C-CAP Dinner at Redbird / Vibiana

C-CAP, the non-profit Careers through Culinary Arts Program works with underserved high school students in public schools around the country to help prepare them for college and career opportunities in the restaurant and hospitality industries.  Students work with chefs in some of the country's top restaurants to provide them with hands-on experience working in the commercial culinary arts environment.  This was the setting for the latest C-CAP Los Angeles dinner that was held at the new (and not yet even opened) Redbird Restaurant at the Vibiana special events center.

Vibiana is a special events facility in the beautifully restored Cathedral of St. Vibiana's in downtown Los Angeles.  Opened in 1876, the cathedral suffered heavy damage in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.  The archdiocese wanted to demolish the building and build a new cathedral but a protracted lawsuit with the Los Angeles Conservancy resulted in a compromise deal where the archdiocese would rebuild on a nearby property and the damaged building was deeded over to the City of Los Angeles.  A developer bought St. Vibiana's in 1999 for $4.6 million and undertook the restoration, which also included over $4 million in seismic repairs.

Celebrity chef Neal Fraser came up through several top restaurants including Wolfgang Puck's Eureka Brewery & Restaurant and Spago, Hans Rockenwagner's Rox and Joachim Splichal's Pinot Bistro and went on to open several successful restaurants including Boxer, Rix in Santa Monica, Grace, BLD and Fritzi Dog at Farmer's Market.  Fraser,  his wife and business partner Amy Knoll and  restauranteur Bill Chait operate Vibiana and also provide event catering services there.  Recently, the three took the next step to create their new restaurant "Redbird" at Vibiana.

The C-CAP event offered Chef Fraser the opportunity to give the restaurant staff a dry run prior to the official opening while working in the kitchen guiding seven C-CAP students who help prepare the banquet.

The evening opened with wine and hors d'oeuvres in the Vibiana courtyard.  Wine was served from three different distributors (Kiwi Distributing, Guadelupe Wines & Bonny Doon Vineyards) who generously donated their delicious beverages.  Chef Fraser gave the crowd a personal tour of the restaurant (still under construction) and the kitchen before everyone was seated at a single long banquet table.

The Wines

Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare

Greg Sabin & Terri Henry
Kiwi Distributing

 

Opening Reception

Chef Fraser's Tour

The Dinner

Wines Served at the Reception:
Cable Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand)
Rosso di Montepulciano DOC (Italy)
Metairie Chardonnay (France)
Cable Bay Central Otago Pinot Noir (New Zealand)
Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare (California)
Cavas Valmar Tempranillo (Baja California)
Gaia Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah Tempranillo (Baja California)
Cavas Valmar Chenin Blanc (Baja California)
Sauvignon Blanc (Baja California)

Wines Served at Dinner:
Gamling Duck Chenin Blanc (Santa Ynez Valley, CA)
Seigneur de Fontimple Vacqueyras (France)

If you would like to learn more about C-CAP Los Angeles, you can visit their website at C-CAP Los Angeles.  There you will see information about their next event at the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Los Angeles on October 19.  If you would like more information, you can contact their Director, Mitzie Cutler, at mitz207 "at" aol.com.

A full set of photos from the event can be seen at: http://www.jimrea.com/zenphoto/CCAP2014

The TinyURL for this posting is http://tinyurl.com/CCAP-Redbird

Brunello Wine Dinner With Friends

Friday night we had a wonderful wine dinner up in the cul-de-sac here in Pacific Palisades with our neighbors Ken and Ritchie and friends Jim, Ruth, Richard and Carolyn.  All four couples contributed wines from their collections and we simultaneously celebrated October birthdays for Carolyn, Ritchie and Ken.  The major theme of the dinner were some '85 and '90 Brunellos but we enjoyed a number of other wines as well.

We started with a magnum of Mumm Napa Brut Prestige, which at about five or six years old (it was non-vintage) was delicious.  Jim brought in a 20 year old Chilean Sauvignon Blanc which we thought had a chance of coming out intact, but alas, too many years had passed for this one.  When the Sauvignon Blanc failed to meet our expectations, we moved on to a very nice 2001 Dehlinger Chardonnay.

