Angelenos Fight Childhood Hunger at Taste of the Nation LA
By Lydia Yun 
June 13, 2010 
15 Comments
Thank you to the various sun deities throughout ancient civilizations – Ra, Apollo, Huitzilopochtli – for granting us sweltering heat at this past Sunday’s Taste of the Nation event in Culver City’s Media Park benefiting childhood hunger, because any pretense of a delicate white-tablecloth event was supplanted by straight-up unapologetic enjoyment of food and drink. A bit of a ‘sweat and tears’ kind of affair, one’s dedication to good food and company became apparent under the cloudless sky. Sunburn? No problem with a little sunscreen and an icy açaà (ah-SIGH-ee, I learned) Veev cocktail. Maneuvering through sweaty crowds for that last morsel of braised beef? Easy and done, with pleasure.
Braised beef short rib w/ caramelized onion, mint horseradish @ Westside Tavern
Veev bar
At least that’s what I told myself as I had the uncanny but delightful experience of slurping down Bar210’s deceptively spicy liquid nitrogen cocktail (think slushie consistency) of tequila, fruit, and (yes) peppers in 90 degree heat. Can we say confused? Skin’s hot, tongue’s ice-cold, throat’s burning, stomach’s deliciously warm from tequila glow. Ah, but naturally it was so good, as many things were here.
Two long rows of booths housed the chefs and staff of about 40 restaurants, and a valiant effort was made by all to taste everything so generously offered. Attendees had the opportunity to chat with many chefs as they ate, including those whom many of you have enjoyed following on various Food Network and Bravo shows: Michael Voltaggio – Top Chef’s season 6 winner – who put on a cooking demonstration, Kerry Simon of Simon LA and Iron Chef winner, and Susan Feniger of both Ciudad and Street and contestant on Top Chef Masters. Certainly the sheer number of restaurants represented had me mentally noting new places to eat out, as well as trying my hand at recreating favorite dishes courtesy of recipe cards provided by each restaurant. Drinks were in abundance, and blessedly needed on a hot day, from ice-cold beers, specialty cocktails, to the nearly 20 wineries on hand for wine tastings.
As a former longtime vegetarian, any guilt pangs I might have harbored in the past few years as a resurrected carnivore were happily smothered for the time being. Meat fares ruled the day in a wide array of preparations, styles, and tastes. Hatfield’s Horseradish dusted braised short rib on smoked potatoes? Simon LA’s cumin spiced skirt steak with chimichurri sauce? Hotel Roosevelt’s new gastropub, Public Kitchen & Bar’s Duroc pork & chanterelle sausage? Akasha’s Niman ranch pulled pork sliders? Yes please! Who could resist?
Torchon foie gras with organic apple gastrique, Marcona almond brittle @ Bottega Louie
“As a lover of all things foie gras, I’ve seen it prepared in different styles and levels of quality. Bottega creates what I think is the ultimate hors d’oeuvre, perfectly balancing the creamy texture and rich flavors associated with good foie. The apple gastrique and Marcona almond brittle almost give this delicacy a near dessert like quality, enough to match the decadence of the most overindulgent sweets.â€
Not that dessert was ignored. Sprinkles made many a lady (and any discerning gentleman) happy with bite-sized versions of their famous cupcakes, lined up like little soldiers in neat rows on their signature brightly-colored display boards. Lago’s gelato di parmigiano, yes you read that right, parmesan gelato, tasted just as you think it would and made me rather nostalgic for the original Iron Chef episodes and its chefs’ predilection for concocting unusually savory desserts. By far, my favorite dessert of the day however was Suzanne Goin’s of Lucques/AOC/Tavern restaurants olive oil cake with citrus and pistachio aillade. Delicately sweet, wonderfully fragrant, with just the perfect amount of texture from a bit of semolina flour, it was sophisticated enough for high tea-time yet rustic and understated in a way that I could imagine it at home in a Tuscan villa.
