We started off with cocktails, of course. I had the restaurant’s whiskey sour, made with Black Maple Hill bourbon, and lemon, orange and grapefruit juice, topped with a house made brandied cherry. I liked the abundance of citrus, which gave it a light sweet and sour taste without using a nasty-tasting mix. I appreciated that.

Caroline had the Golden Rye martini, made with Old Overholt Straight Rye Whiskey, St. Germain and orange bitters. Obviously, this isn’t truly martini, but it was a nice light cocktail, made possible by the elderflower. H.C. had The Ritz, made with Chateau d’Orschwihr Cremant, Campari, Vya sweet vermouth and lemon juice. I didn’t like this one at all, but that’s because I don’t like Campari. But kudos to H.C. for always wanting to trying something interesting!

For a starter, we shared a plate of grilled calamari, which was served atop what I believe was a white bean puree and greens (it’s not on the restaurant’s online menu). This was a satisfying dish, and I think I could probably eat this as an entree.

For my actual entree I ordered the orecchiette with caramelized cauliflower, spicy rapini, Gaeta olives and breadcrumbs. The overall flavor of the dish was bitter but not unpleasantly so. I liked it, but I think I would order something else next time, such as the risotto with sugar snap peas, pistachios and lemon that Caroline had or the lasagna with Kabocha squash, Swiss chard, ricotta and sage that H.C. had. Esther’s turkey meatloaf with horseradish mashed potatoes and sauteed beat greens would be another good choice — flavorful, hearty and a huge portion.

Orecchiette

Lasagna

All the desserts we had were good, too. The ice cream sandwiches come two to a plate — one with mint ice cream and dark chocolate fudge cookies, and another with strawberry ice cream and lemon cookies. The mint ice cream wasn’t very minty, but the strawberry ice cream had plenty berry taste, and the lemon cookies were soft, which made the sandwich easier to eat. Caramel sauce was also served on the plate.

The Pippin apple, date and walnut tart with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream was really tasty, and the persimmon pudding with brown sugar cream and maple pecans was good, too. The pudding was more like a pie in texture, and the cinnamon flavor was comforting. I preferred the tart, though.

Pippin apple, walnut and date tart

Persimmon pudding

There menu ranges from $7 to $28, with most dishes falling under the $20 mark, which is always welcome. My only significant complaint is the lighting was really low, so I couldn’t really see all the components of my meal. (I mercifully lightened the photos for you.) We also had a good bottle of wine: Scarpetta friulano colli Orientali 2007.

Produce from Crows Pass Farm

I spent yesterday afternoon on the CBS lot in Studio City, eating and drinking my way through more than 30 of Los Angeles’ chefs’ food at the 23rd annual Great Chefs of Los Angeles event, which benefited the National Kidney Foundation of Southern California. OK, I didn’t taste everything — I’m not a black hole of food — but I did taste a lot of good stuff.

BLVD 16‘s Simon Dolinky made butternut squash dumplings with mustard greens, pomegranate and brown butter. I like the food at BLVD 16 at the Hotel Palomar, so it’s no wonder that I enjoyed this dish, too. Topped with bacon bits, the crunchiness contrasted well with the doughy dumplings, and the greens were flavorful without being overpowering.

Akasha‘s short rib on pretzel bread with a side of cole slaw and pickle. The pretzel bread (I love pretzel bread!) soaked up the short rib’s tasty juices, making it all even better. The slaw had a spicy kick to it, and wasn’t creamy, which I prefer.

Bonadea, a Los Angeles-based company that makes bottled aguas frescas. I tried the jamaica flavor, which has nothing to do with the island country and everything to do with hibiscus. Its flavor was light, and a little sweet and a little tart. There was also a tamarind flavor, which I initially passed on because I don’t like tamarind, but after tasting a sip, I found it more peachy than tamarindy. Yeah, that’s not a word.

Neal Fraser of Grace and BLD fame made braised veal short rib with polenta that tasted just like a Chinese dish my mom makes. That’s because the polenta was cooked with chestnuts — yum!

Bottega Louie‘s panini with brie, blood orange and watercress, and a salad with roasted grape tomatoes, burata and pesto were light and refreshing, which was welcome since a lot of what was being offered at the event was heavy as this is technically fall.

Celestino Drago’s duck sandwich and butternut squash soup were also good, though I liked the sandwich more than the soup, which I didn’t find all that impressive.

Ford’s Filling Station‘s Ben Ford made a persimmon salad with goat cheese, candied pecans and a sherry vinaigrette. Beautiful and tasty. I’m obsessed with persimmons, and I wanted to ask Ford for a plate of just fruit, but that probably wouldn’t have gone over well.

Chef Ben Ford mixing up some salad

Yes, the Bazaar of the SLS Hotel was there, and yes, it served some pretty and fun stuff, including the liquid nitrogen-frozen caipirinha. It was really, really strong, but eating it with that sage on top was pretty amazing.

Keven Alan Lee’s East served up a scallop on the half shell with lemongrass sambal, wasabi creme fraiche, shiso dust and micro cilantro, as well as Hawaiian walu fish with miso mustard cream, micro wasabi, chive essence and smoked chardonnay sea salt. Many people liked this, especially the scallop, and I did too, but probably not as much as everyone else.

Scallops on the half shell

Hawaiian walu

Michael Fiorelli of Mar’Sel at Terranea Resort made braised wagyu beef cheek and creamed chard tortellini with ricotta and tiny autumn vegetables. The tortellini I could take or leave, but the beef was wonderfully tender, and the mini veggies were so cute — perfectly cooked, too.

And now for something completely different…I give you Sushi Popper! Is it sushi? Is it a push-up? Is it a sushi push-up? It is! I tried the seared albacore with smoked banana and a mild habanero sauce. It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t good.

Esther of e*starLA popping a Sushi Popper

All in all, this was a really enjoyable event, despite the hot sun. I do have a gripe, though: The event’s theme was “Go Green, Go Organic,” yet there were all kinds of green violations. Sure, everyone used eco-friendly plates and utensils, but what’s with the bottled water? And the plastic cups? And the unnecessary packaging of the Sushi Poppers? Something to think about for next year…