Restaurants

The upcoming Manhattan Beach Food & Wine Festival kicked off with a preview event at the Westdrift Manhattan Beach hotel on Monday September 30, 6:30pm. 

Participating chefs and wineries shared their excitement with a preview of their Festival offerings. The featured delicacies included an heirloom tomato salad, a mushroom crostini, carne asada on a homemade tortilla, breaded  pork and shortrib on Romesco sauce, a tuna poke from the Strand House, and a  gingery, more Japanese take on the same dish served in a cone from Wolfgang Puck catering. 

Desserts included meringues, macaroons and assorted chocolates flavored with botanicals like rose and lavender.  Of course, there were plenty of libations from wineries, distilleries and non-alocolic beverages to wash it all down.

The inaugural Manhattan Beach Food & Wine Festival is planned as a spectacular two-night strolling culinary extravaganza with an Opening Night celebration on Friday October 11,  and a Grand Tasting on Saturday October 12. The festival  will showcase the industry’s top tastemakers and connoisseurs to celebrate an all-star lineup of chefs, restaurants, wineries, spirits, cocktails,  breweries, and non-alcoholic beverages, along with live entertainment. 

The culinary extravaganza will feature a lineup of 50 of the Best Chefs representing not only the local cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, El Segundo, Los Angeles, but state-wide from Solvang, Palm Springs, San Francisco and beyond – from across  North America, from Denver, New York, New Orleans, Vancouver, and Mexico. 

The venue is a 40,000-square-foot outdoor space in Manhattan Village located at the end of the Veterans Parkway Greenbelt Path.  The venue features a beautifully landscaped trail that runs through Manhattan Beach to Hermosa Beach.

For more information on the Manhattan Beach Food & Wine, please visit www.ManhattanBeachFoodandWine.com.

The culinary extravaganza of Concern Foundation’s Annual Block Party, will return to  Paramount Studios in Hollywood for its 49th run on Saturday July 13, 6:00 pm.

Themed Mission Concern – Conquering Cancer: The Final Frontier, this year’s event  is expected to draw over 4,000 guests for a stroll through the streets of Paramount’s back lot, with an array of gourmet tastings of signature dishes and beverages. 

Live entertainment across multiple stages will include performances by the Tom Nolan Band on the Main Launch Pad, D’ City Sound & Events presented by the Hirsch Family Foundation, and the Vibrato Intergalactic Cantina featuring the Jason Goldstein Sextet with Lilli Passero and other special artists. 

Other fun experiences include Brian Kramer Photography Digital Photo Studio sponsored by Northern Trust, Casino Style Gaming for Prizes presented by Agua Caliente Casinos, Photo Booth by SnapItStudio.com, Specialty Lounge areas provided by Souza Insurance, Shuttle Services at the event sponsored by Motev,  Spa Services provided by Fairmont Spa Century Plaza, and Glamour Makeovers by the Beauty Bus Foundation. 

Los Angeles magazine, the Concern Foundation’s Media Sponsor for 17 years, will be back wil its own Los Angeles Magazine Street hosting the The Best of LA 2024®.

Other highlights include live and silent & Live Auctions featuring exclusive items and packages, and unique experiences. 

This year’s formal program will honor the Stanley and Joyce Black Family Foundation with a tribute titled Three Generations – A Legacy of Community Leadership for outstanding contributions to the community.

The evening will raise  funds for Concern Foundation’s mission of providing support for cancer research, focusing its funding in the areas of immunology, immunotherapy, genetics, and cell biology  to achieve a better understanding of cell function and mis-function in the human body. 

For more information and tickets, please visit Concern Foundation 49th Annual Block Party Tickets & Sponsorships.

AbilityFirst  will host its 50th Annual AbilityFirst Food & Wine Festival on Sunday, June 9^th, 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm, celebrating this milestone year at a new venue, The Urquhart Residence in South Pasadena.  This year’s outdoor event will honor Greg & Heba Wood for their outstanding contributions, and is expected to attract over 400 guests.

This year’s event will feature over twenty top restaurants, cocktail bars, wineries, and breweries and more.  They include Agnes Restaurant & Cheesery, Alexander’s Steakhouse, Beard Papa’s, Bone Kettle, El Cholo Café, Gale’s Restaurant, Kensington Caterers, Lord Empanada, Marina, Mi Piace, Nothing Bundt Cake, Pocha LA, Porto’s Bakery, Stems: Cheese, Charcuterie & Catering, Tam O’Shanter, The George, We Olive & Wine Bar, and more.

Participating beverage vendors include: 1886 at The Raymond, Dulce Vida Tequila, Empress 1908 Gin, Gerlach’s, Knox & Dobson, and Old Hillside Bourbon Company; Craft Beer from Golden Road Brewing, San Gabriel’s Ogopogo Brewing, along with specially curated Wines from Caymus Vineyards, Navarro Vineyards, and Riboli Family of San Antonio Winery. Non-alcoholic Beverages provided by Celsius, and PepsiCo.

