40 restaurants, countless chefs, (nearly) unlimited food, beer, wine, cooking demonstrations, silent auction, what more can you pack into a 3 hour period? That’s exactly what happened this past weekend in Culver City at Taste of the Nation. The premier food event that benefits Share our Strengths campaign to make sure no kid grows up hungry.

The well organized event featured some of the finest restaurants in Los Angeles. Akasha, Bistro LQ, Comme CA, Border Grill, Hatfield’s, Lucques, Mozza, Rivera, and the Foundry just to name a few. Some notable wineries in attendance were Star Lane, Zaza Mesa, La Fond, La Fenetre, Paul M Young, and Santa Barbara Winery. Beer for the day was provided by Stella with drinks from Pom, Pellegrino, and Intelligentsia.

But let’s get on to the food! Favorites included Brian Moyers’ shortrib tortelli “caramelles” with sweet corn, chantrelles and summer truffle from BLT steak. The FIG dog with bacon habenero marmalade, cheesy comte fondue and, of course, fritos. Quinn Hatfield of Hatfield’s had an amazing horseradish dusted braised short rib severed on succulent smoked potatoes. Susan Feniger’s Burmese melon salad was a nice reprise from meat in the late spring heat. Mina and Fretz’s braised Piedmontese beef cheeks from XIV were sensational. Somewhat surprised, Mozza brought a dessert, but this was the best panna cotta you’ve ever had. Grace/BLD’s grilled pork sliders were MIA by 3pm, and they had sadly already closed up shop.

KCRW’s Dan Wilcox provided the music for the afternoon, along with a cooking demo my Chef Michael Voltaggio, with his brand new TOTNLA tattoo. Both a silent and live auction took place, with items like hotel rooms, wine packages, private fitness training and a private party with the Ludo fried chicken truck bringing in even more money for Share our Strength. It’s a wonderful event, and I recommend checking it out. It’s one of the better planned food events I’ve attended. Full flickr photoset here. Here’s a small sampling of all that was tried. There were a few that we missed, but we just couldn’t sample any more.

Our first bite of the day is a huge FIG dog. Topped with bacon habanero marmalade, cheesy comte fondue and last but not least, fritos.

Braised artichoke with buretta cheese and jamon Iberico from Joe Miller. (Joe's/Bar Pintxo)

There has to be at least one miso black cod at every food event, Nobu brought his.

One of the better burger joints in LA, 25 Degrees' slider with bacon. Love that charred bun.

The ubiquitous chef with tattooed arms. Eva's charred beef with a grated radish. The beef was tasty, but the radish was funky and over powered the meat.

Gelato from Joel Gutman and Gail Silverton was the perfect Intermezzo.

Simple, elegent, and delicious. Rivera's tortillas flor de calabaza with indian butter.

The brasied beef cheek from XIV was flawless, cooked perfectly, amazing flavor. Really makes me want to finally check out XIV.

These 'caramelles' from BLT Steak were spectacular. Add that to the list to check out.

Michaelk Fiorelli of Mar'sel prepared a great bbq beef bahn mi with house pickled veggies and a chili aioli. Served alongside a California avocado salad.

One of the favorites from the day, Hatfield's short rib on smoked potatoes. I want more of this.

The panna cotta from Mozza melted in your mouth. This isn't the kind of dessert you want to share.

The BBQ pork buns with Wisconsin pleasant ridge cheese from Ford's Filling Station.

Chef Ben Ford's lamb sliders inspired me to make my own. The perfect summer dish.

People enjoy the food and music while they rest in the shade.

Upcoming events include Napa, Miami, Philly, Portland, and more. Check out a full list here. If you’d like to carry on the cause all year, contact any one of these fine organizations below to find out how you can help!

California Associate of Food Banks
California Food Policy Advocates
Center for Community & Family Services
Los Angeles Coalition to End Hunger and Homlessness
Los Angeles Regional Food Back
St Joseph Center

Celebrate Cinco De Mayo at Surfas with “Five on the Fifth” Cinco de Mayo Beer and Cheese Tasting. On Wednesday, May 5th from 5 pm until 6 pm, taste five distinctive small production craft beers, each paired with a perfect cheese. Featuring a selection of beers from around the world and finishing with a Gold Medal winning selection from Mexico.

“Five on the Fifth” is the first in their Summer 2009 Beer Tasting Series. These events are held monthly throughout the summer. Admission is $25 per event, and you must be 21 and over to participate. For more information on “Five on the Fifth” or the 2009 Beer Tasting Series, call Surfas @ 310-559-4770.

