berry desserts: food event

Showing posts with label food event. Show all posts

Showing posts with label food event. Show all posts

Save the Date: IAMLA's Annual Taste of Italy on October 12

We all know how great Italian food and wines are, and we have some great restaurants in Los Angeles, so a Taste of Italy festival in Los Angeles certainly sounds good! The 5th Annual Taste of Italy will be held on October 12, 2013, at beautiful, historic Pico House in downtown LA. The event benefits the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles, which is planned to open in early 2014.

Participants include Di Stefano Cheese (who makes the best burrata in town), Bulgarini Gelato and GROM (my two favorite gelaterias), Trattoria Neapolis, Drago Centro, Il Grano, Fabio Viviani's Cafe Firenze, and more. The event also boasts 100+ Italian wines to be poured (see more participants listed here).

There will be live entertainment from Italian artists and "chanteuses".

The $55 general admission ticket gets you 6 food tickets and 4 beverage tickets (more tickets are available for purchase at the event). The $125 VIP ticket gets you VIP entrance (and red carpet photo), 6 food and 6 beverage tickets, a VIP gift bag, and 20% off your purchase at Gastromercato. Tickets can be purchased here.
PLUS, get $5 OFF your ticket purchase with code GOURMETPIGS.

Want to win VIP tickets for you and your friends? You can create a video of yourself singing Taste of Italy or the SoCal Italian American history for a shot to win (see more details here).

When: October 12, 2013. 5-10PM

Where: Pico House
424 N. Main St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

September 28: Trattoria Neapolis One Year Anniversary Celebration (Pasadena, CA)

Trattoria Neapolis is one of my favorite places in Pasadena, both for food and drinks, and they're celebrating their one year anniversary next week! On Saturday September 28, starting at 7pm, the different rooms and balcony will turn into different tasting areas with food from Chef Bryant Wigger, wine, beers, distilleries, and Stumptown coffee. Since the menu is not posted on their website, I wanted to share it with you here!

Tickets are only $60 (advance purchase) and looks like it will be a great value! Plus $10 of each ticket purchase will be donated to Foothill Family Service. You can purchase the tickets in advance by calling (626) 792-3000.

Here's the menu and the list of wineries/breweries/distilleries!

TASTING MENU:

A few bite-sized versions of dishes will include:

Vitello Tonnato

Veal Tenderloin, Frisee, Caperberries, Grana Padano

& Ahi Tuna-Caper Aioli

Wood Grilled Baby Octopus

Crispy Potato Torta, Cerignola Olives & Lemon

Arancini

Crispy Lobster Arancini, Sweet Basil, Mozzarella

& Lemon Aioli

Barolo Risotto

Braised Oxtail, Sautéed Brussels Sprouts

& Castelrosso Cheese

Rabbit

Rosemary, Roasted Garlic, Chestnut Farrotto

& Crostini Toscano

Tiramisu

Roasted Bartlett Pears, House Made Ladyfingers, Mascarpone,

Buttered Pecans, Pear Moscato Sorbetto

& Salted Caramel

Bombolini

Pumpkin Spiced Mini Italian Donuts, Limoncello & Pumpkin Crema,

& Candied Pecans

PARTICIPATING

VENDORS:

U.S. West Coast Wineries

Duckhorn Vineyards

Stags Leap Wine Cellars

Northstar Winery

Erath Winery

Antica Napa Valley

Rutherford Ranch

Stolpman Vineyards

Frog’s Leap Winery

Italian Wineries

Antinori

Tormaresca

Castello della Sala

Col de’ Salici

Donnafugata

Maculan

Villa Sandi

Cantele

Tenuta

Luisa

Suavia

Moretti Omero

Riseccoli

Tenuta Monteti

Tenuta Argentiera

Distillers & Spirits

Bourbon

Buffalo Trace

Maker’s Mark

Maker’s Mark 46

Rye Whiskey

Templeton Old

Overholt

Knob Creek

Vodka

Tito’s

Scotch

Famous Grouse

Black Grouse

Single Malt Scotch

Auchentoshan Three Wood

Bowmore Islay

Limoncello

Limoncello Originale

Orangecello Blood Orange

Beer

Eagle Rock Brewery

Bootleggers Brewery

Telegraph Brewery

The Bruery

Coffee

Stumptown Coffee Roasters

WHEN: Saturday, September 28^th

7:00 p.m.

