4 Food Events You Should Know About: Sausage-fest at Corkbar; charity dinners for Japan; Magnum pop-up at Royal/T; Easter cooking demo at BLT Steak

Dinner for Japan: Mark your calendar for May 16 and May 18, when BreadBar is hosting two benefit dinners for Japan relief efforts. On May 16 at BreadBar Century City, the first dinner will have two seatings, at 6 and 8:45 p.m. A five-course tasting menu for $110 will include dishes from David Myers (Comme Ca), Michael Cimarusti (Providence), Walter Manzke (Church & State), Hiroyuki Urasawa (Urasawa) and Ramon Perez (Sona). In addition, a silent auction will be held immediately after dinner. All proceeds will go to the Ibaraki prefecture of Japan. On May 18, David Myers spearheads the second tasting menu for $110 at Comme Ca, with Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo (Animal), Jordan Kahn (Red Medicine), Michael Voltaggio (Ink.) and Roy Choi (Kogi BBQ). There will a silent auction held after dinner as well.

Breadbar Century City, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd, No. R-2., Los Angeles, (310)-277-3770, www.breadbar.net. Comme Ca, 8479 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, (323) 782-1104, www.commecarestaurant.com. 

Royal/T pop-up: Royal/T hosts culinary pop-up series "Magnum" for three evenings, offering your choice of bar bites or full tasting menu. Chef Joseph Mahon and sommelier David Haskell offer three different tasting menus ranging ($62 to $118) with optional wine, beer and sake pairings ($45 to $92). Dishes include a miso-cured hangar steak with shiitake mushroom tempura and ponzu sauce as well as braised baby octopus with leek risotto and pancetta vinaigrette. Reservations can be made my emailing magnumdh@gmail.com or calling (323)-798-4648. Small plates cost about $15, including oysters with brown butter and lemon sliders with chipotle aioli. Part of the proceeds from the dinner and all of the proceeds from a silent auction will be donated to a chosen restaurant or sake brewery in northern Japan.

8910 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (310)-559-6300, www.royal-t.org.

Sausage extravaganza: On April 27 at 6 p.m. until closing, Corkbar will pay homage to the sausage by hosting a three-course $25 prix-fixe dinner in partnership with Huntington Meats. The dinner will also include craft beer and wine pairings for $10 to $15.    

403 W. 12th St., Los Angeles, (213)-746-0050, www.corkbar.com. 

BLT cooking class: Fans of cooking classes, BLT Steak and eating enthusiasts alike can take part in chef Brian Moyers' "easy Easter dishes" tutorial on Saturday at 1 p.m. After a 90-minute demo, attendees will feel confident preparing spring vegetable salads, lamb dishes and the recipe for BLT’s popovers. Guests are rewarded for their efforts with a three-course meal paired with wines. Call ahead to reserve a spot; admission is $80.

8720 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (310)-360-1950, http://www.bltsteak.com.

-- Max Diamond

Photo: Sausages at Huntington Meats at the Original Farmer's Market. Credit: Al Seib/Los Angeles Times

Combo Plate: First Lady Michelle Obama's new gig, bacon tater tots, shrinking napkins and more

OK, I have to admit that this retractable kitchen island -- programmed by your iPhone -- is pretty stinkin' cool. In theory. Watch the above video. Doesn't this mean you've been walking all over your island countertop? If this were in my house, that rug would be covered with dog hair. Seems kinda unsanitary. But still pretty cool. I found this video over on Unplggd.

BLOGSPOTTING: During #weekendeats this week, our friend Food Bully noted that she had made tater tots. Our little niche of the blogosphere went into overdrive with the deafening demand for a recipe, STAT! Food Bully was happy to share. That's when we found out that they weren't "just" homemade tater tots. They are homemade bacon tater tots. Thank you, Food Bully!

In cookbook news: First Lady Michelle Obama will write a gardening and kitchen cookbook. (Does she ever ... you know ... actually cook and garden?) It's due out in April 2012, and all proceeds will go to charity. Also on the horizon, a new cookbook by Shauna James, a.k.a. Gluten Free Girl. (We profiled her here). This cookbook will be aimed at everyday cooking in a gluten-free kitchen.

Um. Yum? Have you ever seen broccoli baked inside a cake? Click here. (I think that's an improper use of the word "cake," but no one asked me.) Now this is a cake: Vanilla bean bundt cake with vanilla bean icing, because you can never, ever have too much vanilla bean. Via Sweetapolita, a baking blog I just discovered.

