Blogger Prom crowd by heatherkincaid.com/blog

Word on the Tweet says that last week’s 2010 Blogger Prom: Hollywood Confidential at Yamashiro was a smashing success. And while the glamorously dressed blogger attendees that night enjoyed the beautiful venue, the yummy nosh, tasty drinks and each other’s company and thanked us for putting on such an event, they might not really know just how much work went into it. So, I figured I’d just share the components of what made it such a “success.” Sure, this may be only the second blogger prom we’ve thrown, but I’d like to think that as bloggers we have developed a sense of what our peeps like and what makes an event a hit.

BPC group hug by heatherkincaid.com/blog

1) Have a committee comprised of people who can each bring something to the table and who work well together. Our Blogger Prom Committee is made up of these fine people, and although most of us share the same contacts, each of us also offers unique expertise in certain areas. Really rounds out the event. And if anything the fact that we’re all good friends really helped us get through the truly stressful times during the party planning process. When I felt overwhelmed, I knew I could lean on them as well as vent my frustrations without any judgment.

2) Pick an intriguing theme. After the fun ’80s theme last year, we worried how to top it. We took suggestions on Twitter and Facebook, asked our friends, asked each other and still didn’t know. Finally after weeding out zombie, disco and Enchantment Under the Sea options, we agreed on going for glamor this year, old Hollywood glamor to be specific. We wanted our guests to dress up. Hell, WE wanted to dress up.

3) Choose a kickass venue that can accommodate your crowd and either has a view, a fun activity or is buzz-worthy. Having our theme set made it easier to filter out the venues that didn’t fit. But finding a venue that was not only fabulous, spacious and would do it only for the publicity proved to be difficult.

Partaking of Chef Brock's famous tacos by heatherkincaid.com/blog

However, it was during a night cap with bloggers Mattatouille and Teenage Glutster when the subject of prom came up and Mattatouille suggested giving Yamashiro a try. With Yamashiro’s newish Thursday farmer’s market, I knew they were trying to change up their image.

For years, they were known as the beautiful Japanese restaurant where you either got married or took out-of-towners for expensive but mediocre sushi. This Mountain Palace, seemingly out of reach for the average Angeleno looking for a casual bite, is accessible via a winding road and offers only valet parking.

So when fellow BPC member Lindsay of LAist had arranged a tasting preview of Yamashiro’s brand-new bar menu, it seemed like the perfect time to bring it up. Fortunately, General Manager David Comfort and Chef Brock loved the idea. Hosting a bloggers-only party, what better way to get us up there?

Suffice it to say, the crew at Yamashiro was an absolute dream to work with. Restaurant event coordinator Alana Ulloa helped us to lay out a party that would take over the gorgeous koi pond room as well as Skyview room. We couldn’t ask for a more perfect setting.

And after the party, everyone kept saying how they saw Yamashiro in a whole new light. Mission accomplished!

Live Tweets by heatherkincaid.com/blog

4) Don’t make it all about you. Unlike last year, this time we decided to do it for charity. Sure that would mean charging our guests but all proceeds would go to a good cause as well as help assuage any concerns potential sponsors might have about doing anything “for free.”

So, on BPC member EstarLA‘s suggestion, we went with Operation Frontline. Since BPC is mostly made up of food bloggers, supporting a charity that teaches families how to prepare healthy, tasty meals on a limited budget, was a perfect fit. Suffice it to say, at the end of the event, we were able to raise $2,400 for them.*

5) Wire the venue. Since it is Blogger Prom we had to make sure our social media-addicted guests could Tweet, Foursquare and live blog to their hearts’ content so once again BPC’s TaraMetBlog hooked us up with Verizon Wireless, who ended up having to send over eight engineers to wire the restaurant, which already has very spotty coverage. It was a lengthy process but it was worth it. The huge screen in the koi pond room displaying live #bloggerprom tweets was a big hit. We used Twitter to not only announce when someone won a giveaway prize but to call out our Blogger Prom King and Blogger Prom Queen aka Leading Man and Leading Lady. By the way, congrats to Food Marathon and JozJozJoz. May your reign be a blast.

