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 Gincocktails: 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.
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!
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.
Zengo's Tamarind-Togarashi Margarita, say that 3 times fast.
Earlier this week I was invited to check out the restaurants on the Dining Deck of the new, improved and now outdoor Santa Monica Place mall that opens today at 10am. When I arrived the security detail led me to the elevator that took me upstairs to one of the most beautiful mall food courts I’ve ever seen, The Dining Deck which houses six chef-driven restaurants plus an area for “fast-casual” eateries like Fatburger, Pinches Tacos and CrepeMaker.
Media folk were divided into groups and then taken on a tour of all six restaurants — Xino, Zengo, La Sandia, Pizza Antica, Sonoma Wine Garden and Ozumo — where they would sample the cuisine and booze as well as check out the new digs. It was such a whirlwind tour that it felt like the foodies’ edition of The Amazing Race as we basically had only 15 minutes to get the gist of each place. By the way, eating while running? Not a good idea. Erp!
All restaurants here are Vegas-huge and I couldn’t help but wonder if they’ll be able to fill all the seats. In any case the venues were airy with gorgeous and distinctive décor and it was hard to believe we were in a mall. The only real reminders are the beautiful views looking down Third Street Promenade. And sure, you may not know how to pronounce the names of some of the restaurants and may end up referring to them as “That [insert cuisine here] restaurant at the Santa Monica mall,” but you’ll remember the food and cocktails.
Here’s a rundown of the six new Santa Monica Place restaurants:
Xino, a Chinese restaurant that’s owned and operated by Chris Yeo, is a far cry from the Panda Express of yester-mall. Here, you’ll find a selection of starters like crispy chili calamari, Maine lobster and prawn potstickers as well as entrees like Mongolian cowboy rib eye, live crab and Chairman Yeo’s Crispy Chicken with kumquat compote and Fiji apples. No orange chicken here, sorry! On the dinner menu, prices range from $12 for a tureen of wonton soup to $38 for the classic Peking duck. As for the cocktail situation, the restaurant has a bar and lounge. At the preview I sampled their strawberry lemon drop cocktail which was this red, syrupy concoction rimmed with sugar. Suffice it to say, I couldn’t finish it. But at least the food was good and the space gorgeous. By the way, the Chinese beauty in that huge photo plastering the wall on the way to the outdoor patio is actually Mr. Yeo’s wife! If you want to get some air, there is an outdoor patio with dining banquettes and a full bar that overlooks the Promenade.
Zengo, a Latin-Asian restaurant owned by chef Richard Sandoval and my favorite tenor Placido Domingo, has an outdoor patio that also overlooks the Promenade as well as the Xino patio across the way. This venue offered a tamarind-togarashi margarita with a spicy salted rim which ended up being the fave of the bloggers in my group, myself included. The handcrafted beverage program here will have a range of tequilas, mescals, cachacas, sake and soju and cocktails like a Mekhong Pina Horchata, that’s a mouthful! They’ll have a happy hour Monday through Friday from 4 to 7pm. The food here promises to be a beautiful marriage of Latin and Asian cuisine as it uses ingredients shared by both cultures. Check out the Peking Duck Daikon tacos and the Apple-aji Amarillo Corvina Ceviche.
La Sandia Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar, Richard Sandoval’s second restaurant on the dining deck which is located right next door to Zengo, focuses on Mexican cuisine. That’s all well and good but I’m excited about the tequila library which will offer 250 tequilas and mescals! And they’ll have Latin-inspired cocktails like Horchata Blanco with tequila reposado, tropical fruit margaritas and mojitos. We had the Mescal con Pepino with cucumber, Serrano, lime and chile pequin. So spicy and refreshing. The food is your usual Mexican fare with even some combinations where you can get two tacos and an adobo shrimp quesadilla with refried beans and Mexican rice for $12.95. And here, their Chile Relleno is $12.95 compared to the $16.50 one at Border Grill around the corner on 4th Street. The space itself with its white stucco, azure wall of talavera tiles, and retractable glass sky light offers a nice respite from the bustling mall.
Pizza Antica, a California-Italian restaurant which specializes in thin crust Roman-style pizza, was a favorite of the tour. Even though at this point I was stuffed, I couldn’t say no to the pizza with heirloom potatoes, caramelized onions and truffle oil. It actually made blogger Diane Takes a Bite cry, it was so good. Pizzas here are available in small ($9.50-$11.25) and large ($15.25-$17) sizes for their specialty pizzas or you can make your own pizza starting at $9.25 for the small and $14.75 with tomato sauce and mozzarella. Additional toppings like fennel sausage, roasted garlic paste and Portobello mushrooms are $1.25-$1.75 each. There are also pastas and entrees if you want some variety. But at least split a pizza first!