WHERE: 336 South Lake Avenue

Pasadena, California 91101

Help Beat Childhood Cancer at LA Loves Alex's Lemonade on Sept 28

Summer isn't over yet and there are still more great food events coming up! One of my favorites is LA Loves Alex's Lemonade (see my recap from the 2011 event) which raises funds to fight childhood cancer and it all started from a little girl called Alex and her lemonade stand ... The LA event last year raised half a million dollars!

This year's event will take place on September 28 and is hosted by Chef Suzanne Goin and business partner Caroline Styne (AOC, Lucques, Tavern), and Chef David Lentz (The Hungry Cat) and brings in LA's superstars like Providence, Bestia, Animal, Trois Mec, Rustic Canyon and more. Mixologists, sommeliers, and wineries will also be there including Eric Alperin from Varnish, Silverlake Wine, Hitching Post and many more.

There will be guest chefs from out of town including Matt Acarrino (SPQR in SF) and Chris Bianco (from Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix!), Michael Tusk (Quince in SF), Jonathan Waxman, Adam Perry Lang, Brian Huston (Publican in Chicago), Giada de Laurentiis and more.

Oh, as a bonus, Neil Patrick Harris is an honorary committee member. He was there in 2011 so you might catch a glimpse of him again.

Here are the details of the event:
When: Saturday, September 28, 2013, 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Where: Culver Studios, Culver City, CA 90232

Tickets are $175 each and can be purchased here, or if you have the funds you can get the $1200 Meet and Greet tickets (includes ticket to chefs dinner on Sept. 27, access to a Top Sponsors reception prior to the event, and early admission including a behind the scenes tour of the event to watch the chefs prepping)
Children 12 and under get in for free with accompanying adults.

Gorge on Labor Day Weekend with LA Times' The Taste

The Los Angeles Times once again takes over labor day weekend with The Taste with 5 different food and drinks events throughout the weekend. It's not just going around tasting food and drinking, though. The Taste has cooking demos and various panels (last year I got to taste pinot noir while listening go a guy rap about wine). Tickets for each event are $65 (or $85 after August 29), with the exception of the $125 opening night. Here are the schedule of events and what to expect:

LA Times' Noelle Carter served up brisket sliders at
the preview

Friday, August 30, 7:30pm: Opening Night ($125 for this event)

Saturday, August 31, 11am: Field to Fork
There will be cooking demos with Ari Taymor from Alma (named Bon Appétit's Best New Restaurant this year!) at noon, Michael Cimarusti, and Sherry Yard.

Saturday, August 31, 7:30pm: Flavors of LA
There will be a Power of Pop-up panel with Jonathan Gold, Starry Kitchen, etc

Sunday, Sept 1, 11am: Labor Day Block Party.
There will be cooking demo with Nancy Silverton, Evan Kleiman. Noelle Carter (responsible for LA Times' Test Kitchen) will also be hosting a Competition BBQ panel.

I had a preview of some of the things served at this event, including Dog Haus who will either be serving their spicy Thai dog or the Pastrami Dog. Coni Seafood's seafood tostada with sea snails and that amazing smoked marlin pate was one of the highlights of the night. Creme Caramel infuses custard desserts with Asian flavors with their pandan flan and Chinese sausage bread pudding (move over, bacon!)

food

There will be plenty of drinks, too, including Mionetto prosecco. Circa in Manhattan Beach will showcase one of their bottled cocktails. The Richard Pryor is made with Demerara rum and a cherry wood-smoked house made cola (with lime, of course)

booze

Sunday, Sept 1, 7:30pm: Cocktail Confidential
The more drink-focused event will feature a craft cocktail demo with the famed co-hose Matthew Biancaniello, Serena Herrick (Allumette), Christiaan Rollich (AOC), and Brady Weise (1886). There will also be cooking demo with Michael Voltaggio.