Special Bottle Rock Culver City tasting event this Monday January 19 at 7pm. Taste some great Zins made by Bruce Patch of Wine Guerrilla. Wine Guerrilla has grown in popularity as one of Sonoma County’s finest zinfandels. Wine Guerrilla makes all of its vineyard designated zinfandels with David Coffaro at the Coffaro Winery in Dry Creek Valley. Reserve your spot by calling 310-836-9463

For $20 you’ll taste the following wines: (great discounts on these wines will be available this night only.)

2007 Dry Creek Valley (1000 cases produced)
2007 Goat Trek Vineyard Block 6 Dry Creek Valley (341 cases)
2007 Forchini Vineyard old vine Russian River Valley (145 cases)
2007 Coffaro Vineyards old vine Dry Creek Valley (70 cases)

All month, Surfas is focusing on tailgating food. First up in Surfas ongoing classes this month is a gourmet pizza demo. Thursday, January 8th, from 1-2pm learn how to make Truffle and White Pizza the quick and easy way using ingredients and tools that you can buy at Surfas. Then on Saturday from 12-3pm enjoy free BBQ on the patio by All Spice and a Mixology demo from 3-4pm with Andrew the Alchemist as he demonstrates how to make Negus Punch. Andrew will also be highlighting their new Port selection in the expanding selection of beer and wine.

Other upcoming classes are Chili Making and Kobe Beef Corndog, Sliders 3 Ways, and Homemade Potato Chips. Samples and recipes will be provided at all demos and are free of charge! For class times and more info check out their web site.

The Smog Shoppe is located in an old car repair shop south of the 10 on La Cienega. The indoor garage area opens to a lush outdoor patio area. The space holds about 300 people. But you can rent out the space for various events like cocktail parties, dinners, and screenings.

I came here for a Hornitos event, Midnight in the Garden of Agave. The cocktails were flowing and so were the celebs. Well, sort of celebs. Lauren “Lo” and Frankie from The Hills, Nicky Hilton, Ian Ziering, Tila Tequila (natch), Jamie King, and a few others you would only recognize if you saw them on TMZ. Photos from the night here and here.

The Hornitos cocktails were flowing. On the menu, some Hornitos specialty cocktails. There was the Paloma, which had Hornitos, grapefruit juice and tonic and a Spicy Passion with Hornitos Reposado, triple sec, sour mix, pomegranate juice, and a dash of hot sauce. The standouts of the night were the Politan with Hornitos Plata, triple sec, cranberry and fresh lime and of course my favorite, the classic Margarita.

Sean Patrick was the “celeb” DJ for the night. The sound system was good, and lighting was perfect for a nighttime outdoor event. It was a little chilly, so we huddled under the heat lamps most of the night.

We didn’t munch on any of the Mexican food appetizers being passed around as we hit up the downtown Los Angeles sausage joint Wurstküche before imbibing on cocktails for the night. We ordered the Rattlesnake, Duck & Bacon, and Buffalo along with some Belgian fries and a holiday favorite, Delirium Noel.

Whoa, wait a minute, rattlesnake you say? Yeah, expand your palate for just a LA minute. This is flavorful, succulent snake meat. The Rattlesnake sausage is still my favorite of all the sausages here. All are delicious, but this is my personal fav. Perfectly seasoned, the rattlesnake is mixed with rabbit and pork, and stuffed into a perfectly snappy casing. I can’t wait till they are finished with their full bar as space in the small dining area can get a little tight, especially with it’s recent popularity.

Exotic sausages, free Hornitos Tequila and B celeb sightings, great success!

As if Surfas in Culver City didn’t have enough going for it. A cafe, a wonderful selection of frozen prepared foods, sauces, cured meats, butters, oils, vinegar, baking supplies & cooking utensils, pots & pans, knives and all sorts of other cooking ecstasy. They’ve now added a cheese bar. Open now, but the official grand opening kick-off is on Dec 1, which coincides with their Cheese Week. You’ll be sure to find a large selection of cheeses from Asiago to Yorkshire Blue with the help of their cheese experts. Be sure to check out the free Raclette Demo and Tasting from 11am-1pm on Dec 1st in their demo kitchen. Raclette is a delectable Swiss cheese dish that has been popular for centuries. Sounds like a good lunch break to me! Surfas is open Mon-Fri 9AM-6:30PM and Sunday 11AM-5PM.

Cheese experts at the new Surfas Cheese Bar

Almost all of you know the timeless story of the Three Little Pigs and their houses of straw, sticks and bricks. Well imagine that story, but Chef Ben Ford of Ford’s Filling Station is the big bad wolf, we blew the house down, and we ate them all in their house of bricks. Eyes, tongues, ears, all the way down to their little feet.