Coolhaus fans by heatherkincaid.com/blog

6) Present lots of food options. Yamashiro was open to our inviting other food venues as long as we focused on their own bar bites and Chef Brock’s uber popular farmer’s market tacos. So we let them handle the savory while we handled the sweets. Because of the limited space, however, we didn’t want it to get too crazy in that Skyview room where we’d also have a dancefloor and DJ Steve. So we stuck to the basics of cheese, ice cream, chocolates and of course cupcakes.

The Cheese Impresario, a big hit at last year’s prom, returned but with a bigger spread. Ice cream truck, Coolhaus, seemed the perfect fit with their ice cream sandwiches in edible wrappers; that way our cocktailing guests wouldn’t have to contend with messy spoons. ChocolateBox Café brought a fun, beautiful selection of chocolates. And Crumbs, although bailing from the event last-minute pfft!, still had their cupcakes out.

7) Bring on the free booze. And of course, the sure way to get bloggers to go anywhere is to promise and deliver lots of free booze. Cocktail hookup and international BPC member, Natalie of The Liquid Muse, not only designed a cocktail especially for the event — Pinky Confidential — but lined up a Dalmore Scotch tasting as well as sponsors Zaya Rum, Cabana Cachaca and Casa Noble Tequila. We were even able to score a hosted bar at the after prom party at Test Kitchen.

Pinky Confidential cocktail by heatherkincaid.com/blog

For the discerning beer drinkers, I invited eminent beerologists/authors, The Beer Chicks, to do a tasting. They were able to line up brews from local Eagle Rock Brewery.

Oh, and if you’re going to have booze at the event, always make sure to present your guests a safe way to get home. For this party, Y Drive LA set up a stand in valet and gave our attendees a 10% discount off the services.

8) Give prizes and gift bags! These are not necessary components for a good party but they are mandatory for an awesome party. What can I say, bloggers like their swag. And if they can win a valuable prize, too, well that’s just the icing on the cake.

This year, even though we cut our list of giveaway prizes from 36 to 19, all were still highly covetable. Heck, even though it was against our BPC rules, I still wanted in on the giveaway. La Descarga gift basket, Fred Segal Eyes designer sunglasses or The Edison’s Downtown Romance package? Yes, please! But no, I kept my name out of the bowl. In any case, since our event is for charity and bloggers, generous giveaway and gift bag sponsors weren’t too difficult to come by.

With the gift bags, we amassed a vast collection of goodies, which totaled $300 in value! And every bit of paper in that gift bag was worth something, be it a voucher for a free Sprinkles cupcake, a Manila Machine ube cupcake or admission to an American Cinematheque theater.

9) Get your guests’ feet moving. It ain’t a party if they can’t dance. Originally we were going to have a live jazz band play in the koi pond room to welcome our guests but the band canceled just a week before the event. What can I say? They got an actual paid gig. Fortunately DJ Steve, from last year’s prom, offered up his services again. And even though the jazz standards he spun weren’t exactly what our young bloggers knew how to dance to, the music brought our theme and venue to life.

10) Never be afraid to ask for help. This time we made sure to recruit volunteers. (Thanks to BPC’s ShopEatSleep for organizing them.) At last year’s prom, all of the BPC members were too busy making sure the party was running smoothly to even enjoy our own event. So we learned our lesson and asked friends, Tweeps and PR girls if they wanted to lend a hand. For one hour of work, they’d get a gift bag and two hours of fun. Seemed like an even trade.

In any case, we wouldn’t have been able to actually enjoy this year’s prom without them. Huge thanks to Dre, Christina, Chris, Sam, Sean, Stefani, Caleb, Bridgette, Tu and David! And shoutout to Goldstar and BPC member Happy Go Marni for handling the event’s donation page and ticket sales and to BPC’s HC for handling the Blogger Prom Twitter, Facebook page and event blog!

So that’s it. Thanks to all our guests for looking so gorgeous and taking part in what was a big night for us, the BPC. It made us feel good to see the fruits of our months’ labors come to life and be enjoyed in such a way.

Post Blogger Prom coverage
Blogger Prom Flickr Group
Official Blogger Prom photos by Heather Kincaid

* If you’d like to donate to Operation Frontline via Blogger Prom, you still can via this Goldstar page, through the end of October. Thanks!

Dishing out the Burmese Melon Salad by Susan Feniger's Street.

