Angeleno Magazine's Chef's Night Out @ Fairmont Hotel

It was my lucky day.

Brad A. Johnson, critically acclaimed food critic of Angeleno Magazine, was giving out a free pair of tickets to the Chef's Night Out event via his twitter. I re-tweeted and I won. Simple as that! I rarely ever win anything, so when I found out I won I was literally jumping up with joy.

Seriously.

I closed my office door and jumped up and down like a lunatic. Good thing the window washers weren't working that day. 

Basically, this event was to celebrate Brad A. Johnson and the winners of Angeleno Magazine's 2010 Restaurant awards and I was lucky enough to score two free tickets to this awesome event. I knew the line-up included all of the restaurant award winners like Hatfield's, Bistro LQ and Michael Voltaggio, so I was more than psyched.

With J by my side working as my assistant ("Can you hold this? Can you hold that?"), I made my way through the crowd to sample all the dishes at every booth, one by one.

Hatfield's: braised pork belly with barley, corn and carrots in vadouvan sauce

Petrossian: cauliflower panna cotta with transmontanus caviar

Not surprisingly, one of my favorites was Chef Ben Bailly's cauliflower panna cotta with caviar. Taking me back to my last dinner at Petrossian, I was lost in the wonderful interplay between the creaminess of the panna cotta and the salty caviar.

Craft: octopus carpaccio white wine braised Spanish octopus with lemon, mint and potato vinaigrette.

Comme Ca: heirloom tomato & watermelon terrine, red onion granita, pickled watermelon rind, whipped ricotta, candied mustard seed

Another favorite of mine was Comme Ca's tomato and watermelon terrine. It was beautiful to look at and refreshing to eat - a nice blend of bright flavors.

Street by Susan Feniger: Burmese melon salad with fresh seasonal melons, toasted coconut, peanuts, fried onions and sesame ginger dressing

J really enjoyed this melon salad dish by Susan Feniger. His love for crunchy food and Asian flavors was key in making this dish own of his favorites of the night. I also liked the texture and flavor combination in this dish.

Jar: pork croissant

Bistro LQ: rabbit loin stuffed with veal sweetbreads, vanilla dressing and uni tapioca pudding

Bistro LQ: white chocolate ice cream topped with caviar

I always look forward to Chef Laurent's food whenever I come to these events. As a die-hard uni lover, his uni tapioca pudding is one of my favorite things to eat. I really enjoyed his dessert of white chocolate ice cream topped with caviar. It was a great mix of salty and sweet.

Joe's: wild mushroom and gruyere cheese quiche

Melisse: loup de mer "en écaillés" with heirloom tomatoes and cucumber-basil

Ludobites: heirloom tomato smoothie, squid ink jelly, seaweed tartar

J and I both really loved Chef Ludo's tomato smoothie. There was so much flavor in the smoothie itself and I adored the texture of the squid ink jelly and seaweed tartar.

Wilshire: charred octopus with summer beans and upside down peach cobbler

Michael Voltaggio's market peach and burrata

Another favorite of ours was Voltaggio's version of dippin dots. The sweet and tart peach flavor went well with the creamy burrata. I thought J wouldn't like this due to his usual apprenhension with cheese, but to my surprise it was one of his top favorites of the night.

WP24: slow braised pork belly bao buns

Angelini Osteria: baby artichokes in casseruola and beef tartare crostino with guanciale zabaglione and shaved black summer truffle

Look at the wonderful shaved pieces of black summer truffles on top of the beef tartare. Doesn't that just make your mouth water? It should. Due to the recent tightening of my braces, I couldn't go to town with this dish. The bread was too hard for me to bite into. Instead, I just used the bread as a spoon and ate the tartare and truffles only - delicious.

Culina: capesante day boat scallops with farro, summer corn, heirloom tomatoes, scallions, English peas and citronette

Saam at the The Bazaar by Jose Andres: linguini with clams and tuna handroll

FIG: crostino with pesto, burrata and heirloom tomato

FIG: corn tortellini with braised rabbit, carrot and English peas

Nine Thirty: Indian spiced fried chicken with fennel seed waffles and cardamom syrup

Nine Thirty's fried chicken and waffles definitely seemed like the most popular dish at the event. Nine thirty had  the longest line out of any restaurant participant, even towards the end of the event! I was lucky to have grabbed one of the last batches of the food. The chicken was was incredible. The skin was extremely crispy with the perfect amount of batter and the inside was so moist and full of flavor. The waffles were also delicious - sweet and crunchy. I wish I had an entire plate of this!

123 Tequila and Chocolate Tasting

J and I ended our evening with some tequila shots and chocolate. I was quite surprised how well the tequila went with the chocolate. What a great idea! I'll have to keep them in mind for future events...

