3 Food Events You Should Know About: Gonzo wine tasting at LGO; Petrossian's caviar class; Eva restaurant and Grilled Cheese Truck get together

Sippy-sip at LGO: On Tuesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., La Grande Orange in Santa Monica hosts a wine tasting with unlimited sips of more than 25 wines for $25. Try wines from Veneto, Italy, to Marlborough, New Zealand, to Mendoza, Argentina, for example, along with jumbo lump crab cakes, green chile sliders, spicy tuna sushi rolls, veggie potstickers with toban djan sauce and mini red velvet cakes and double chocolate chip cookies.  

2000 Main St., Santa Monica; (310) 396-9145; www.lagrandeorangesm.com. 

Caviar 101: Beginning next Thursday, Petrossian in West Hollywood starts hosting a monthly caviar class led by general manager Christopher Klapp and a "devoted team of caviar experts." Novices and/or aficionados can sign up for the tasting and get how-to-appreciate-caviar tips. Sample up to three types of caviar paired with either Champagne or vodka, along with additional small plates showcasing caviar from chef Giselle Wellman.  7:30 to 8 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month. $35 per person. Call to save your spot. 

321 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood; (310) 271-0576; www.petrossian.com. 

Grilled cheese at Eva: Eva chef-owner Mark Gold and Dave Danhi, chef and co-owner of the Grilled Cheese Truck, reunite for a grilled cheese pairing Tuesday. (The two worked together at the Water Grill downtown 15 years ago.) They've collaborated on a four-course menu for $35 and a five-course menu for $50 that will include Danhi's truffled mac and cheese melt along with Gold's butter poached lobster to celebrate National Grilled Cheese Month. (See the full menus after the jump.) Wine pairing, $20. Call for reservations. 

7458 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles; (323) 634-0700; www.evarestaurantla.com.

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: Grilled cheese sandwiches. Credit: The Grilled Cheese Truck.

Fig & Olive celebrates with a splashy grand opening

Fig & Olive, the sleek French-Mediterranean restaurant with four locations in New York City, celebrated the opening of its first Los Angeles outpost in grand style this week.

Guests arriving at the massive restaurant, which is located on the corner of Melrose Place and La Cienega, just down the street from Ago and Comme Ca, walked down a red carpet to enter the 8,000-square-foot space. Once inside, they passed a large retail wall filled with olive oil (olive oil is the restaurant's signature ingredient, and more than 30 varietals are offered for sale) and past a bar that stretches across the whole right side of the restaurant. From there they rounded a corner into a high-cielinged atrium of sorts. The focal point of this main dining room is, of course, a large olive tree.

A staircase just past the semi-open kitchen leads to a balcony containing the Fig & Olive Champagne Bar & Lounge. There guests can lounge, sip bubbly and look over the bustle in the dining room below. Just beyond the dining room is an enclosed garden terrace with a large skylight and lush Mediterranean foliage.

The place is so big, and was so packed on Thursday night that it was difficult to gauge how the hyper-modern space will function as a regular restaurant. But the fashionably dressed folks in attendance seemed to be digging the big-city vibe.

The dinner menu, with entrees ranging in price from $17 to $45, includes: seared sea scallops and truffle artichoke tapenade with mushroom, arugula and pine nuts, served with aged balsamic vinegar; porcini and gorgonzola jamon Iberico ravioli; grilled branzino glazed with 18-year-old balsamic vinegar, figs, snow peas and a sweet Picholine olive oil; and Provence rosemary grilled lamb chops marinated with rosemary and garlic, finished with a rosemary garlic olive oil, and served with goat cheese gnocchi and eggplant roasted with thyme and honey.

Wine and cocktails are also available.

8490 Melrose Place, West Hollywood. (310) 360-9100; www.figandolive.com.

--Jessica Gelt

Photo credit: Lisa Cohen/Fig & Olive 

Bastide and chef Sydney Hunter III make it official

Bastide, the Melrose Place restaurant owned by fickle commercial director Joe Pytka, announced that Sydney Hunter III, who took over the stoves after Joseph Mahon departed in December, is executive chef. This is, if I'm counting correctly, the restaurant's sixth chef. 

