The Divine Dish

The Taste Fashion Bites Brunch on Rodeo Drive

Posted on Sep 05, 2011 under Archives | No Comment

Last Sunday my friend Chris and I attended The Taste, a four day food festival sponsored by the LA Times and Food & Wine magazine.  Here are some pictures from the Fashion Bites Brunch presented by Ciroc vodka and Infiniti.  The event stretched for three blocks up and down Rodeo Drive.

Over fifty restaurants, exhibitors and wineries attended all hosting booths with food and beverage samples.  Here are pictures of some of the tasty food and drinks that we tried:

Factor’s Deli had bagels with salmon, red onion and tomato.

Greenleaf had tasty organic granola with yogurt.

Locando del Lago had a variety of dishes including squash carpaccio, soup, and focaccia.

Breadbar had a great tomato quiche.

Cake Mamas offered a nice variety of cupcakes.

The Farm offered a yummy braised pork belly and egg dish.

The Sprinkles truck was on hand to provide a variety of tasty cupcakes.

Fig and Olive had some tasty sandwiches.

Napa Valley Grille offered some refreshing gazpacho.

Green & Blacks chocolates were a crowd favorite offering a dozen varieties of chocolates.

Studio City’s Sweet Butter had our fave of the day, a creamy mushroom soup.

Pure Cheesecake had delicious cheesecake samples.

Dinner at Church and State

Posted on Sep 05, 2011 under Archives | No Comment

Brasserie Church and State serves up French bistro fare in the heart of downtown’s Art District.   Large Warhol-esque paintings, brick floors and strings of lights surround diners as they choose from entrees including a house-made charcuterie, bouillabaisse, steak frites and a variety of cassoulets.   The small but lively bar offers an extensive wine list with two dozen pours by the glass.  I recently visited the eatery to include it in an article on downtown Los Angeles for travelhoppers.com.  Here is what my friend Dalbert and I ate:

I started with a Belgian endive and watercress salad with blue cheese, fuji apples and walnuts with a sherry vinaigrette.  We also shared some warm bread with a delicious soft butter spread.

Dalbert ordered the special roasted tomato, squash and eggplant appetizer.  The portions were huge and the fresh tomatoes were delicious.

We both had the steak frites for our main course, a New York strip loin with french fries and a bearnaise sauce.

The creamy mac and cheese was a perfect side dish with macaroni, gruyere cheese and a thick bechemel sauce.

The dessert selection was plentiful.  We chose the lemon tart and the rich chocolate pudding.

Next time you find yourself downtown stop by Church and State for comfy French bistro fare, 1850 Industrial Street, call 213/405-1434 for reservations.