Sonoma Wine Garden may give Pourtal Wine Tasting Bar up the street on Santa Monica Boulevard a run for its money as here they, too, have enomatic machines where you can conduct your own tasting but their food menu is more extensive with small plates like Sonoma foie gras, Manila clams linguini and grilled salmon and bib lettuce as well as hearty Dungeness crab BLT, Snake River Farms Kobe Bavette steak sandwich and truffle fries with parmesan! They will have weekly specials, too. The space itself is beautiful with walls seemingly covered with panels from wine crates. By the way, they will offer Sonoma beach picnic baskets should you want to take a stroll down by the pier past all the hordes of tourist families and thrown down a blanket on the sand for a romantic picnic.
Ozumo, a Japanese cuisine restaurant and sake bar, is surprisingly run by gaijin. Its owner is Jeremy Umland, who also owns Sonoma Wine Garden, and its sake sommelier is a sushi chef-turned-sake sommelier named Jess. But Umland says that they make sure they stack up to anyone including the Japanese in terms of their knowledge and appreciation of the cuisine. When you walk into the restaurant you immediately step into a sake lounge with a bar in the center that’s surrounded by wooden stools and seating areas all around. Further in is the sushi bar where you’re greeted by friendly sushi chefs. At this point in the tour, unfortunately, I was too stuffed to eat the sashimi and sushi they were offering but the other bloggers there did seem to like the food.
The mall will be celebrating its grand opening all day today with retail-hosted evens, live music and a happy hour with KCRW DJ Jason Bentley spinning some tunes.
Santa Monica Place
1453 3rd Street Promenade
Santa Monica, California 90401 (map)
(310) 394-5451
Facebook: Santa Monica Place
New Yorker Christy Pope is one of lovely ladies showcased at Red Hot Rover.
Roving bar night Red Rover which had debuted this past March at First & Hope Supper Club will now be popping up on the Westsiide! Hotel Shangri-La in Santa Monica on Monday, July 12 to be exact. Yes, Marcos Tello and Aidan Demarest, aka cocktail consultation firm, Tello/Demarest Liquid Assets, will not only be bringing their mixology to west of the 405 for a change but this night’s lineup will consist of all women bartenders from around the country! No wonder this night has been renamed Red Hot Rover.
The ladies have come up with an11-cocktail list (each drink is $13) for you to enjoy against the beautiful backdrop of the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean. Lovely.
Angkor Wat: Bacardi Coco, lime, serrano chile and cilantro
Bay Rose: Oxley Gin, blackberries, pink peppercorn honey syrup, splash of lemon and egg whites
Bonita Applebaum: Bacardi, Landy Cognac, Chartruese and apple butter with cinnamon
Gin Et Vertjus: Oxley Gin with Persian sour grapes and honey syrup
La Summer: Serrano chile pepper syrup with mescal and Cazadores tequila with mango and pineapple
Lost Horizon Cock-Tail: Sassafras-infused Bacardi 8 Rum with Demarara syrup topped with nutmeg and orange
Love & Secrets: Passionfruit with Cazadores Reposado Tequila, citrus and sweet topped with Marini & Rossi Asti Spumante
Mother’s Milk: Bacardi 8 with Falernum, Rhum Agricole mixed with coconut milk, lime and topped with flowers and candy
South Central: Muddled cucumber and mint with splash of lime, sugar and Corzo Silver Tequila
The Westside: Mint, blueberry syrup, Oxley Gin, egg whites
The La Summer is calling my name. BTW, if you are ambitious enough to try and drink through the whole list, the hotel is offering a special Red Rover rate of $240. Yeah, that’s the discount, but I guess the hotel DOES have a view of the ocean and a cool pool area.
EVENT: MONDAY, JULY 12 at 6pm
Hotel Shangri-La
1301 Ocean Avenue
Santa Monica, California 90401 (map)
(310) 394-2791
If you’re a fan of good beer, you know and respect what the Belgians have done with it. And you won’t want to miss the Belgian Beer Fest which starts today and runs til May 25 at the Library Alehouse in Santa Monica today. Yes! Two weeks of delicious Belgian brew, revelry and then a beer pairing dinner. Oh! It’s just too good!
Purchase a Chimay glass at the bar for $15 and refill it with one of the eight rotating Belgian handles for only $5 during the festival. Only thing is, there’s only one keg for each beer so once it’s tapped out, that’s all she wrote. So if you see something you like on this partial list, better get thee to the Alehouse.
