Tag Archive: food festival

August 18, 2010

Win Tickets to LA Times’ Celebration of Food and Wine

Written by Caroline on Crack in Dining, Featured, Los Angeles
78 Comments

LA Times Celebration of Food and Wine

CONTEST CLOSED

Forget the beach bbqs during Labor Day Weekend, people, you’re going to want to save your appetite for the good stuff: the LA Times‘ first food fest, Los Angeles Times Celebration of Food & Wine, is all day Sunday, September 5, at Paramount Pictures Studio Backlot in Hollywood.

It’s going to be a potpourri of foodie goings-on and I’ve got the exclusive on some of the specifics! (I’ve always wanted to say that.)

  • Pick up secret recipes from the Times’ test kitchen
  • Listen in on a wine chat with Bar Covell‘s Dustin Lancaster and Matthew Kaner
  • Learn a new cocktail recipe or two during the mixology demo by Alie and Georgia, the girls behind those adorable McNuggetini and Bloody Bacon & Cheese cocktail videos
  • Put LA Times food editor Russ Parsons in the hot seat for the Q&A
  • Salivate over the farm-to-table cooking demos featuring Suzanne Goin of AOC/Lucques/Tavern and Mark Peel of Campanile
  • Discover how John Sedlar (Rivera), Jimmy Shaw (Loteria Grill) and Ricardo Zarate (Mo-Chica) reinvented Latin cuisine, via a panel moderated by Russ Parsons

The much talked about Food Network California Lounge will be surrounded by “The Great Food Truck Race‘s” food trucks like Nom Nom Truck, Nana Queens and Crepes Bonaparte. How convenient!

Of course you’ll get to sip and nibble as there will be over 100 food and beverage exhibitors. And after the demos, there will even be a concert featuring indie duo She & Him. Man, what a lovely and exhausting eight hours it’s going to be!

Tickets: General admission tickets ($55 advance, $65 door) give you access to eight tastings, the panel discussions and demos, the Food Network lounge, the concert and the food trucks (you have to pay for the additional food from the trucks). VIP tickets ($125 advance, $135 door) get you all that plus unlimited samplings of the food and drinks and access to the VIP tasting area!

OK, so who wants two free general admission tickets (value: $110) to LA Times Celebration of Food & Wine food festival on Labor Day Weekend? You do, you say?

Well, for your chance at the tickets all you have to do is the following:

  1. Leave a comment below (one entry per person) with your email address and your Twitter handle as well as who’s your favorite chef in all of LA.
  2. Tweet this: “I’m hungry, @carolineoncrack! Gimme tix to #latfoodwine! http://is.gd/enLO6”
  3. And lastly become a fan of (aka “Like”) my Facebook page.

**You have to do all of the above for your contest submission to be valid.**

Contest ends next Wednesday the 25th at 3pm PST. I’ll then plug the entries into the Randomizer, pick a winner and notify them the next morning on the 26th. If I don’t hear back from the winner by 10am I’ll pick another name, so make sure to keep an eye on your inboxes! The winner will then be announced at noon that Thursday.

Good luck, all!

EVENT: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 from 12pm to 8pm

Paramount Studios Backlot
5555 Melrose Avenue
Hollywood, California 90038 (map)

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August 17, 2010

Highlights of Angeleno Magazine’s Great Chefs Night Out 2010 at the Fairmont

Written by Caroline on Crack in Dining, Los Angeles
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Angeleno's Great Chefs Night Out by Caroline on Crack

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:

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.

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July 29, 2010

This Weekend: Savor Los Angeles, Sergio Mendes, Chefs Night Out

Written by Caroline on Crack in Cupcakes, Dining, Lists, Los Angeles, Music, Nightlife, Sweets
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Wow, we’re in August already? Where did the summer go? Well for the last weekend of July (sigh), you’ve got lots of food fests and sweets. You know where my mind is.

