Plate by Plate 2010

Have you wondered where we've been lately? It's been over two weeks since we last posted and it feels strange--but no, we haven't lost the energy to cook or blog, it's just been a really, really, busy time for the both of us planning a wedding and at the same time house hunting. Yes, we're searching for a house--especially one with a BIG kitchen.  It's really much more stressful then blogging and cooking and much more frustrating. So as soon as things settle down and we get that BIG kitchen of ours we'll be back to our old cooking and posting ways.

Despite this, we're glad we took time off to attend the 8th annual Plate by Plate charity tasting benefit this past Saturday at the Los Angeles Science Center. Hosted by Project by Project, the event raises money for a new charity each year and this year's recipient was the Health Justice Network.  For one evening, over 500 attendee enjoyed some of LA's best restaurants and saw some of Hollywoods brightest Asian American stars for a night of great tastes and drinks.

As with any tasting event, it's almost impossible to taste everything AND photograph it all. We'll share just some of the few great bites we managed to captured although there were many others we failed to photograph because we're too busy eating.

Pomegranate Glazed Duck Meatballs, Parsnip Puree, and Orange Essence ~ Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale's.  The duck meatball was so juicy and complemented nicely by the sweet and slightly bitter orange essence.

Ricardo Zarate of Mo-Chica and now also of Test Kitchen was on hand presenting his new restaurant concept of anticuchos or skewered meats.

Beef Tartare with Chedder Crisp and Chip ~ The Foundry on Melrose was one a great bite full of textures and flavors.

Spot Prawn "Cuban Style" ~ Thompson, Beverly Hills  with faux swiss cheese was very good but we can't remember what the faux swiss was made out of.

Pepper Crusted Yellow Fin Tuna, Sweet and Spicy Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes with Star Anise Essence ~ Café Pinot by chef Meehan was wonderful interplay of juicy and sweet heirloom tomatoes and perfectly seared tuna.

Kampachi with Apple Arugula Avocado Foam and Shiso Flowers ~ The Blvd by Chef Perfecto Rocher provided the requisite molecular gastronomy dish of the night and a memorable one at that. Sometimes we don't get foam but in this case it was bright and flavorful and enhanced the taste of the kampachi. 

New Style Hamachi Poke ~ Roy's was just one of the many dishes from Downtown location of Roy's Hawaiian fusion. We're suckers for raw fish and this one didn't disappoint. 

Other restaurants and bites we enjoyed but didn't get great photographs were Nobu West Hollywood, Musha Tokyo Cuisine, Wokcano, Maison Akira, La Cachette Bistro, Starry Kitchen, Jitlada, Fraiche, Hot Stuff Cafe, Bistro LQ, Craft, Jar, Jaimaca's Cakes, La Grande Orange, One World Vegetarian Cuisine, and Susina Bakery. And we haven't even mentioned about the variety of wines and alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks there as well.

Since we weren't able to capture it all, thank goodness to the abundance of bloggers there including  Esther of e*star LA, Javier of Teenage Glutster, Kevin of Kevin Eats, Bill of Street Gourmet LA, Fiona of Gourmet Pigs, Helen of I'm Hungry and Proud of It, and Oanh of It's More Than Just Eating, and Lynn of the Actors Diet who no doubt will be posting about the event.

Plate by Plate was a great way to dress to the nines and spend a night on the town enjoying some of LA's best restaurants for a good cause. Working nonstop, 100% volunteer Project by Project team is already working on next year's event at Vibiana so mark your calenders!

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