You might have seen this meal prepared for Andrew Zimmern on Bizarre Foods. A suckling pig dinner fit for a king, or at least fit for a bunch of LA Bloggers, brought together graciously by the new food community site FoodDigger.

The table rounded out with some of my favorite fellow bloggers. kevinEats, Food Destination, L.A. and O.C. Foodventures, Mattatouille, The Delicious Life, Teenage Glutster, i nom things, Gourmet Pigs, and of course Will, Marshall, and Thi from FoodDigger.

The pig, which takes two days to prepare, is brined, smoked and slowly fried in goose fat. After toasting a glass of 2005 Château Monbousquet St. Émilion with Chef Ford, the meal commenced. For the side dishes they brought out Roasted Kabocha Risotto, Brussel Sprouts with Bacon, Cavalo Nero & Escarole and nicely rounding out with Roasted Carrots with Pomegranate. The selection of winter veggies was a nice touch, and each dish was delicious.

But we were here for the suckling pig. The proud Chef brought it out to the table, in a wondrous display of swine heaven, the pig came out sprawling on a silver platter. On the plate was a Pig’s Tongue Salad served with a frisée and topped with crispy fried pig ear, Porchetta stuffed with fennel and onions, Panchetta Wrapped Pork Loin, Pig Eyes stuffed with ham hocks then deep fried (yes, they were good), Crispy Smoked Pork Legs, Pork Cheek (head cheese), and my favorite of the night, Confit of Pork Shoulder and Fresh Hams.

The entire pig was brought out on a silver platter.

Pig Eyes, stuffed with ham hocks and deep fried.

Tongue salad, topped with fried pig ears.

For dessert they brought out a Walnut Torte and Hawaiian Bread Pudding. Maybe it was the salt and pork induced coma but when dessert came I just couldn’t indulge too much. By the way, this meal can be had by anyone. Just call ahead several day in advance and bring a large group of your hungriest pork eating friends. The cost depending on how much you drink is around $80-90 a person.

The Chef definitely lived up to his reputation of creating dishes that are down to earth and full of flavor, with high-quality, local ingredients.

*Food porn courtesy of Mattatouille and kevinEats

Let’s say you’re having a few people over for a nice cocktail party and you want to do something more than buy some stuffed mushrooms and pizza poppers from Trader Joes. Go where the chefs go, Surfas Restaurant Supply. Heck, even the very prego pop star Gwen Stafani was shopping here over the weekend.

Hand made French butter with white and black truffles.

It’s more than just cooking tools and commercial kitchen equipment; it’s a plethora of fine dinning snacks and food. Stock up on cured meats and gourmet cheeses, premium steaks, pastas, sauces, flavored olive oils, gourmet salts and spices, French truffle butter, hors d’oeuvres, chocolates, and a ton of other goodies.

Cured meats and gourmet cheeses.

Favored oils, vinegars, and truffle oils.

They have grilling supplies, pots and pans, utensils, plates, knives, $1200 dollar food processors, convection ovens, cooking books and more. Beyond that they have every baking supply you will ever need. 3 kilo blocks of cooking chocolate, cake pans, baking molds, candy making supplies, and every kind of sprinkle topping you could ever imagine.

They feature free demos every week in their test kitchen. Some of the upcoming events feature a fruit carving demo, a father’s day root beer demo and a Valrhona chocolate demo.

The venison sausage Haute Dog.

No visit to Surfas would be complete without stopping in at Cafe Surfas, the restaurant attached to the main store. I had heard about their gourmet Haute Dog ($8), a smoked venison sausage, topped with maytag blue cheese cream, caramelized red onion and dijon mustard, served on a demo baguette. This sandwich was so rich and tasty, something you dream about at night.

I also tried the ultimate grilled cheese ($6), which changes on a regular basis. This one was served on a raisin walnut bread, with what seemed to be a sharp white cheddar. A great combo of salty and sweet.

The food comes served in these sturdy compact lunch boxes that would be perfect to take with you to the beach or for an outdoor concert. They have breakfast and a dozen or so Paninis and salads. They also had a wide variety of cakes and muffins. The Key Lime White Chocolate Cheese Cake looked amazing and I will be back to try it.

Surfas (restaurant and cafe)
8777 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 558-1458

Even though I’m the umpteenth blogger to write about the new Father’s Office I thought I would throw my review into the mix anyway. It’s a Friday night and I decide I’ll get there early to get a table. To my surprise there is already a line at 5:30.

