For all of you other serious “eaters” out there like me, you may be familiar with the James Beard Foundation. For those who are not, it is non-profit organization named after James Beard, a chef and food writer who brought French cooking to America in the 1950’s.
The first way that you would have mostly likely heard of JBF is through the James Beard House in New York, which I have had the pleasure of dining in before. The second is from the JBF Awards, which awards chefs, cookbooks, and even blogs from around the country in all styles of cuisine. Basically, it is a foundation that celebrates the culinary arts in America!
This weekend, I was happy to attend the Taste America event here in Los Angeles. It was amazing, and I am so excited to share the pictures with you all!
First of all, the event was held in the historic Union Station, which I was able to snap a pic of as we drove by the front (hence the blurriness).
Although the parking situation was terrible and there were ZERO signs guiding us to our final destination, we finally found the plaza where we would enjoy the first part of the evening!
I Instagrammed this shot of the beautiful night sky against the clock tower. It was a great night to have an even outside, with absolutely perfect weather!
Since the event was held in L.A., it was fitting that our appetizers be from none other than our famous food trucks!
We were treated to delicious tacos from Komodo! I had eaten them before, so I knew it was going to be amazing.
First up, the Komodo 2.0 Taco: Seared Top Sirloin with Jalapeno Aioli & Southwest Corn Salad.
I tried the Asian Marinated Chicken Taco: Grilled Marinated Chicken with Stir-Fried Rice & Mandarin Oranges. It was even better!
We moved into the station for the sit-down portion of the dinner and I simply loved the architecture! I have many more pictures, but this was one of my favorites.
The lovely menus were perfect for reminding us of each dish!
First, we had the Maine lobster ceviche with Japanese cucumber, heirloom cherry tomatoes, organic red onion, and quinoa prepared by Chef Nobu Matsuhisa of Nobu and Matsuhisa. It was heavenly and beautiful! The most surprising part of the dish was the crunchy, toasted quinoa that was mixed in with the fresh quinoa to give it a wonderful contrasting texture. Every course was served with a paired beverage, champagne in this case!
Next, we had the Salt cod tonnato, fingerlings, romesco, and scallion created by Jeremy Fox of Rustic Canyon. The fingerling potatoes were almost the star of this dish! Although they were situated below the other components of the dish, everyone at the table agreed that they were the best part.
Chef Michael Cimarusti of Providence and Connie and Ted’s created the Live New Bedford sea scallops, Tokyo turnips, black truffle butter, and chives. The scallop was perfectly cooked, and almost meaty in flavor. He definitely utilized the umami flavor to the maximum!
Next was the Colorado lamb, Oaxacan black mole, ayocotes, quelites, caramelized onions, and smoky fig salsa from Rick Bayless of Red O and Frontera Grill in Chicago. The mole sauce was the perfect combination of sweet and savory, with the smoky, coffee, and chocolate flavors that only a master can accomplish!
For dessert, we had a lemon and yogurt mousse meringue “tartlet” with candied grapefruit rind and mint. It was so beautiful and tart! I loved it and not only because of my enormous sweet tooth. 🙂
Really, this is probably going to be one of the highlights of my year (food-wise), and I am ecstatic that this could be my first post!
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