805 Living Dining Blog: Angie Eats
Welcome to the 805 Living Dining Blog where our Dining Editor, Angela Pettera, keeps you up to date on restaurant happenings in the 805. To send her your tips and comments, email angela@805living.com. Happy eating!
Events listed on the blog are subject to change. Please contact the restaurants to confirm availability and details.
Outstanding in the Field dinner with The Sidecar Restaurant
Outstanding in a field dinner at McGrath Farms
Saturday, June 20th, 4 p.m.
Tim Kilcoyne, chef and owner of The Sidecar Restaurant in downtown Ventura (www.thesidecarrestaurant.com), has been tapped to cook for an Outstanding in the Field farm dinner.
In case you’re not familiar with Outstanding in the Field, their mission is “to re-connect diners to the land and the origins of their food, and to honor the local farmers and food artisans who cultivate it.” To that end, a long communal table will be set up in the Camarillo fields of the McGrath Family Farm. After a tour of the farm, participants will eat a five-course dinner showcasing the farm’s produce as cooked by Tim Kilcoyne.
The price is $200.
Reserve at www.outstandinginthefield-reservations.com/?p=524
Winemaker Dinner at Brooks June 9
Tuesday, June 9th, 6:30 p.m.
Vino V Wines will be bringing five of its wines to Brooks restaurant for a winemaker dinner. Here’s what they have to say about their products: “Focusing on fruit grown in the cooler regions of Santa Barbara County, our goal is to bring you wines that show a sense of place and bring you pleasure. We have recently released our amazing 2005 Syrah from the White Hawk Vineyard. Other wines available include a zesty, mineral-y, no oak Chardonnay and an earthy Pinot Noir from the Solomon Hills Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley as well as the latest version of our Confundido blend (80% Syrah and 20% Pinot Noir) – neat stuff.”
Chef & owner Andy Brooks will be making five courses of food to match, including an Alaskan halibut starter with fava-bean puree, crispy pork belly with blackberry glaze, miso-rubbed tuna, buffalo steak, and a mocha-chocolate tart. The price is $95.
Brooks, 545 E. Thompson Blvd., Ventura, 805-652-7070.
French Chefs’ Picnic June 7th
Sunday, June 7th, 11:30 a.m.
Club Culinaire, the French Chefs Association, will be throwing its annual picnic in Elysian Park this year at the Monticello Old Lodge at the corner of Scott Avenue and Stadium Way in L.A. (adjacent to Dodger Stadium).
A bevy of French chefs will prepare an elaborate luncheon of quiche, leg of lamb, roast beef, ratatouille, choucroute, grilled tuna, rotisserie chicken, French cheeses, pastries, and more. French and American wines, Champagne and French beer, sodas and iced tea will be available for drinking. Entertainment includes live music, a D.J., soccer, volleyball, petanque, live auction, and moon bounce for the kids. Wear sunscreen and bring a chair or a blanket to sit on.
Tickets are $50 for adults; $20 for non-drinking youngsters ages 10-21; free for children under 10 with one paid adult. Proceeds benefit the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, The HOPE Project, and the Meg Foundation. To purchase, contact Kora Kroep at 949-295-0506 to purchase or visit http://www.clubculinaire.us
McConnell’s Ice Cream Opens in Ventura
McConnell’s Ice Cream has opened its second corporate-owned location 60 years after opening its original ice cream parlor in Santa Barbara. The new scoop shop is located in the historic Mission Bell building on Main Street. Stop in for tastes of creamy, rich Bordeaux Strawberry or their famous Chocolate Burnt Almond. They have yogurt and sorbet as well.
McConnell’s Ice Cream, 3241 E. Main Street, Ventura, 805-650-6410.
Spumoni Opens in Newbury Park
Spumoni Italian Cafe has opened in Bistro Ella’s old spot in Newbury Park. The decor has changed very little so the environs are nice and casual. Spumoni is reasonably priced and family-friendly serving standard Italian fare like spaghetti Bolognese, lasagna, gnocchi, chicken Parmigiana, and pizza. Entrees cost between $11-$20. They have other locations in Calabasas (which has a karaoke bar), Sherman Oaks, Stevenson Ranch, and Santa Monica. Spumoni is open for lunch and dinner daily.
