This Weekend! LA Time’s The Taste Rounds out Summer

Labor Day weekend in Los Angeles would not be complete without the Los Angeles Times’ premiere food and beverage festival, The Taste.

In past years, the three-day festival was composed of five events, one taking place on Friday night and two each on Saturday and Sunday.  This year the schedule has been revamped to just one event on each day for a total of three nights of fun.

I’m guessing a business analyst somewhere figured out that ticket sales for the daytime events weren’t all they were cracked up to be.  I must admit, walking around the Paramount Studios lot on a hot August day was more of a sweat-fest than a food-fest.  Moving the events to all be at night will be a good move to keep things cool.

Tickets are still available online via Eventbrite.  And if your Labor Day weekend is too packed to sample unlimited food and drinks, plan ahead for the October event!  LA Times is taking The Taste on the road and heading to Orange County in October.  I can’t wait to see what that plan for our friends in the OC! 😀

In the mean time, here are details for this weekend’s event.

Friday, August 31 (7:30 PM – 10:30 PM)

Samplings from restaurants include: Otium, The Bellwether, Hinoki & the Bird, Pacific Dining Car, Ocean Prime Beverly Hills, FARMHOUSE, Highly Likely Café, Nerano, Michael’s Santa Monica, Poppy & Rose, Paramount Coffee Project, Yarrow, Pearl’s BBQ, Woodley Proper, Bone Kettle, Mainland Poke, Mexicali Taco & Co., Wanderlust Creamery, Umu by Hamasku, Casa Vega, Baltaire, Chao Krung, Puesto, Pop’s Bagels, Amor y Tacos, Bar Garcia, Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill and more.

• L.A.’s pop-up and underground restaurants will take the stage with a demo of Cajun-by-way-of-Compton cuisine from chef Michael Lawless (Shad’s New Cali Catering), hosted by Times food editor Jenn Harris
• Ludo Lefebvre (Trois Mec, Ludo Bird) will showcase his French flair
• Ricardo Zarate (Rosaliné) and Jonathan Yao (Kato) will provide a glimpse of what makes their dishes imminently Instagram-able
• Cari Hah (Big Bar) will showcase how to make the ultimate martini
• White Wines of Italy will be discussed in great detail with Ira Norof of SCE, CWE and Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, Diane DeLuca of Frederick Wildman & Sons and Giancarlo Lauro of Southern Glazer’s
• Vito Lacopelli of Prova Pizzeria will demo how to make the perfect pizza

Saturday, September 1 (7:30 PM– 10:30 PM)

Samplings from restaurants include: Granville, Coni’Seafood, The Exchange at Freehand LA, Herringbone Santa Monica, Kali Restaurant, Prawn Coastal, Gus’s World-Famous Fried Chicken, Jaffa, Cento Pasta Bar, Winston Pies, Trois Mec, Melody, Tumbi Craft Indian Kitchen, Rappahonnock Oyster Bar, Sichuan Impression, Citizen Beverly Hills, Roe Seafood, Komodo, Maple Block Meat Co., Madre Oaxacan Restaurant and Mezcaleria and more.

• Briana Valdez (HomeState) celebrates breakfast all day with a demo of her signature dishes with Jenn Harris, Times food editor
• Sommelier Ira Norof and J. Wilkes Winery’s Wes Hagen will give you 101 reasons to drink wine
• Adrienne Borlongan (Wanderlust Creamery) will have an ice cream social
• Burt Bakman of Trudy’s Underground BBQ will showcase his BBQ with a cooking demonstration hosted by LA Times Food writer Andrea Chang

Sunday, September 2 (7:30p.m. – 10:30p.m.)

Samplings from restaurants include: Banh Oui, Luv2Eat Thai Bistro, Inko Nito, Hotville Chicken, Jitlada, Wolf, Guisados, Commerson, 71Above, Brack Shop Tavern, Faith & Flower, Bulgarini Gelato, The Arbour, Lao Tao, Manuela, Bourbon Steak, Avec Nous, Momed, The Arbour, WOOD, Lao Tao,  Kobee Factory, Yardbird Southern Table & Bar, Meals by Genet and more.

• Experience the diversity of flavors in our fair city when Sean Lowenthal (Little Beast Restaurant) and L.A. Times Test Kitchen Director Noelle Carter highlight Southern cooking
• Delicious food will be the special of the night as Niki Nakayama and Carole Iida-Nakayama (n/naka) showcase Japanese cuisine
• Minh Phan (Porridge + Puffs) shares her technique for elevating porridge with KCRW Good Food’s Evan Kleiman
• Charles Olalia (Rice Bar/Ma’am Sir) gives a master class on Filipino cuisine
• Wine expert Christine Dalton will raise a glass to rosé and Kim Stodel (Providence) will share how to make a zero-waste cocktail

For a detailed description of each event and a full lineup of participating chefs and restaurants, visit http://extras.latimes.com/taste/.

A Salute to Jonathan Gold

And on a more somber note, the presence of LA’s favorite foodie, Johnatan Gold, will be sorely missed.  Mr. Gold was a fixture at The Taste and often headlined the event.  Sadly, he died of pancreatic cancer on July 21, 2018.  It was always great running into him at The Taste and getting his well-spoken opinions on all things food and all things LA.  He will be missed.