Sucka Punch from Sunny Spot at last year's
Cocktail Confidential

Tickets can be purchased on the LA Times' website.

Decorating Cakes with Duff Goldman for LA Food & Wine

The LA Food and Wine Festival brings back a series of food events over four days on August 22-25, from Italian festival with Giada De Laurentiis, Asian Night Market with Iron Chef Morimoto, lunches at restaurants around town, to the Lexus Grand Tasting on the last day.

Duff Goldman

The last event of the series is a cooking demo with Duff Goldman. As a preview for the festival, I got to go to Duff's Cake Mix on Melrose to decorate a cake. Duff Goldman was also in attendance. Before getting down to decorating we mingled with some wine and Chef Eric Greenspan's grilled cheese sandwiches.

Untitled

We started with a white cake, just like a white canvas for painting.

The theme was California cuisine so we decided to make a "kale salad" and started rolling out the green fondant. I used a leaf mold to make the "kale", made red fondant balls for cherry tomatoes. We made sliced carrots and avocadoes, copying LA OC Foodie and Shop Eat Sleep's cake of avocado, sushi, and taco.
Voila! Our kale salad cake!

The other attendees' cakes were pretty impressive.
Read more »

The Taste of Mexico Returns Oct 11, Presale Ends July 31

The Taste of Mexico is returning on October 11, and you have until July 31 to get special presale pricing of $50 VIP admission ($20 off with code LASFF13) and $40 general admission ($10 off with code LASFF) on their website.

Some of the best Mexican restaurants in LA like La Casita Mexicana, Coni Seafood, La Guelaguetza, and Mexikosher will be there, along with various tequila, wine, and Cerveza Victoria to quench your thirst.
Last year, the Guelagetza siblings even got these sweet outfits for mixologists Steve Livigni and Pablo Moix.

Win 2 Tickets to Plate By Plate (Saturday, August 3)!

Plate by Plate is the annual fundraiser for Project by Project, which chooses a different nonprofit cause in the Asian American community each year. This year's event, which benefits East West Players, promises to be quite amazing with restaurants such as Bestia, Allumette, Alma, Petty Cash, Stella Barra, Park's Finest BBQ, Rivera, and so many more participating (and Drunken Udder for dessert)! For a complete list of the restaurants and beverage sponsors, check out this page.

There will also be tons of beverage sponsors including The Bruery, Rebel Winery, and various sake.

The event will take place this Saturday, August 3 at The Vibiana Cathedral in downtown and it's not too late to get tickets!
The tickets are $150 for general admission which starts at 7pm, and $250 for VIP admission which starts at 6pm and gets you access to the VIP lounge (with my favorite bar, 1886, along with Kali Dining and other exclusives).

Or ... you can try and win 2 General Admission tickets to the event by entering below!
The contest will end at 11pm on Thursday, August 1, and I will inform the winner on Friday morning. Be sure to check your emails and confirm immediately so I can tell the event coordinators. Good luck!

Saturday July 20: Support Torrance Memorial, Attend Evening Under the Stars

Los Angeles is not the only one with food festivals, South Bay has their own, too. Hosted by American Honda at its Torrance campus, Evening Under the Stars gathers some of the best in South Bay restaurants while raising funds for Torrance Memorial Medical Center. Disneyland Resort Sommeliers will be serving 80 different wines while educating the guests and saxophonist Kenny G will be the entertainment of the night.

Some of the restaurants and bars that will be there include Alpine Village, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Gonpachi at Miyako Hybrid Hotel, Jackson’s Food & Drink, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Ortega 120, Riboli Family Wine Estates, and The Strand House.