Ritchie, Richard and Carolyn

Ruth and Jodie

Jim enjoying the chardonnay

After the introductory wines, we moved to the dining room for the main course.  The three Brunello di Montalcino stars of the evening were a 1985 Lisini, a 1985 Canalicchio di Sopra and a 1990 Mastroianni.  The marvelous food preparations include tenderloin, a souffle of carrots and spinach along with a wild rice and mushroom dish.  All were delicious, that is excepted for the Lisini which turned out to be mildly corked - what a drag as we were all looking forward to that one.  Ken quickly brought out a replacement Brunello in the form of a 1990 San Filippo and all drank very well.

Ruth, Ken and Jodie getting ready for the dinner

Starting line up

Dinner is served

Here we are

Substituting for the Lisini

After dinner, Ken opened up a 1977 Grahams Vintage Porto which was served with Stilton cheese and water crackers.  Upon completing the round of port and Stilton, we moved the entire party across the street to our house for the dessert portion of the evening.

For dessert Jodie presented three different cheeses for our enjoyment: Roquefort Le Papillon AOC, Le Marcaire and Manchego along with blanched almonds, Halloween cookies and flourless chocolate cake.  These cheeses were selected to accompany two excellent Sauternes contributed by Ken and Richard, a 1961 Château Coutet à Barsac and a 1988 Château Rieussec but the opinion of the group was that the Roquefort was a bit overpowering for the Sauternes.

All in all it was a wonderful evening with some world class wines, delicious food and memorable fellowship.  Thanks to everyone who tapped into their cellars to make this evening a great success.  We'll do it again sometime soon.

Mumm Napa
N.V. Brut Prestige
Napa Valley

Cousino-Macul
1990 Sauvignon Blanc

Santiago, Chile

Dehlinger
2001 Chardonnay
Russian River Valley

Lisini
1985 Brunello di Montalcino
Montalcino Siena

Canalicchio di Sopra
1985 Brunello di Montalcino
Montalcino Italia

Mastroianni
1990 Brunello di Montalcino
Montalcino Italia

San Filippo
1990 Brunello di Montalcin
Montalcino Italia

Grahams
1977 Vintage Porto
Portugal

Château Rieussec
1988 Sauternes Premier Grand Gru Classe
Sauternes

Château Coutet à Barsac
1961 Sauternes Premier Grand Gru Classe
Sauternes Barsac

That is it for this post and as always, if I can be of any assistance to you or any of your friends, family or colleagues with any of your real estate needs (residential, commercial or otherwise) or if I can help find a real estate professional for you to work with in your local community, please let me know.  It would be my pleasure to help.

Jim Rea
Keller Willliams Palisades

Pico Festival in Santa Monica Today

 The 5th Annual Pico Festival gets underway today along Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica from Centinela Ave. to the ocean.  Sponsored by the Pico Improvement Organization and the City of Santa Monica, the festival being held today from 11 am to 4 pm features a Classic Car Show, food, music, art and a large Sidewalk Sale from participating Pico Blvd. Merchants.

 The event will benefit the grassroots organization, Project Lemon-Aid, to raise funds for the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation fund, “For The Arts,” an endowment that provides arts education (including music, visual arts, dance and drama) for students in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.  In addition, a special fundraiser will be held at the festival’s Classic Car Show to benefit Cody Williams, the Santa Monica High School linebacker who sustained serious spinal injuries in a game in September, 2009.

Visitors to the Pico Festival will see original artwork in all mediums at the Virginia Ave Park Art Pavilions where Pico art galleries, studios, and artists will display their work.  Children will also be able to participate in live art events at the Children’s Activities Pavilion, either watching new works being produced, or making their own unique creations. Live musical acts will perform on the Pico Festival stage, including groups from SAMOHI, Santa Monica College and other local schools.  Pico stores will showcase their wares in booths, and food vendors will offer delicious cuisine of all kinds. The Pico Improvement Organization will also give away free hot dogs to the first 1,000 visitors starting at 1pm.

 

Two Starline Tours double-decker buses with guides will operate the length of Pico in Santa Monica, directing passengers to various sites and events.  Visitors can stop and see artists exhibiting their work at various locations along Pico Boulevard.  Pico galleries and studios will be open and many will be demonstrating artistic and creative techniques.  Special coupons and discounts will be offered on festival day.

Then they can stop at the Classic Car Show, which will include 50 custom cars at the SGI parking lot at 26th and Pico. Pico Auto businesses will have booths, a dj and a mariachi band will provide music.  Trophies and prizes will be awarded in various classes.

