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Pies at KCRW's Good Food pie contest

There were a lot of food-related events that happened over the long Labor Day weekend, but only one featured a homemade pie made by my friend, blogger Marni Landes of Happy Go Marni, and her mother, Joyce: KCRW’s Good Food pie contest. The event shared space with Taste of Beverly Hills, a three-day food extravaganza at the Beverly Hilton, but the best part was the pie contest was free! You could just walk up and sample from more than 100 pies that people had lovingly made in hopes of getting to the final, which was judged by L.A. foodie luminaries Jonathan Gold, Sang Yoon, Zoe Nathan, Eric Greenspan, Karen Hatfield and more. Marni won last year’s cream pie category, so she had a good chance of winning again this year.

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South Coast Plaza. From Examiner.

This is interesting…A party at Saks Fifth Avenue‘s South Coast Plaza location tomorrow, Aug. 21, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with the Kogi truck, a steel drum band, live DJ, photo booth fun, Guitar Hero, models and champagne. The event will span all three levels of the store, too. Now, I don’t know about you, but when I think of Saks — at the fancy-pants South Coast, no less — Kogi and Guitar Hero aren’t the first things that come to mind. Models and champagne, sure, but food trucks and video games, no. But who am I to say it’s not a good thing? If you stop by, let us know how it went!

If you haven’t yet heard, the new Santa Monica Place mall opens tomorrow, Aug. 6, and if you remember what the old mall looked like, this is a real treat. Gone is the bunker-like feel (sorry, Frank Gehry, this was not one of your best designs), replaced by high-end stores and an open-air dining deck. There will be all sorts of hooplah surrounding the grand opening, including live music and dance, and sale specials, of course! Here’s a full list of retailers.

One of those special grand opening events will be taking place at Bloomingdale’s (yes, Bloomies!) with Nation LTD, the luxe basics brand. Designer Jen Menchaca will be offering styling tips, and there will be a giveaway contest with the chance to win one of three “Summer Survival Kits” filled with Nation LTD tees (retail value $325). The first 50 purchasers will receive a free denim Nation LTD tote, and Bobbi Brown makeup artists will be on hand to offer beauty tips and to give out mini Crystal Lip Glosses. If only I didn’t have to go to work tomorrow!

Friday, Aug. 6
1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Bloomingdale’s at Santa Monica Place
395 Santa Monica Place
Santa Monica, CA, 90401

Savor Los Angeles, a showcase of L.A.’s sweetest of the sweet, is hosting its first event this Friday, July 30, at Miauhaus photography studio. There will be all kinds of desserts, including those from BabyCakes, Frosted Cupcakery, Gotta Have S’more, N’iceCream, p.o.p. candy, Plaisir, Popcakes, Pure Cheesecakes, Sweets for the Soul, The Crosby and XT Patisserie. According to press materials, these companies were chosen “for their emphasis on fresh and organic ingredients, alternatives to high-fructose corn syrup, vegan offerings, presentation and design, and good ol’ overall yumminess.” Sounds good to me! There will also be coffee from Intelligentsia, champagne and paired beverages, sparkling juices from IZZE, a cheese and fruit bar, drinks from PAMA liqueur, raffles, music, a photo booth, gift bags, and Boxed water.

The regular ticket price is $35, but Goldstar is selling tickets for $21. Not too shabby, eh?

Details:

Miauhaus
1201 S. La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90019
Friday, July 30
7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

It’s Blogger Prom time again! This year’s party will be held on Wednesday, September 22, 2010, from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the iconic Yamashiro restaurant, which will be the perfect backdrop for our new theme, “Hollywood Confidential.” Think the Golden Age of Hollywood (glitz! glamour!) mixed in with some film noir (“Sunset Boulevard,” “The Maltese Falcon“). The costume possibilities, historical references, breathtaking views and good-old-fashioned fun will be endless!

Just check this out:

View from Yamashiro. How Hollywood is that?! From e*starLA.

Be sure to check the Blogger Prom website, Facebook page and Twitter feed for more information on our venue, food and drink, and other goodies!

Cocktails and the Taco de Atun Crudo from Ortega 120

The 4th annual White Light White Night fundraiser event, which benefits Walk With Sally, a non-profit organization that provides free-of-charge mentoring support programs and services to L.A. children who are living with or have lost a parent or sibling to cancer, is taking place Saturday, July 10, at 6:00 p.m. at the South Bay BMW lot and rooftop in Torrance. This year’s event will feature a concert from Rocco DeLuca, an auction, and food and drink from South Bay eateries, including Ortega 120 and the new outpost of Gonpachi in the Miyako Hybrid Hotel.