The festival will take place from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $150 per person, $250 per pair or $4,000 for table sponsors (10 guests per table) and can be purchased by calling the Chamber at 310-540-5858, the Torrance Memorial Health Care Foundation at 310-517-4703, or by visiting www.TorranceMemorial.org.
Tickets can only be purchased online until noon, Friday July 19.

Kyushu & Okinawa Fair at Mitsuwa, Back on July 18-21

I love going to Mitsuwa during their various regional fairs and the Kyushu and Okinawa Fair is returning on July 18-21, featuring some very fun food items. They sell most of the stuff at all the Mitsuwa Marketplace locations including Costa Mesa and San Diego, but the most complete one is Torrance (check out this page to see which store is selling what)

My favorite from last time was the caramel pudding with cream in a choux pastry! They're not doing the caramel one this year but they'll have a strawberry pudding in a choux pastry :D I'll definitely be trying that.

Last year they had tonkotsu ramen from Ramen Tatsuno-ya but unfortunately they'll only be in San Jose this time around. Instead, we'll have Hakata Nagahama Ramen from Tanaka Shoten.

July 21: Angeleno Mag's Live and Dine LA (+ 2012 recap)

Live and Dine LA is Angeleno Magazine's celebration of their Restaurant Issue, and it's always one of my favorite events, featuring LA's best restaurants at the beautiful Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows. This year's event will start at 4:30 pm on Sunday, July 21. Tickets are $95 and can be purchased on http://2013liveanddinela.eventbrite.com/. This year, the VIP ticket gets you two nights of extravaganza. The $250 VIP ticket (can be purchased here) gets you a four-course dinner made by Chefs Ray Garcia, Michael Voltaggio, and Ricardo Zarate with wine and cocktail pairing, and also admission to the main tasting event on July 21.

Live and Dine LA is more about quality rather than quantity, but there are still way more than enough food. Here are some my favorite bites from last year:
Blue Cow Kitchen and Bar served Mendocino's pork belly banh mi atop a banh xeo (Vietnamese "crepes")

Chef Ray Garcia from FIG served nose-to-tail pork tacos, displaying this impressive bowl of just that.

Sneak Peek of LA Street Food Fest, June 29 2013

LA Street Food Fest is returning to the Rose Bowl on June 29. While I recently did a recap of last year's Food Fest, I previewed some of this year's vendors and there are some new ones you should be excited about!

1. Dante's Fried Chicken: Sock-It-To-Me fried chicken with coconut honey black sesame biscuit

Despite being white meat this was an awesome piece of fried chicken!

2. Donut Snob.
Donut Snob has no retail store and you can usually only get them by pre-order, so the Food Fest is the perfect time to try these amazing donuts! No, really, they are some of the best in LA.

3. D'elish Sandwich Shop by Tiara Cafe: pastrami smoked short rib on fresh baked potato roll with slaw and jalapeno pickles

4. El Coraloense had all kinds of ceviche tostada during the preview. I tried the crab ceviche

5. Local distillery Greenbar will be showcasing their new poppy liqueur, but if you shy away from alcohol, La Guelaguetza's horchata is always a good bet!

Some of the old favorites will make a return, but I'm excited about many of the new ones. These are just but a tiny portion of the vendors that will be there, so be sure to get your tickets soon at http://lastreetfoodfest.com

All inclusive general admission tickets are $50 and VIP early admission is $75 with access to the Luxe Lounge (one time they had special cocktails and free massage!)

Giveaway! Sunset & Dine: Food, Drinks, Movie

On June 13th the 2nd annual Sunset and Dine kicks off! It's the summer movie screening program at Academy Hollywood, the outdoor amphitheatre on the campus of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

From 6-10pm you can watch a great classic while partaking in food, beer, and wine samples from local establishments and all proceeds from the $30 ticket will go to local charities.

