Sotto chefs Steve Samson and Zach Pollack

This past Sunday the sun broke the weekend storm just for  L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade charity food fest. At least it seemed like it. Since the rain stopped and the clouds cleared in time for the early afternoon Culver City fundraiser. But the organizers were prepared just in case, erecting tents to shield the vendors from StormWatch 2011, Part 3. Fortunately, by the time the masses were let in, the skies were blue and the sun was shining brightly so the tents effectively provided shade for grazing attendees. However, many didn’t plan for the muddy lawn, and ended up ruining their Gucci ballet flats. Ah well. #Firstworldproblems.

Mixologist Eric Alperin carving his own ice.

Fortunately, I wore my galoshes so my only real concerns were “Which bite to try next?”, “Is 11:30 too soon to already be drunk”? and “When is Eric Alperin going to fire up the chainsaw and cut up more ice?” Like last year’s Alex’s Lemonade event, this one was easy to maneuver and there were never any long waits for food or drink. Amazing considering this year was buzzing with over 1,000 guests.

Food highlights of the day were the clam chowder and clam fritter from Providence, the smoked boudin by Stephen Stryjewski of New Orleans’ Cochon, Esquire Magazine‘s best new restaurant 2011 Sotto‘s crisp pork belly porcetto with myrtle quince mostarda, Compartes‘ peanut butter honey chocolate and the entire Huckleberry table of treats. Mmm, Valrhona chocolate chip cookies. People were going crazy for Animal‘s grilled quail with plum char sui; LAist’s Lindsay said it was so good it’s criminal. I, on the other hand, still can’t eat something that looks like how it was when it was alive. Shudder!

Drink highlights were the potent and sweet “Berlin in the ’70s” cocktail punch by Neal Bodenheimer of Cure made with mezcal, tequila, orange, lemon and cinnamon; Firestone Walker’s Walker’s Reserve Porter; the Gioia “breakfast” cocktail (Bluecoat gin, Green Chartreuse, rosemary and lime) by a Marc Vetri bartender; and Craftsman‘s new Angeleno Weiss beer which was perfect for a sunny day. I would have certainly drank more but the fact that I was already drunk before noon kinda scared me.

My fave food fest bite: Providence's clam chowder with clam fritter.

Suffice it to say, the only thing markedly absent from the event was coffee. A surprise considering the ever-growing popularity of java. Handsome Roaster and Intelligentsia, you were missed!

There were sightings of honorary celebrity host Neal Patrick Harris as well as emcee Jimmy Kimmel but no amount of liquid courage could get me or my friends to go up to them to ask to take a picture.

But the event was a great success not only for the guests who were treated to some of the best food and drink around but for the event’s organizers who raised $400,000 for the charity, that’s $100K more than last year! Almost half of the money came from the auction where winning bids were $11,000 for the Sine Qua Non Dinner with Jar, Animal and Sotto; $61K for the Great Women Chefs Dinner; and a $20K Tokyo package on Singapore Air where Suzanne Goin cooks in-flight. Even Jimmy Kimmel bid and won, the Napa Valley package for $10,000.

This is only the second year for L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade but it seems to have skipped over the growing pains which plague most new events. Only request I’d make is bring in coffee, heh.

360 video of the second tent which featured mixologists and the desserts.

Pictures of everything I ate and drank at L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade after the jump.

Other coverage:

Eater LA: Scenes From Sunday’s L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade Benefit
LAist: Eat, Drink and Be Sunny: L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade
LA Weekly’s Squid Ink: L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade

Magnum and Royal/T meet kawaii.

Traveling restaurant night, Magnum — by chef Joseph Mahon and “wine pimp” David Haskell — is finally hitting the Westside, taking over kawaii Japanese maid cafe Royal/T in Culver City for its third incarnation.