This is an I.Q. test: A food-storage I.Q test, courtesy of Yumsugar.

That seat is taken: The nation's obesity problem just might require the government (i.e., you and me, the taxpayers) to foot the bill to pay for an overhaul of buses, redesigning them with fewer passenger seats and heftier chassis.

Is that a coaster or a napkin? The Wall Street Journal reports on a trend that I did not know existed: Napkin sizes are reducing at an alarming rate. Have you noticed this?

Any suggestions for Daily Dish? We're always on the lookout for news, new blogs, cool recipes, the weird and the wacky ... and anything that will make us laugh. E-mail me your links: rene.lynch@latimes.com

-- Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

Combo Plate: Kale chips, better butter, Irish Road Kill and more

Non mangia: Nestle Prepared Foods is recalling more than 10,000 packages of Lean Cuisine spaghetti with meatballs.

Happy soon-to-be St. Patrick's Day: The Web is absolutely on fire with St. Patrick's Day "news" and recipes. Among the highlight's: Irish Road Kill over at Shockinglydelicious. Fisticuffs are breaking out over at Epicurious, where there's a Great Irish Soda Bread Debate going on, plus video on how to make Irish soda bread. And then there's a Butter Up over at one of my favorite new finds, the blog I Married an Irish Farmer. On Wednesday, starting at noon California time, you can go online and make butter with the world: "All you will need is 2 pints of cream,  a whisk, a bowl of iced water, a spatula and an Internet connection!"

What's in a name? In a call to action, a number of U.S. chefs, sommeliers and wine educators have called for truth-in-labeling for wines by sending a joint letter to members of Congress. The letter urges lawmakers to address misleading labels that do not correctly represent the wine’s place of origin. Get the full list of signers and the rest of the story at Enobytes.

BLOGSPOTTING: There is this thing in the food blogging world about kale chips -- where you take hearty leaves of kale and turn them into snacky chips. I don't know how this obsession got started. I don't know where it will end. But I do like seeing the variations, as this is one trend that doesn't seem to be slowing down. (I enjoy eating them too, although I have never tried making them myself.) So this one is for all you kale chip lovers: Roasted kale chips with sea salt and vinegar, from the blog Kalyn's Kitchen. She also has a great roundup of other kale chip recipes.

Encounters of the food kind: Frommer's puts together its list of the 10 best airport restaurants in the U.S., and LAX's Encounter makes the grade. Have you ever been there?

Do you have some link suggestions for Combo Plate? I'm always looking for news, unusual recipes and blogs worth sharing, as well as the wacky and the weird. (Bonus points for something that makes me laugh.) E-mail me at rene.lynch@latimes.com

-- Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

Photo credit: Kalyn's Kitchen

Combo Plate: Awards season wrap-up, presidential brewskies and more

--And the Oscar goes to...: As we wrap up the awards season, let this be the final, hilarious say -- "7 Reasons Why My Meaningless Food Blog Award is Better than Your Meaningless Food Blog Award," via 5 Second Rule.

--White House Honey Ale: Barack Obama will go down in history as, among other things, the first president to brew his own beer in the White House. (And relax, everyone, First Lady Michelle Obama said they did it with their own money.)

--Speaking of beer: Check out this roundup of the world's strongest beers via Cool Material, including Start the Future, which is 60% alcohol by volume. Hiccup.

--Start packing (food, that is): Just when you thought air travel couldn't get any more miserable, Continental becomes the latest airline to kill free snacks in coach, saving an estimated $2.5 million a year.

--Food trucks fight back: El Paso Food truck vendors are challenging laws that they say are driving them out of business.

--Your search is over: Jolly Time Healthy Pop Crispy White Naturally Flavored 94% Fat Free Microwave Popcorn has been declared the best.

-- Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

Photo: Chef Wolfgang Puck hands out foil-wrapped chocolate Oscars. Credit: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images.

Combo Plate: Germs, skulls, breakups and more

-- Pass the butter: By and large, the online food world is a pretty great place to be. Nice peeps. Friendly atmosphere. Lots of conviviality, congeniality, blah blah blah. Which is why I just couldn't keep from clicking on this headline: How to bake bread and make your friends feel inadequate. (Thanks to Naa Ako-Adjei and her blog, Eat Dessert First.)