Former Bastide chefs include Alain Giraud, Ludo Lefebvre, Walter Manzke, Paul Shoemaker and the above mentioned Mahon.   

Hunter helped open Bastide in 2002 as sous-chef under Giraud and remained until 2008, when he left to work at Fraiche in Santa Monica under then chef-partner Jason Travi. He also has worked with Lefebvre at his pop-up restaurant concept LudoBites. 

"Sydney will execute an elegant menu in a casual atmosphere working with seasonal ingredients," says Bastide's announcement from manager and sommelier Dario Dell’Anno.

-- Betty Hallock 

Photo credit: Katie Falkenberg/For The Times

 

3 Food Events You Should Know About: Planned Parenthood's Food Fare; 'Bistronomics' at Breadbar; wine and pizza tasting at Rosso Wine Shop

A Planned Parenthood party: On March 10, Planned Parenthood will host its 32nd annual Food Fare, where supporters of the organization and foodies will join together to eat and raise money for the health centers that provide care to more than 120,000 women, men and teens every year. What started out as a simple cooking demonstration by Julia Child has become the largest fund-raising event for Planned Parenthood L.A., and features food from top restaurants such as Church and State, A.O.C., Ammo, Clementine, Tavern and Lucques, as well as some of the city's most popular food trucks. VIP reception for sponsors is 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.; the daytime session is 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and the evening session is 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Advance tickets are $150 for the daytime session and $225 for the evening session.

Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1855 Main St., Santa Monica; to purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.pplafoodfare.com.

'Bistronomics' pop-up: Breadbar and chef Jet Tila of Wazuzu at the Wynn Encore in Las Vegas host a two-night dining event called "Bistronomics." On March 6 and 7 from 6 to 10 p.m., Alex Ageneau, sous chef at the Royce at the Langham in Pasadena, will be cooking a five-course prix-fixe dinner, featuring dishes such as smoked cod with crème fraiche and a caramelized apple tart with onions and walnuts, among others. Guests will be able to interact with the chef as they watch the dishes being prepared in an open kitchen. $65 a person, reservations recommended.

8718 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles; (310) 205-0124; www.breadbar.net.

Wine to go with pizza: On Friday and Saturday, Russo Wine Shop is hosting a wine tasting to go with pizza, from 5 to 8 p.m. each night. For $10 a person, 2009 Luigi Giusti Rosato, 2007 Rubino Primitivo Punto Aquila and 2008 Valle Dell'Acate Nero d'Avola II Moro can all be sampled. Pizza is an additional $10. 

3459-1/2 N. Verdugo Road, Glendale; (818) 330-9130; www.rossowineshop.com. 

-- Emma Wartzman

Photo: Ray Chavez /Contra Costa Times / MCT

TiroVino, an Italian restaurant and wine bar, to open in Weho in January

A new Italian restaurant and wine bar called TiroVino is slated to open in West Hollywood in January. The owner is former Chianti & Dolce general manager Maurizio La Rosa, who was born in Sicily and raised on the homestyle food of his grandmother's countryside table.

Now La Rosa wants to recreate the authentic simplicity of the culinary traditions of his youth by serving small plates with no garnishes or side dishes. This pared-down ideal is in accordance with the restaurant's decor, which features a raised vintage gate,rough-hewn wood floors, wrought-iron chandeliers, a long wine bar, close-set tables and a long central table for communal dining.

Menu specialties include: fish soup with potatoes; braised veal; homemade pastas such as butternut squash ravioli and penne puttanesca; thin crust pizzas; salads and a variety of country-style appetizers. And, of course, there will be a lengthy selection of Italian wines to pair with various dishes.

The menu, which will be written daily on a chalkboard in the dining room, will change seasonally.

TiroVino, 7166 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood.