A fitting setting not only because it complements the event’s drive to raise money for the Japanese Sake Brewers Association‘s (JSBA) rebuild of the sake industry decimated by last month’s earthquake and tsunami but because, selfishly and simply speaking, I can walk there if I really wanted to. And bonus that there will be a bar lounge area for diners on a budget (me again!) who want to just pop in and enjoy Mahon’s bar bites along with Haskell’s wine, beer and sake pairings a la carte.

Haskell handpicked the wines ($14 a glass) and selected the sake and beer from Royal/T’s own list and you can take your pick of which one you want to pair your bite with.

Here, he shares what you can expect from a few of his bar bite pairings:

• “Brown buttered oysters will be much more heavy and rich. Going with Nigori, unfiltered and unrefined I want that aspect so when you get that oyster in your mouth with the butter and you get the unfiltered sensation, it will sparkle. So the oyster will star fizzing up in your back palate, so I’m making it taste like champagne. I’m giving you that champagne kind of palate feel.

• “Sliders. With the sliders I’m doing Coedo Shiro, it’s a wheat beer with lots of grassy overtones. The slider is made with grass-fed meat so when you get that actual beef in your mouth, you get that grassiness. And the back part of it is mayonnaise and the texture will become creamy and milky, like a milkshake in your mouth. It smoothes out the beer.

• “Tuna roll. Jicama crab, spicy mango. Doing the Hitachino Red Rice Ale. I like the way the dish has spice and fruit but doesn’t have that herbal greenery which the beer does. The fat of the tuna complements the dish and beer.”

For a peek at some of Haskell’s pairings for dinner, check out my LA Weekly post.

The bar lounge will be located in the space usually reserved for the cafe/art gallery’s store and DJ Matt will be spinning to keep things festive. Casual diners can kick back and take in the latest funky art exhibit, Facemaker — a collection of street art by young artists from around the world — with their paired bar bites.

By the way, Magnum is also conducting a silent auction to benefit the JSBA. You don’t have to attend the dinners to bid, just email your bids to magnumdh [at] gmail.com.

The auction features brag-worthy items like a dinner by five celebrity chefs — including Michael Voltaggio, Walter Manzke and Joseph Mahon; lunch at Jitlada with well-known food blogger My Last Bite, rare wines like a 1983 Pothier Rieusset Les Rugiens and a butchering class from the newly opened Lindy & Grundy butcher shop in West Hollywood.

EVENT: SUNDAY, APRIL 17 to TUESDAY, APRIL 19

Royal/T Cafe
8910 Washington Boulevard
Culver City, California 90232 (map)
Royal/T: (310) 559-6300
Dinner reservations: (323) 798-4648 or email magnumdh@gmail.com
Twitter: @RoyalTcafe, @magnum_dh, @davidshaskell, @josephmahon

Just help yourself.

When I was a kid and drew up blueprints of my dream house — you know the one I’m talking about, where you put a swimming pool on the second floor and a dance floor in the middle of the kitchen — I had also imagined my fab pad to have beer taps. OK, by “kid” I mean when I was 21. So when I first got wind of City Tavern‘s Table Taps, where three of its booths feature three beer taps so you can pour your own beer, I was beyond elated. A childhood dream come true!

Beertenders.

Luckily I was invited to the Culver City barestaurant’s friends and family night before it opened its doors this Monday and was able to score one of these coveted booths along with beer guys Josh of Food GPS, Steven of Brand X, John of Social Domain and Jimmy of the upcoming KTown beer bar, Beer Belly.

Unfortunately, the taps only feature crowd pleasers like Downtown Brown, Stone IPA and Telegraph White Ale. Makes sense, I guess. If you’re at a table with five of your friends, not everyone is going to want the Rubicon Monkey Knife Fight.

But since I was at a table of beer aficionados, we hardly touched our table taps. Instead we broke the friends & family night rule of just cocktails, house wine and table taps, and bullied our way to the 22 beer taps behind the bar, ordering tasters to our beer belly’s delight.