The food: some of the best pizza in town from the new Stella Barra, followed by old favorites like Los Balcones del Peru and El Floridita along with promising new stars I haven't tried like Urban Masala, The Waffle and more.

The drinks: beer from Hollywood favorite Blue Palms Brewhouse, K&L Wines and more.

The movie: a wonderful classic and one of my favorites film noir, Sunset Boulevard, starring Gloria Swanson.

So. I have two pairs of tickets to give away to two lucky readers (valued at $30 per ticket)!

To enter, leave a comment below with your email contact.

Get extra entries by tweeting: "Food, beer, Sunset Blvd film under the stars. Win tix to Sunset&Dine via @gourmetpigs http://bit.ly/128up2h "

Since the event is coming up soon this is going to be a quick one and you have until midnight of Monday June 10 to enter! I'll be drawing the winners on Tuesday. Good luck!

Academy Hollywood is located at 6322 DeLongpre Ave. in Hollywood. Tickets are on sale now at www.sunsetanddine.org

LA Turns Into Tacolandia on June 23

If there's one guy who knows his tacos in LA that would be Bill Esparza, also known as Street Gourmet LA. While you and I whine about how hard it is to get from the east to westside, he's been known to scour the county for new gems, trying out places in Sun Valley and beyond.

Lucky for you, though, he's bringing them to Hollywood in June. That's 30 restaurants from all over LA, OC, and even Baja. And thanks to tacos being cheap, this all you can eat dealio is only $20! It's not just cheap taco stands participating though, even famed Chef Laurent Quenioux is set to participate. And if you want all you can drink tequila on top of that, then it's $40.

A much better deal than a $60 dim sum crawl ...

Tacolandia will be on June 23 from 12-5pm at the Hollywood Palladium. Mark your calendars and buy your tickets here.

Celebrate Summer Italian-Style: Sorprendente at Oliverio on April 25

Cooking station, a truffle tasting station (the awesome, aromatic kind), an al fresco bar, wine tasting, learn to make pasta from scratch, sample Italian spirits and dishes from their new Osteria. All this for $55 when you buy pre-sale tickets to Sorprendente at Oliverio, the Italian restaurant inside Avalon Hotel.

The event takes place on Thursday, April 25 from 6-10pm. For the $105 VIP ticket, you get VIP access to the lounge, a seafood bar hosted by Santa Monica Seafood Company, more/better wines, and a VIP open bar. For more info: http://www.viceroyhotelgroup.com/sorprendente

LA Loves Alex's Lemonade Returns Sept 29

There are plenty of food charity events in LA, but LA Loves Alex's Lemonade is still one of the best out there with famous chefs arriving from all over the US to raise funds to fight childhood cancer.

The chefs and restaurants that participate in this event do not skimp, as evidenced by the raw bar with oysters, uni, and crab at last year's event

Michael Cimarusti from Providence was previewing his new casual restaurant, Connie and Ted's, with the best clam chowder I've ever had. I'm still waiting for this place to open so I can have this again!

Looking Back at Food Noir, My Fave 2011 The Taste Event at OrpheumTheatre

The Taste events, put on by LA Times, take place over labor day weekend. Last year's was pretty spectacular with them taking over Rodeo Drive and other locations. My favorite, though, was Food Noir which took place at downtown's Orpheum Theatre and the street in front.

It was my first time visiting the beautiful Orpheum Theatre, and I fell in love:

They played short old films and cartoons. Think Tweety, Bugs Bunny, and more! We were able to just come and go at the theatre, resting from all the eating and drinking.

Not only that, Food Noir also had some of the best cocktail bars participating (even more so than The Taste's Cocktail event!)

The Varnish was carving their ice block on site, Cana Rum Bar with their Tiki-style booth, 320 Main, just to name a few.

Plenty of great food as well, like Rivera's famous corn flan with black quinoa

Flan Quinoa

~~Terroni~~ (correction, according to Darin Dines this was from Drago Centro) mixing pasta in their parmesan wheel:

This year's The Taste will take place on September 1-3 with 5 events and plenty of seminars (last year I went to a pinot noir tasting and rapping session). This time all the events will be at the Paramount Picture Studios, which is fun as well.

