This was one of the better food event deals in town considering all the tastings from top-tier restaurants and opportunity to mix and mingle with the stars from the L.A. food scene. I'll definitely mark next year's event on my calendar well in advance!

The 3rd Annual Food Event at Saddlerock Ranch
31727 Mulholland Highway
Malibu, CA 90265
http://www.lamag.com/thefoodevent/

Mini Foodventure #81: Table 10 (Las Vegas)

Finishing up my long Vegas weekend, my friends and I did our farewell lunch at Table 10. It was a bit out-of-the-ordinary, since we usually do a blowout brunch buffet to ease us into a food coma for the four hour drive home, but we're all older now and snarfing down three-plus plates of breakfast and lunch fare *will* show. So no complaints here for sensible, and hopefuly tasty, eating at Emeril's Vegas outpost.

Like all the other celebrity chefs, Mr. BAM! Emeril Lagasse is no stranger to franchising to Sin City -- there's also Delmonico in the Venetian and Fish House at MGM Grand. But Table 10 is closest, and open for lunch, so that's where we went. When I saw the menu, I didn't know what to make of it: peppercorn seared ahi tuna, cuban-style kurobuta pork sandwich, asian style lettuce wraps with raw hamachi.

Of course, there's some Cajun food representation with gumbo and jambalaya, but it was literally all over the map, and I am starting to wonder if the kitchen can pull it off.
The cocktail list though, looked pretty interesting, still feeling the gin love from my recent dinner at DB Brasserie, I ordered a lychee gin martini. It was great smelling but a bit too sweet and ultimately not that remarkable. I was more impressed with my friend's equivalent of a bourbon swizzle (pictured above): the fizz from the club soda really helps open up the bourbon while mellowing out some of the astringency.
Since one of my friends and I already planned on getting dessert, we decided to split an appetizer and an entreé. For starters, we had their Prince Edward Island mussels with homemade bacon and leeks in a saffron broth. Very aromatic and wonderfully smoky from the bacon. And though mussels are my least favorite of bivalves, these were delicious -- no off-flavors and a nice oceany brine taste. Of course, we took extra slices of bread to soak up that wonderful broth!
For the main, pasta jambalaya, basically all the components of a regular one with the fettucine in place of rice. The meaty components are well done; shrimp nicely cooked and wonderfully seasoned, chicken was juicy and the sausage flavorful. My bigger gripe is wtih the sauce, which was a pretty bland, albeit rich, tomato sauce. It wasn't bad, but definitely a bit disappointing for a man who built himself around spice-blasting every dish.
We also tasted our friends' dishes, which ranges from OK (the cuban pork sandwich, lobster mac 'n cheese) to pretty good (like the pictured above crabcakes with avocado mousse and chorizo). Overall, no complaints but no high praises either.
For desserts, my friend and I splitted their sampler trio, which consisted of a torte-like Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee-chocolate cake with Kahlua syrup and peanut brittle, "fruit on the bottom" lemon creme brulee with blueberry jam and shortbread cookie, and white chocolate malassadas (Portuguese doughnuts) with cinnamon sugar and creme anglaise. All three were decent, but I was particularly pleased with the creme brulee, the tart lemon custard and the blueberries really cut into the usual heaviness of that dish.
My favorite dessert of all, however, was the flourless chocolate bourbon cake that another friend ordered. Rich in flavors and not too terribly sweet, it went wonderfully with the equally well-balanced brown sugar creme fraiche and the tart cherry compote. Kind of a spiked black forest cake!

In short, it was a pleasant lunch to wrap things up in Sin City -- definitely classier than a buffet. But would I return? The only things that stood out in my mind was the starter, cocktails and desserts (actually, they had a pretty impressive coffee service too, custom-brewed and allowing you to choose which blend / origin of beans you want) so I may be back for a quick sweet bite and sip. Not-so-much for a full-on meal especially given so many yet-to-try options going on there.

And with that, let's return to regularly scheduled LA/OC programming . . .

Table 10 at the Palazzo
3327 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 607-6363
http://www.emerils.com/restaurant/11/Table-10/

Friday Quickies #34: Beer Events, *the* Food Event and Great Bars to Eat, Drink and Talk!

Beer Events: In case you haven't gotten enough beer at the recent Oktoberfest events around town, there's a few more going on for you to enjoy great brews alongside tasty eats. On Wed., Oct. 22 TAPS in Brea is doing a $55/person, five-course beer-paired "Taste of the Harvest" dinner with delectable dishes like a ceviche of Hokkaido diver scallops and Spanish chorizo with green olives and paprika-saffron oil and braised Brandt Farms beef short ribs with Oktoberfest beer reduction and sweet potato gnocchi. Further south in the O.C., Savannah Supper Club in Costa Mesa will be serving up a $48/person, 'Bruery' dinner; the four-course meal will have beer incorporated in the dishes and paired alongside, such as a new spin on Fish 'n Chips with beer-battered butterfish with spiced yam fries, housemade chicken-chile sausage with beer-baked beans and D'Anjou Pear roasted in beer and served with beer gelato! Finally, for something a little less prix-fixe and little more LA, Urbandaddy drop the word that Luxe Lounge in Bel-Air will is going to offer a more traditional Oktoberfest themed food and beer menu from Oct. 20-25. Expect lots 'o sausages and German brews.

And then, there's LA Magazine The Food Event: Thanks to their PR folks, I got a discount code to share with you all. Type in foodevent08 when pre-ordering tickets online and you'll get a $10 discount, so only $50/person. Given the restaurant representation, celeb-chef gawking opportunities, the wineries pouring, the Malibu scenery and that $20 of that goes to charity -- it's definitely worth going to!

Finally, LA Times have a pretty decent guide of accessible bars with good grub, convenient parking and nice vibes - from Twisted Vine down in Fullerton to downtown L.A.'s Bacaro to the newly-opened Laurel Tavern in Studio City. Looks like I have a few new spots to commiserate over investments, get into heated political discussions or just some casual catching up chit-chat.