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Tag Archive: Taste of Beverly Hills

September 10, 2010

Photo Gallery: KCRW’s 2nd Annual Good Food Pie Contest

Last weekend I had the chance to attend the KCRW Pie Contest, hosted by Good Food‘s Evan Kleiman, at the Taste of Beverly Hills venue for the very first time. I thought for sure the lure of free pie tastings would cause a massive C-F. That’s over 150 homemade pies — savory, fruit, nut, etc. Who could resist?

But fortunately, even with the mobs of people milling about the lined-up pies, I was able to get some tastes. Two slivers were all I needed as my picks were so sweet (of course I went for the sweet pies first) that I couldn’t stomach any more, even though I was tempted several times. Bourbon pecan pie, you say? With over 150 pies there were some hits and misses, some intriguing and some repulsive (most cream pies that were sitting out), but all done with earnestness to try and be the best pie in their class.

Sadly, my friend HappyGoMarni‘s Orange Maple Hazelnut pie didn’t make the final round but, hey, more for us!

Here are the winners (from Good Food blog):

FRUIT
1. SARAH BOULTON (Michigan Tart Cherry Pie)
2. BOBBY JO CHI (Pie Love You Apple Pie)
3. MARLA CUSACK (Nectarine Almond Tart)

SAVORY
1. YUICHIRO SATO (Meat Pie)
2. BOBBY JO CHI (Fresh Corn and Jalape�o Polenta Pie)
3. CHRISTINA XENOS (Spanikopita)

CREAM
1. LAUREL ALMERINDA (Baked Coconut Custard)
2. GABRIELA HASLIP (Chocolate Cream Pie)
3. ELIZABETH LOVINS (Coco Coconut Chanel Cream Pie)

INTERPRETIVE
1. DENISE BEAUCHAMP (Pluot with Almond Cream & Almond Shortbread Crust)
2. CLAIRE GERRITY � MOTT (Mac and Cheese Pie)
3. RACHEL HERSCH (Banana Fluffer Nutter Pie)

NUT
1. MARLA CUSACK (Macadamia Nut Pie)
2. HANS GOPLEN (Pecan Pie)
3. GENEVIEVE OSTRANDER (Peanut Butter Pie with Chocolate Cookie Crust)

BEST CRUST
LAUREL ALMERINDA

BEST IN SHOW
YUICHIRO SATO

So if you missed out this time, I suggest you try and make the next competition, if not as competitor definitely as spec-taster. Heh, see what I did there? They not only have pies for the tasting but an apron fashion show. Really fun event, not so much the mob scene you’d think it would be and did I mention that it’s free?!

Categories: Dining, Los Angeles, Sweets

3 Comments

August 26, 2010

This Weekend: Beer Class, $5 Sake Tasting, Fancy Happy Hour

Blah, unpacking. Lots of booze-focused events for you though.

Thursday, August 26

Cocktail Hour for Taste of Beverly Hills
At this fancy happy hour, score half off wine, beer and cocktails! There will also be free appetizers and a glass of sparkling wine to toast the Taste of Beverly Hills. If you still haven’t bought your ToBH tickets yet, they’re offering a buy one, get one free deal at this event! And all-weekend passes will be discounted $350 (regularly $500).

5-7pm. The Roof Garden at The Peninsula Beverly Hills, 9882 S. Santa Monica Boulevard, Beverly Hills (map).

Friday, August 27

Open House and Happy Hour Live at Central in Santa Monica
Ooh! Happy hour til 9pm on a Friday night with live music, FREE pizza from Joe’s Pizza and special happy hour priced booze — $3 draft, bottles and PBR tall boys as well as $4 micro draft, $5 well. If you stay til 10, you can moonwalk to your heart’s content during the Michael Jackson tribute party. To get on the guest list for Happy Hour Live, email kim [at] spinprgroup.com. Tell ‘er, Caroline on Crack sent you.

5-9:30pm. Central, 1348 14th Street, Santa Monica (map).

