So, what will this ultimate L.A. food guide be called you ask? “Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants”, of course.

These chefs all brought their A-Game, bringing out fantastic dishes to encapsulate the flavors and styles that they do best. And it’s a good thing too, the $101 ticket price for Times members was the entrance fee for sampling and sipping during the 2-3 hour long tasting… I’d say it was well worth it.

So what made this evening so cool? Besides getting to sample goodies from familiar favorites like Guisados, Guelaguetza, Salt’s Cure, Sqirl and Chichen Itza, I was introduced to dishes from other great local restaurants like the Ethiopian, Meals by Genet and Mayura Indian cuisine.

Also, a few on my To-Dine list of Must-Visit restaurants were here as well. They included Tar and Roses, Ink, Hart and the Hunter, Corazon y Miel, Cacao Mexicatessen and Bestia to name just a few. My suspicions of deliciousness were confirmed by every amazing bite. Each plate was tastier than the next, and although I came hungry, I left very, very full.

Best of all, I got to meet many of my food/chef/writer heroes, (Evan Kleinman, Russ Parsons, Michael Voltaggio, Wolfgang Puck and of course Jonathan Gold) all of whom were super cool, approachable, friendly and willing to oblige this starstruck food fan with a picture. These are the people who inspire me and motivate me to learn about how food moves us, feeds us and shapes our lives. It was thrilling to meet them in person and be able to say, Thank You.

Here are some photos to recap the great evening!

Those who know me, know that I love a good food festival. Throw in some Artisanal wines and art from local artists and I’m a happy lady. This past Sunday I attended the Crush Artisanal Wine, Art, Food Tasting event which took place at the 18th Street Art Center in Santa Monica. As an “art head” I was surprised I hadn’t heard of these artist studios before. Founded in 1988, these working studios offer a range of public events including artist talks, presentations, concerts, movie screenings, etc., and are subsidized to provide artists with affordable work studios.

So, this was the location for the event. It was smallish in terms of LA food festival standards, but big for an art party, and perfect for a Sunday afternoon of drinking and mingling with other art heads (but mostly foodies).

Standouts included wines from Enology, an educational wine company which made it’s debut at the festival and a chardonnay from One Hope which donates 50% of all proceeds to a variety of charities including Hope for the Warriors, a charity that supports post-9/11 service members and their families. Aside from this fantastic cause, this wine was actually one of my favorites among the other local vendors.

I also loved the BBQ from Spring Street Smokehouse, samplings from Krave Jerky and of course the spicy Italian sausages from Maestro Sausages, whom I recently discovered last month at the Taste of Eastside festival.

I ran into fellow blogger, the Minty at this event and we decided to stop into a coffee class which was being held in one of art studios.

The sponsors of the class were the micro-roasted, organic and fair trade coffee coffee purveyor, Wise Coffee. They explained why pour over is better than french press and gave other tips and tricks for brewing a great cup. I’ll post more on that another time.

I do wish that more of the art studios were open for viewing… perhaps all the artists closed up shop to sample the food and wine?

All in all, it was a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Cheers!

Here are some pictures to recap the day. Click here for a list of other participating vendors and wineries.

The application process was intense. It included a series of questions and an in-person interview with Eventbrite’s LA Marketing Manager Leila. She suggested we meet at one of my favorite gems, a Venezuelan restaurant called Coupa Café, located in Beverly Hills. The meeting was about 15 minutes in length and I shared a bit about my backstory with Leila while I sipped a spicy Mexican hot chocolate. Then she told me all about Eventbrite’s services (which I had actually planned to use for a future Backyard Bite event!) and all of the other sorts of events and gatherings around town – TEDx talks, Rollerderby competitions, coffee brewing classes, film festivals and a ton of food classes and festivals.

The reason I am telling you all of this, (you have probably guessed by now), is because I was one of the two bloggers selected to represent Eventbrite in Los Angeles! Yay, I won! (Gee, I never win stuff!).

