Why guest chef dinners are good for restaurants. Plus, the mob scene at Silver Lake’s newest wine bar, plans for Nordic cuisine in L.A.
, the best mooncakes for this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival. And is cheese-powder-dusted fried chicken “the next dimension of chicken”? I’m Laurie Ochoa, general manager of L.A.
Times Food, with this week’s Tasting Notes. Guest starring ..
. If you regularly eat out in Los Angeles and follow the social feeds of your favorite chefs and restaurants, chances are good that you are frequently tempted by news of a special dinner featuring a famous guest chef or farmer visiting from another city or country, often for just one night. These dinners, despite the fact that they are usually quite pricey, sell out quickly.
Which only encourages us to follow L.A. restaurants much more closely so that we don’t miss out when a new announcement pops up.
In a tough economic environment, these dinners keep restaurants in the conversation and can fill a dining room on slower midweek nights. It’s also a way for customers to taste the cuisine of some of the world’s most acclaimed chefs without spending money on airfare or hotels. These dinners can be thrilling.
In March, for instance, chef David Campigotto from the southern French town of Castelnaudary brought his conical cassoulet pots to L.A.’s Chi Spacca for a three-night stand and showed Angelenos what the dish is supposed to taste like.
Damn fine pork and beans. Ironically, the night’s host, .
