Restaurants

50th Annual AbilityFirst Food & Wine Festival

Mona Day Chefs, Dine, Food & Wine Events, Restaurants

AbilityFirst  will host its 50th Annual AbilityFirst Food & Wine Festival on Sunday, June 9th, 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.

Taste of Brea

Mona Day Chefs, Dine, Food & Wine Events, Restaurants

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

 Los Angeles Wine & Food Festival

Mona Day Chefs, Dine, Food & Wine Events, Restaurants

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 3rd.  

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.

RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE RELOCATES ITS WOODLAND HILLS RESTAURANT

Mona Day Dine, Restaurants

Ruth’s Chris Steak House, having earned its reputation in Los Angeles  for its fine dining experience and steaks served on 500-degree sizzling plates  for over  ten years,  has officially relocated its Woodland Hills restaurant to 5919 Canoga Avenue, just in time for the holiday celebrations.

The 10,000+ square-foot Woodland Hills space features one main dining room, one casual dining room, a luxurious bar and bar dining area, a patio with ample seating with heaters for this time of the year, as well as a board room and two private dining rooms that can be reserved for special occasions. The space is elegantly appointed and thoughtfully designed to provide signature  dining experience. 

The bar at the new location opened with two new seasonal  menu offerings – the Filet & Cabernet Pairing available at the bar for $38,  includes a 6 oz. Filet topped with three large shrimp alongside a refreshing glass of DAOU Cabernet Sauvignon, and the the Fireside Old-Fashioned Cocktail handcrafted with Elijah Craig small batch bourbon, Demerara syrup, Amaro Averna, Angostura and chocolate bitters for $17. The restaurant also boasts an unbeatable  Happy Hour of full-size appetizers, hand-crafted cocktails and wine starting at $9 from 4:00 – 6:00 pm every Sunday through Friday.   Seating is on a first come, first served basis, with no reservations needed.

Since its first restaurant opened in New Orleans in 1965, the company has perfected its broiling method and seasoning techniques to ensure each cut of USDA Prime is well marbled and hand-selected for thickness and tenderness before being cooked to perfection and served sizzling on a 500-degree plate. The restaurant also offers fresh seafood, made from scratch side dishes and desserts, along with craft cocktails and choice wines.

As part of the pre-opening celebration for the new location, Ruth’s Chris hosted a special VIP dinner with community leaders, business owners and Ruth’s Chris executives where 100% of the proceeds from the evening were donated to Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.

For more information, hours of operation or to make a reservation, please visit https://ruthschris.com/woodland-hills/ or call (818) 227-9505.

Heritage Fire

Mona Day Chefs, Dine, Food & Wine Events, Restaurants

Heritage Fire Los Angeles, the festival celebrating pasture diversity and family farming, is back this year after the pandemic hiatus at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel 4pm – 7pm Sunday December 3.

The live-fire nationwide food and wine festival  focuses on  heirloom produce and  heritage breeds of the past before industrial agriculture, when breeds were selected and bred to develop traits that made them adapt to the local environment and thrive under the simpler, more natural farming practices and cultural conditions of those times.  

The festival’s national tour stops in 14 cities showcasing an array of sustainably sourced food from the region’s top family farms and local purveyors, and prepared by some of the region’s best chefs. Each destination attracts over 20 local chefs at a three-hour live-fire event, with each chef preparing a signature dish for an all-inclusive walk-around reception feast with products from locally sourced farms and sponsors.  Guests vote for the ‘Best Bite of the Day’, and the chef who accumulates the highest number of votes earns the title of Heritage Hero. 

The festival also makes a point of going strawless, offering napkins upon request, water use protocols in prep kitchens, digitizing handbooks and documents, using eco-friendly cleaning materials without pesticides,  and other efforts for reducing its carbon footprint, all facilitated with a dedicated festival app. With this educational messaging directed at the 10,000 guests, 250-plus chefs, and 150-plus family farms and numerous culinary schools each year, the festival hopes to make a long-term impact. 