Last year, the event raised more than $100,000 to sponsor children through the Walk With Sally program. The goal for this year is to fund 60 new kids in addition to the 43 existing mentorships; there are currently 59 children who are waiting to take part in the program.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.WalkWithSally.org. General tickets cost $100 per person, and VIP tickets, which allow access to the silent and live auctions, cost $150 per person.

A high-profile Disney film wouldn’t be complete without a line of Disney Couture to complement it, and “Toy Story 3” is no exception. For its latest animated feature, Disney recruited designers to come up with a line of fancy T-shirts featuring some of the movie franchise’s most recognizable characters.

My favorites are the Woody tank by Victor Glemaud ($70) and Costello Tagliapietra‘s 70s glam Hamm shirt ($92).

Woody by Victor Glemaud

Costello Tagliapietra's Hamm

House of Holland designed a Jessie-inspired shirt ($108) that’s made out of a sweatshirt-like material, while Cassette Playa made a Buzz Lightyear shirt ($84) light as a feather. There’s also a Jonathan Saunders-designed black-and-white Rex shirt ($84). You can find all the shirts for sale at Revolve.

To launch the T-shirt line, Disney and Revolve hosted a party at the retailer’s shop in West Hollywood complete with tray-passed appetizers, wine and a candy buffet (score!). Celebrities were in attendance, including Cheryl Burke from “Dancing With the Stars,” actress Krysten Ritter and my personal favorite model Agyness Deyn.

Designer Henry Holland and model Agyness Deyn in the life-size toy display box

And there was this fun over-size chair out front where Tara of When Tara Met Blog, Esther of e*starLA and Katelin of Gorgeous Footsteps in the Sand and I took this cute pic:

Katelin, me, Esther and Tara.

My only issue with these Toy Story-inspired shirts are the prices. Nothing less than $70? Really? I understand that these are designer and all, but they’re T-shirts. I wouldn’t pay that much for a T-shirt from any designer, no matter how soft and comfortable it may be (which some of these shirts are), but that’s just me. I could understand the high price tags of the Alice in Wonderland Disney Couture items because of the obvious skill that went into each item, but I just can’t justify paying nearly $100 for a T-shirt. These Toy Story shirts are cute, though…

Eva's fried chicken

This Tuesday, June 22, Eva Restaurant is offering an all-you-can-eat-and-drink deal with Eureka North County pilsner and fried chicken for $25 per person. Actually, the special is being marketed as all-you-can-drink beer with “free” fried chicken, but we all know nothing is free. In any case, Eva’s fried chicken is pretty darn good, which I’ve said before, so this should be a great way to experience it. And it’s the only food that will be offered on this night, so hopefully you like it! And if the night is a success, then the restaurant may continue the special deal on a weekly basis.

Eat My Blog, the charity bake sale that benefits the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, is back, bigger and better than December’s inaugural event. This time there will be more than 70 bakers, including the foodies behind the blogs Delicious Coma, Diana Takes a Bite, Eating L.A., Ravenous Couple, plus donations from local chefs, restaurants and mainstream media luminaries Evan Kleiman, Ludovic Lefevbre, Debbie Lee, Drago Centro, Valerie Confections, Starry Kitchen, LAist, Los Angeles Times’ Daily Dish, L.A. Weekly’s Squid Ink, and many more. Check out Gastronomy Blog for a complete list of participants.

The event is taking place this Saturday, June 19, at the West Hollywood Tender Greens from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Look out for noms such as Nutella blondies, carrot cake cookie sandwiches, browned butter brown sugar cookies, matcha mocha bundts with red bean filling, ube cupcakes and much more (complete menu here). There will also be The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf beverages to help wash it all down. The best part? Every is priced between $1 and $4 and all proceeds go to charity.

Grilled tuna burger

M Cafe de Chaya, the macrobiotic mini chain that’s part of the Chaya Restaurant Group, is celebrating its 5th anniversary this month with different $5 specials each week at all three of its locations.

Week of June 7 — Falafel Wrap & M Chopped Salad (Grab & Go only)
Week of June 14 — 2 Salad Combo & Tofu Bento (Grab & Go only)
Week of June 21 — Breakfast Enchilada (breakfast hours only) and Double Chocolate Fudge Cake

What’s macrobiotic food? It’s food made from minimally processed, natural whole foods that are in-season. Fish is OK, but not poultry, red meat, eggs or dairy. I’ve been to M Cafe a few times, and it’s actually pretty tasty, despite its nearly vegan-like description. I have a few recommendations, none of which are part of the $5 specials. But no matter — you can always go back, and for certain items, it would be worth it.

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