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HOLLYWOOD,
Calif. -- The
Hollywood studio lot where "Dr. Phil," "Glee"
and "Community" tape their shows was transformed into
the 2012 edition of "The Taste." Upon paid admission,
guests were allowed to enjoy unlimited food samples, beer, wine
and spirits. Advance tickets were $50 for each of the five events,
then $65 after Aug. 7 and $75 at the door. Most attendees said
they preferred the one-time admission fee over the individual
tickets that were previously required for food and beverage stands.
"Actually,
it is my first time here," said Kasey Spangler from Westminster,
Calif., who came with her husband, Tom. "So far, it's been
pretty good. We've had a little bit of champagne, I'm going over
to the beer one pretty soon. We had some Indian food, we had the
ice cream too. That was good. It's a good selection of stuff here.
I thought the price was pretty reasonable to have free food and
drinks all day. I think it's a pretty good price, I thought it
was a good deal. It's kind of a distance for us, so we're not
going to be able to be here all weekend."
The
second annual food and wine festival presented by The Los
Angeles Times, took place from Sept. 1 - 3 at the Paramount
Pictures Studios.
"We
like it much better this year," said Shirley Kawa of Santa
Ana, Calif. "It's a little bit more organized. The pastries
were delicious. Sweets for the Soul had the best baked goods,
fabulous. The mariachi was really good. I think it was reasonable.
It was all-inclusive, which made it a lot easier than two years
ago. One day is enough. We'll be back again, we liked it."
The
Taste consisted of five events over three days: "Field to
Fork," "Cocktail Confidential," "Flavors of
L.A.," "Dinner & Drinks" and finally, the "Labor
Day Picnic."
"This
is my second time here," said Oxana Davydova from Sherman
Oaks, Calif. "It's so much fun, too much food and too much
wine, I can't drink anymore. I've had everything from Thai food
to tacos, all kinds of Sangria, drinks, wine, everything and desserts.
The mariachi band right here is amazing. It is just so much fun,
it really is. We're here for just today. It's worth it for the
price that we paid--even just today."
Her friend,
George Byrnes, also of Sherman Oaks, Calif., added: "It's
a great experience. It's my first time here. It's a great experience--introductions
to a lot of restaurants we didn't know about. I had everything
she had and more. We're really enjoying it. For what it is, having
everything included and not having to use a ticket system, I think
it's a great deal. I'd just encourage people to come out and see
it. It's a wonderful exposure to the community and the restaurants."
Tickets
were sold out for the Flavors
of L.A. event, which took place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Dozens of L.A.'s best restaurants and bars set up tents to offer
tastes of their specialties.
"We've
had a great time as always," said Pam Vasquez from Glendale,
Calif. "We also had a good time because we're family. The
fried chicken was the favorite of the whole day. It was wonderful.
I don't even think I paid attention to the music because we were
just having such a great time enjoying the food and the drinks.
I loved it. I wish that I would have been Bushmills make the drink
that they were serving because that would have been fun to see
it. It was a delicious drink also. We were saying last time we
had little coupons for every little exhibit and that was kind
of painful. Instead, just come in and enjoy the whole thing. It
was really nice."
Her husband,
Bill Vasquez, added: "We came to this event a couple of years
ago and missed it the last few years. We had to come back, we've
had a great time. I probably had just about everything to eat
that's been offered. I had tacos, scallops, shrimp, it was all
wonderful and very good. Music was great, the entertainment was
great. I got to see the chefs cook, a lot of fun. We saw a little
bit of Susan Feniger, who is one of our favorites, but really
didn't see anybody other than that. I'll come back again next
time and invite more people."
Times'
Restaurant Critic Jonathan Gold and KCRW-FM "Good Food"
Host Evan Kleiman hosted the Flavors of L.A. part of The Taste.
"We
have a little chilled summer succotash," said Bistro 45 Executive
Chef Steven Lona. "It's like a play on chili. It has chipotle-cured
beef, a little bit of white bean, sweet corn, smoked peppers and
a little truffle oil. In a restaurant, you could charge $8-$9
for a rather large portion. For the portion we have here, probably
three bucks. We did the event yesterday, but this is the first
day for the taste event. Yesterday was really good and we were
really excited about that. It's been crazy how busy it's been
today. It's great for the whole community at large. We're sitting
at 45 S. Mentor in Pasadena."
9021PHO,
A 1 Cucina Italiana, Ayara Thai, Bibigo, Bistro 45, Black Market
Liquor Bar, Border Grill, Bulgarini, Candela Taco Bar & Lounge,
Carvel 90210, Casa Azul Cantina, CHAYA Downtown, Chichen Itza
Restaurant, Coolhaus Ice Cream Sandwiches, Coupa Café and
Creme Caramel LA were among the restaurants on site at the festival.
"We
have a mini version of our duck shawarma, which we serve at the
restaurant," said Momed Restaurant Owner Alex Sarkissian.
"It's made with duck confit, roasted tomatoes, figs, a little
bit of garlic on house-made pita bread. The other one is an avocado
hummus Both of these dishes were invented or created at Momed.
The duck shawarma is $14 and a side of avocado hummus is $6. This
year has been the largest turnout we've ever had. We've served
close to 2,000 plates. We hope to visit you at Momed, 233 S. Beverly
Dr. in Beverly Hills."
Additional
food choices at the Flavors of LA event included Farmshop, Got
Kosher?, Gottsui, Juan’s Restaurante, Locando del Lago,
Lukshon, M Cafe, Mayura, Meals by Genet, Milo & Olive Milling
Co., Mo-Chica, Momed, Ombra Ristorante, Picca, Plan Check, Red
Lion and RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen.
"I'm
helping with the Italian beer distribution," said Bravo Beverage
Brand Ambassador Lauren Schwab. "It's from Milan, Italy.
We have three different styles--a lager and two ales. We have
a premium ale, which is a double malt and then we have our reserve,
which is our brown, amber ale. You can sample all three of them.
The turnout's been great. I really like these bottles and then
we also have the 12-oz. bottle, four packs. You can buy it at
Whole Foods, BevMo or Total Wine, also in some restaurants. We're
getting ready to have draft beer. It costs $8.99 to $9.99. It's
awesome, you should try it."
Saffron
Spot, Sam’s By the Beach, Schulzie Bread Pudding, Streets
of Thailand, Susan Fenniger’s STREET, Sushi Roku, Sweets
for the Soul, Tamarind of London, The Cake Mamas, The Counter
Custom Built Burgers, The Glendon Bar & Kitchen, The Spice
Table, Valerie Confections and Wurstküche wrapped up the
list of restaurants.
"It's
been great, we're really proud to introduce the moles [sauces],"
said Feria de Los Moles Founder Lourdes Juárez. "It's
a great event. We're very, very happy to be here. For this edition,
we only brought Black Mole and the mole from Puebla. Come to Olvera
Street on Oct. 7."
Next up:
The 5th Annual Feria de Los Moles is scheduled for Oct. 7 at Olvera
Street in downtown Los Angeles. It is known as the world's largest
Mexican food festival. Last year's attendance surpassed 30,000
people. Click here for
more information about Feria de Los Moles.