 

A new feature of this year’s festival will be a “Bowl, Bike and Ski Triathlon” organized and sponsored by Bayshore Bowl, Virtual Ski, and Triathlon Sports (more details to be announced soon).  A number of Pico Restaurants will also join the festival by offering special tastings and coupons and many merchants will offer activities and events that will continue past 4pm.

At participating locations along Pico Boulevard, a large Sidewalk Sale will tempt fashionistas and bargain hunters.  Participating stores will have racks and tables with exciting merchandise on the sidewalk and some merchants will have their entire store on sale. Types of merchandise include fabulous men’s, women’s & children’s apparel, shoes, jewelry, and much more.

For more information, visit www.picopassport.com or Pico Festival on Facebook.  As in the past Pico Festivals there will be painting/drawing and photo contests that pay cash prizes and are open to the public.  For photo requirements contact Marissa Lopez at lafoto@lafoto.info or for painting requirements, contact Randy Ball at dovetailframer@verizon.net.

The Pico Improvement Organization is a Business Improvement District encompassing the entire length of Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica.  The district contains a growing number of attractions and businesses from Santa Monica College’s performing arts venues and planetarium to one-of-a-kind clothing boutiques, art galleries, coffee shops, designer furniture and more. A zone of small clubs and cafés are found along the eastern boulevard while Shutters on the Beach and Casa del Mar hotels mark Pico’s western terminus.

That is it for this post and as always, if I can be of any assistance to you or any of your friends, family or colleagues with any of your real estate needs (residential, commercial or otherwise) or if I can help find a real estate professional for you to work with in your local community, please let me know.  It would be my pleasure to help.

Jim Rea
Keller Willliams Palisades

Big Sur Food and Wine Festival

The Big Sur Food and Wine Festival will be taking place, in and around Big Sur, California from November 4th through the 7th, 2010, the second annual outing for this important California wine charity event.  The event, presided over by Toby Rowland-Jones, features wine tastings and lectures, winemaker dinners, hiking trips, side excursions and a live auction/dinner at Ventana Inn and Spa.

The Big Sur Food and Wine Festival is a giving organization that holds events to promote Big Sur as a culinary destination, supporting the overall health, character and vitality of the Big Sur community.  Its intention is to stimulate the local economy and give a portion of event proceeds to support local nonprofits, arts and education programs, sustainability projects, and talented Big Sur residents who would greatly benefit themselves and the community through a wine and/or culinary scholarship.

Toby certainly knows his way around a world class wine event.  In addition to his duties running the Big Sur Wine & Food Festival,  Toby has in the past kept a small army of sommeliers running smoothly and efficiently (and deliciously, I might add) at the Central Coast Wine Classic (http://www.centralcoastwineclassic.org) one of our favorite wine events of the year.  Be sure to check out the CCWC every July in beautiful Avila Beach, California.

2010 Participating Wineries

The Festival includes some of the finest wineries, winery owners and winemakers from across California.  They generously show great support for the charitable activites carried out for the beneficiaries of the Festival.

Au Bon Climat	L'Aventure	Talbott
Ridge	Continuum	Paul Lato
Pisoni	Clos Pepe	ROAR
Siduri	HdV	Testarossa
Patz n Hall	Drew	Chappellet
Breggo	Alma Rosa	Kunin
Bernardus	Roederer	Margerum
Wind Gap	Hitching Post	Lioco
Adelaida	Ramey	Tobin James
Arcadian	Miura	Heller
Justin	Galante	Bonny Doon
Qupe	Demuth	Cold Heaven
Kristi-Lynn	Tablas Creek	Windy Oaks
Perception	MacPhail	Wrath
B Kosuge	Morgan	Brewer Clifton
Saxum	Thomas Fogarty	Morgan
Alban	McIntyre	Poppy

Madeleine	Torbreck	J.Lohr
Hahn Estates

For additional information about the Big Sur Food and Wine Festival, and to purchase tickets online, visit their website at: http://bigsurfoodandwine.org .

Additional contact information:

Big Sur Food and Wine Festival
P. O. Box 31
Big Sur, CA  93920
(831) 667-0800
Email: info@bigsurfoodandwine.org

That is it for this post and as always, if I can be of any assistance to you or any of your friends, family or colleagues with any of your real estate needs (residential, commercial or otherwise) or if I can help find a real estate professional for you to work with in your local community, please let me know.  It would be my pleasure to help.

Jim Rea
Keller Williams Palisades