Chef Laurent Quenioux and Sous Chef Daniel of Bistro LQ

Chef Ludo Lefebvre (Ludobites) and Chef Quinn Hatfield (Hatfield's)

Me and Joy Limanon (Taste of the Nation Los Angeles Events Chair)

Of course, I couldn't leave without snapping a few photos with some of my favorites. I felt like I was taking pictures of all the food, but not enough of the people. Oh well... This event whizzed on by fairly quickly for me, probably because I was having too much fun. I wanted to stay til the absolute end, but my feet were killing me and well, I was drunk. Not too drunk where I couldn't feel the pain in my feet, but just drunk enough where I wanted to lay down and take a nap. The happy, lazy, smiley drunk.

I had a wonderful time and am so grateful that I scored free tickets. The food was amazing, as expected, and it was great to see so many familiar faces. I adore the Fairmont, a perfect setting for such an event, intimate and beautiful. I can't wait for next year's! (Maybe I'll win tickets again?)

Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows

101 Wilshire Boulevard

Santa Monica, CA 90401

(310) 576-7777
www.fairmont.com/santamonica

Yatai Ramen Twist @ Breadbar

Following the success of the Hatchi series, Breadbar has launched a few other pop-up dinner series, one of them focusing on ramen. Since I've heard mixed reviews on the Yatai Ramen Twist series, I didn't really plan on checking it out. However, when Fiona of Gourmet Pigs messaged me about having dinner here, I thought that it couldn't hurt to try. So, accompanied by J, I met Fiona up at the Breadbar location on third street.

Since they were closing in an hour, they were out of the oxtail ramen, which was the only one that I really wanted to try. Bummed out but not defeated, we decided to try three other kinds on the menu (two from the Twist section and one from the Classic).

tomato ramen, tomato consomme soup, sauteed mixed vegetables

We decided on tomato ramen which was the first to come out. Good thing we ate this first, since it was the worst one out of the three. The tomato soup had a slight kick to it, but overall was bland and just plain odd. Even V8 had more flavor than this bowl.

spicy pork curry ramen, braised pork, marinated poached egg, leeks

Next, we dove into the spicy pork curry ramen. This fared much better than the tomato, but still lacked in flavor. The slightly spicy soup had a lingering heat, but other than that it had no depth - just a one note dish. I did like the creaminess from the egg and the hefty portion of pork in the bowl.

shoyu ramen, aged soy sauce, served with marinated poached egg, kurobuta pork belly, nori, bamboo shoot, kikurage Tokyo negi

Our last bowl, which took forever and a day to come out, was J's favorite out of the three. Not surprising since he prefers traditional over modern any day. But, we both agreed this didn't even compare to our favorite, Santouka. The broth was fatty and rich. My favorite part of the dish was the thinly sliced green onions on top. Yes, those green onions were more exciting than the ramen itself.

The experience as a whole was just plain disappointing. But, on the bright side, at least I tried it and learned a valuable lesson: stick to your favorites, they are your favorites for a reason. This kind of negative experience validates all the wonderful meals I've had elsewhere. If we didn't have the bad, then we wouldn't know the good. Right?

Yatai Ramen Twist @ Breadbar

8718 W 3rd St

Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 205-0124
http://www.breadbar.net/

Hatchi 8 Series with Walter Manzke

As usual, I completely forgot to book a reservation for Chef Walter Manzke's Hatchi series at Breadbar, which filled up insanely quick.  But luckily, Fiona of Gourmet Pigs had room for me in her reseravation - SCORE! Thanks, Fiona! Joining us for dinner was Kevin of KevinEats and Mike of Right Way to Eat!, but there were so many other bloggers there that night I felt like the whole place was a private event just for bloggers and writers. By the time we sat down at our table, the entire place was packed with people. However, great turnout doesn't always equal to great dining experience. I knew the service was going to be spotty going into dinner, as service is always poor to mediocre for dinner at Breadbar. Our service wasn't as horrible as what others experienced, so with that I feel a little lucky.

We ordered one of everything off the menu, which took us on a culinary trip "around the world." The menu showcaseed eight dishes from eight different countries.

amuse bouche: shrimp cocktail

To start, we were given Chef Walter Manzke's version of a "shrimp cocktail." The shrimp was slightly sweet and perfectly cooked. The "cocktail" was quite perplexing to me. It was tart, but I couldn't figure out what was in it. I still have no clue! Quite mind-boggling, really. Anybody have any idea?

bread & foie gras butter

Hands down, the best butter I have ever had. The butter had a hint of sweetness and finished off with the lovely flavor of the foie gras. Absolutely divine.