On August 1, food enthusiasts, restaurant critics and of course great chefs converged at the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica for Angeleno Magazine‘s Great Chefs Night Out 2010 and 8th Annual Restaurant Awards, which was hosted by Angeleno‘s James Beard award-winning food and travel editor, Brad A. Johnson. We were all there to celebrate his picks for the restaurant awards.

The list of this year’s winners:

• Best New Restaurant: Lazy Ox Canteen
• Best New Chef: Michael Voltaggio (most recently of The Langham)
• Chef of the Year: Michael Cimarusti, Providence
• Restaurant of the Year: Hatfield’s
• Pastry Chef of the Year: Zoe Nathan, Huckleberry Café & Bakery
• Outstanding Wine & Spirits: The Bazaar
• Outstanding Service: The Grill on the Alley
• Vanguard Award: Water Grill

In the VIP hour before the food fest, we had gathered in a staging area near the bungalows overlooking the Pacific Ocean where we toasted and clapped as each award recipient took the stage to receive their award plate. Never one for standing around and clapping in the hot sun, I impatiently sucked down my Oxley Gin cocktails, antsy to get started on the eating already.

Finally they turned us loose on the grounds surrounding the Fairmont’s famous fig tree where all the restaurants were set up to dole out the tasting portions of their signature dishes. I immediately set out to find the highly desired plates first before the lines got too long and they ran out of food. Fortunately that never got to be a problem for me. What did become problematic, however, was the fact that my stupid stomach is too small. By the time I reached the halfway point of the event, I was done! Fortunately my friend, blogger Busy Beth was able to go on for me and let me know what I was missing out on. Argh.

In any case, here are the highlights of the evening for me:

• Those Oxley Gin cocktails: 1) That there was a seemingly neverending supply, 2) that Aviation was particularly tasty.
• Petrossian’s creamy cauliflower panna cotta with caviar which I thankfully ended up having again at the Petrossian’s 101 Caviar dinner. And one fellow diner made no attempt to hide the fact that he was on his 6th visit to the Petrossian table.
• Chef Ludo’s heirloom tomato smoothie, squid ink vodka jelly and seaweed tartar. Mmm, if only they could start serving this delicious concoction at Jamba Juice. Heh.
• Michael Voltaggio’s burrata and peach pebbles a la liquid nitrogen made for an invigorating treat.
• 123 Tequila’s tequila and chocolate pairings, which were deliciously ingenious. Who would have thought that the two would go together so beautifully? Especially that dark chocolate with liquid cardamom and caramel center and the anejo!
• Running into blogger friends: Food GPS, Mattatouille, Gourmet Pigs, Lindsay and Julie of LAist, My Last Bite, estarLA, Lesley of Tasting Table, Hadley of Grub Street LA….man, who am I forgetting?
• Stumbling down the red carpet after one too many Aviations much to the amusement of my friends snapping pictures.
• The unofficial after party on the hotel’s Sunset Terrace where I enjoyed another cocktail with friends while dipping my toe in the fountain and watching the sun set.

This truly was an event not to be missed, made even better by the gorgeous setting, the quick lines and the hordes of foodie friends.

Beth, Lara, me, Aidan and Marcos at First & Hope for my 5th blogiversary.

If you were a reader of my blog two years ago, no doubt you attended my 3rd blogiversary party at Bar Lubitsch. That was a big ‘un with liquor sponsors and a raffle-like giveaway. Since this year was my 5th, my friends and crackheads were asking if I had planned to do anything that big or bigger. But since I’m focusing my resources and time on blogger prom (which is September 22), no such luck for a huge shindig of my own. Perhaps next year, though.

Fortunately, First & Hope and my ol’ friend Aidan Demarest were kind enough to offer up the supper club’s swank and intimate Fedora Lounge as the venue for my 5th blogiversary party. Very nice considering it was pretty last minute; on Friday, I put on my Facebook that I wondered if I should celebrate my blog’s anniversary and later that afternoon Aidan offered up First & Hope. He promised punch, Edison beer and appetizers. OK!

