We always knew Los Angeles had everything and that was hammered home during Taco Tequila Tryst, hosted by Roy Choi, the godfather of modern food truck fare, on the second evening of The Taste LA. The event took place on the Paramount Studios backlot in Hollywood, a setting that seriously made us wonder if we in Hollywood or Brooklyn. It was hard to tell with the mash-up of some of LA’s best purveyors of tacos and Mexican cuisine. Heavy hitters like Border Grill and Red O joined notable but lesser known ops (but immediate crowd favorites) like Bajamer Seafood, Mariscos Chentes and Birreria Flor del Rio.
Earlier in the day in Beverly Hills, The Taste presented Secrets for the Kitchen & Cellar, which featured more than 30 restaurants and wine & spirits distributors. We caught Scott Conant of Scarpetta with his crew putting the finishing touches on creamy polenta with mushroom fricassee before he moved on to mingle with the crowd and man his cooking demonstration. Celestino Drago showed us the ins and outs of creating organic baby beet risotto with roasted spot prawns, while Claire Robinson’s “5 ingredient Fix” demo highlighted making oatmeal and date scones with vodka brunch cocktails. To cap off the afternoon, master sommeliers Ira Harmon, Reggie Narito and Serafin Alvarado guided the crowd through a blind tasting showing them how to identify old world and new world wines, their year and varietal.