Sprinkles Cupcakes
Among the most art-worthy creations at this event were Rivera’s hand-pressed white corn tortillas. Minimal they might be, but these tortillas were refreshingly simple, individually pressed and carefully imprinted with squash blossoms or purple chive blossoms. Anyone who loves the smell and taste of bread fresh out of an oven can understand how good these were right off the griddle and smothered with Indian butter.
Hand-pressed squash blossom white corn tortilla @ Rivera
Carbonated pomegranate blueberry spherification@ Bar210
“Marcel Vigneron’s (Bar210) creation takes the prize for the most clever gastronomic creation of the festival in my opinion. I love a dish that makes the diner ask ‘how do they make it?’ because I nor anyone else I’ve asked can figure out how he captures the tart, sharp citric flavors of pomegranate and blueberry into a sealed bubble ready to burst with flavor once you pop it in your mouth. A true amuse-bouche, creations like these are reminders why food is considered as much an art as it is science.†-Ed Kwon
Chilled porcini soup with tapioca, mirabelle coulis, foie gras chantilly/espuma @ Bistro LQ
The afternoon wound down as the day began to cool, with some sitting back in the shade, perhaps a little drowsy from a combination of sun and full stomachs, and those still up chatting with the many chefs emerging from their booths after a long afternoon of cooking. There was a general satisfaction in the air of a job well done, and an appreciation felt by those who attended. What was most impressive about this event, aside from the food and drink, was the spirit and force of character evidenced by the camaraderie and combined generosity of the chefs, volunteers, sponsors, and organizers. They put together a truly entertaining event for those lucky enough to attend and contribute funds and awareness to one of the most disturbing problems in this country that Share Our Strength rightly recognizes should not exist: childhood hunger. In their words, “No Kid Hungry†by 2015. See you next summer at Taste of the Nations across the country!
Miso marinated black cod with butter lettuce @ Nobu
Photos by Ed Kwon for Appetite for Good.
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All this looks soooo delicious! mmmmmmm so hungry now!
I love outdoor events! even if its 100 degrees in SoCal! I need to make my way to SoCal someday.
Not just someday Patrick!
I know, outdoor events have a great vibe, and I’ll definitely be looking forward to next year’s event.
The pictures look amazing!! I’m drooling over the miso black cod right now!
The miso black cod was amazing, as good as it looks in the photo!
Everything looks delicious. I would love to taste the hand-pressed white corn tortillas.
The tortillas really were quite good…and it was great to be able to watch the chefs make them right in their booth.
What a beautiful event and amazing opportunity to mingle and watch there amazing chefs. I am headed to a certain food festival this weekend that has us scheduled to attend seminars taught by Thomas Keller, Jose Andres, Mario Batali, and Masaharu Morimoto…to just name a few. I am giddy with excitement!
Follow me on Twitter to get the pulse of this amazing food weekend http://twitter.com/FrenchPressMemo
What a beautiful event and amazing opportunity to mingle and watch there amazing chefs. I am headed to a certain food festival this weekend that has us scheduled to attend seminars taught by Thomas Keller, Jose Andres, Mario Batali, and Masaharu Morimoto…to just name a few…oh, Voltaggio too. I am giddy with excitement!
Follow me on Twitter to get the pulse of this amazing food weekend http://twitter.com/FrenchPressMemo
wow that looks so great. such excitement!
What a great event, and an excellent post! Beautiful photos:)
Thanks, it was a great way to spend an afternoon!
Yes, the photos do justice to all the yummy food the photographer, Ed, and I ate!
What a great event. Everything looks gorgeous. I cannot take my eyes of the Chilled porcini soup with tapioca, very interesting. Thank you for sharing another great post.
Thank you, it was a great event and a lot of fun to cover. And yes, I’m planning on heading over to Bistro LQ to try more of their food!
The Miso marinated black cod with butter lettuce look so appetizing!!
http://www.lilian-eblog.com
Wish we could’ve been there. The entire afternoon seemed like mucho fun! Of course, being able to eat all that food would be the icing on the cake.