--Jessica Gelt

Photo: Maurizio La Rosa. Credit: TiroVino

3 food events you should know about: Share Our Strength benefit at Test Kitchen; Taste of Mexico; dinner for Barbara Fairchild at Eva

Share Our Strength, a nonprofit that aims to end childhood hunger in the U.S., presents a benefit dinner featuring five courses from five chefs at the Test Kitchen on Dec. 13. The menu from chefs Alain Giraud, Walter Manzke, Michael Voltaggio, Neal Fraser and Jordan Kahn includes wine pairings: oxtail consomme, mushroom royale and black truffles (2009 Baker Lane Syrah Rosé); scallops with hazelnuts and cauliflower (2008 Stoller Dundee Hills Chardonnay); black cod, chicken dashi, matsutake (2009 Martian Ranch Viognier); grilled pork tenderloin with squash, chestnuts, bacon and violet mustard (Josh Klapper La Fenetre Pinot Noir); and coconut bavarois with coffee ice cream, Thai basil, peanut croquant and chicory. The cost is $500 per person, which includes an invitation to the opening reception (there also will be separate ticket sales for the opening reception). SOS founder Billy Shore will speak at the event. Reception, 6 p.m.; dinner, 7 p.m.

Test Kitchen, 9575 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. For tickets, contact Judy Walker at jwalker@strength.org or (949) 481-7792. 

Los Angeles Mexican restaurants La Casita Mexicana, Guelaguetza, Frida Mexican Cuisine and La Monarca Bakery hosts the Taste of Mexico, which takes place Saturday at Vibiana downtown. The Taste of Mexico's Bicentennial Celebration: 200 Years of Mexico's Cuisine will feature tastings of regional Mexican dishes, samples of tequila and mezca, and entertainment including mariachi and dance performances by troupes from Oaxaca and Jalisco. Tickets are $75 presale, and part of the proceeds go to Heal the Bay. 5 to 10 p.m.

Vibiana (former Cathedral), 214 S. Main St., Los Angeles. For more info and tickets, go to Thetasteofmexico.org.

Eva restaurant is throwing a dinner party for Barbara Fairchild on Dec. 21. Chef Mark Gold along with Octavio Becerra of Palate, Laurent Quenioux of Bistro LQ, Mako and Suzanne Tracht of Jar are each cooking a course in appreciation of Fairchild's tenure as editor in chief of Bon Appetit. Seatings are at 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. $95 per person, plus $50 for wine pairings. (Also, Eva begins brunch service on Sundays, starting Dec. 12, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) 

7458 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 634-0700; Evarestaurantla.com.

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: Test Kitchen. Credit: Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times

Talesai on Sunset Boulevard to open Night Market next door

Just next door to Talesai on Sunset Boulevard, owner Kris Yenbamroong is busily assembling communal tables, hanging art and installing a bar for his new venture, Night Market. Set to soft-open on Thursday, "Night Market's menu won't be anything like Talesai's," says the young chef. Along with a large selection of craft brews and wine, he'll be giving an upmarket spin to the street foods that many say offer the most delicious tastes in Thailand.

The stars aligned for the new project earlier this year when Yenbamroong acquired the vacant space adjacent to Talesai. The opening menu will include Chiang Mai-style sausages, fried chicken wings with northern-style chile dip nam prik noom, and pork toro -- grilled pig's collar with jaew, an Isaan (eastern Thai) condiment. Yenbamroong says he used to scour Bangkok's open markets and street stalls while living there as a teenager. "I would ride scooter taxis home after school and I'd get tips by questioning the drivers who eat all over and know the best vendors and cooks." 

Thai night markets are where itinerant specialty chefs can shine, offering a single item that they've perfected with years of practice and feeding everyone from housewives and laborers to clubgoers. Yenbamroong is perhaps hoping to attract the latter at some point. The restaurant's limited opening hours are Thursday to Sunday, 6 p.m. to midnight, but eventually may be extended to at least 2 a.m.

9041 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood (enter through Talesai, at 9043 Sunset), (310) 275-9724, www.talesai.com.

-– Linda Burum

Photo: Thai sausages. Credit: Talesai 

Dominick's reopens, celebrates with 'Sunday Supper' on Wednesday

After turning a kitchen fire into an opportunity to freshen up, Italian restaurant Dominick's reopens Monday. It's celebrating this week with a "Sunday Supper on Wednesday" event.

That means $15 for three courses, $12 bottles of wine and $3 Morettis. On the menu: fennel and Parmesan salad, grilled skirt steak with potatoes and salsa verde, and vanilla bean rice balls. 

8715 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 652-2335, DominicksRestaurant.com.

