THE TASTE LA, the Los Angeles Times’ annual celebration of the Southern California culinary scene, is back at Paramount Pictures Studios lot this Labor Day weekend. THE TASTE LA is again cooking up a locally-focused, internationally-flavored menu of offerings with featured chefs and special guests.
This is one of my favorite events to attend because the event is extremely well organized and full of energy. Crowd flow has improved over the years probably due to lessons learned from previous events. Top chefs are featured with tutorials, panel discussions, and demonstrations. This annual event typically floods social media feeds.
My wife and I attended opening night on Friday evening. Some years the weather is extremely hot and we were fortunate because the temperature was in the low 70’s. I’m not sure whether they managed the crowd more efficiently, but there wasn’t a huge line that wrapped around the studio. Instead, we were steps away from the front of the line.
Food, beer, wine, spirits and non-alcoholic drinks were plentiful. In fact, there is no way that anyone can possibly sample everything in the event. Fortunately, the crowds in front of certain booths ebbed and flowed which created shorter lines later in the evening. Sushi and BBQ were extremely popular and the lines reflected that.
Pacific Dining Car served USDA Prime Ribeye steak with creamed spinach and yukon gold mashed potatoes.
Pacific Dining Car participated for the first time ever. On Friday, they dedicated their USDA prime ribeye served with creamed spinach and mashed yukon gold potatoes to Jonathan Gold. Gold once wrote that he enjoyed Pacific Dining Car for the quality meat and for good conversation. The ribeye had a house rub applied and was grilled to perfection and juicy inside.
Bone Kettle served oxtail dumplings with maitake mushrooms brushed with san bai su sauce.
Pasadena’s Bone Kettle, which Gold reviewed last July, served oxtail dumplings. The dumplings come basted with a vinegar-soy-mirin sauce and filled with a demi-glace with oxtails and served with a small number of sliced maitake mushrooms. The oxtails with the dumplings were a nice flavor combination.
I attended one of the cooking demos that evening. Ricardo Zarate (Rosaliné) demonstrated how to make traditional lomo saltado. His friend and colleague Jonathan Yao (Kato) created an Asian riff that he called lomo saltado tartare. It included raw ground flank steak mixed with sauteed chopped peppers with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar, scallions and sunchokes. While Yao’s dish was delicious, I found it a stretch to be called lomo saltado.
General admission tickets for The Taste LA are still available. Tickets are all-inclusive and are good for unlimited food, beer, wine & spirits tastings, plus all stage activities. Attendees must be 21+ years of age and all IDs are checked.
Remaining Weekend schedule:
Saturday, September 1 • 7:30 – 10:30 p.m.
Sunday, September 2 • 7:30 – 10:30 p.m.
Paramount Pictures Studios Backlot, 783 N. Van Ness St., Los Angeles, CA 90038
The Taste