Spring has sprung, you guys. Look at that flower that has miraculously appeared outside my office window. It surprises me every time I print something out. I often suspect that it is fake, except for the fact that it is growing right out of the ground. Since the weather is nice enough to coax brilliant orange flowers out of their shells, it's nice enough to coax epicureans out of their kitchens and out about the town. Here are some events coming up throughout the next month, should you feel the need to shake off the winter dust and get out for some activity.
April 5: Passover Dinner at Angeli Caffe. Angeli's Thursday night family-style dinner this week will be a Passover meal. The meal includes Long-Cooked Eggs Tinted with Onion Skins; Haroset of Dates, Oranges, Raisins, Nuts, Spices; Leek Croquettes; Pesce en Carpione (sauteed whitefish marinated w/caramelized onions in a mustard-champagne vinaigrette); Chicken Soup w/Chicken Dumplings and Matzo Balls; Evan’s Pot Roast; Pollo Arrosto (garlic, rosemary, lemon chicken); Tortino di Azzime (a "mazzagna" of vegetables, and fresh tomato-basil sauce); Cianfotta (stew of leeks, peas, asparagus, artichokes, tender lettuce, mint); Parsley, Radicchio, and Napa Cabbage Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette; Flourless Chocolate Cake (has dairy); and Apple Crisp with Matzo-Cinnamon Topping (make sure to recline to the left!). Whew! That's a lot of food.
This seems like a perfect way to gear up for your seder or to go if you don't have family around to celebrate with, or just to go for dinner if you're not Jewish but want to get an idea of what one might eat at Passover if they had an amazing chef as a Jewish mom.
Dinner is $38 pp, reservations held by credit card. 62 seats available.
In case you're wondering, no I'm not Jewish, except by marriage. But after five years of marriage (as of March 30, yay for us!) I now know my way around the Seder table.
April 15: Santa Monica Farmer's Market 25th Anniversary. A fundraising reception and dinner will be held on this date to Benefit the Southland Farmer's Market Association. Farmers will be there and local chefs such as Michael Cimarusti, Michael McCarty, and Mark Peel will be serving up chow. This is not for the plebes. Tickets are $100 apiece or a whole table for $1000. If anyone wants to sponsor me, I would be happy to go and report back in detail. For info and tickets call (310) 455-0181.
April 19: Dine out Los Angeles. On this date, selected restaurants around L.A. will donate 20% of their profits to Aid for AIDS. I'm thinking this might be a good time to hit up Chameau again. And Acme Instant Food, this is a heads up to you that El Coyote is participating. Margaritas for a cause! Other participating restaurant loves of mine: Gyu-Kaku, The Gumbo Pot, Hungry Cat, M Cafe de Chaya, Pitfire Pizza, Hugo's, Ole Tapas Bar, The Abbey, Astro Burger (donating 50%! Extra credit!), and Lucques. There are many more so check if one of your faves is on there.
April 21: Learn to cook from the "Hot Tamales." Chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger will hold a "Taste of Spring" cooking class from 2-4 p.m. At Ciudad. They will demonstrate a four-course lunch and then participants will enjoy the lunch along with some signature cocktails. Participants will receive a recipe book to take home. Dishes include mango batida; crab and quinoa fritters with spicy aji amarillo aïoli; grilled chicken with cilantro sauce and pickled tomatoes; and key lime pie with sweet crema and lime zest. Cost is $75 per person and reservations can be made by calling Ciudad (213-486-5171). Once again, I'm totally willing to go and take the class and report back if anyone wants to sponsor the trip. I'll even make you a copy of the recipe book!
April 21-22: Tomatomania! See, I give equal opportunity on this blog, despite my raging bias against tomatoes. This weekend Tomatomania comes to the Party on La Cienega store. They'll be throwing down with a sidewalk sale, tomato-style. Shop for seedlings and then go in and shop for party supplies for your tomato planting party. Other tomato events are happening through the land in the next couple of months.
April 30th: 5x5 at Providence. In the words of Faith, the vampire slayer, everything's "five by five" when the best chefs in Los Angeles host a rotating series of collaborative dinners. Angelo Auriana, Michael Cimarusti, Josiah Citrin, Christophe Eme, and David LeFevre and each contribute a course to five course meals that will be served at each of their restaurants on different dates. Providence hosts the first meal on April 30th. You pay for the privilege, at $130 per person, $190 with wine pairings. But you get what you pay for, as these are some amazingly talented chefs who have the capability to wow diners with their cooking magic. I highly recommend that if you're considering paying for me to go to a food event and report back, that this be the one. I would pull out all of my descriptive stops for this meal.
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