There aren’t any organized flights available but you can order tasters ($3-$5) of any of the beers. Since I love porters and stouts, I enjoyed the Santa Cruz Dark Night and Cismontane Black Dawn. John ordered an actual pint of Stone Chipotle Smoked Porter, which I didn’t like at all. Tasted like chipotle sauce. Spicy and gimmicky. Meh.

Garden Pig cocktail.

I would have ordered more beer, after all this place is within stumbling distance of my apartment, but I had already enjoyed the specialty cocktail, Garden Pig: Whistlepig Rye, orange juice, lime, agave nectar and basil. Fortunately this drink, unlike the ones at sister restaurant Rush Street down the street, wasn’t overly sweet. I was afraid the OJ would dilute the lovely rye, but it didn’t at all. Very light and drinkable.

John and I, Manhattan compadres in arms, ordered up Whistlepig Manhattans (not on the menu) and made sure to ask for it stirred but I was curious if they would have figured that out on their own since this is more of a beer bar than a cocktail one.

As for the food, the menu is broken down into small plates (Share and Plates) and entrees (Held and Savor). Since our night was comped, we ordered a bit of everything — oysters, meatballs, pan-seared scallops, crisp pork belly, CT burger, grilled cheese, Jidori chicken, Arctic char, and I think all the desserts.

Hey, I was sitting at the table with five apparently hungry boys, that’s how it was going to go down.

Cheers to beer.

For me, big hits were the meatballs in sweet and spicy sauce, so savory, as well as the simple but deliciously spicy grilled pimento cheese sandwich. But the Arctic Char was very Spartan, a slab of fish sitting in an ink spill of sauce. Glad it was comped because I would have at least wanted a side of vegetables if I was going to be forking over $16 for it.

Out of the trio of desserts — pear galette, chocolate tart and Carmela ice cream — our table couldn’t get enough of the creamy salted caramel ice cream and we ended up ordering another pint.

I was so excited about City Tavern that I tried to go back on its opening night yesterday. But the place was packed to the gills with a 40-minute wait, and even the hostesses suggested that we go elsewhere, Rush Street to be specific. Yeah right!

Later I heard that the table taps were down for an hour due to a glitch with the Internet but the bar taps were fine. Just as well, if I was able to make it in, I would have gladly stuck to the bar taps.

Those table taps just seem more trouble than they’re worth. To get a specially-equipped booth, you have to make a phone reservation and then there’s a 2-hour time limit for the table. But I can see how that would be fun for out-of-towners or folks who really do just want to pull the handle.

In any case, really happy that City Tavern opened up in Culver City. Might be a bit too pricey as my regular dining destination but I’d gladly stop by for a tasty brew or two or three.

More photos of City Tavern’s friends & family night after the jump.

City Tavern
9739 Culver Boulevard
Culver City, California 90232 (map)
(310) 838-9739
Twitter: @citytaverncc

Akasha's doggy treats.

OK, obviously I didn’t eat the doggy treats made by Akasha Richmond of Akasha in Culver City, although I bet I could and I’d be fine since they’re made with peanut butter, honey, oats, brown rice flour and peanuts. Yup, I could so eat that! But no, Akasha gave the treats to my dog Mya who looovvved them.

The gluten-free biscuits are made at Akasha’s bakery in the restaurant and she sells two flavors — oatmeal-peanut butter  ”cookies” and cornmeal dog bones — at two for $1. You can pick up a bag in the cafe area.

Akasha doesn’t have a dog of her own, rather she has three cats, but she still loves canines and when she came across the recipes for dog biscuits in a cookbook she felt compelled to make them. I’m so glad she did.

When we visited her at the restaurant this past Sunday she fed them to Mya who instantly became her best friend, staring after Akasha every time she got up just in case she was really getting up to get more biscuits. My doggy totally loved them.