-- EWWW! I wish I'd never clicked on this: The 8 germiest public places.

-- Is this really news? Britons used skulls for cups is the Reuters headline making the rounds Thursday morning. But doesn't everyone do that? Um. Or is it just me?

-- In 'Top Chef' news: Finally, a shocking exit.

-- How can this be? I would have assumed that something called 'caramel coloring' would be good for me. But now I find out that, alas, it might not be. So says the Center for Science in the Public Interest: "The "caramel coloring" used in Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and other foods is contaminated with two cancer-causing chemicals and should be banned." The organization has filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration. More on it all here:

-- I'm being deprived of my right to vote: Food Press has a new poll asking the food world's equivalent of the chicken-and-the-egg question, "If you had to choose salty or sweet, what would it be?" I couldn't vote because there isn't a "Duh. Both." button.

-- My, what tasty sleuthing: The search for the best dumplings in New York's Chinatown.

-- Love hurts: It started out as a week dedicated to love. But as we head into the weekend, it seems like all the news is about breaking up: In addition to our story about Andrew Kirschner parting ways with Wilshire, the Daily Byte puts together this list of restaurants and chefs who are calling it splitsville.

--Rene Lynch
Twitter /renelynch

Photo credit: Eat Dessert First

Combo Plate: McWeddings, star dining, burrito eating and more

--Couldn't make this one up: You've heard of McNuggets. And McMansions. Now, there's McWeddings:

"In the buzzing financial hub known for its fast living, young Hong Kong couples can now grab love on the run at the city's McDonald's outlets, which are offering a burgeoning new sideline: 'McWeddings.' " 

Perks include the "cake" made out of stacked apple pies, at left, as well as souvenir crystal M rings. The Reuters story says this surprise engagement party was held on Valentine's Day at a downtown McDonald's and thrown by a young male model for then-girlfriend now-fiancee. (I wonder whether she saw that one coming.) But before we label this one TREND! the Reuters story also notes that this was the "first formal wedding event since the service was launched in January."

--And the winner is: Your stomach. All eyes are on Hollywood as we prepare to hit the height of the awards season -- The Oscars. The new issue of Bon Appetit offers up 10 ways to eat and drink like a star, L.A.-style.

--Passings: Patty Bogle, who with her husband Chris built Bogle Vineyards from 18 acres of grapes in the Sacramento delta into a regional wine powerhouse, died Friday at her home in Clarksburg, Calif., of complications from leukemia. She was 59.

--Are you eating your burrito the "right" way? What? You didn't know there's a right way and a wrong way to eat a burrito? Then check out this LOL post at SF Weekly on just this subject.

--Just read it: This one is burning up Twitter this morning -- no doubt, due in no small part to its clever headline, so I can't help but pass it along to you, dear reader, from the Small Bites blog: Trix = Twizzlers + Flintstone Multivitamin + Corn Dust. Really.

--Rene Lynch
twitter.com/renelynch

Combo Plate: Stuff your Thin Mints, women get 'back' in the kitchen, Jamie Oliver won't relent and more

 
--I cook, therefore I am ... a feminist? I had no idea women were missing from the kitchen. But Ecosalon says they're back. "For decades we’ve watched the professional culinary industry continue to be dominated by males, but we’re taking back the plate, at home, on the barbecue, with our friends and in foodie-inspired businesses."

--Go Jamie, Go: Celebuchef Jamie Oliver continues to be a thorn in the side of the Los Angeles School District. He oh-so-helpfully nudged Monday's protest rally by parents who want sugar-filled flavored milks to be removed from schools. (You can decide for yourself whether you think Oliver is right or wrong in this ever-escalating gambit to gain access to the schools with TV cameras in tow. We just appreciate that a spotlight is being cast on what our school children eat.)

--Blogspotting: Do you find yourself with an excess of Girl Scout Thin Mints? (I know. I never have any left over either, because I inhale them all, immediately, in one sitting.) But let's just say for argument's sake that you did have some leftovers. One of our favorite local food blogs, Picky Palate, written by Jenny Flake of Orange County, has a fab way to turn them into a posh dessert: Girl Scout Thin Mint Toaster Strudels, above.