The 4-Day LA Food and Wine Festival Returns Aug 9-12, Recap of 2011 Lexus Grand Tasting

The LA Food and Wine Festival is a four-day extravaganza with various lunches and dinners around town featuring celebrity chefs, with two days of a grand tasting event on Saturday and Sunday. This year's events include an Italian fiesta with Giada, an Asian Night Market with Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern, a champagne and caviar night, and dinners with Graham Elliott, Ming Tsai, the Voltaggio brothers, Michael Chiarello, etc.The full event listing can be seen here, and you can buy tickets for each event separately.

Oh, let's not forget the most important part. These events benefit St. Vincent's Meals on Wheels. They provide about 3000 meals a day for seniors!

Last year, thanks to Lexus, I was lucky enough to attend a lunch featuring the Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto at WP24, and one of the Lexus Grand Tasting Event. While most of the food festivals in LA features LA's best chefs and restaurants, the Lexus Grand Tasting Event brings some from out of town, so we get to try food from some of the best in the country. This year's out-of-town list includes Gale Gand from Tru (Chicago), Francois Payard, and Stephan Pyles.

Here are some photos from last year's Lexus Grand Tasting:

Duroc Pork Tenderloin, corn pudding, gremolata or bacon and corn, blackberry cipollini by Bradley Ogden's root 246.

The Lexus lounge is definitely worth a visit, offering some of the more luxurious items like foie gras (well, I guess not this year...), lobster, and truffles.

Foie gras lollipops, almonds, cocoa nibs, banana cotton candy

Food (and Booze) Events to Look Forward to in October!

Saturday, October 1
Taste of Italy
This annual Italian feast benefits the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles and rightly features all things Italian, including restaurant sponsors such as Il Pastaio, Locanda del Lago, Paciugo Gelato while the beverage sponsors include Fernet-Branca (!) and San Antonio Winery.
$45 pre-sale, $50 at the door (includes 6 food tickets and 6 drink tickets)
424 N Main St., Historic Little Italy, Los Angeles 90012

Saturday, October 8
Baja Culinary Fest

Cross the border for the first ever Baja Culinary Fest! The extravaganza actually starts on Wednesday, Oct 5 with cooking competitions, food-related movies, hunting for your own lunch (seriously), winery or cheese tours and various special dinners in Tijuana and Ensenada. Take a week off and go to all of them if you can, but if you can't, the main festival takes place on Saturday Oct 8. Restaurants, street food, and can you say tequila? Also, stay for the lobster festival in Rosarito Beach on Sunday if you have the time ($25pp).
General Admission: $15
Interactive Museum El Trompo and World Trade Center Tijuana

Sunday, October 9
Cooking for Love: Savor the Season 2011
Savor the Season returns to benefit Break the Cycle, an organization to end domestic violence. The restaurant lineup includes Jar, M Cafe de Chaya, Oyster Gourmet, Morton's Steakhouse, and Beachy Cream. Here's a recap of their past event.
$100 for general admission (or $150 for two), $250 for VIP ticket.
Global Cuisine by Gary Arabia at The Lot Studios. 1041 N. Formosa Ave - West Hollywood, CA

Saturday, October 15
LA Beer Float Showdown
The LA Beer Float Showdown returns for its third year. This time 5 chefs are pairing up with 5 breweries to compete for the title, including Chef Ilan Hall (The Gorbals) with Tustin Brewery, Chef Laurent Quenioux (Vertical Wine Bistro) with Beachwood BBQ, chef CJ Jacobson (The Yard) with Firestone Walker, Chef Andre Guerrero (The Oinkster) with Eagle Rock Brewery, and Chef Thi Tran (Starry Kitchen) with Ladyface Ale Company.
$35pp. 25% of the proceeds benefit Share Our Strength
1-4pm. Eagle Rock Brewery. 3056 Roswell St, Eagle Rock, CA.

Friday, October 21
Dionicess IX
Dionicess returns with craft beer cocktails to Steingarten LA. This time, they have recruited bartender Matt Biancaniello to craft some beer cocktails. Each of the 5 cocktails will come with 5 vegetarian dishes served by Randy Clemens (author of The Sriracha Cookbook).
$65pp
Steingarten LA, 10543 W Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90064

Sunday, October 23
Los Angeles Mag's The Food Event

One of my favorite annual food events returns to Saddlerock Ranch in Malibu featuring Farmshop, Eva Restaurant, Stella Rossa, Lukshon, MB Post, The Royce, Rivera, Nancy Silverton and Amy Pressman's new burger joint, Short Order, and so, so much more.
To see posts from previous years, click here and here.
$95pp.
Saddlerock Ranch. 31727 Mulholland Highway Malibu, CA 90265

Sunday, October 23
The 3rd Annual LA Beer Week Festival
It's THE beer event of the year! The Festival will feature over 70 breweries pouring a wide selection of their beers including rare beers and some special beer week-only beers. There will also be a selection of food trucks and local artisans.
$45 pre-sale, includes unlimited 4 oz pours of beers.
Union Station, 800 N Alameda St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Save the Date: Beer and Booze Pairings at Dionicess IX

On October 21, Dionicess returns with craft beer cocktails to Steingarten LA. Public health professor Gev Kazanchyan is teaming up with Dave Watrous from Beachwood BBQ Steingarten LA for a one night fundraising event. This time, they have recruited bartender Matt Biancaniello to craft some beer cocktails.

Each of the 5 cocktails will come with 5 vegetarian dishes served by Randy Clemens (author of The Sriracha Cookbook).

The event costs $65 per person (all inclusive) and all proceeds benefit Real Medicine Foundation. There are only 30 seats available so grab yours now here!

Dionicess IX
Friday October 21, 2011. 7:00 PM
Steingarten LA, 10543 W Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90064 USA

Giveaway: VIP Tickets to GLAAD Hancock Park: Top Chef Invasion

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is celebrating their 14th year with a Top Chef extravaganza this Sunday, July 24.

The event, GLAAD Hancock Park, is sponsored by Bravo and ROKK and features a Bravo Top Chef Challenge with Top Chef stars Fabio Viviani and Antonia Lofaso, hosted by Top Chef: Masters alum Susan Feniger with celebrity judges and special guests including: Dustin Lance Black (Milk, 8: The Mormon Proposition), Jamie Lauren (Top Chef), Shonda Rimes (Grey's Anatomy) and Jessica Collins.

There will be tasting stations from LA restaurants including Border Grill, Comme Ca, Dominick's, Firenze Osteria, Little Next Door, Michael's Restaurant/Calivirgin, Paul's Kitchen, Ray's and Stark Bar, and Simon L.A., and a food and wine-themed auction.

Tickets to this event are $100 for general admission and $150 for VIP, but YOU and a guest can go for free!

GLAAD is giving away 2 VIP tickets for one lucky reader. Here's how you can enter:
1. Leave a comment with your name and email address below
2. To gain extra entry, tweet the following: "I want to win VIP tickets to #glaadtopchef! Pick me, @gourmetpigs and @glaad! http://bit.ly/pUMwJG"
3. Get another extra entry by posting a link to this giveaway on Facebook. Make sure you tag my Facebook page, Gourmet Pigs so I will know you posted it!

You have until midnight this Thursday, July 21 (end of the night). I will then draw a random winner. If you don't respond to the email by Friday morning, I will draw another winner. I will need to give GLAAD the name of the winner Friday morning, so do check your email!

Event Details:
Sunday, July 24, 2011. 4:00pm to 7:00pm
Home of Dean Hansell, 667 S. June, Los Angeles, CA 90005
Attire: Summer Chic