Affligem Blond
Allagash Four
Bacchus
Blanche de Bruxelles
Chimay
Duchess de Bourgogne
Goose Island Matilda
Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor
Gouden Carolus Tripel
Houblon Chouffe IPA
Kasteel Rouge
La Trappe Isidor
Malhuer 12
Maredsous 8
Ommegang Hennepin
Russian River Consecration
St. Bernardus Abt. 12
St. Feullien Blanche
Tripel Karmeliet
Unibroue Terrible
Urthel Hop-It
At tonight’skickoff party 5:30pm to 11pm, Christina Roberts from Duvel-Moortgat USA will be on hand to discuss the beers on tap — Houblon Chouffe Belgian IPA, Ommegang Hennepin, and Maredsous 8 — as well as some specialties such as the Blond d’Ardenne and Duvel in bottle. If you get there early enough, you might just score a red La Chouffe cap!
To close the festival, Wine Warehouse‘s import specialist, Larry James, will host abeer dinner where five amazing beers are paired with five courses.
Spinach and strawberry salad paired with Oud Beersel Framboise Lambic
Mussels cooked in Belgian wit-bier Blanche de Bruxelles paired with Affligem Blond
Cheese Course with Chimay Tripel and Bacchus
Beef Carbonnade paired with St. Bernardus Abt 12
Sticky Toffee Pudding paired with Malhuer 12
Cost is $59 a person and you better make your reservations now as space is limited.
Here I am trying to lose weight and everything and a majority of the events going on this weekend have to do with food and drinking. Ah well. Enjoy!
Thursday, April 29
Pourtal’s One-Year Anniversary Wine & BBQ
Can’t believe that it’s already been a year since Santa Monica’s Pourtal Wine Tasting Bar first opened. And they aim to celebrate Year One with wine and barbecue; only $4.29 for either a glass of wine or a plate of BBQ! They’ll grill dry rub babyback ribs along with grilled artichokes on a grill set up on the outdoor patio. And to complement that saucy meal, some of the featured wines are Oreano Pinot Noir and Carma Chardonnay.
6-10pm. Pourtal Wine Tasting Bar, 104 Santa Monica Boulevard, Santa Monica (map). (310) 393-7693.
Saturday, May 1
Kentucky Derby at Coast Beach Cafe & Bar at Shutters on the Beach
Enjoy Derby Day beachside in Santa Monica’s Shutters with classic cocktails like the Kentucky Mint Julep, Lynchburg Lemonade and Kir Royal, which range in price from $10-$12. A race day brunch menu will feature the likes of Southern-style grits with shrimp or crawfish ($16), lemon ricotta pancakes ($15) and pulled pork on ciabatta ($14). And ladies who dine and sport the “best hats” will get a prize! Copies of the Daily Racing Forum will be provided.
11am-5pm. Coast Beach Cafe & Bar at Shutters on the Beach, 1 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica (map). (310) 587-1707.
Slow Dance Saturday at 1642 Bar in Echo Park
Pull your loved one close to you at the first Slow Dance Saturday of Echo Park/HiFi’s newest bar, 1642. Get liquored up on craft beers and boutique wines while swaying to the dulcet tunes of soul, rock, country and folk spun by Gypsy Tailwind and friends.
9pm. 1642 Bar, 1642 Temple Street, Los Angeles (map).
Sunday, May 2
Vertical Wine Bistro’s Experiential French Wine Tasting
Attention, all winos and wine newbies: French wine tasting led by Vertical Wine Bistro’s general manager Manuel Mesta and French wine consultant Pierrick Bouquet will feature four varietals from the Beaujolais, Bordeaux, Loire Valley and Rhone Valley regions. You’ll learn such things like the nuances of major grape varieies and how to read a French label. Small plates like gorgonzola-stuffed dates wrapped in Serrano ham and oxtail terrine will complement the wines.
4pm. $40. Vertical Wine Bistro, 70 N. Raymond Avenue, Pasadena (map). Reservations: (626) 795-3999.
Savor Sundays at Whist
The Santa Monica restaurant is kicking off Savor Sundays where you can enjoy family-style classics on a $27/person prix fixe menu. This Sunday’s menu includes buttermilk fried chicken with bacon cheddar biscuits and a pecan pie with whisky caramel over vanilla ice cream. Savor Sundays goes off every week through June 2 and will feature a different regional theme every time.
5:30-9pm. $27/person. Whist at the Viceroy Santa Monica, 1819 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica (map). Reservations: (310) 260-7511.
This past Saturday, I was fortunate enough to attend Beer School hosted by Beer Chicks Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune at Rustic Canyon Wine Bar in Santa Monica. We went through 13 beers learning about the variety of flavors, distinguishing characteristics, what hops and barley look like, etc. But here are some things I took away from the class and the Beer Chicks’ book, The Naked Pint. Stuff that, sure you probably already knew, but were frankly news to me since I’m not a beer connoisseur.
