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Drago Centro's celery root panna cotta

The 24th Annual Great Chefs of Los Angeles event at CBS Studio Center in Studio City was good times. The “Go Green, Go Organic” event benefited the National Kidney Foundation through a fancy-schmancy auction that was too rich for my blood. Good thing I had tasty food to keep me occupied. While there were some repeat participants from last year’s event, I managed to find some new favorites this time ’round.

Drago Centro‘s Sommelier and Beverage Director Michael Shearin served up mini Smitten With Britain cocktails of Tanqueray gin, fever tree tonic, and fresh chives and lime. The drink was nice and light yet had a nice kick. Chef de Cuisine Ian Gresik served up an interesting celery root panna cotta topped with pancetta and a basil crouton. I’ve never had a savory panna cotta before, so this was definitely intriguing.

Drago Centro's Smitten With Britain cocktail

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Stefan Richter, last season’s Top Chef runner up, held a couple of sneak preview open houses over the weekend to show off his new restaurant, the redesigned L.A. Farm — now dubbed Stefan’s at L.A. Farm (no relation to The Farm of Beverly Hills). The restaurant officially opens this Thursday, Aug. 6.

The space, which is housed in an office complex off an industrial stretch of Olympic Boulevard in Santa Monica, is sizable with a clean, classy look to it. I’m not familiar with the old L.A. Farm space — in fact, I never even knew it existed as it’s really easy to pass up on the street — so I can’t compare. But with a long bar, main dining room, outdoor patio area with fire pits and private dining room, there’s definitely a lot to work with.

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  Annenberg Beach House. From the beach house's Flickr stream.

  The Annenberg Beach House opens this weekend in Santa Monica. The former estate of William Randolph Hearst opens to the public after two years of renovation and includes a pool and event space. No membership is required, but there are fees for entry and parking. Reservations are recommended. More at CurbedLA.

• Starting April 28, Dakota Chop House at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel will be offering a weekly BLT night “featuring specialty bacons from artisanal smokehouses,” per the press release. You can build your own bacon creation or choose from the resto’s creations, which include pizza, pasta and burgers in addition to the traditional sandwich. Maybe Dakota is jumping on Animal’s popularity? A bacon chocolate bar doesn’t sound appetizing to me, but to each his own.

• “Top Chef” season 5 contestants Fabio Viviani and Stefan Richter will be competing in a cook off at The Grove May 20. Grove restaurants will also be having their own cooking demonstrations and offering samples. The event is free, but you need to RSVP with Los Angeles magazine, which is co-hosting the event.