Saturday, August 28

$5 Sake Tasting at The Wine House
Sake Sommelier Toshio Ueno and sake specialist Kenji Tateishi will be pouring six sakes for you to taste for only $5! It’s in the middle of the afternoon, just stop by for a tipple and check out the premium white tag sake which will be 10% off. No ressies needed.

1-4pm. $5. The Wine House, 2311 Cotner Avenue, Los Angeles (map).

Sunday, August 29

The Chemical Brothers at the Hollywood Bowl
Man, I am long overdue for the Bowl this summer. And this groovy concert may be enticing enough to get me out from under my moving boxes. Dance in the aisles to The Brothers as well as electro-funk Chromeo and synth-y YACHT. Jason Bentley will be hosting. Amazingly tickets are still available!

7pm. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Avenue, Hollywood (map).

Tuesday, August 31

Beer Chicks’ Beer and Bites Pairing 101 Class at Library Alehouse
Those cute beer girls are at it again, educating beer newbies all over. This class which will guide you through different beer styles takes place at one of my fave beer bars, Library Alehouse. Beers include Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils, The Bruery Tradewinds Tripel, Chimay Blue and more, while the seven-course event will include the likes of fish tacos with mango salsa and beef carbonade with French fries. Proceeds from the event will go to benefit breast cancer research via the charity What a Pair. RSVP asap as this is a hot ticket.

6:30-8pm. $59 (included processing fee). Library Alehouse, 2911 Main Street, Santa Monica (map). Reservations (310) 314-4855.

Categories: Cocktails, Lists, Los Angeles, Nightlife

Food Fight: Taste of Beverly Hills vs. LA Times’ Celebration of Food and Wine Discount Tickets

Taste of Beverly Hills LA Times Celebration of Food and Wine

Just got the heads-up about this from Goldstar: discounts off a couple of the hottest food festival tickets! Only problem? They’re both for the same day, Sunday, September 5! Oh, the humanity! So to help you decide, here’s a quick breakdown of each event’s discount offer.

Food & Wine’s Taste of Beverly Hills’ Art of the Brunch

Free-flowing Bloody Marys, Bellinis and Mimosas!
Wine sessions as well as beer and cocktail tastings.
Brunch from the best restaurants in LA, including Comme Ca, Huckleberry and Craft.
Live chef demos by Ray Garcia of The Fig, Scott Conant of Scarpetta and more.
KCRW pie contest with Evan Kleiman.
“LA’s best DJs” and Jason Bentley is the event’s musical director.

Tickets: $62.50 (regular $125). Sunday 10am-3pm. Behind the Beverly Hilton Hotel, 9900 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills (map).

Los Angeles Times’ Celebration of Food and Wine

Food Network Lounge surrounded by� food trucks from The Great Food Truck Race, like Nom Nom Truck and Crepes Bonaparte.
More food trucks, including Coolhaus, Ahn Joo and Buttermilk Truck.
Mixologist demonstrations, panel discussions and book signings.
Concert by indie pop duo, She & Him, which is awesome if you like them. If you don’t, well, you can skip this.
All day (8 hours) versus ToBH’s five-hour event. LAT’s general admission $33/VIP $75 vs. ToBH’s $62.50.
You can buy VIP or general (or just for the concert). But I’d go with the VIP ticket which is $50 less than the regular price of $125. This way you get unlimited tastings as opposed to just 8, AND you have access to the VIP tasting area.

Tickets: $20-$75, not including fees (regular $40-$125). Sunday 12-8pm. Paramount Studios, 5555 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles (map).

So which is it going to be? ToBH or LATCFW? Speaking of which, you still have til 3pm today to get your entries in for a chance to win tickets to the LA Times’ event.

Categories: Dining, Featured, Los Angeles

1 Comment

July 29, 2010

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

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 Caf� 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).

Categories: Cupcakes, Dining, Lists, Los Angeles, Music, Nightlife, Sweets

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

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

Categories: Cocktails, Dining, Los Angeles, Nightlife