A decent selection of craft beers at FO II

With about 10 people in front of me, it takes about 20 min to get in. While waiting in line, I spot some friends that already have a table, sweet. I don’t have to fight for a table. As my stomach rumbled, I wished Let’s Be Frank was still serving their delicious hot dogs from their cart across the street, but they’ve already closed up for the night. What a perfect snack that would make while you are waiting in line at FO II.

A line at 5:30 and getting longer by the minute

I finally get in and I go up to the pleasantly semi-crowded bar and order a glass of the Anderson Valley Poleeko Gold Pale Ale. Anderson is a solar powered brewery, located just north of San Francisco. This pale ale has a floral bouquet and a lively, citrusy finish. Perfect for a Father’s Office burger. Which in fact, is what I was here to order. I imagine one of these days I should order something else. But for my first visit to FO II, the burger is a must.

Fast friendly service at FO II

There are two very distinct parties when it comes to the burger here, you either think Yang Soon is the second coming of Don Vito Corleone or could do without it. For those of you who don’t know, the Office Burger comes with a half pound Dry Aged Beef patty, caramelized onion, applewood bacon compote, gruyere, matag blue cheese and arugula. What side am I on? I guess I’m closer to the former. I do really like it, but I do know, there are better burgers in LA. But the combination of a good burger, ambiance, patio and beers make this a wonderful spot.

The FO Burger w/fries

Because there are no substitutions, if you don’t like sweet caramelized onions, too bad. If you don’t like bacon on your burger, too bad. If you don’t like blue cheese, too bad. If you want to add anything, forget about it. They don’t even have ketchup here.

The menu is limited to just a few items, a hand full of small eats, a salad, ribs, a steak and the burger. Their fries are served two ways. The shoestring style fries with a garlic parsley aioli or the sweet potato fries with a roasted garlic, cabrales blue cheese aioli.

Their interesting selection of beers make the line tolerable, but I wouldn’t want to wait more than 30 min. The bartender was more than happy to go over their selection of craft beers with me. The wine selection wasn’t impressive, and they even have a limited cocktail menu as they don’t carry vodka. But I will be back, if I can stop in before the crowds arrive.

Father’s Office II
3229 Helms Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 815-9820

“As when a man besides a great fire has filled a sausage with fat and blood and turns it this way and that and is very eager to get it quickly roasted” – Homer’s Odyssey

The history of the sausage dates back to 9th century BC. It’s a bit of a mystery when they first made it into a bun and were deemed “hot dogs”. It is rumored that a German immigrant by the name of Charles Feltman first sold frankfurters with sauerkraut and inserted them into milk buns from his cart in New York sometime in the 1860’s.

Like any type of specific food, people have their varied opinions about who has the best hot dog. New Yorkers say there is nothing better than a Nathan’s, those from Chicago swear by Hot Doug’s. Here in LA, there are those who hate Pinks and those who love it. I am somewhere in between. I’ve been on a bit of a search lately for my favorite dog in LA, when I checked out Let’s Be Frank with some co-workers.

Most hot dogs contain nitrates. Nitrates are used specifically as a preservative but also add flavor and coloring to the meat. The dogs here don’t contain nitrates, or hormones, or any other chemicals for that matter. The result is beef with more than twice the omega-3 fatty acids of feedlot grain-finished beef.

The Frank Dog at Let’s Be Frank

The natural flavor of the meat really shines through here. This mild beef dog was very delightful, not overly salty, just a natural flavor with a nice crisp skin. The grilled onions are a must, along with a couple of Sue’s delicious home made pickle chips and brown mustard. Their bratwurst, made of 100% family farmed pork, had a very distinct pork flavor and reminded me of a breakfast sausage. I would definitely get one of each on my next return.

Dogs were a bit pricey at $5 each. They have a small selection of gourmet sodas for $2.50 each. You can also take home a 4 pack of dogs for $7. In a couple of weeks you’ll be able to grab a hot dog from the cart, then a beer next door at Father’s Office. What could be better than that?

What my coworkers are saying about Let’s Be Frank:

“I like a more aggressive wiener – it would be nice to see a spicy dog added to the menu. The ingredients are very high quality (no hoof or snout that I could discern). I recommend the Bread and Butter pickles to add a sweet zest to the somewhat bland Frank Dog.” -JB

“Ordering the second frank was easy. Identifying the best route back to the office was the hard part.” – Eric

“Great for a sunny afternoon… To enjoy the sun, that is.” – Victor

Let’s Be Frank
Helms Ave
Between Washington Blvd & Venice Blvd