Friday, July 30

Savor Los Angeles
I never get sick of eating sweets and after every meal there’s always room for dessert so I’m SO excited about this Savor event. Guests with insatiable sweet tooths will be able to taste samples from yum purveyors like Babycakes NYC, Frosted Cupcakery, N’Ice Cream and more! There will also be free champagne, Intelligentsia coffee and a cheese and fruit bar to mix things up. But it’s not just about eating, you can dance to the dj and commemorate the moment in the photobooth.

  • 7-10pm. $35 general, $50 VIP. Miauhaus Studios, 1201 S La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles (map).

Saturday, July 31

Sergio Mendes and Morcheeba at the Hollywood Bowl
No better way to pass a chill summer evening than with some Brazilian tunes courtesy of Sergio Mendes. Just thinking about it makes me want to chair dance as I type this. Fix yourself up a canteen of Caipirinha and bring some takeout from Café Brasil and you have yourself a breezy Brazilian partay in the Bowl. British trip hop band Morcheeba sets the chill and groovy tone of the evening as the opening act. If you can’t make it on Saturday, there’s always the earlier Friday show.

  • 8:30pm. $15-$156. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 North Highland Avenue, Hollywood (map).

Sunday, August 1

Win Tickets to Taste of Beverly Hills By Tweeting To Eat
Want to attend the Taste of Beverly Hills food fest but don’t have the $500 for a weekend pass? Well, if you follow TOBH’s Twitter starting August 1st through the 15th, they’ll post a daily “Culinary Clue” (Twitter hashtag #CCTOBH) about a participating chef. And on August 16, the first person to send an email after 4pm to TweetToEat@TheTasteofBeverlyHills.com with all 15 correct chef names will win TWO free weekend passes to the event (not including the Thursday 90210 party, though).

Cupcake Camp OC
This cupcake gathering hopes to attract 500 cupcake fiends for a good cause, plus some cupcake noshing and competitions. Every cupcake fan is invited to participate, whether it’s baking and bringing their donation of at least 50 of their own fabulous cupcakes or buying cupcakes. You don’t have to be a pro and if you like cupcakes baked from a box mix that’s all right, too! Personally I was considering submitting a Cake Doctor creation: Mexican chocolate cupcakes with spicy chocolate cream cheese frosting. Yum!

  • 3-6pm. Suggested donation: $10. Atrium Hotel, 18700 MacArthur Boulevard, Irvine (map).

Wally’s 7th Annual  Central Coast Wine & Food Celebration
You can’t go wrong with an event where you can taste about 150 Central Coast wines from wineries like Qupe, L’Aventure and Tablas Creek and partake of signature dishes from the likes of Comme Ca, AOC, Osteria Mozza and Bouchon. What a swank evening. Proceeds will go to The Michael Bonaccorsi Scholarship Fund at the UC Davis Department of Enology.

  • 12-4pm. $95. Wally’s, 2107 Westwood Boulevard, Los Angeles (map).

8th Annual Restaurant Awards: Angeleno’s Chefs Night Out
For another fancy foodie good time, check out Angeleno’s Chefs Night Out Event & Awards. The event will honor some of our city’s best chefs like Josef Centeno, Ludovic Lefebvre and Michael Voltaggio as well as offer culinary demos and wine and spirit samplings all under the beautiful fig tree at the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica.

  • 4:30-7:30pm. $95 general, $150 VIP. Fairmont Miramar Hotel, 101 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica (map).
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July 14, 2010

Food & Wine’s Taste of Beverly Hills on Sale Today

Written by Caroline on Crack in Cocktails, Dining, Los Angeles, Nightlife
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Taste of Beverly Hills

Taste of Beverly Hills

Goodness, there are so many awesome food festivals it can be difficult to pick which ones to go to but when one boasts pop-up king Chef Ludo Lefebrvre, Animal guys Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo and Top Chef Michael Voltaggio that’s definitely on the must-do list. I mean, come on!

The inaugural Taste of Beverly Hills Festival, brought to you by Food & Wine, celebrates the epicurean delights of our fine city and will feature everything from restaurant tastings to cooking demos by famous chefs to wine seminars to even live musical performances so you can dance all that grubbing off.

