For the fifth straight year, the Original Farmers Market will celebrate its birthday with a roving taste feast offering the best of the best from the Market’s myriad of restaurants and grocers.  Taste of Farmers Market, on Tuesday, July 16 from 5 to 9 pm, provides a world tour of cuisines, from Philly to Paris to Peking, and a multi-multi-course meal offering entrees, salads, sides, snacks, sandwiches, nuts, beer, wine and desserts galore. Many of the Market’s retail merchants also join the party, offering 79^th Birthday gifts and specials at the event and throughout the week.

            Taste of Farmers Market is the Market’s newest annual event, inaugurated as a birthday party in 2009 as part of the Market’s 75^th Anniversary, according to Farmers Market Marketing Director Ilysha Buss.

            “We couldn’t imagine anything better than our merchants, who are known for their great food, serving their best to the Market’s fans.  Our restaurateurs and grocers enjoy this event because they get to share their favorite tastes with old friends and new fans.  Everybody had such fun at the first Taste that we kept it going, so the Market will turn 79 doing what it’s always done, sharing great meals with good friends.”

The menu of tastes being served at the 2013 birthday party includes mini-chicken pot pies, stuffed mushrooms, pear gorgonzola flatbread, jumbo wild shrimp, kale Caesar salad, orange chicken, pork belly BLTs, chocolate mousse, pastrami sandwiches, gumbo ya-ya, Brazilian BBQ, Nutella crepes, falafel, tri tip sandwiches, toffee, doughnut holes, root beer floats, fancy mixed nuts and beer & wine samples.  The menu is still under construction and additional dishes will be added.   

Among the award-winning merchants serving their best dishes are Short Order, Monsieur Marcel, Huntington Meats & Sausage, Pampas Grill, Gumbo Pot, Moishe’s, Bob’s Doughnuts, Bennett’s Ice Cream and The French Crepe Company. 

Taste of Farmers Market tickets are $35.00 with advance registration, $40.00 at the door.  The ticket includes access to every “taste” available and 2 drink tickets good for non-alcoholic beverages.  Those registering before July 3 will be automatically entered in a drawing for a $100 Farmers Market gift certificate.  There is a 10% discount for groups of 10 or more.

Tickets are now available over the counter at the Farmers Market Office store, upstairs just inside the Market’s Gate One; reservations by phone are available at 323-933-9211.  On-line sales at the Market’s website, www.farmersmarketla.com begin on June 14.

Taste of Farmers Market has generated one universal complaint over its five year history, according to Ms. Buss.

“Everyone enjoys this event,” she said, “but our guests consistently complain that it just isn’t possible to enjoy every taste.  The good news is, everyone is welcome to try.”

The “East LA Meets Napa & Beyond” fundraiser is an exclusive food and wine pairing event that brings the community together to celebrate the richness of Mexican food and success of Latino-owned restaurants and vineyards in California taking place at Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles July 19^th.

Chef Jimmy Shaw and two other well-known local chefs participating in this year’s food & wine festival will select the winning creation. The winner will receive a custom fitted pair of chef’s clogs (that Shaw often wears in his own kitchen) and their winning creation will be a featured item for more than 1500 guests to enjoy at this year’s event at Union Station.

AltaMed’s premier food and wine tasting fundraising event, East LA Meets Napa, is in its 8^th year. The event takes place outdoors on a warm summer evening in a unique aesthetic venue, the Union Station & Metropolitan Water District courtyards. The perfect setting for the 1,500 guests who enjoy trekking their way past their favorite food and wine stations. Latino owners, chefs, and representatives from 30 restaurants and 30 wineries showcase their wonderful food and wines. This event includes a VIP pre-event reception, a brief program, live entertainment, dancing, all the food you can eat, all the wine you can drink, and a surprise or two! Top sponsors enjoy the comfort of their very own private VIP reception areas.

With 1,500 guests in attendance, East LA Meets Napa is AltaMed’s highest attended annual fundraising event. Invitees will include the AltaMed Senior Management Team, Host Committee co-chairs and committee members, elected officials, sponsors, and friends of AltaMed.

This year’s event, appropriately named East LA Meets Napa & Beyond, will take us on a wine tasting journey stretching from the famed Napa Valley, through various California wine regions and beyond.  An exploration of California wines showcasing and honoring the roots of so many Latino vintners and families.