The dog bones come in two sizes — small and large — which I just fed to Mya in one sitting since they’re kinda tough to break in half. But the peanut butter cookie I broke up into bits since it’s softer and moist like a regular cookie. Man, they look good. I might have to give ‘em a taste myself.

Akasha
9543 Culver Boulevard
Culver City, California 90232 (map)
(310) 845-1700

Mya in her going-out clothes.

Ever since I got my rescue pit bull Mya, I want to take her with me everywhere. I mean, wook at that wittle face! Unfortunately, most bars/restaurants usually won’t let me share a table with my new canine bff, something about it being a violation of a health code or something. Pfft! In any case, that hasn’t stopped me from trying to find places within the 1.5-mile radius of where I live in Culver City/Palms where I can booze it up with Mya close by. Here’s what I found.

Akasha: Akasha has a couple of patios, one adjacent to the dining room and one off the café side. Dogs aren’t allowed on the patio but can be tied up outside it. Although I love stopping by here for a little breakfast and the happy hour, I’m squeamish about leaving Mya outside the fence since the sidewalk is kinda narrow so if other dogs walk by there could be a problem. In any case the trick is to score a seat off to the side away from the main thoroughfare. Recommended drink: One of the organic seasonal cocktails (the list on the site needs to be updated).

Bigfoot West: They have a patio enclosed by a fence with slats so you can tie your pooch to the outside of it and pet him/her through the spaces, if your hand can fit, that is. Unfortunately, this is a smoking patio so if you can’t stand the smell of cigarette smoke, you might want to skip this one since it seems like a lot of Bigfoot’s patrons like that bad habit. I hate smoke but the appeal of a great beer selection  and whiskey was hard to resist. Happy hour is daily from 5-9pm with $5 cocktails. Recommended drink: Boont Amber Ale on tap — smooth, flavorful, refreshing or a Manhattan. The happy hour drinks are too light (and sweet) for my taste so I stay away.

Father’s Office: Surprisingly the place that doesn’t allow photography, babies or ketchup lets you bring your dog but only if you tie him/her up outside of the patio. What I like about this is that Mya is dog-aggressive but since she’s tucked in behind plants and there’s a lot of room for people and their dogs to walk a wide birth around her she can’t get into trouble. Anyway, yay for enjoying really tasty craft beer alongside man’s best friend. Recommended drink: Can’t go wrong with any of their beers plus they also have a full bar so check out their Manhattan.

Gyenari: OK the food and cocktails here aren’t all that great but gotta love a patio with heated lamps and a place to tie up your doggy nearby. When I went they said I had to tie Mya outside of the fence but shhhh! they didn’t yell at me when she “snuck” onto the patio. Heh. Recommended drink: Stick to straight booze, neat or on the rocks. UPDATE 4/21/11: Gyenari is now closed but has been replaced with MoKo.

Le Saint Amour: The patio of this French brasserie actually has a place designated pour les chiens. It’s tucked in from the sidewalk so your dog doesn’t get stepped on by passers-by. Great place for enjoying wine and bites with friends. Keep in mind that they have delicious bone marrow here. However when I tried to give the leftover bone to Mya, she wouldn’t have it. She’s one picky eater. Recommended drink: Take your pick from beers like Allagash or Le Fin du Monde or from the wine list which features wine by the glass from $9-$15.

Native Foods: If you’re into organic beers (I’m not really), this is the place for you. They have a patio so you can enjoy your En ”Cha-Cha” Lada Bowl and Stone beer with Fido (on the other side of the fence of course).

Rush Street: Now I haven’t taken Mya to this Culver City barestaurant yet but they are right next door to Gyenari and also have a patio that you can tie your dog outside of. Same situation in terms of food and cocktails as Gyenari — meaning meh — but take your pick if you want to sit at a bustling patio or a quieter one. They have happy hour here but it’s only applicable to the second floor. Bew. Recommended drink: Draft beer or straight booze (their cocktails are too sweet for the likes of me).