15 Sep Please The Palate Pick of the Week: An Evening on the Beach

The perfect way to end summer is with bare feet in the sand, eating tasty food, drinking good wine and all for a good cause. That is what An Evening on the Beach is and that is why it is the Please The Palate pick of the week. I look forward to An Evening on the Beach every year. I put the date on my calendar and wait in anticipation. This year, I had a last minute trip up to Mendocino for an event that was set to end at 4pm. I booked the 5:20pm flight out of Santa Rosa and left the event a little early to make my flight. I landed at 6:50pm, hopped in my car and headed straight to the Jonathan Club in Santa Monica. I arrived at 8:00pm, two hours after the event started but nothing would stop me from attending. The energy was already electric. The band was rocking and people were dancing. I kicked off my shoes and stepped into the sand. The ocean breeze was blowing and the music filled the air. Every one was smiling, laughing, talking and having a good time. And all of this for a good cause! The benefactor of An Evening on the Beach is St. Vincent Meals on Wheels of Los Angeles. With the mission “no senior goes hungry”, St Vincent Meals on Wheels prepares daily meals for seniors and has provided more then 27 million meals to seniors over their four decades. There are so many food and wine events that take place throughout the year but what sets An Evening on the Beach apart is the atmosphere mixed with the quality of the participating restaurants and wineries. And of course, being barefoot in the sand is the best part of all! Some of Los Angeles’ well-known restaurants participate, such as Broken Spanish, Prawn Coastal, Angelini Osteria, Alimento/Cosa Buona, Craft, CUT Beverly Hills, Bestia, Osteria Mozza, Petrossian, Michael’s Santa Monica and the Jonathan Club. And serving the food are the well-known chefs, such as Mark Peel (Prawn Coastal) and Ray Garcia (Broken Spanish), among others. But An Evening on the Beach also featured new Los Angeles restaurants, such as Ingo’s Tasty Diner, GabiJames, Ma’am Sir, Majordomo, Mikkeller and Viale dei Romani. Now I have more restaurants to go out and try! A diverse selection of wines and spirits are featured at An Evening on the Beach. I enjoyed a variety of wines from Liquid Farm, Dr Loosen, The 50 by 50, Trombetta and more. And the most unique wine of the night was the Ridgeview Estates sparkling wine from England! Another year, another “An Evening on the Beach” and again, the Please The Palate pick of the week.