In the next few months, Shauna aka The Minty and I will be attending a wide array of events sponsored through Eventbrite all around the LA area. You can follow my adventures right here on the blog and if you are so inclined, join us on one! I am posting my list of selected events below so you can keep tabs on my whereabouts. Be sure to check back often on the blog to see what sort of trouble I get into! And seeing as how 4 out of my 5 events include some sort of beer or wine… you can almost guarantee there will be trouble. Oh, indeed.

Get out and live a little. Have an adventure!! You only live once!

All event tickets are available on Eventbrite, which I have included links to below.

CRUSH: an artisanal wine, art & food tasting event - Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 1 pm

18th Street Arts Center · 1639 18^th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404

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Gourmet Beer and Food Cooking Class – Thurs. May, 23, 13 at 7 pm

Chef Eric’s Culinary School · 2366 Pelham Ave · Los Angeles, CA 90064

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Wine Camp – An Introduction to Wine - Sun. June 2, 2013 at 3 pm

Eat Drink Americano · 923 E 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012

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 8th Annual LA WineFest - Sunday, June 9th 12pm-5pm

Raleigh Studios · 5300 Melrose Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90038

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Phil Jackson in conversation w/ John Salley - Wednesday, June 12, 2013 at 8:00 PM

Alex Theatre · 216 North Brand Blvd. Glendale, CA 91203

This post is part of an ongoing partnership with Eventbrite LA. Eventbrite enables people all over the world to plan, promote, and sell out any event. It’s also a destination for people to discover awesome events going on in THEIR city! Whatever your desires, hobbies, or interests – from photography workshops and wine classes to food festivals and industry conferences, there’s an event on Eventbrite waiting for you to attend! Keep up on the goings-on in LA by following Eventbrite LA on Twitter, liking them on Facebook, or signing up for their monthly newsletter! Planning an event? Go ahead and create an account to get started.

One of the best kept secrets in LA, one that really shouldn’t be a secret at all, is Mofongos in North Hollywood. Serving up traditional Puerto Rican food, a cuisine that is already super hard to find in Los Angeles, they are located deep in North Hollywood on a semi-shady street just a bit away from the main downtown theater district.

I particularly like going there, when I’m missing my grandma or my mom’s home cooking. This place does a good job of representing the flavors of the island, staples like arroz con gandules, yucca frita, pollo guisado and of course a sizable variety of mofongo, the plantain based signature dish of Puerto Rico — imagine a mound of mashed plantains served up with a hearty portion of stewed seafood, pork, chicken or vegetables on top and sweet plantains (maduro) on the side. Sí, por favor!

I also especially love that you can get pasteles here (pictured above). These savory meat-filled “pies” are encased in a masa of platano and then wrapped in a banana leaf. Think of them as the Puerto Rican version of a tamale, only actually they are nothing like a tamale expect for the way they are prepared which is somewhat similar. Visually it doesn’t look like much, but if you want a true taste of a common Puerto Rican dish, especially around the holidays, then you must try it. Instead of corn as the masa, we use plantains, and instead of it being sweet, it’s savory and has a glossy sheen to it since the last step when cooking is to boil them.

Anybody from Puerto Rico knows what I’m talking about! It’s not for everyone, but it’s the sort of thing you you grew up eating on the island, or the Bronx, or in my case in my mom’s kitchen in Chicago! Since it’s a time consuming specialty dish, one doesn’t often make it for themselves. Done right, it’s the best!

When my blogger friend, Shauna, aka The Minty mentioned that she wanted to check Mofongos out, I offered to introduce her to some the classic Puerto Rican dishes that I love. So, off we went to Mofongos.

We ordered: Pollo guisado (stewed chicken), papa relleno (lightly fried potatoes stuffed with meat), bacalaitos (fried salted cod fritters), platano maduro (fried yellow plantain), tostones (twice fried green plantain), and mofongo de lechón (mashed plantain with pork belly and shredded pork shoulder). Everything was spot on, especially, the mofongos.