This foodiepalooza will take place during Labor Day Weekend, 9/02/10 (see what they did there cuz it’s like the famous ZIP code) through 9/5/10, near the Beverly Hilton Hotel and will not only feature the above hot chefs but Walter Manzke (formerly of Church & State), cookbook author Ted Allen and Wolfgang Puck. “Good Food” host Evan Kleiman will be conducting her annual pie contest and KCRW’s Jason Bentley will be doing up the musical lineup, presenting some cool bands.

Tickets go on sale today! They’re priced at $125 a person for a day pass, $150 for an evening pass or $500 for all-access weekend package which allows guests to come and go as they please from afternoon and evening sessions as well as seminars, chef demos and competitions. Unfortunately it doesn’t include Thursday’s opening night party, 90210 City of Beverly Hills Celebration, which will be ticketed separately at $150 a person.

Throughout the weekend in the Grand Tasting area, guests will have a chance to take part in tastings, also ticketed separately, that are specially designed for whatever tickles their fancy, be it a lovely date night, some fine cocktailing, or the most awesome brunch ever.

  • The Art of Mixing ($150) — This evening will feature the city’s top mixologists and DJs “mixing” their talents.
  • Secrets From the Kitchen and Cellar ($125) — Chefs and master sommeliers will showcase the tricks of their trades.
  • Date Night ($150) — Good food, wine, music, and one-on-one time with master sommeliers and vintners.
  • The Art of Brunch ($125) — Free-flowing brunch cocktails, live gospel and jazz performances, a 50-foot grand table featuring the city’s finest pastries and breads, along with KCRW’s annual pie contest hosted by “Good Food” Host Evan Kleiman.
  • BBQ in the Hills ($150) — The festival closer which features the BBQ stylings local top chef and restaurants.

Pretty damn good for a festival’s first time, huh? This truly will be a case of anyone who’s anyone in the food industry will be there so you gotta go.

EVENT: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 to SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5

Beverly Hilton
9900 Wilshire Boulevard
Beverly Hills, California 90210 (map)
Facebook: Food and Wine’s Taste of Beverly Hills
Twitter: @TasteofBH

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February 9, 2010

LA Street Food Fest and Gold Standard 2010

Written by Caroline on Crack in Dining, Los Angeles
9 Comments

Two must-do food events are coming up, folks, so loosen up those belts. These are New Year’s resolution breakers for sure.

Everybody loves food trucks.

Everybody loves food trucks.

This Saturday is the inaugural LA Street Food Fest which will feature the hottest thing on the food scene since cupcakes: food trucks! Over 35 of LA’s most popular food trucks and street carts will be available in one spot at the same time, making it really easy to try a whole bunch of different cuisines in one sitting, er, standing. Each food truck will be offering up their special sampling menus at prices ranging from $1 to $5 (cash only). And look for foodie fave, Chef Ludo at his own pop-up truck serving up his famous boneless fried chicken. Mmm!

Some of the other participants:

There will also be a beer and cocktails cash bar whose proceeds will benefit the LA Regional Foodbank.

General admission is $5 (in addition to the food you purchase at the trucks) but you get a drink ticket as well as the chance at cool giveaways.

EVENT: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13 from 11am to 5pm

LA Center Studios
1201 W 5th Street (enter on 500 S. Beaudry Avenue)
Los Angeles, California 90017 (map)
Twitter: @lafoodfest

Last year's packed Gold Standard event.

Last year's packed Gold Standard event.

Jonathan Gold’s 2nd Annual Gold Standard event is another much-anticipated foodie fest. Last year’s was a huge success. Too successful, as crowds tried to squish their way to each of J Gold’s personal picks for the top restaurants in L.A.

This year’s event will showcase about 40 of the LA Weekly‘s Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic’s picks, but this time in the larger Petersen Automotive Museum Pavilion. Thank gawd!