Spumoni Italian Cafe, 1714 Newbury Road, Newbury Park, 805-499-6200.
http://www.spumonirestaurants.com/
Main Course California Opens Pick Up and Delivery Bistro
Caterers Rachel & Robert Jacobi have set a few tables outside their Ventura catering kitchen (set in a tree-lined industrial park) so they can serve lunch to the public Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Inside a few stools are set up along the window, too. After you place your order at the counter, peruse the printed materials describing the farms who provided the ingredients for your lunch.
Menu items are made to order when you call ahead or stop in. The brie and pear salad has wonderful caramelized honey-bay pears, candied walnuts, red-onion marmalade and a few pieces of baguette for the warm brie, all atop a large pile of greens. The MCC burger sports a tasty grass-fed beef patty dotted with herbs and comes with a side dish like housemade potato chips. The roasted turkey sandwich benefits from a tangy herb mayo. Daily specials plus soups and quiche mean you’ll never get bored. A refrigerated case holds cooked entrees and side dishes ready to take home. Baked goods are displayed on the counter.
Main Course California, 1363 Donlon Street, Ventura, 805-658-8900
Farm Workers Benefit Concert
Saturday, May 30th, 5:30 p.m., in the Ventura Majestic Theater
Benefit Concert for Farm Workers
Kris Kristofferson will be performing a concert to benefit farm workers who need better housing and better education for their children. A number of Ventura chefs will be providing appetizers for the event in front of the theatre from 5:30 - 7 p.m. A silent auction will be set up in the lobby of the theatre prior to the concert.
Tickets cost $60-$80 and can be purchased at www.ventura-usa.com/events/?showday=1&cdate=5-30-2009#event4043 or at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 805-648-2075.
Celebration of Thailand at Four Seasons Hotel
The Four Seasons Hotel is celebrating Thailand over Memorial Day weekend with by bringing chef Srichan Pitak over from the Thai Cooking School in the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai. Here are the food-centered events that Srichan will be leading.
Friday, May 22nd, 6:30 p.m. - healthy Thai cooking demonstration followed by dinner with wine in the Wellness Kitchen. $125.
Saturday, May 23rd from noon-2 p.m. - buffet lunch of traditional Thai food. Entertainment includes Thai dancing and live music. $40 for adults; $20 for children under 12.
May 20th - May 24th - Special Thai dinner menu items available in Onyx from 5:30 - 9:30 p.m. each night.
Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village, 2 Dole Drive, Westlake Village, 818-575-3000
www.fourseasons.com/westlakevillage
Cafe Firenze Wine Dinner
On Thursday, May 14th at 7 p.m.
Cafe Firenze welcomes Saverio Carmagnini, President of the Italian Association of Sommoliers to pour wines and cook some special dishes using a cookbook from the 15th century. Celebrity chef Fabio Viviani (as seen in Top Chef: New York) will prepare a bluefin tuna crudo as an appetizer and a grandmother’s cake for dessert. Carmagnini, Viviani’s longtime friend, will prepare a rock shrimp and white bean salad paired with a 2007 Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc; a pink garbanzo bean soup paired with a glass of 2006 Acacia Carneros Pinot Noir; and an herb-crusted rack of lamb alongside a glass of 2005 Beaulieu Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon.
The 5-course meal with 3 glasses of wine costs $75.
Cafe Firenze, 563 W. Los Angeles Ave., Moorpark, 805-532-0048.
Saddle Peak Lodge Secret Menu
Saddle Peak Lodge has created a special by-request-only menu for its loyal customers, most of whom live nearby. Those in the know can request this 3-course menu Tuesday through Friday and Sunday nights. The price is $55 and it includes a glass of wine selected by GM Iain Walling from the 600-label cellar. Guests choose from dishes like white tuna sashimi, grilled Jidori chicken breast with a white corn fricassee, wild-mushroom agnolotti, and fruit beignets with whipped cream.
Saddle Peak Lodge, 419 Cold Canyon Road, Calabasas, 818-222-3888.
Elk Burger at Tierra Sur
Tierra Sur kosher restaurant located on the grounds of Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard has added an elk burger to the menu. Chef Todd Aarons offers the burger on his wine taster’s menu where it’s topped with aioli and hedgehog mushrooms. On the brunch menu, the burger is served open-faced over a slice of brioche, topped with a sunny-side-up egg and maple-glazed lamb bacon. Elk meat is an unmarbled red meat that’s low in fat and high in protein. Aarons suggests pairing it with Herzog’s 2007 Pinot Noir from San Luis Obispo County.
Tierra Sur, inside Herzog Wine Cellars, 3201 Camino Del Sol, Oxnard, 805-983-1560.