I would have liked to try their flán but we simply ran out of room in our bellies. It’s easy to get carried away with the menu here. The waiter was kind enough to tell me when to stop ordering. I would have kept going and gotten everything off the menu!

I took a pastele de pollo home and a doggie bag of leftovers in hand. There is always leftovers from this place. Mmmm.

I like the cozy, comfortable atmosphere in here. Sure, its a tad divey, but it’s clean, spacious and they play salsa music over the speakers at a comfortable level. You can’t help but wiggle a little in your seat while you’re eating.

I always tend to chat it up with the servers here – it’s the Puerto Rican way after all. Shout out to Jasmine and Barnaby (a Puerto Rican and Dominican, respectively… that’s a good sign!). They tell me people drive up as far as San Diego to eat here. I guess I can’t complain about my 15 minute drive from WeHo.

A sampling of beverages (pictured below) which I asked for because I couldn’t remember which one I liked best. The server kindly obliged me. (below L to R) Horchata made of sesame seeds, Parcha (passion fruit) and Tamarindo, a Tamarind drink.

This place is authentic. It’s indeed legit. And as one of the very few restaurants repping Puerto Rican food in LA – and doing it right. We need to give them some love and support this local joint!

Never had it before? Think of Puerto Rican food as being like Cuban food – but a bit naughtier. Nice, but sexy. Not spicy, just down right, good home cooking from the islands.

A lot of my friends tell me, “Oh, yeah, I’ve been meaning to try that place but I didn’t know if it was good or not!” Well, I’m telling you now. It’s good. Go. And don’t forget to say “Gracias.” 

De nada.

Here are five fun facts I bet you didn’t know about sushi, but should:

FACT #1. Contrary to a popular misconception, sushi does not mean “raw fish.” It actually refers to the flavoring of the rice with vinegar. You can make vegetarian sushi without adding any fish or meat whatsoever. Yes, Mom, those cucumber avocado rolls we ate were actually sushi! You did it!

FACT  #2. Sushi doesn’t only have to be seasoned with rice vinegar. You can also use citrus like lemon juice or orange juice to flavor the rice. Some Japanese mountainous regions use the Yuzu fruit to season sushi. Yum!

FACT #3. It is not considered rude to eat with your hands. In fact, if you are sitting at the sushi bar and are being served directly from the sushi chef, it is actually encouraged. The sushi chef will watch how you eat the sushi (using your hands or chopsticks) and customize your experience preparing for you more delicate pieces of nigiri.

FACT #4. Don’t linger with your fish. I know it looks pretty but you’re not supposed to leave the sushi sitting too long on your plate. In a good restaurant, a lot of care goes into making each piece and making sure the rice is at the right temperature (body temperature is best). You’ll have better manners if you eat the food right away instead of letting your dish get cold. (Here’s looking at you Instagrammers! — I know, I’m equally guilty!)

Fact #5. Never leave your chopsticks sticking up in your bowl. This actually is a symbol for offering food for the dead. Yeah. That, AND it’s tacky, so there. Don’t do it. Proper placement is across the lowest place setting below your plate.

These (above) are called “Sushi Cupcakes”. They are in fact sushi made in little cups instead of in a roll. It is a popular snack or dish made in Japanese homes perhaps as a party favor or quick appetizer. You can get creative with the molding and flip them over into a unique shape. Yoko tells me she has seen large cake-sized sushi made from a cake mold. Woah!

In this demonstration, Yoko used lemon juice and orange juice to flavor the rice instead of vinegar. She added easy to find ingredients like ham, cheese and smoked salmon as well. Sounds weird, I know, but it was very tasty!

Here’s the recipe  for “Sushi Cupcakes” courtesy of Foodstory. Thank you Yoko for the recipe and inviting me to be a part of your cooking class!

Want more recipes? Check out ifoodstory.com for Yoko’s list of classes. There’s even one on sushi etiquette, so you have no excuse! Manner up!

Still hungry?

Watch Yoko in action and learn more about her story in a recent BackyardBite video, here.