Participating restaurants include:

And booze sponsors include Bulleit Bourbon and Singha Beer. Noice!

Tickets are only available online: They are selling VIP tickets ($80/person) for this event which entitles you to early entry as well as a VIP gift bag. General admission tickets are $60 a person. No word yet if Goldstar will be offering discounted tickets like it did last year. Believe me, I’ve been hounding them. Will keep you posted. BTW, a portion of the proceeds will go to Heal the Bay and Make a Wish Foundation.

EVENT: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28 — VIP 12pm to 5pm; General 1pm-5pm

Petersen Auto Museum
6060 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90036 (map)
Parking: $8

http://www.lafightshunger.org/
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February 4, 2010

This Weekend: $4 Maker’s Happy Hour, More Bloggers Helping Haiti

Written by Caroline on Crack in Cocktails, Dining, Lists, Los Angeles, Shopping & Sales, Sweets
3 Comments

Lots going on this weekend. And no I’m not talking football. I’m talking good-hearted bloggers, speed dating with derby girls and oh, football.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Maker’s Mark $4 Happy Hour at Checkers Downtown
I’m so bummed I have to miss this. Of course this would be on the same day as my boozy tweetup. In any case, enjoy this awesome-sounding happy hour with $4 Maker’s Mark drinks like the Maker’s Peach Cobbler with Dubonnet Red, peach puree and cinnamon and the Ginger Rogers (not the gin one) with mango nectar, lime juice and ginger beer. OMG and my fave: a Maker’s Manhattan. All for only $4 each from 4 to 8pm! There will also be $4 plates, i.e. grilled Monte Cristo sandwich and yellowtail and mango sashimi.

  • 4-8pm. Checkers Downtown, Checkers Downtown, 535 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown (map). (213) 624-0000.

Friday, February 5

Bid and Eat for Haiti: Online Foodie Auction
Food blogger Fiona aka Gourmet Pigs is launching a fab online auction where peeps can bid on foodie faves like an autographed copy of Chef Ludo’s Crave, a home brewing kit from Intelligentsia and a slew of gift cards from popular restaurants around town. The best part is that all proceeds will go to benefit CHF International and Operation USA for their Haiti relief efforts. Happy bidding!


Date a Derby Dame
Are you the bravest man alive? Well, then you should have no trouble trying your best pickup lines during this speed dating event with…wait for it…OC Roller Girls. Yup, you only have 5 minutes so better make it good. At the end of the night, they’ll put together all the mutual matches. Good luck. You’ll need it.

  • 8pm. $5 (event is free to spectators). Suds Sports Grill, 5932 Warner Avenue, Huntington Beach (map). RSVP/info DateDerbyDame@gmail.com.

Saturday, February 6

Belmont Shore’s 6th Annual Chocolate Festival
Enjoy chocolate in all its glorious forms at this festival. Belmont Shore participants include Frosted Cupcakery, La Creperie and BJ’s Pizza (?) to name but a few. If you’re still cuckoo for cocoa, participate in the chocolate cream pie eating contest 3-4pm.

  • 1-4pm. 2nd Street (between Claremont and Park Avenue), Long Beach (map).

Haitians Libations at Vertical Wine Bistro
Aww, more bloggers doing good for Haitian relief. It’s Fiona again but this time with bloggers RumDood and Mattatouille. They’ve created an exclusive cocktail menu and will be serving up the libations at Vertical Wine Bistro from 10pm to close. They’ve got impeccable taste so the drinks are sure to be awesome. 50% of all profits will benefit Artists for Peace and Justice, a non-profit that delivers supplies to Haiti.

  • 10pm-2am. Vertical Wine Bistro, 70 N Raymond Avenue, Pasadena (map). (626) 795-3999.

Sunday, February 7

For Super Bowl Happenings, I defer to estarLA for her extensive roundup.

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October 27, 2009

Win Tickets to 23rd Annual Great Chefs of L.A.

Written by Caroline on Crack in Dining, Los Angeles
94 Comments

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Dakota’s chef Jason Johnston at last year’s Great Chefs.

