ENDLESS FEAST
Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel was one hot hang for foodies this summer. Among the highlights-the 2006 Los Angeles Rising Stars Revue. Three hundred fifty food fans, wine geeks and dessert divas headed to the upstairs reception rooms to check out offerings from the city’s top tastemakers.
Tables were dressed up for the occasion with pink peonies, bright anthurium and graceful apple blossoms. A jazzy combo set the mood while a bustling busing battalion marched to and fro with military precision.
By 7 p.m. StarChef.com’s Antoinette Bruno and Ocean and Vine’s Gregg Wangard found themselves hosting an overflow crowd.
StarChef runs a fan club for foodies who can fawn freely over your favorite culinary masters.
Can’t get Bobby, Mario or Wolf ? No problem, not when you have a new crop of celebrated stars like David Lentz of the oh-so-hip Hungry Cat in Hollywood. Cat seems to be getting all the ink these days, and Lentz couldn’t be happier. “The Hungry Cat has really been a dream come true,” Lentz explained as he was serving up his baked Maine oysters with black kale applewood smoked bacon and Hawaiian marlin with salsa verde. Lentz has worked hard to make his mark, but of course being married to AOC’s gourmet guru Suzanne Goin doesn’t hurt either.
Another standout in the crowd was Mohammad Islam of Chateau Marmont. Islam was dishing out a scrumptious venison lion with California cherry compote and manchego ravioli with asparagus and mushroom crudo.
Alas, Lentz and Islam made us lament that much of the LA’s great restaurant action is clustered in area code 323. Thankfully Wangard was there doing 310 proud with his salade lyonnaise and yummy braised short ribs.
The crowds had barely recovered from their graze-a-thon when they were back in action at Gourmet magazine’s “Gourmet on Fire” fling. The festivities took place poolside with a picture-perfect backdrop of the Pacific.
There was no rest for Wangard, who was serving up grilled spice-rubbed hangar steak and corn on the cob. It was just the place to sample finger-licking good fare from Boneyard Bistro, Zeke’s Smokehouse and Jar. In addition to play-it-safe favorites like pulled pork, grill-meisters concocted more creative fare like mini skewers of octopus and spicy chorizo.
As celeb chefs get ready to turn their attention to fall, they can look back on a sizzling hot summer that has us hungry for more.