Annual New York Asian Festival Heads West for the Summer with events in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas 

LUCKYRICE Los Angeles returns on Saturday, July 27, 2013 from 7-10pm, led and hosted by Chef Sang Yoon of Father’s Office and Lukshon 

Presented by BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® East

 Featuring LA’s top Asian-inspired chefs and mixologists 

The second annual LUCKYRICE Los Angeles Night Market presented by BOMBAY SAPPHIRE East returns to take place on Saturday, July 27 from 7-10 pm PST. The Los Angeles launch follows on the heels of LUCKYRICE’s fourth-annual New York Festival (April 29 – May 5), which featured chefs Danny Bowien, Morimoto, Pichet Ong, Susur Lee and other members of the LUCKYRICE Culinary Council. 

Tickets go on sale on June 12 at www.luckyrice.com and are $88 for general admission and $125 for VIP. (VIP access is from7:00 -8:00pm and provides all-evening access to the VIP Chefs Lounge).

For the first time, LUCKYRICE is establishing a national tour, and will be bringing the festival to San Francisco (Ferry Building) onSep 6, Las Vegas (The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas) on Oct 5 and to Miami in mid-November.

“LUCKYRICE Festival is excited to return to Los Angeles, which is a hotbed of every conceivable type of Asian cuisine and culture,” said LUCKYRICE Founder, Danielle Chang. “Our festival’s expansion taps into America’s heightened interest in Asian cuisine and as increasing travel, trade and the influence of Asia results in a growing consumer awareness of it multitude of cultures and flavors. By highlighting flavors from Taiwan to Thailand, the LUCKYRICE Los Angeles Feast will allow guests to “eat their way around Asia without Los Angeles. 

Hosted by Sang Yoon (Father’s Office / Lukshon), this year’s LUCKYRICE Los Angeles Feast will move into a larger space within the Bookbindery in Culver City, which will be transformed into an Asian culinary wonderland.  “LUCKYRICE is the only event in the food festival landscape that both celebrates the diversity of Los Angeles’ Asian cuisine as well as captures the caliber of chef talent and cocktail culture here.  I’m honored to be hosting this year’s festival,” said chef Sang Yoon. 

“We are thrilled to have BOMBAY SAPPHIRE East Gin return for the second year in a row as the official spirit of the LUCKYRICE Festival, said Ned Duggan, Brand Managing Director, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE. “Paying homage to the subtle, yet exotic flavors of Asia infused with Thai Lemongrass and Vietnamese Black Peppercorns, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE East pairs perfectly with each imaginative Asian dish throughout the LUCKYRICE Festival.” 

The LA Feast will combine the best of LUCKYRICE, including authentic night market street food, creative chef-driven dining and cocktails galore – all re-imagined through a locally global lens that spotlights LA’s exploding Asian food revolution.

Confirmed renown local chef participants include: Sang Yoon (Father’s Office, Lukshon), Jet Tila (the Charleston), Bryant Ng(Spice Table), Kris Yenbamroong (Night + Market), Mohan Ismail (RockSugar), Jenee Kim (Parks BBQ), Jitlada, Ayara Thai, Komodo Food, BEP Vietnamese Kitchen, Asia de Cuba, Katsuya, Black Hogg, Zengo and Hamasaku.

LUCKYRICE will also be bringing 8 celebrated mixologists including Rosie Ruiz (1886 @ the Raymond Restaurant), Brandyn Tepper (Hinoki & the Bird), Chris Ojeda (SoHo House), Dave Fernie (Pour Vous) and Sean Hamilton (No Vacancy) along withAdrian Biggs and Gary Hayward (Bombay Sapphire) who will be serving a total of 16 custom cocktails featuring BOMBAY SAPPHIRE East and other spirits. We will also be serving Asahi Beer, Wines from Bordeaux, Champagne Nicholas Feuillatte and Bruce Cost Ginger Ales.

CHAYA Brasserie has been one of L.A.'s most iconic restaurants for three decades - we invite YOU to celebrate this exciting milestone with us!

 Sunday, July 28th, 2013

5 pm - 10 pm

(doors open at 4 pm)

Pre-Sale tickets: $55

$65 at-the-door

admission FREE for children under 12 yrs.

The 30th Anniversary Festival will be fully equipped with UNLIMITED food, beverages, LIVE entertainment and games

Entertainment Includes:

Fire Dancers, LIVE DJ, Taiko drummers, TWO LIVE bands, tarot card reader, magician, photo booth, glitter tattoo artist, festival games and more

On Thursday, Aug. 1, Audi will again present An Evening on the Beach at the Jonathan Beach Club Santa Monica, in support of St. Vincent Meals on Wheels of Los Angeles. The evening began as part of the 28th annual American Wine and Food Festival in 2010 and is now celebrated as a single event to capture the allure of a “toes in the sand” food and wine experience.