-- Betty Hallock 

Photo: Dominick's

Michael Voltaggio announces new restaurant: Ink. It's set to open on Melrose early next year

The anticipation surrounding chef Michael Voltaggio's next move has been near palpable since early summer, when he announced plans to open his own restaurant -- his first. The chef who helped José Andrés bring foie gras cotton candy and liquid nitrogen-dipped popcorn to L.A. at the Bazaar and then launched into culinary stardom as a tough-and-telegenic "Top Chef" winner is opening Ink. (with a period). And he has the tattoo to prove it.

"It's part of the name of my company, MV Ink., and it's [tattooed] on my arm," Voltaggio said. "I went to my friend's tattoo shop in Venice ... and when he was finished, I said, 'You just designed the logo for my restaurant.' " 

Ink., which Voltaggio hopes to open by the end of February, will be located in the former Hamasaku space on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood. Its lease is owned by Michael Ovitz, who closed Hamasaku a year and a half ago and let the restaurant site sit empty, until now. 

"It was fate," said the 32-year-old Voltaggio, who until July was the executive chef at the Dining Room at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, where he spent a year sidestepping the limelight so he could "focus on cooking."

"I drove by it one day and asked, 'Whose space is that?' Then I got a phone call ... asking if I'd be interested in looking at it. 

"Now this is it. This is everything I've worked up to my whole life. But it's backward for me because I did get a name, I got famous or whatever but skipped a lot of steps along the way, the most important one being having my own restaurant. This is a bigger test for me" than it would be for other chefs. 

About the menu and the design ... 

4 food events you should know about: Chefs cookout for Alex's; Ammo's fundraiser; 'comfort dinners' at Petrossian; making tamales at MOLAA

Chefs fundraiser: Chef Suzanne Goin and partner Caroline Styne of Lucques, A.O.C. and Tavern and chef David Lentz of the Hungry Cat will host L.A. Loves Alex's Lemonade on Sunday, a chefs cookout to raise money and awareness for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer. Jennifer Garner is the honorary chair, Jim Belushi is the emcee, and participating chefs from all over the country include  John Besh of August in New Orleans, Chris Bianco of Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix, David Tanis of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Jonathan Waxman of Barbuto in New York and Neal Fraser of Grace in L.A. $150 for general admission or $350 for the VIP special seating and after-party. All proceeds go to Alex's Lemonade Stand. Tickets are available at www.lucques.com, www.thehungrycat.com or www.alexslemonade.org/campaign/la-loves-alexs-lemonade. Noon to 4 p.m. Culver Studios, 9336 Washington Blvd., Culver City. 

$ for Edible Schoolyard: Ammo chef Daniel Mattern and pastry chef Roxana Jullapat announce their first annual "Brunch & Bake Sale," to take place on Sunday, benefiting the Edible Schoolyard program at Larchmont Charter School. Some bake sale treats from the pastry kitchen to look forward to: petite cinnamon buns, carrot cake muffins, pumpkin bread, cheddar biscuits with farmhouse butter, and breakfast beignets with fruity dipping sauce. And from the brunch menu: steel-cut oatmeal with warm pear compote and muscovado sugar, heirloom apple pancake baked in a wood-burning oven, and thick-cut brioche French toast with Roxana's cherry preserves and maple syrup. All of the proceeds from the bake sale and 15% of brunch sales will be donated. 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 1155 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood, (323) 467-3293, www.ammocafe.com.

Petrossian prix-fixe: Petrossian Boutique & Restaurant in West Hollywood has kicked off prix-fixe dinners on Thursday nights: three courses for $44 with a French comfort-food theme. Chef Benjamin Bailly features classic French dishes such as frisee aux lardons, boudin blanc with pomme puree and caramel pot de creme. Thursdays, 5 to 9:30 p.m. 321 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 271-0576, www.petrossian.com. 

Tamale time: The Museum of Latin American Art offers a series of "Buen Provecho" cooking classes with instructor Consuelo Campos, including a tamale-making class on Saturday, just in time for the holidays. For additional information, e-mail education@molaa.org or call (562) 216-4108. $25 for members, $35 for non-members. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach, (562) 437-1689, www.molaa.org.

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: Pecan sticky buns served at brunch at Ammo. Credit: Liz O. Baylen/Los Angeles Times