Often events like this are massive and confusing to navigate, but the smallish size of of the park lent the perfect backdrop for this delicious and lazy Sunday. I loved that unlike other big festivals, I didn’t have to wait in a super long line for meager offerings. The bites here were generous and filling. Although it was packed, it never felt too crowed. It was easy to sip and sample, chill on the grass and hear some great music. And that’s just what we did.

My favorites of the day included freshly grilled oysters from Little Dom’s, sea salted caramel, white chocolate gelato with lavender from Pazzo Gelato, a fresh arugula salad from Mohawk Bend and a Vietnamese chicken curry tostada from Xoia.

The slightly spicy sausage from Maestro’s definately piqued my interest as well, along with a shrimp taco with jalepeño from Diablo Taco.

To refresh, the always tasty Intelligentsia offered a Columbian iced coffee blend, Silver Lake Juice Bar gave away aromatic juice samples, while blueberry iced tea from one of my newest favorites, the Salvadorian Bakery, Cuscatleca made me swoon.

Throughout the day, the VIP tents offered various cooking demos from local chefs. I had the pleasure of assisting my friend, Yoko Isassi of Foodstory in making sushi cupcakes! Check back tomorrow for the recap on our cooking demonstration and for the recipe!

It was a family and dog friendly event and I couldn’t help but make some new friends while I was there.

Whippet. Whippet, good.

After the booths ran out of food, we meandered back over to the beer and wine tent and sipped some rosé from Silver Lake Wine and listened to the danceable beats of KCRW DJ Holly Adams. We thought about grabbing some more ice cream, but the line at Pazzo Gelato however was still ridiculously long. Considering the warm temps, it was the only booth people didn’t mind waiting for.

Special props to Sustain LA for doing a great job with providing and promoting responsible recycling!

From Sqirl to Heriloom LA to Cliff’s Edge, there were truly too many delicious vendors to include in this post. Just do yourself a favor and make sure to check them out at some point. Plus, there’s always next year!

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And sampling some of my friends…

Then later for dinner, a healthy raw-kale, portobello, beet and goat cheese salad. So healthy! So delicious! But then because it was all veg and no protein, about five minutes later… My beau and I were starved!

So, we made a late-night run to the Salvadoreña-Mex Cuscatleca Bakery (thanks to Dina and Jorge for the heads up on this place!) Just open at this location for about a year – they are killing it on on the Salvadorean pastries! Strip-mall gem!

We sampled some Quesadilla Salvadoreña, a traditional breakfast cake…

And lemon muffins and a few other sweet bread and pastries from the case…

Including a Semita, the popular jam-filled pastry, also a good breakfast treat…

And a strawberry cake, just because…

Yeah, I know we got a little carried away.

And when we got home (around 10 pm) we were STILL hungry. So, luckily we also bought some chicken tamales…

They were surprisingly… Awesome! Fluffy light, silky texture and buttery taste…

Good thing we got more for tomorrow!

So, in retrospect, this was probably the most anti-Passover meal ever.

It’s a good thing, I’m only half Jewish!

Happy Half-sover!

On March 10th, Knackig, the sausage pop-up helmed by Santos Uy and Kevin Stuart teamed up with Eagle Rock Brewery and this blog, Backyard Bite to present a little beer and sausage pairing.

Currently set up at Mignon Wine Bar in Downtown LA and Vendome in Toluca Lake, an intimate group of sausage aficionados came by for a little sampling of beer and brats, some good conversation and little beer education courtesy of Ting Su and Jeremy Raub, owners of the popular brewery.

In case you missed it, here are some pictures to recap the event and make you wish you were there:

Santos Uy of Mignon Wine Bar tears it up on the grill!

Ting Su and Jeremy Raub of Eagle Rock Brewery provided a solid pairing of their most popular craft beers; Solidarity, Manifesto, Revolution and Populist.

Check out Knackig every Sunday at Mignon from 1-5. Details, here.

To learn more about Ting Su of Eagle Rock Brewery, check out a recent Q & A, here.

Thanks for a delicious afternoon guys!