******Contest is CLOSED*****

How would you like to spend an afternoon noshing on dishes created by renowned L.A. chefs like Akasha Richmond (Akasha), Govind Armstrong (8 oz.) and Jose Chicas (The Bazaar – SLS Hotel)? You will at the 23rd Annual Great Chefs of Los Angeles food event taking place at the CBS Studio Center in Studio City on Sunday, November 8.

This always anticipated annual food fest brings together some of our city’s most celebrated chefs all in one space so you can basically enjoy them in one sitting, going from table to table picking up food. Yum!

Here’s the list of participating chefs:

Adam Horton, Saddlepeak Lodge
Akasha Richmond, Akasha
Andrea Cavaliere, Cecconi’s
Benjamin Ford, Ford’s Filling Station
Bob Lynn, La Grande Orange
Brian Moyers, BLT Steak
Calogero Drago, Celestino Ristorante & Panzanella
Celestino Drago, Drago Restaurant, Enoteca Drago, Il Pastaio, Drago Centro
Chris Moran, Events D’Elegance
David Linville, Charlie’s Malibu
Frank Leon, LaLoggia Ristorante & Bokado
 Keven Alan Lee, EAST Restaurant & Lounge
Giacomino Drago, Il Pastaio
Govind Armstrong, 8 oz.
Jason Johnston, Dakota
Jesse Perez, Fuego at Hotel Maya
Jimmy Shaw, Loteria Grill
Joachim Weritz, Moonshadows
Jonathan Burrows, Mr. Cecil’s California Ribs
Jorge Chicas, The Bazaar – SLS Hotel
Josie Le Balch, Josie Restaurant
Margarito Cid, Harry’s Oklahoma Style Smokehouse BBQ
Mary Sue Milliken & Susan Feniger, Border Grill & Ciudad Restaurants
Michael Fiorelli, mar’sel
Neal Fraser, Grace & BLD
Paolo Sicuro, Via Alloro
Roberto Maggioni, Lago
Sam Marvin & Christopher Goossen, Bottega Louie Restaurant & Gourmet Market
Simon Dolinky, BLVD 16 at Hotel Palomar
Steven Fretz, XIV
Tanino Drago, Tanino Ristorante & Panzanella Ristorante
Yoji Tajima, SHU – Sushi House Unico
Leyna’s Kitchen

To wet your palate, wine, spirits, beer and more will also be available from the likes of Laetitia and L’Aventure wineries, Tequila Ocho and Right Gin, and Stella Artois and Fireman’s Brew.

As the theme of this year’s Great Chefs of L.A. is Go Green, Go Organic to promote eco-conscious living and sustainability, guests will enjoy a Veev Acai Spirit Go Green cocktail bar, 944 “Get Green Get Hip” lounge, as well as gift bags packed with $250 worth of goodies from eco-friendly companies like LaRocca Skincare, OPI and Alterna. Squeeeal!

Tickets for this event are $150 a person and go to benefit The National Kidney Foundation.

But if you’re lucky you can win a PAIR of tickets ($300 value) to the event right here!

To enter this giveaway you must do ALL of the following which isn’t too hard:

  1. Leave a comment below saying which chef you’re looking forward to seeing at this event. Make sure to include your email address!
  2. Follow @greatchefsofla on Twitter and tweet: “I wanna win tickets to @greatchefsofla http://bit.ly/Y7G3S #greatchefsla via @carolineoncrack”
  3. Sign up for my newsletter Daily Crack in the sidebar on the right side of the CoC homepage (NOT the “Register” link underneath the CoC banner). Easy peasy!

You must live in L.A. to participate. Deadline to enter is next Tuesday, November 3rd at 5pm (PST). I’ll randomly pick the winner on November 4.

Good luck!

EVENT: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8 from 12 to 3:30pm

CBS Studio
4024 Radford Drive
Studio City, California 91604 (map)
Twitter: @greatchefsofla
Facebook: Great Chefs of LA

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