The Los Angeles stop features an all-star cast of top chefs that includes  Ian Mafnas, owner, Qiana Mafnas, chef Axiom Kitchen; Eduardo Osorio, chef Yardbird; Françoise Claquin, owner Brulee LA; Justin Escobedo, owner El Gueero y La Flaca; Carlo Guardado, chef Herb & Sea; Kim Prince, owner Hotville Chicken; Alan Cruz, chef owner A’S BBQ; Elisha Ben-Haim, chef and culinary director American Beauty; Daniel Castillo, pitmaster, Nicholas Echaore, executive chef Heritage BBQ; Francisco Aguilar, chef owner  Simon. 

Beverages will include premium wines, spirits, beer, and cider, along with craft cocktails like infused smoked old fashion spirits, signature punches, Manhattan Project style cocktails, tiki bar concoctions, heritage rum carts, mezcal bars, and other premium spirits.  Live entertainment will round out the festivities. 

All tickets are all-inclusive food and beverage, with a  VIP Access  ticket offering early entry.  Attendees must be 21+ to attend.For more information and tickets, please visit https://heritagefiretour.com/los-angeles. 

A TASTE OF PASADENA

Mona Day Chefs, Dine, Food & Wine Events, Restaurants
A TASTE OF PASADENA

Pasadena magazine will present its 1st Annual Taste of Pasadena, a strolling culinary festival featuring unlimited tastings by some of the best restaurants from Pasadena, and around the San Gabriel Valley. The inaugural celebration will take place on Friday, October 6th at the Pasadena Convention Center 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm.

A wide array of culinary offerings include Arth Bar + Kitchen, Cabrera’s Mexican Cuisine, Celestino Ristorante, Champion’s Curry, Engine Co. No. 28, Farina Pizza,  Five 55,  Fogo De Chao, Granville, Great Maple,  Mama M Sushi, Lunasia Modern Dim Sum & Cuisine, Kaviar, Pez Cantina, The Luggage Room Pizzeria & La Grande Orange,  Osawa Shabu Shabu & Sushi, The Raymond 1886, Santa Anita Park, Twohey’s, with more expected to be announced later.

Desserts will be provided by Beard Papa’s Pasadena, Bertha Mae’s Brownie Co., Esther & Olivia BouqCakes, I Like Pike Bakeshop, Marsatta Chocolate, Ms. Rhonda’s Crack-N-Pop, and Nothing Bundt Cakes.

Wines will be poured by Adobe Road Winery (Sonoma County), Bernardus Winery (Carmel Valley), Bouchaine Vineyards (Carneros Napa Valley), Defiance Vineyard (Paso Robles), The Mill Keeper by Gamble Family Vineyards (Napa Valley), Tercero Wines (Santa Barbara), Vino Los Angeles (Mexico), Wilson Creek Winery & Vineyards (Temecula Valley), and more.

Spirits, Cocktails, Beer, Music, and Special Experiences courtesy of Acqua Panna, Cerveceria Del Pueblo, Balcones, Corbin Cash Distillery, Casa Azul Tequila, Dough Ball Whiskey, Frey Ranch Farmers + Distillers, Knox & Dobson, Mezcal 33, Old Hillside Bourbon, Rancho La Gloria Tequila, Shelter Distilling, and many more.

Partners and sponsors include AbilityFirst, Pasadena Convention Center, Visit Pasadena, Sodexo Live!, Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, Yelp, and Viva LA.

For more information and tickets, please visit Pasadenamag.com/taste.

CALIFORNIA SPIRIT

Mona Day Chefs, Dine, Food & Wine Events, Restaurants
CALIFORNIA SPIRIT

California Spirit will return this year to Fox Studios Commissary Lawn, to bring L.A. foodies up close and personal with some the city’s top  chefs for an evening of culinary arts, cocktails, and creativity celebrating the American Cancer Society’s progress in the fight against cancer.