Franziskaner Hefeweisse
1. As many types of beers there are out there, there are actually only two categories they are separated into: ale and lager. The quick way to tell the difference is if you sniff the beer and don’t smell anything, it’s a lager since ales are the ones that are aromatic.
2. When in Germany, do not put a slice of lemon on your glass of Hefeweizen. That’s a sure way to piss off the Germans. Hefs have an aroma of bananas and cloves and a slice of lemon would totally kill that.
3. Although stouts and porters are dark doesn’t mean they have higher alcohol content or more calories. A St. Bernardus Witbier has 5.50% ABV versus Guinness’ 4.20% ABV. And stouts/porters do seem heartier but they actually are worth less Weight Watcher points than, say, a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.
At bars Guinness has its own specialized tap that’s hooked up to a nitrogenated tank which creates nitrogen bubbles that are really tiny and stick together and make for that creamy-looking texture. The bubbles and beer need to settle for a bit.
Beer in nitrogenated tanks are meant to mimick the creamy mouthfeel of cask ales.
The perfect pour of Guinness should create a two-finger thick head on it so you can enjoy that creaminess and get enough beer.
5. Indian Pale Ales aka IPAs are actually not all nasty-tasting. My problem with them before is that I didn’t like their bitterness and the ones I’ve had have only tasted like pine needles. At beer school, I tried both the Ranger IPA and the Inversion IPA. While the Ranger was as bitter as I had learned to expect, the Inversion’s bitterness showed up like a nice kick and then mellowed out a bit.
“You fools are missing out,” I wanted to say to my co-workers who basically ignored me when I excitedly emailed them about theWorld Fare bus restaurant docking in Food Truck Alley in Santa Monica for the first time. Later I stood atop the bus all alone waiting for my food order to be called out from below. Hmf.
Maybe my colleagues just didn’t like the idea of ordering food from another taco truck only to have to bring it back to their desks. It was a lovely, sunny day after all. But little did they know that unlike the usual occupants of the mobile food alley, this one actually has a place to enjoy your food: the top of the double decker bus which is shaded by umbrellas and offers a counter where you can set your meal while standing there and noshing. Max capacity is a cozy 25 people, although this day there was just me.
Strawberry basil lemonade
At first I thought it would be nice if they actually had seats but this way I was able to people watch the dumbfounded passers-by below; apparently not every day you see such a thing. And turned out it wouldn’t take me too long to finish my meal considering when I eat alone, I tend to eat faster.
So LAist had a special where if you order two bunnies and mention LAist you get a chocolate chip cookie and if you order three bunnies you get a red velvet cupcake. But I went with the combo ($10) with two bunnies, a side of truffle mac n’ cheese balls and a cookie. The “bunnies” aka little pockets/sandwiches stuffed with your choice of filling — short rib, chicken curry, BBQ braised pork, meatballs or vegetarian chili — were pretty messy, though, and I was grateful that the cashier had tucked a handy wipe in with my order. Their bready vessels were soft and didn’t really contain the mess all that well. After the first couple of bites I had to resort to using my fork. Not that I’m complaining. Both my veg bunny and the chicken curry were soo delicious. Very savory but not too spicy. I didn’t have a problem with that but those out there who like the hot stuff might.
As for the menu, it’s runs the mill from a hybrid of South African street food…to a high-end steakhouse. The core menu mainly consists of Bunny Chow, originally an Indian-influenced South African food where a loaf of bread is hollowed out and used as a container for curry chicken.
Truffle mac n' cheese
The truffle mac and cheese balls came in a group of three in a cup. Crisp on the outside and cheesy, creamy inside. Would have liked some seasoning or maybe some peppers in it but regardless I could have easily popped more in my mouth. Mmm, I want this with beer. The chocolate chunk cookie lived up to its name. I had originally wanted to save it for later so I could nuke it back at the office for extra melty goodness but I couldn’t wait.
As for the strawberry basil lemonade, it was just OK. Nothing really spectacular with only a really subtle note of basil. At least it wasn’t syrupy or too sugary. I was more disturbed by the red lemon slice which reminded me of the fruit punch bowls my mom used to make.
$14 is more than I usually spend for a lunch but then again I don’t usually get a drink or a cookie, plus I was stuffed afterward. The quality of food here was pretty impressive compared to what you usually find in most food trucks. They even have food presentation here. Check out how they take the slice of bread and make it stand atop the sandwich like a sail.
I’d definitely come back the next time World Fare drops by Food Truck Alley. Next time for dessert I want to try the butterscotch bread pudding or the “richest brownie you’ll ever eat,” the Forbes bunny brownie.