Untamed Cherries, freshly squeezed lemon juice, cherries, yellow chili peppers, Crusoe organic rum, served on a  giant Neve rocks ice cube

I read lemon juice, cherries and rum and I knew I had to get this. In the midst of my excitement, it seems I foolishly overlooked the yellow chili peppers. I expected a sweet drink with a hint of acid. But, imagine my surprise after I took a long sip to find my cocktail to be spicy! It was a nice heat, however I don't generally care for spicy drinks.

Evan's Julep, mango, Evan Williams bourbon

Kevin ordered the julep which was, in my opinion, really strong. You can taste the hint of mint, but the overall flavor was almost medicinal.

yellowtail ceviche, jalapeno, tomatillo sorbet

Our first course, which was inspired by Mexico, was the yellowtail ceviche servedwith tomatillo sorbet and avocado mousse. The oiliness of the yellowtail went really well with the saltiness from the avocado mouse and all the citrus notes in the dish. I thought the tomatillo sorbet was refreshing and delicious.

white corn curry soup, mussels, coconut tapioca

With our next dish of the curry soup with mussels, we were visiting Thailand. Immediately, the aroma of the curry and mussels filled my nose and my stomach growled, yearning for that bowl of soup. The mussesls were nicely cooked and I loved the added texture from the tapioca and the nuts. The soup had nice Thai flavors, definitely milder than what I've had, but still quite delicious.

"banh mi" pig's feet sliders

You can tell which country this dish is from just by the name. The Vietnamese sandiwch, "banh mi," has been quite the rave lately. I've always loved this sandwich, so I was excited to see how Chef Walter's version would hold up against the rest. These little sliders were fantastic and full of well-rounded flavor. I adored the richness from the pig's feet and the coolness of the pickled vegetables. I especially enjoyed the slight heat I got from the the Siracha like "ketchup."

English pea ravioli, soft egg, parmesan

We stop over Italy with the chef's English pea ravioli dish. I love soft egg in almost anything, so that alone was a winner for me. The texture of the ravioli was quite nice, while the flavor seemed to have an extra peppery kick. I also love cheese, so I thought there could have been more parmesan. It would have been nice to taste more salt and tart from the cheese to offset the egg.

Hidden Secret, freshly squeezed lemon juice, grape tomatoes, maraschino cordial, true organic Gin, served on Neve Collins cube

Kevin ordered another cocktail, the Hidden Secret, which was easily everyone's favorite of the night (Am I right?). With first sip, I knew I should've ordered this instead of the Untamed Cherries. This cocktail had everything I was looking for! It wasn't too sweet and very smooth to drink with hints of floral notes. Delicious!

tarte flambe, caramelized onion, bacon, gruyere

Next, we visit France with Chef's Walter's signature dish, the tarte flambe. Last time I had this dish was at the Angeleno Magazine and Taste of the Nation's Tasting Event at Snyder Diamond and it was only a bite then. Luckily for me, this time around I had the whole dish to myself. The saltiness from the cheese and bacon was fantatistic, but this time around the onions were a bit on the sweeter side. Still, a great dish.

Santa Barbara spot prawn, garlic, sherry

Our last savory course of the night is a dish that we should have gotten between the mussels dish and the sliders, but in true Breadbar fashion, the less than mediocre service led to our out-of-order meal. My spot prawns were a bit undercooked, but I'd eat these under rather than over. I absolutely love the heads on prawns and shrimps, so I thought the accompaniments in the heads were unnecessary. I would've much prefered the natural head juices still in tact, ready for me to suck.

leche flan, pandan, coconut ice cream

Our first dessert course was a leche flan with pandan and coconut ice cream. Our visit to Philippines was a pleasant one as I enjoyed the nuttiness and tartness from this dish.

chocolate fondant, bing cherries, black sesame ice cream, green tea

Our final destination of the night was Japan. I realy love black sesame ice cream so I tend to order it every time I see it on the menu. But, sadly in this dish, the cherries stood out more than one of my favorite flavors of ice cream. The tartness of the cherries was a nice change to the sweetness and softness of the chocolate fondant. The green tea shot also left me a bit uninspired. Since I am a huge fan of Japanese cuisine, I was hoping more of an inventive or imaginative dish from the chef.  

Aside from the already mentioned spotty service, I thought overall, the meal was great. There were a couple of misses, but generally really enjoyed the food and company. It's always nice eating dinner with fellow "foodies" and bloggers, especially since I'm fairly new to the food scene. Great food and great conversations are my two top drugs.

Hatchi 8 Series @ Breadbar

10250 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90067
310 277 3770
http://www.breadbar.net/