Art Beyond the Glass saw another successful year, bringing together a lively community of LA’s bar and beverage professionals in electric and ever-so-festive fashion. The annual event, which is dedicated to celebrating the artistic side of bartenders’ lives—literally—showcases painting, music, and all types of performance for a like-minded and rowdy crowd. Throw in endless craft cocktails and vendor experiences that stretch the realm of creativity and you’ve got about as ironically sophisticated take on a college party as you can get. Held in the Los Globos Theater, Art Beyond the Glass welcomed an array of classic and up-and-coming drink purveyors that came ready to cater to their seasoned audience. Hendricks Dry Gin commemorated the event’s timing with a ‘midsummer solstice’ that included a number of summery drinks combined with a fully-costumed [read: scantily-clothed] Puck, emblematic of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Ilegal Mezcal was back with hand-injected Jell-O shots (yes, they had syringes on hand). Adjacent to them, Tromba Tequila offered up a sinfully sweet alcoholic melon sorbet topped with vanilla tapioca. While Art Beyond the Glass is not necessarily known for food, Marker’s Mark made the day by dressing up their booth as a makeshift In-n-Out and—you guessed it—ordering dozens of In-n-Out burgers for the crowd. Patrons chomped and drank away whilst playing Duck Hunt at the Super Mario Bros setup hosted by Suntory. Ford’s Gin went the extra mile by serving their drinks in gigantic ice blocks. Jägermeister promoted its new Jägermeister Manifest, but only for those who deemed themselves worthy by completing a medieval maze in 2 minutes or less to obtain the key necessary to unlock the libation from its display case. Jack Daniels, which hosted “Lynchburg Crossfit,” served up a drink that supposedly required handstand pushups and burpees to order, but—unsurprisingly—most were able to try it by just asking nicely. On the artistic side, Art Beyond the Glass featured a number of live art creations, a silent auction, and musical performances. Event proceeds benefited Beautify Earth, an LA-based nonprofit dedicated to beautifying communities through public art. Be on the lookout for next year’s Art Beyond the Glass, taking place June 2020. For more information, visit ArtBeyondTheGlass.com.
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Taste Walk Glendale is an LA food event like no other. While most culinary extravaganzas take place in remote locations, Taste Walk Glendale has the restaurants serve on their home turf, dishing out bottomless samples right outside [or inside] their doors. It’s the adult trick-or-treating of food festivals, with guests going door to door for the next sumptuous bite…and yes, there’s candy too. This year’s event drew more than 40 food and drink purveyors from Glendale’s seemingly endless list of restaurants. The half-mile stretch along Brand Blvd, from the Americana at Brand mall to just north of the famed Alex Theater, was teaming with live entertainment and booths emblemizing Glendale’s ever-evolving food scene, featuring timeless icons and new players alike. The historic Porto’s Bakery & Café served its legendary potato balls, as well as an enticing selection of sandwiches and sweet pastries. Just down the road were Rockbird’s ridiculous chicken sandwiches, coated in a just-spicy-enough sriracha glaze or a just-sweet-enough honey mustard. Mr. Furley’s Bar, new to town, offered up its signature pretzels, which were about good enough to make you rush through the door and order a dozen had it not been for the festival taking place. Khinkali House served up its famous Georgian dumplings and Gauchos village made a rich Brazilian chicken stroganoff in garlic rice. The night, however, went to Rainbow Asian Taco Truck, where the panang curry tacos were nothing short of heaven in a tortilla, followed closely by its ‘geisha’ tacos, wrapped in crispy seaweed. With a route that could easily entail 3 hours of walking, guests could feel a little better about themselves when indulging in custard from Shake Shack, assorted mocchi from My/Mo Mocchi, Sprinkles Cupcakes and Lolli & Pops many goodies, ranging from ‘crack cookies’ to bacon chocolate and the one-thought-extinct Jolt Cola. Proceeds from Taste Walk Glendale benefit Glendale Arts and the Alex Theatre, with a portion of the proceeds going to support youth arts programs. For more information, visit TasteWalkGlendale.com Nearly 50 restaurants and dozens of wineries, breweries and distilleries gathered together to wow guests at the 19th Annual Taste of Huntington Beach. The event, held at the Huntington Beach sports complex amidst the town’s Central Park, was about as SoCal as a food festival can get short of taking place with an ocean view. Full-fledged food festival on one side and concert venue with open seating on the other was more than enough to attract a jovial crowd, lawn chairs in tow, to enjoy a festive vibe amidst bottomless tastes and pours. Many local hotspots—some native to Huntington Beach, others spread across Southern California—came out to showcase their signatures. Simmzy’s bleu cheese bacon burgers, flame-grilled to melty perfection and topped with fried onion straws, paid an early hellp to the summer bbq season. Bruxie’s fried chicken sandwich was right on par in its crunchy goodness. The Shorebreak Hotel’s diver scallops and black rice added an elegant touch to the afternoon, and 2nd Floor’s meatloaf added an equal dose of American comfort. The wide array of food offerings each found a pairing with an equally extensive lineup of wines, beers and other creative libations. Honey Pot Meadery, Boochcraft Hard Kombucha and Tree Branch Cider House highlighted these off-kilter purveyors, with strong takes on their namesake drinks. The Dudes’ Brewing Company, Calidad Beer and Riip Beer Company, as well as Ascension Cellars, San Antonio Winery and Vinemark Cellars were just a few premiere beer and wine selections. Sweets were of course a critical component to Taste of Huntington Beach. Café Cup’s cinnamon rolls, Whata Lotta Pizza’s dessert pizza, Mangiamo Gelato’s hula pie gelato and TeAria’s Thai tea gave dessert-seekers more than they could’ve asked for. Live music and a fun display of old-school VW buses rounded out the afternoon. All proceeds from Taste of Huntington Beach go to benefit the children’s department of the Huntington Beach Public Library. For more information, visit TasteHB.com. |
AuthorBenjamin Brown is a seasoned restaurant writer and hospitality consultant, serving up SoCal's hottest food news and reviews. Categories
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