The biggest challenge of the last few weeks involved figuring out the difference between The Taste, The L.A. Times and Food & Wine-sponsored spectacular coming next weekend with nine events in three neighborhoods (Beverly Hills, Downtown, and Hollywood) and October’s Los Angeles Food and Wine (with 5000 events in 73 different locations, or something like that). Now that we’ve set ourselves straight (though we remain epicurious, as always) it’s time to see what The Taste has in store for us over Labor Day weekend.
The concept here finds a few of favorite food personalities hosting their own events. To that end, Friday’s schedule kicks off with a Burgers and Beer event hosted by Eater LA and Peroni that finds burgers coming from restaurants like Waterloo & City, Rustic Canyon, Ford’s Filling Station, and Spice Table, among others, plus a demo from The Counter’s main man, and most appealing, a selection curated by The Beer Chicks (let’s hope Deschuttes brings its divine new “Hop in the Dark”). Reflecting the pricing of many events at The Taste, tickets cost $150 and include unlimited food and booze from over 30 restaurants and hooch producers, plus seminars and some live music.
Other, similar events include a Friday night mixology fete with Ricardo Zarate, John Sedlar, and Julian Cox; a Saturday morning wine celebration with food from Ludo and Michael Voltaggio, plus demos from Scott Conant and Aarti Sequeria; a Saturday evening Taco and Tequila Tryst curated by Roy Choi (who mostly goes high-end on the tacos, even if the tequila is Hornitos), a Sunday street food exploration hosted by Susan Feniger and an evening dessert fiesta lead by Duff Goldman, and a Monday finale picnic hosted by Giada DeLaurentiis. Each event typically has a long list of 30 or so restaurants and 30 spirits and wine companies that will supplement the education and smart stuff with food and happy juice.
Plan accordingly and get The Taste tickets online over at The L.A. Times’ website.
