Maude has been open for five years! That means 51 menus and 530 Dishes and for me that means 43 menus and 450 dishes. For their fifth anniversary, Maude ventured to Chef Curtis Stone's homeland with a menu centered around Western Australia. Of course, I did not miss this menu as I have not missed a Maude menu since year one!
Heading to Western Australia covers a large area. Western Australia covers an entire third of the continent and encompasses the Outback, beaches in the south and of course wine country. There are nine wine regions in Western Australia, including Margaret River, Great Southern and Perth.
Per usual, my dining companions pulled wines out of their cellars to share at dinner. But, the wines they brought, while Australian, were not from Western Australia, but rather the well-known regions of Barossa Valley and other areas of Southern Australia. Of course, we enjoyed these during dinner, but we also ordered some gorgeous white wines from Western Australia.
But, before we got into the wine, we started with a glass of Moon Bog Old Mate Pale Ale and house-made chips. Beer and chips definitely let us know that we were heading to Australia.
Homelessness is a major issue in the United States and especially in Los Angeles County where there are more than 53,195 homeless people. Luckily, there are a number of wonderful organizations that are working to eliminate homelessness and one of them is Union Station Homeless Services, a 501(c)3 organization. To raise money for Union Station Homeless Services, they host a very fun event called Masters of Taste and that is the Please The Palate pick of the week.
I have been involved in charity events where I have heard first hand about people's stories. Homelessness can really happen to anyone of us. Many people live paycheck to paycheck and it only takes missing a paycheck or two and having no support network locally.