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adult chocolate milk, american idol, candace nelson, celebrities, chef jet, chef jet tila, Chef Richard Ruskell, chef torsten schulz, chefs, dakota weiss, Deathbed Food, DeathbedFood, Debi Mazar, delphine, duff goldman, events, Father's Office, food & wine, food events, food festivals, Gabriele Corcos, giada, giada delaurentiis, greenleaf gourmet chopshop, janell dusi, jason haas, john rivera sedlar, john rollo, julian cox, justin baldwin, kathy griffin, LA Times, Los Angeles, los angeles times, Montage Beverly Hills, ninethirty, paso robles wine, pink taco, restaurants, ricardo zarate, Sang Yoon, scott conant, sprinkles, sweet butter kitchen, the blvd, the cheese store of beverly hills, The Misfit, the mission cantina, the taste, tim urban, w hotel westwood, wine, wurstkuche
Here Are Just A Few of My Favorite Things
First of all, The Taste venues were simply gorgeous … as was the LA weather that Labor Day weekend …
The brisket quesadilla, from Pink Taco below, was amazing. Insider tip: this is not on the menu, but you can get it if you ask for it!
And from Chef Bruce of The Misfit in Santa Monica (I love the food there), he shows his grassfed beef burger:
The Blvd stand offered the chance to meet their new Chef Torsten Schulz who is planning a big menu revamp in mid-October …
And they were giving out free Mimosas at The Blvd!
Cooking and Mixology demo gave us to the chance to Meet rockstar Chefs Ricardo Zarate and John Rivera Sedlar as well as cutting edge Mixologist Julian Cox …
Watching Scott Conant “work the room” while giving his cooking demo was a hoot … he should be doing stand-up as well as cooking! Or maybe instead of?
I enjoyed the great wine tasting from the Paso Robles Wine Pioneers (Janell Dusi, Justin Baldwin and Jason Haas) who offered tastes from three diverse types of wines grown in the region.
I made new friends, such as George Abou-Daoud, owner of The Mission Cantina and creator of an amazing Mole sauce which I intend to conquer my “405 disease” for so I can check it out at his restaurant soon.
Watching Sprinkles Founder Candace Nelson inspire kids was fun …
I’m grateful for cool new Chefs like Dakota Weiss of the the W Hotel in Westwood’s NINETHIRTY Restaurant who is dedicated to keeping comfort food, including Beef Bourguignon, alive.
Seeing new, innovative products like “Adult Chocolate Milk” was eye opening …
As they say, it’s like Chocolate Milk from back in your childhood – except 40-proof. I sampled it and can say it’s a pretty good addition to one’s bar offerings, especially if you like chocolate (and, I suppose, you’re not going to worry about the waistline?).
Learning about how moved Chef Jet Tila gets when he talks about food and what it represents to him inspired …
Discovering how proud Duff Goldman is of his mother when he relayed that his mother’s brisket is better than anyone’s … now that’s a good son.
And, then having his mother make this comment about my post, shedding light into how Duff became the creative culinary force he is:
This is Duff’s mom here – and I love the sweet article you wrote. Duff, his brother, Willie and I have always been on the same beam when it comes to good food, good art and especially creativity. It’s in the genes!
Meeting Debi Mazar and her husband Gabriele Corcos was a blast. First, they had so much fun with the DeathbedFood question …
And then had more fun cooking with their children for us …
Meeting Giada surprised me! Even when she just meets you for the first time, she makes you feel so comfortable – as if you’ve been friends forever.
And she gave me a DeathbedFood answer I can relate to!
Of course, interviewing celebrities on the Red Carpet was super memorable …
Scott Conant is the very definition of “cool” …
American Idol star Tim Urban, who is so sweet …
Even Kathy Griffin, who, while she rushed past, kindly told me she was wearing Missoni!
Finding out what inspired one of the most inspiring chefs to me, Father’s Office’s Sang Yoon, to become a chef:
And finding new potential DeathbedFood sources such as:
Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop. – for Deathbed Salad. As chef/owner John Rollo put it, he opened Greenleaf in Beverly Hills three years ago because he wanted to take the principles of fine dining into the realm of casual dining.
He tells me their salads are “cultish” and, by the looks of them, I believe it!
Wurstkuche – for Deathbed Sausage. The Duck & Bacon with Jalapeno Sausage they handed out as a sample was “Wowza!” Apparently, they also have other Exotic sausages including Buffalo, Alligator & Pork, and Rattlesnake & Rabbit. I must get to their 3rd St. LA location – soon.
And special shout outs to:
Sweet Butter Kitchen in Sherman Oaks – for their Ginger Butterscotch cookie (outrageously delicious). SBK: Pleeeaaase open more stores! Maybe on the Westside?!
Chef Richard Ruskell of The Montage Beverly Hills offering my favorite dessert at “Desserts After Dark” – warm chocolate mousse!
The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills – for their truffle cheese samples (truffles are definitely DeathbedFood):
No doubt, this was the best Foodie Labor Day ever for me … so, count me in for next year!
aaadfredgu 