But when I arrived at the downtown supper club that Tuesday night, I saw that the folks there went above and beyond. We had our own bartender, the whole room to ourselves, wonderful apps, a delicious punch created by bartender Brent Falco (for the recipe, hit the jump) and even a “5 Years! Caroline on Crack” slide on the big screen over the stage.

And, sure, I didn’t have nearly the same huge turnout that I did for my 3rd but all my blogger pals showed up to give me a high-five and to partake of the tasty beverages of course. So great hanging out with HC of LA/OC Foodventures; Andy, Elise, Julie and Lindsay of LAist; Matt of Mattatouille; John of Social Domain; Daniel of Thirsty in LA; Nancy of The Wanderkind; Julian of Jewelz; Christine of Folie a Choisauce; Fiona of Gourmet Pigs; and Connie of Hey, Hey Scenesters.

Marcos Tello and Aidan (the mixologist duo behind First & Hope’s bar program) joked that they did a collection to finally get me a crack rock and then proceeded to give a very sweet speech that brought a tear to my eye. Can’t believe I’ve known those guys since that downtown whiskey bar that shall be unnamed first opened! For sweets, old friends Beth of Busy Beth’s Blog and her sister Lara brought me a tasty strawberry cake from Phoenix Bakery in Chinatown.

We all ate, drank, laughed and drank some more. I couldn’t ask for a better celebration. Thanks, First & Hope and all my friends. And if you weren’t there due to whatever illness, you were missed!

Southern Picnic Punch
By Brent Falco

Take the 8 lemons and make 8 long peels and place in big mixing container. Pour in 1/2 cup granulated sugar on top of peels. Muddle sugar into peels until all sugar has been absorbed by lemon peels. Puree watermelon and fine strain excess pulp.  Pour in Watermelon Puree and Sage Sprigs into mixing container with lemon peels. Muddle Sage into Mixture. Add Lemon Juice and Simple Syrup. Taste base mixture and add more lemon juice or simple depending on your taste. Add 8 dashes angostura bitters. Now add equal parts yellow chartreuse, benedictine, and falernum (again to taste). Lastly add 1 bottle (1 liter) of Oxley Gin.

Let mixture sit for an hour, and then fine strain out the lemon peels and sage, and place it in your punch bowl to serve (may put 3 Sprigs of Sage on top for decoration).

To serve: One ladle of punch over crushed ice, and top with Charles Heidsieck ( or your favorite champagne). Then add a one sage leaf (give it a good slap) on top for presentation and aroma.

Peacock in Arcadia

I thought H.C. of LA/OC Foodventures was crazy. He had planned an urban hike from Glendale to Arcadia in the heat of July this past Sunday. It would be 14 miles of Colorado Boulevard. And as with most urban hikes, the stretch of road that Angelenos usually motor through to get from Point A to Point B with nary a glance at the scenery. There would be MANY boring parts, empty lots, strip malls galore and the occasional hidden gems.

Naturally, I didn’t want to do the whole 14 miles he mapped out. For his previous Robertson and Beach Boulevard ones I did 7 miles max. So for this one I opted to instead meet up with him at the “4 or 5 more miles to go” point which he had said would be at Colorado Wine Company in Eagle Rock. It wasn’t until we were at La Grande Orange in Old Town Pasadena (4.5 miles into it) that I realized we still had over 6 miles to go til we reached the end point of Santa Anita Racetrack. D’oh!

Fortunately, HC was game for cheating a bit and hopping on the Metro at the Del Mar station and taking it to the end of the line at Sierra Madre, about 3 miles from the final destination.

In any case, even though I grumbled a bit, OK a lot, in the beginning while the sun beat down on my back and the straps of my freebie backpack cut into my shoulders, I grew to enjoy the walk and the fact that there was a lot to see, stuff you wouldn’t notice while speeding by in your car.