--We fall for it every time: Ad Age explains why we all lose our minds and reach for our wallets when we see the magic words, "for a limited time only," and how food marketeers are turning to the trick with new urgency. Need more proof? Exhibit A: The McRib.

--How many more times do we need to study this? A new government study suggests that eating a diet rich in fiber -- especially the kind of fiber found in whole grains -- reduces the risk of dying at an early age from a range of causes.

--Rene Lynch
twitter.com/renelynch

Photo: Picky Palate

Combo Plate: Nutella Crack Pie, food safety opt-out, White on Rice rides into the Sunset and more

-- Power couple: You know them best as White on Rice Couple, the blogging-photographing-gardening super duo of Todd Porter and Diane Cu. (You haven't lived until you have been invited to one of their parties. They manage to make you feel as comfortable as if you're wearing PJs in your own home while they stuff you full of the most extraordinary food.) Well, darn it, now those invitations are going to be even harder to come by. Everyone's going to want one after reading the feature about the couple in this month's Sunset magazine.

-- Keep your hands off our food: A legislator from Utah wants to opt out of the new federal food safety bill. Details at Food Safety News.

-- Blogspotting: You know we love Crack Pie around here. But Cathy Shambley of the blog ShowFood Chef kicked it up a notch by adding chocolate to the mix in honor of World Nutella Day: Crack Pie + Nutella = Nutella Crack PIe. We'll quote Cathy here: "See it, make it, devour it." If you insist, Cathy!

-- You may be paying more for your morning muffin in the coming months. On Monday, sugar commodity prices were rising for a second day as news of storm damage to farm fields in Australia and sluggish production in parts of India fueled concerns that global supplies would fall short of meeting demand. More in today's Business section.

-- Taking off the gloves: First Lady Michelle Obama isn't going away. She's been criticized (can you believe it?) for her efforts to combat childhood obesity. Now she's taking on the NRA. No, the other NRA -- the National Restaurant Assn. Time has the scoop.

-- Rene Lynch

Twitter / renelynch

Photo credit: ShowFood Chef

Combo Plate: Cheese seized, Taco Bell fights back, a bacon kiss and more

BACON PSA from Todd S on Vimeo.

 --We all know bacon makes everything better, right? But did you know that bacon makes a bloody Mary better, too? Watch this video of Todd S using a slab o' bacon as a stirrer. And wait for the part about the bacon-y kiss...

--Many online photo galleries rely on -- yawn! -- stock photos. Well, check out the selection of celebrity and movie stills to illustrate this photo gallery, which is presumably about all the things your grocer won't tell you. But what I really want to know: Who is the movie buff with the photographic memory who put this all together? Nicely done.

--Food for thought: Is there a link between food prices and the unrest in Egypt? Good has this take on it.

--Say cheese: Federal prosecutors in Central California have busted outlaws they describe as pale-skinned and somewhat smelly, with mug shots worthy of Bon Appetit: 97 wedges of raw-milk Gouda cheese.

--Irvine-based Taco Bell is biting back: Faced with a lawsuit alleging the company’s beef isn’t very meaty, the Mexican fast food chain has launched a massive marketing campaign including snarky full-page newspaper ads that declare, “Thank you for suing us.”

--Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

Combo Plate: Missing the Minimalist, flash mobs, glitter tattoos and more

Good news, bad news, sad news: Mark Bittman is retiring the Minimalist column in the New York Times after 13 years. That's the bad news. The good news is that he is moving to the paper's opinion section, where he will write a weekly column tackling food policy, sustainable eating as well as diet and health issues. He'll also launch an opinion blog. While congrats are in order, we're sad we can't expect to see his byline most Wednesdays.

Hey, I'm trying to eat here: A flash mob breaks out at Eataly New York, video above. Eater NY has more, and be sure to check out the comments from jaded New Yawkers....

I'll bet you're on this list: The 50 most powerful people in the food universe, via the Daily Meal.

You might need a tissue for this one: How to nourish yourself in a time of sorrow, via the Kitchn.

Sparkly tattoos for all: How to throw the best kid's birthday party ever, via What's Gaby Cooking.

Gotta keep that clock away from the open flames: Flavor Flav opens a fried chicken restaurant in Iowa.

How do you go from barista to bartender in a town like L.A.? Let Laura Lindsay show you how, via Toque.

Think of how many last-minute grocery shopping trips you'll save: How to grow herbs indoors during winter, via the Huffington Post.

-- Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch