July – September 2012 Food Festivals Calendar

The season of food festivals are upon us! If you missed the recent Taste of the Nation, there are still plenty of food and wine events around town all summer long.

July

 

• July 16-27, dineLA Restaurant Week
• $25,$35 or $45 prixe fix for lunch & dinner

While dineLA isn’t an all-day food festival, it is the time for LA foodies to try new and old favorites at a reasonable tasting menu price. I ran a marathon when I went around town in January trying all some of the different dineLA restaurants. Here are some highlights:

• 3TwentyLounge
• Bar | Kitchen
• Cafe Pinot
• Drago Centro
• Josie
• Starry Kitchen
• Tres

• Friday, July 20 – East LA Meets Napa
• 6PM, Union Station, Downtown L.A.
• Tickets: $200  –  Buy tickets!

Check out my recap from last year.

• Saturday, July 21– LA Street Food Festival
• 5-9PM (VIP/Early admission 3-4:30P), Rose Bowl, Pasadena
• $65 VIP, $45 General Admission –  Buy Tickets!

Check out my recaps from last year and 2010.

• Saturday, July 21 – Saban Free Clinic Extravaganza for the Senses
• 7-10PM (VIP/ Early Admission 6PM) at Sunset Gower Studios, 1438 N. Gower St., Hollywood, CA 90028
• VIP $225, $125 General Admission – Buy Tickets

Save $25 on general admission tickets. That’s 20% off the ticket cost. Text the word  clinic”  to 28748 to receive the discount code only valid for online purchases through July 20^th at 3:00pm PST.

I haven’t been to the Saban Free Clinic food festival, the Extravaganza for the Senses before but it sounds like a great one. All proceeds benefits the Clinic which provides affordable medical, dental and social services to the homeless, uninsured, working poor and high-risk youth.

My picks for the event would be Chaya, Jar, Marino, Kate Mantilini, Canele, Pizza Antica, and if you’re a lucky VIP, AOC . See all the participating restaurants here.

• Sunday, July 22 – Angeleno Magazine‘s Live & Dine
• 5:30PM (VIP Reception 4:30 PM), Fairmont Miramar, 101 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401
• $150 VIP, $95 General Admission – Buy Tickets

Check out my recap from a similar Angeleno Mag event, Chefs Night Out from 2010. This year’s event will celebrate the recent Restaurant issue and the VIP reception will feature live demonstrations.

August

• Sunday, August 5 – 100Eats100Days Presents Pig Out
• 1–4PM (VIP 12 Noon), Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort, 1131 Back Bay Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660
• $120 or buy online before Noon, August 3 for $100 VIP and $75 General Admission. After August 3, tickets will only be available at the door for $120

Orange Count food blogger Bobby Navarro, founder of 100Eats100Days, and Chef Amar Santana of Broadway in Laguna Beach present a pork-centric social to benefit Inspire Artistic Minds, a charity started by Bobby for the hospitality and culinary industries  and C-CAP, a culinary scholarship program.

• August 9-12 – Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival
• prices & locations vary, check website for more information

Some recaps from last year’s LAFW:

• Red Carpet
• Grand Tasting
• Lunch at Patina with Joachim Splichal, Danile Boulud and Jonathan Waxman

September

• September 1-3 – Los Angeles Times’ The Taste
• All events at Paramount Studios- check out the website for more information
• Buy tickets now for only $50 per event

I was really happy when the LA Times Food & Wine festival combined with the Taste of Beverly Hills creating a stronger food festival with enjoyable events. I went to a few last year. Check out some recaps from last year’s The Taste events:

• Burgers & Beers
• Secrets from the Kitchen & Cellar
• Tasting & Tweeting

My picks would be Field to Fork on 9/1, Cocktail Confidential on 9/2 and/or Dinner & Drinks on 9/3.

• Saturday, September 29 – L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade
• 12-4P, Culver Studios, 9336 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232
• $175 General Admission – Buy Tickets

Check out my recap from last year’s event.

* all food and wine photos from the East LA Meets Napa media preview.

© The Minty 2012