Featuring some of LA’s best chefs, the event’s guests relax with tempting morsels off the grill, vintner tastings, specialty cocktails, great music, and a crackling fire as the summer sun sets over the ocean. Dress is casual, shoes are optional, and proceeds will help to provide the over 4,000 meals needed to feed homebound seniors and other vulnerable residents across the Los Angeles area every day.

This year’s chef line-up includes Gino Angelini of Angelini Osteria/RivaBella, Sally Camacho of theJonathan Beach Club, Michael Fiorelli and Andrew Vaughan of Nelson’s at Terranea, Evan Funke of Bucato Restaurant, Mark Gold of Chez Soi, Sydney Hunter of Café Pinot, John-Carlos Kuramoto with Michael McCarty of Michael’s Restaurant, Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis of Bestia, Dahlia Narvaez of Osteria Mozza, Mark Peel of Campanile LAX, Chris Phelps and Zak Walters of Salt’s Cure, and Ari Taymor of Alma Restaurant. There will be special offerings by Mimmo Bruno of Di Stefano Italian Cheeses and Laura Chenel Chévre, in addition to chef presentations by the Cooking Channel.

Specialty cocktails will be served by mixologist Ryan Wainwright from The Tasting Kitchen, in addition to a martini bar hosted by Jordan Catapano of This Girl Walked into a Bar, featuring Petrossian caviar cubes, Chopin Vodka and Aviation Gin. Guest vintners include Anew Riesling, Baker Lane Vineyards, Bonny Doon Vineyard, Brooks Winery, Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte, Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Red Blend, Demijohn Imports, Erath Pinot Noir, Ferrari–Carano Vineyards and Winery, Kalin Wines, LIOCO, Malibu Vineyards, Martian Ranch, Melville Winery, Premium Port, Proulx Winery, Sextant Wines, and Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc. Guests will also enjoy Evian’s pure and naturally-filtered water.

Tickets are $155 including parking and are on sale now through the event website www.eveningonthebeach.com.

New Opening Night Party Will Kick Off Annual Celebration of SoCal Culinary Scene

The Los Angeles Times today announced the schedule for THE TASTE, its annual celebration of the Southern California culinary scene, to be held Labor Day weekend at Paramount Pictures Studios. Reflecting The Times’ award-winning coverage of all things edible, the five events will highlight distinct aspects of local food culture. Each will feature unlimited food tastings, specialty cocktails, wine seminars, live demos and topical conversations. Tickets are on sale now at latimes.com/thetaste. The schedule:

·         Opening Night Presented by Tequila Don Julio – Fri., Aug. 30^th, 7:30 to 11:30 p.m.
The Times Food team along with chefs and bartenders participating over the weekend will come together for a special opening night soirée with a focused collection of tastings, distinctive cocktail and wine offerings, and live entertainment.

·         Field to Fork – Sat., Aug. 31^st, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Russ Parsons, Times Food Editor, hosts a day inspired by fresh, local ingredients and the pleasure of cooking – and eating – seasonal dishes.

·         Flavors of L.A. – Sat., Aug. 31^st, 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. 
Jonathan Gold, Times Restaurant Critic, hosts an event full of authentic dishes from around the world via the best local restaurants.

·         Labor Day Block Party – Sun., Sept. 1^st, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Noelle Carter, Times Test Kitchen Director, hosts a celebration of the dishes that exemplify an end-of-summer bash with family and friends.

·         Cocktail Confidential – Sun., Sept. 1^st, 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. 
Betty Hallock, Times Deputy Food Editor, and Jessica Gelt, Food & Night Life Writer, host an evening dedicated to the culinary creations and libations that typify cocktail culture.

Los Angeles Times THE TASTE is produced in association with Best Events. Sponsors include Cadillac, Stella Artois and Svedka. 

Tickets for Opening Night are $125. Early-bird tickets for all other TASTE events are available now for $50 and will be $85 at the door; a limited quantity of Weekend Passes for all four Saturday and Sunday events is available for $175. A 20% discount on individual tickets is available to Los Angeles Times members. For those looking to make a weekend out of it, select area hotels are offering TASTE ticket and accommodation packages. Details and tickets: latimes.com/thetaste.