29 Aug Event Recap: Los Angeles Food and Wine 2014
For the fourth year in a row, foodies mixed and mingled for four days with some of the best chefs around Los Angeles and beyond at Los Angeles Food and Wine, presented by Coastal Luxury Management. More than 100 chefs and 150 wineries participated in the events throughout the weekend, and we did our best to try as many as possible. Here is a recap of our time at LA Food and Wine.
The weekend kicked off on Thursday night with Ultimate Bites of L.A. presented by Chase Sapphire Preferred and hosted by celebrity chef Graham Elliot. With Disney Hall looming above, Grand Avenue in downtown LA was closed off and lined with 28 chefs, including David LeFevre of MB Post, Antonia Lofaso of Scopa and Bart Vandaele of B Too in Washington DC.
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- Canned Foie Gras Parfait, lavender crumble, stella cidre gelee, peach and mint by Chef Bart Vandaele
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- Cold poached Passmore Ranch Sturgeon with tiny beets, citrus, hoseradish and dill by Chef David LeFevre
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- Ricotta Crostini with chili, rosemary and sea salt by Chef Antonia Lofaso
On Friday, we returned at night to Grand Avenue for Asian Night Market, hosted by Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto. Recreating the night markets found in Asia, chefs from around the country served dishes with Asian-inspired ingredients.
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- Five Spice Pork Belly Taco by Jet Tila, Pakpao Thai
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- Elote Dry Miso Aioli from Jason Benavente, Nobu LA
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- South East Asian Beer Food Coconut Chili Snails from Starry Kitchen
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- Tea Smoked Ora King Salmon from Brad Farmerie, Public/The Thomas Napa & NYC
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- Indonesian Shrimp Sate, Cashew Curry, Fried Shallot, Sambal from Tin Vuong, Little Sister
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- Cambodian Beef Heart Tartar with butter rice cracker from Fickle
We were back at it on Saturday, this time for the Lexus Grand Tasting. An indoor event taking place at Los Angeles Center Studios, there were more bites to enjoy from a new group of chefs.
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- Salpico D’orxata Yellowtail Octopus cocktail marinated in xufa milk from Perfecto Rocher, Smoke.Oil.Salt.
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- Corn Panna Cotta with Vadouvan, Uni and Rye by Vartan Abgaryan, Cliff’s Edge
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- Grilled Grape and Fig Tartine with housemade country boule, fresh burrata, vincotto from Jeff Mahin, Stella Barra Pizzeria
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- Scallop Crudo with lemon, calabrian chili, mollica di maiale from Alimento
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- Cavatelli from Scarpetta
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- Coffee Waffle and Doughnut Ice Cream from Michael Voltaggio, INK
Just when you think we could not do any more eating, we went to a very special dinner on Saturday night – Dining with the Michelin Stars. Pierre Gagniere, a 3-star Michelin chef who is at Twist at the Mandarin Oriental in Las Vegas and 2-star Michelin chefs Michael Cimarusit of Providence in LA, David Kinch of Manresa in Los Gatos and Dominique Crenn of Atelier Crenn in San Francisco prepared an extraordinary once-in-a-lifetime meal at the beautiful Vibiana, a former church.
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- Beggar’s Purse with caviar and creme fraiche (David Kinch)
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- Oyster, Coconut & Wheatgrass (Dominique Crenn)
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- Uni, Licorice & Caviar (Dominique Crenn)
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- Middleneck Clams with chorizo, coriander, red pepper (Michael Cimarusti)
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- Tajima Wagyu Beef Tenderloin with eggplant cannelloni, ratatouille piquillos puree (Pierre Gagnaire)
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- Bouillon Zezette with cod cake and parmesan (Pierre Gagnaire)
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- Roasted Haunch of Wild Striped Bass with oven-roasted tomato, rosemary, black olive, roasted eggplant (Michael Cimarusti)
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- Beef with Pole Beans, Puffed Rice and onion broth (David Kinch)
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- Corn, Brioche and Chocolate (Dominique Crenn)
With our last bits of energy, we mustered up enough appetite to go to the final event of the weekend, the Lexus Grand Tasting on Sunday.
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- Black Fig Tart, olive oil and creme new crop walnut from William Werner, Craftsman & Wolves
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- Lamb Meatballs, Eggplant Caponata, Calabrian Chili, Burrata from Chef Mette Williams, Culina
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- Brisket, Ssam, KBBQ Radish, Fresno Chili, Bibb Lettuce
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- Corn Agnolotti with black truffle, parmesan and butter from Luigi Fineo, Rivabella
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- Crispy Lamb Buns with stonefruit relish, sriracha aioli, wild herbs from Kevin Luzande, Acabar
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- Thee Opulent Slut from Alvin Cailan, Eggslut
In addition to all of the food, there was also a lot of wine! From bubbles to roses to whites and reds, there were hundreds of wines to taste.
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- Signorello
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- Philippe Gonet
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- Champagne Gosset
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- Champagne Henriot
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- Presqu’ile
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- Westerly Wine
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- Tenuto Sant Antonio
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- Dolin Malibu Estate
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- Kracher
Looking forward to the chef and winery lineup for Los Angeles Food and Wine 2015!