Proceeds from this year’s Festival will directly benefit AbilityFirst’s many programs. For 98 years, AbilityFirst has been providing person-centered programs to empower individuals with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and other intellectual and developmental disabilities, guiding them through each life transition, fostering social connections, and independence through essential employment preparation, as well as recreational activities for participants and their caregivers. 

Sponsors include Chubb, Bank of America, Los Angeles Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Longo Toyota-Lexus/Penske Motor Group, The Fletcher Jones Foundation, Umpqua Bank, East West Bank, Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies, Enterprise Holdings Foundation, GHJ, IMA, J’s Maids, Wendy Lees and Tom Boyle, and many more.

For more information and tickets, please visit https://one.bidpal.net/affestival24/welcome.

The Brea Chamber of Commerce will kick off the Memorial Day weekend with Its family friendly event The Taste of Brea on Thursday, May 23, 5 – 9pm. The event will take place on  330 West Birch Street Brea in Downtown Brea amid a backdrop of cute boutiques, shops and eateries.

The  ticket includes all-you-can-enjoy strolling event featuring over 100 local and regional restaurants, breweries and wineries. Live music, featuring the band Cold Duck. 

This year’s restaurants include Blue Scoop Creamery, Bruxie, Brunos, California Fish Grill, Cha Cha’s Latin Kitchen, Chubby Sushi & Ramen, Chunk-N-Chip, Fogo de Chao, Kristi’s Catering & Events, Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, Loaded Café, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Old Brea Chop House, Protein Lab, and SweetPeas.

This year’s beverage participants include Brewheim Beer Makers, Broken Timbers Brewing Company, Carbon Canyon Coffee, Cha Cha’s Latin Kitchen, Falkner Winery, Lasorda Family Wines, Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, Polar Beverages, PRP Wine, The Tap Truck, The Bruery, and Wine Guy & Wine Gal.

Many local chamber members and businesses will also be setting up information booths. Exhibitors include Chevron, Dr. Squatch, Alex Horowitz Group, Aloha Veterinary Hospital, Advantage Care Chiropractic, Brea Dentistry, Brea Olinda Unified School District – Career Technical Education Program, Brea Diamond Direct, Brea Modern Dentistry, Brea Police Explorers, Brea Police Department- Know Your Limit, Brea Police Department SWAT Truck, City of Brea – Experience the Arts, Credit Union of Southern California, Custom Comfort Mattress, Darryl & JJ Jones, Dignity Memorial, Kaleo Marketing, Leaf Filter, Navy Federal Credit Union, Reborn Cabinets, Smile Design Advanced Dentistry and many more.

The Taste of Brea is the largest, regional food fair in Orange County;  for more information and tickets, please visit tasteofbrea.com

The inaugural Los Angeles Wine & Food Festival will land  on the Santa Monica Pier for three days of food and wine festivities March 1st – March 3rd during the art festival Frieze Week Los Angeles which takes place February 26th –  March 3^rd.  

The festival will feature a mix of high-profile culinary and beverage talent, favorite local restaurants, and cultural initiatives with a lineup of 90 participating chefs.

Participating restaurants include award-winning Neapolitan pizza restaurant Pizzana from Daniele Uditi;  acclaimed Thai restaurant Jitlada; Holbox, recently ranked #5 on the LA Times 101 Best Restaurants list; Chef Sathia Sun of new Italian hotspot Donna’s; Bridgetown Roti from famed Caribbean pop-up from chef Rashida Holmes; Chinese-Peruvian restaurant Chifa from Humberto Leon, founder of Opening Ceremony fashion brand, and Ricardina Leon; Bé Ù viet-street food;  Koreatown smashburger spot Love Hour; Santa Monica seafood restaurants Crudo e Nudo and Isla; Michelin-starred Camphor; Xuntos tapas bar; French bistro Pasjoli; Guerilla Tacos, the popular street-taco restaurant that originated as a food truck from Chef Wes Avila. 

Newest additions to the line up include chefs Justin Pichetrungsi of acclaimed Anajak Thai, BBQ master Adam Perry Lang, Alvin Cailan, Food Network Star Duff Goldman, award-winning Mexican-American chef Claudette Zepeda and Stephanie Izard of Girl & the Goat.  Each day’s session will feature over 30 chefs, and tickets include all you can eat and drink. 

The festival is dedicated to highlighting female-owned restaurants in LA.  As such, its official nonprofit partner is Regarding Her (RE:Her), a national nonprofit dedicated to accelerating the growth of women entrepreneurs and leaders in food and beverage and advocate gender parity in  restaurants.

The festival is presented by IMG, the company behind global events that include The Taste of London, Frieze, and New York Fashion Week: The Shows.

Hours are 7:30pm – 10pm on Friday and Saturday; 12:30pm-3pm on Sunday, and ticket options include daily pricing as well as packages.

For more information and tickets, please visit  lawineandfood.com and @lawinefoodfest on Instagram.