Small bites: Jar menu, Breadbar classes and a luau!
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Summer in a Jar: Jar restaurant on Beverly has given its menu a summer spin. Try one of the summer fruit salads: One combines white peaches, celery, arugula, almonds, and Parmesan; another pairs watermelon with red onion, crab, mint, and a jalapeno vinaigrette. If you prefer your veggies, try the yellow and green bean salad topped with hazelnuts and a shallot vinaigrette, the roasted golden beets with asparagus, goat cheese, and an almond dressing, or the squash blossoms with ponzu sauce. Also, try one of Jar’s summer entrees, including soft shell crab, salmon or that American classic, hamburger and French fries. If you’re looking to cool off, sip a baked cherry or a jalapeno margarita cocktail. 8225 Beverly Blvd.; (323) 655-6566; www.thejar.com
Chef for the evening: Breadbar in Los Angeles presents a culinary workshop with Robert Wemischner, author of “The Dessert Architect.” This monthly cooking series begins July 18 with a dessert class using seasonal stone fruits to create crumbles, sorbets, ice creams and sauces. But you don’t need to be a sweets enthusiast to attend these workshops, because in some of the other classes you can learn to make regional dishes and delicacies from Mexico and Southeast Asia. Each $65 session includes a cooking class followed by a three-course Breadbar meal. 8718 West 3rd St. (310)205-0124; breadbar.net
Luau in Calabasas: This year’s Tiki Fest on Aug. 14 will support the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. There will be hula dancers, steel drum Caribbean music, beer and a variety of Polynesian and Hawaiian food. Taste luau dishes such as: barbecue Spam maki rolls, curried papaya with shrimp, chicken katsu, pineapple-and-bacon fried rice, and sweet potato pie with passion fruit syrup. Tiki Fest tickets are $80 per person or $100 per couple and include all of the above and some real aloha spirit. Calabasas Inn, 23500 Park Sorrento; (818) 217-0024; tikifest.net.
--Amanda Gottesman
(photo of Jar restaurant by Lawrence K. Ho).