Represented chefs include Nancy Silverton of Mozza, Suzanne Goin of A.O.C., Katianna Hong & John Hong of Yangban, Burt Bakman of Slab, Govind Armstrong of The Lobster, Jazz Singalong of Jitlada, Lien Ta & Jonathan Whitener of Here’s Looking At You, Jorge Alvarez of Tacos 1986, Mark Rosati of Shake Shack, Pawan, Nakul & Arjun Mahendro of Badmaash, Tyler Malek of Salt & Straw.

Pouring will be Peroni, Justin Wine, Eleven Eleven, Monkey Shoulder, Charles Krug, Ehlers Estate, Pasqua, J. Lohr, Ettole, Valdo,  Milagro Tequila, Hendrick’s Gin, and Reyka vodka.

The event includes inspirational speakers, live and silent auctions, and will be hosted by Billy Harris. Flowers will be available for the event’s  Garden of Hope ‘In Honor Of’ or ‘In Memory Of a loved one who has survived, is fighting or has lost the battle against cancer. The flowers with names of loved ones will be displayed in the Garden of Hope.

General Admission is at 4:00 p.m., with an early VIP Hour 3:00 p.m, and guests are encouraged to ‘Pink Out’ by wearing pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

All proceeds from California Spirit benefit the American Cancer Society’s mission to save and celebrate lives, and fight for a world without cancer. Co-Founded by Wolfgang Puck and Sherry Lansing in 1984, California Spirit  has raised more than $18 million for the American Cancer Society. The American Cancer Society is the largest private funder of cancer research in the United States, with more than $5 billion invested in life-saving research for cancer prevention, detection and treatment. 


For more information and tickets, please visit https://www.calspirit.org/

INTRODUCING WOLFSGLEN

admin Chefs, Dine, Restaurants

Quietly opened in November 2022, one of Westwood’s newest cocktail and dining destination beckons with its New American,  global Angeleno cuisine. Helmed  by Chef Fidel Guzman, its  menu focuses on fresh, seasonal ingredients. 

The To Start features dishes like Brown Butter Labneh, Hummus with chili crisps, Burrata with grilled and flambé peaches, Esquites, Mushroom Arancini, Shrimp Toast, Steak Tartare, Shawarma, and Bone Marrow & Black Garlic.

Handmade Pastas include Rigatoni Diavola, Cacio e Pepe, and Bolognese. 

The Entrées boast selections such as Pan Roasted Pork Chop with a togarashi-whiskey glaze, Steak Frites, Wolfsglen Burger with candied bacon, spicy aioli, and arugula, Beyond Burger, Roast Chicken with aji verde and pea tendrils, Seared Salmon served with a pineapple ginger glaze and miso potato purée, Seared Striped Bass, and Cauliflower Steak with curry and raisin chutney.

Desserts include Homemade Peach Pie, Mango Sweet Rice, Deconstructed Strawberry Cheesecake, and Ricotta Donuts with blueberry compote and lemon curd.

Signature bar offerings  include the Razz-Mez-Tazz with mezcal, mango, spicy bitter, agave and Tajin, Purple Rain with gin, blueberry purée, lemon, and butterfly pea flower, Geisha’s Kiss with Masumi sparkling sake, elderflower liqueur, and lychee purée, and Black Gold with Neft vodka, simply syrup, cucumbers, and activated charcoal. Wine, Red Wine, Rosé, Sparking, Beer and cider are also available.

Inspired by the legacy of John Wolfskill, a former state senator and pioneer rancher who played a pivotal role in the development of Westwood Village, the restaurant  is located in a historic 1930s two-story building with beautiful high ceilings, modern design, a patio for al fresco dining, and private event spaces. 

The restaurant’s rich history, elegant ambiance, and menu blends history, culture, and cuisine into a unique dining experience with friends, intimate gatherings, and special events. Of note is a Howlin’ Hour  Tuesday through Friday from 2:00 pm-6:00 pm and Late-Night Howlin’ Hour Friday and Saturday from 11:00 pm-12:30 am. 

For more information and reservations, please visit www.Wolfsglen.com.