It was another glorious day at The Saddlerock Ranch last Sunday at Los Angeles Magazine celebrated local chefs with The Food Event. Ray Garcia of Fig presented one of the more memorable dishes with his curried lamb rib with an apple tzatziki that made the flavorful dish slightly unwieldy. Malibu and Vine’s Bar and Grill made a cassoulet with a rich depth that really brought home the French influences in New Orleans cookery.
As always, Saddlepeak Lodge went all out with a duck rillette en croute. Taberna Arros y Vie thrilled our palates with the intense chorizo and chickpea puree with piquillo pepper relish and salsa verde. Chef Gino Angelini’s RivaBella brought back their popular “nidi di rondine” which I would describe as a cinnamon roll made out of pasta and meat. The spiral of handmade pasta was alternated with Parma ham, surrounding a center of thick bolognese.
It’s no surprise that Son of a Gun wowed us with their Hamachi with Galbi Vinagrette. That’s right, Korean galbi. Jimmy Shaw of Loteria made our mouth water with an aguachile of scallops and a rum-spiked horchata. Although more than one restaurant tried to turn me on to brussel sprouts, only Sotto made my picky vegetable-averse inner child change her tune for their cauliflower-almond soup.
Short Cake’s buttery version of a blondie made me go back for seconds, unheard of at a foodie event. You can find them at The Farmer’smarket at 3rd and Fairfax. Maison Giraud’s dessert appeared to be a standard amaretti cookie with a crackle-top, but my mouth exploded with chocolate flavor as it revealed itself to be an exquisite profiterole.
There were a lot of refreshing cocktails, but Ketel One’s take on a Sea Breeze had us tempted to overindulge. Unfortunately all good things come to an end and we had to wind our way down Kanan road, satisfied once again by a spectacular event.