• At Four Cafe in Eagle Rock, they have a brown butter lavender cookie that is actually chalky in texture but in a good way. The stuff crumbles and then melts in your mouth.
• We didn’t get to stop in Larkin’s in Eagle Rock since we had just eaten but it’s good to know that there’s soul food in Eagle Rock and served in a quaint Craftsman house. Plus on Saturdays and Sundays they have brunch. The brunch dish called “Maggie’s Mess” with bacon, hot links and chicken smothered in gravy sounds intriguing.
• Little Flower Candy Company in Pasadena doesn’t carry any candy that won’t melt on a long walk in 80-plus-degree weather, nor do they carry homemade iced drinks. But they do carry a nice selection of artisanal sodas and mm, Bundaberg Ginger beer. And you can purchase seed bombs from the little coin-operated candy machine in front of the store. HC and I bought a couple to plant along our walk. We ended up planting them in front of the Eagle Rock Brewery later.
• Splitting a pitcher of white sangria at La Grande Orange with another person is a really good deal. Basically each person gets four glasses of refreshing drink for $10!
• In Arcadia neighborhoods near the Arboretum, peacocks and peahens run rampant. We saw six peacocks and two peahens sitting on someone’s front lawns. There are signs all over that area warning people to not feed them. BTW, scaring them won’t get the peacocks to show off their plumes.
• Phoenix Boutique Bakery in Arcadia has the tastiest red bean mochi. I bought them to take home but instead ate them on the drive back. So delicate and divine.
• OK, Eagle Rock Brewery wasn’t on the original walk route but being in the vicinity of it, we had to go. It closes at 6pm on Sundays but they were kind enough to stay open a little longer for us to enjoy our beer and a bag of peanuts and a dish of pretzels. I bought a growler of Solidarity for $32 ($20 for the growler and $12 to fill up).
• Despite the name, Colorado Wine Company sells a great selection of beer like Allagash Curieux. John Nugent, the owner, said that they’ll be opening up a craft beer shop in Echo Park soon. His beer consultant is none other than our mutual friend and former beer blogger, Jonny Lieberman. Small world! By the way, there are “Lazy Sunday” wine tastings at CoWineCo from 1 to 4pm ($12 a person). Since we arrived after 6:30, it was long over but we still nibbled like scavengers on the cheese plate remnants.

This walk has really made me consider moving to the Eastside. Love the transportation system, the restaurants, the stores and above all the transportation system. Yeah, I said it twice. But it’s really cool to be able to walk, bike and Metro everywhere. Anyhoo, can’t wait to see what HC plans for the next Urban Hike. He’s toying with another beachy one…in October. Oh, HC.

Yamashiro courtesy of Yamashiro

Ever wanted to have a fancy night out on the town, I’m talking being decked out in glamorous duds with your ‘do perfectly coiffed? Well on Wednesday, September 22, 2010, a select group of bloggers will get the chance to do just that. Today the Blogger Prom Committee, of which I am a member, announced the where, the when and the what of Blogger Prom 2010. And if you were lucky enough to go to last year’s prom, know that this year’s event will blow that kitschy-cute ’80s party out of the water.

Me Hurrelled for Hollywood by Jennifer Low Photography

Our new venue will be the gorgeous and historic Yamashiro restaurant that overlooks Hollywood. Just perfect considering our theme is Hollywood Confidential where our guests will be attired a la the Golden Age of Cinema. The outfits of the evening will take their cues from Grace Kelley, Ava Gardner, Katherine Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart. And you know how we were about the dress code last year. We’re dead serious here. No glam, no entry. But more on that later.

Getting glammed up will be a small price to pay as we’ll have delicious bites provided by Yamashiro, a signature cocktail created by the Liquid Muse, dancing and of course raffles with awesome prizes. Oh, and you can’t forget having the chance to meet Tweeps you’ve only known by screennames.

In any case, we’re assembling our invite list now and will be even pickier and stricter about who we let in. So why am I telling you about this awesome party if you might not make it on the list? Well, if anything to give props to Yamashiro and let you know that you should check it out, if not on Blogger Prom night then during its Thursday night farmer’s market and to try its affordable new bar bites menu.

Keep an eye on our official Blogger Prom Blog for incoming details on the food, booze, attire, and The List.

Shout out to my fellow BPC members! This is going to be a really fun event to pull off.

Esther, estarLA
H.C., LA and OC Foodventures
Lindsay, LAist
Marni, Happy Go Marni
Maya, ShopEatSleep
Natalie, The Liquid Muse
Tara, TaraMetBlog

EVENT: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 from 7 to 10pm

Yamashiro Restaurant
1999 North Sycamore Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90068 (map)
(323) 466-5125
Facebook: Yamashiro
Twitter: @YamashiroLA