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Octavio Becerra (left) and his crew from Palate
My 16-year-old daughter, Emily, and I signed up to volunteer for Taste of the Nation in Culver City on Sunday, and while we felt guilty that there wasn’t enough for us to do (thanks to an outstanding volunteer turnout), we managed to cope with the guilt by tasting as much as we could manage. Which wasn’t nearly enough, given the incredible bounty at this year’s event — a person can eat only so many tastes, even if they’re small.
You name the essential L.A. chef, and he or she was there: chair Mary Sue Milliken, Susan Feniger (Street, Ciudad), Jimmy Shaw (Loteria), Suzanne Goin (Lucques, AOC), Evan Kleiman (Angeli), Nancy Silverton (Mozza), Jon Shook (Animal), Walter Manzke (Church & State), Suzanne Tracht (Jar) and many more. There were book signings, cooking demonstrations, a mole cook-off moderated by Jonathan Gold, and waiter races, but really it was about the food (and wine).
Crostini from the Chaya restaurants
As I said, we couldn’t possibly taste it all, so our favorites were not based on a comprehensive sampling, just the luck of the underemployed volunteer: Vegetarian Emily’s top three were the tofu curry crostini from Chaya, the red-and-yellow-beet gnocchi from Angeli, and the chocolate sorbetto from Gelato Bar. To that list I’d add the pollo en pipian taco from Loteria, the tortillas de camarones from Bar Pinxto and the farro with cherries, dandelion greens and Marcona almonds from Fig.
The numbers aren’t in yet, so I can’t report on how much it raised for Share Our Strength, which combats childhood hunger right here in L.A., but I can report that the event was a success in every other way: well organized, relaxed, friendly and full of very, very good food. I’ll be back next year, helping in any way possible.
Gelato Bar's Gail Silverton and Allessandro Fontana served a sampler of gelati and sorbetti.
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loved Gelato’s Lemon BASIL!
We also volunteered for the first time. Amazing not to be missed event!! We’ll be back!
http://ravenouscouple.blogspot.com/2009/06/taste-of-nation-los-angeles-6142009.html
Hong and Kim
also volunteered for the first time. SO fun. Need more work at the “media” registration table but did see LAOC Foodie, Teenage Gluster, Eater LA, LA Weekly check in, that was fun.
Sorry I missed ya at TOTNLA — and it was one of the best food events I’ve attend yet given it’s lack of huge crowds typical at events like this (though I’m not sure if this boded well for ticket sales and, consequently, funds raised for Share Our Strength)
My most memorable bites were the steak & potato salad at BLT, Mozza’s butterscotch budino and Rivera’s tortilla flores… and yes, that lemon basil sorbetto from gelato bar.
[...] the (L.A.) Nation | EAT: LA Syndicated from Tasting the (L.A.) Nation | EAT: LA.You name the essential L.A. chef, and he or she was there: chair Mary Sue Milliken, Susan Feniger [...]