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<\/a>Photo by Karen Salkin, as is the big one of the field, at the top of this page.<\/p><\/div>\n
In case you\u2019re not familiar with it, Masters of Taste is a giant, super-casual charity event that features food and drinks from over forty restaurants, food trucks, caterers, and beverage purveyors.\u00a0 It\u2019s really overwhelming, in a great way. Even uber-picky eaters such as myself found very many dishes to enjoy. (The next day, as Lisa and I were on the way home from another fun event, I said, \u201cI wish it was yesterday right now.\u201d When she asked, \u201cWhy?,\u201d my answer was, \u201cBecause we\u2019d be at Masters of Taste, and I\u2019m craving all that food!\u201d)<\/p>\n
Last year, it not only\u00a0rained<\/em>\u00a0on the festivities, it also\u00a0hailed<\/em>! But\u00a0this\u00a0<\/em>year the\u00a0heat\u00a0<\/em>was the nature problem\u2014it was blistering. Guess which weather I preferred? Ready? I\u2019d much rather be cool and wet than be in\u00a0heatstroke. But perhaps that’s just me. Not too many others seemed to mind an awful lot, actually, outside of the guests who were hogging the tables that were under the way too few umbrellas. (Hint, hint for next year, MOT organizers!)<\/p>\n Some of the food trucks at the entrance to MOT, on the top level, including the one I laud below. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n The reason some guests didn\u2019t notice the high temperature might possibly be because of the high volume of alcohol sponsors. And I mean that in a good way. Masters of Taste is really a great financial deal for imbibers, (but\u00a0only<\/em>\u00a0if they have someone else drive.) They can drink as much as they want for three to four hours, (depending on if they come early for the VIP entrance,) and the best news about that is there’s plenty of food along the way to make sure no one is drinking alcohol on an empty stomach! That\u2019s important. It’s been pointed-out to me at several cocktail parties this past year that people hate a drinking<\/em>\u00a0event that doesn\u2019t also have\u00a0food<\/em>, because it’s dangerous to just consume alcohol without anything in your stomach to\u00a0absorb that substance.\u00a0 So MOT is the perfect event for partiers!<\/p>\n Chef Tony arranging his panna cottas. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Lisa and I both really enjoyed the majority of dishes that we sampled, but, as always, we did have our favorites. Here are some of them:<\/p>\n Both of our absolute number one fave, which shocked me, was a fruity Tahitian vanilla panna cotta from Spring downtown. If we had sampled nothing else that day, it would have still been a success for us. And I swear, our admiration for that tasty treat did\u00a0not\u00a0<\/em>have anything to do with the attractive chef, Tony! That was just icing on the\u2026panna cotta!<\/p>\n My next faves were a trio of treats from the\u00a0Eat @ Rollin’ Joe’s food truck, which was actually the first sponsor we saw as we entered the premises. Besides how delicious the mini Mexican offerings were, I really appreciate that Chef Mark and his associate were thrilled when I told them that their food was my\u00a0second<\/em>\u00a0favorite of the day! I have a feeling that most others would have questioned why they weren\u2019t\u00a0first<\/em>, so I was\u00a0extra<\/em>\u00a0admiring of them that they were so happy themselves!<\/p>\n Photo by Lisa Politz.<\/p><\/div>\n I don\u2019t know if my readers know this about me, but my very first job in LA was at the famous donut shop in Westwood Village.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t been able to even look at, nor\u00a0smell<\/em>, one of those treats-for-others since then! So this pick, Sidecar Donuts and Coffee, is all Lisa\u2019s, although I agree with her assessment that their truck is \u201cadorable, with elegant gold leaf painted atop the white.\u201d She said her huckleberry cake donut with \u201cjust enough huckleberry glaze,\u201d and served warm, \u201creally packed-in the flavor.\u201d<\/p>\n And, once again, (as we did at the Media Preview event,) we were ecstatic with not only the delicious desserts from Porto\u2019s Bakery, but with their generosity for giving\u00a0each guest a platter of\u00a0three full-sized<\/em>\u00a0treats. If you had seen how tiny the bites were from some of the other Sweets Masters, you would know exactly what I\u2019m talking about! (At one booth, people waited on line for a half hour for a dollop, and I really do mean\u00a0dollop<\/em>, of ices!!!)<\/p>\n A chicken beignet. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n We were also in agreement about two chicken samplings. The very first thing we tried that day was the cleverly named \u201cfried chicken \u2018n beignets\u201d (because the chicken is, indeed, in<\/em> the beignet,) from Maple at Descanso Gardens. Lisa told me it was \u201cheavenly,\u201d and \u201cthe most delicious upgrade of chicken \u2019n waffles.\u201d<\/p>\n The other chicken dish that we became fans of was Poppy + Rose\u2019s buttermilk fried chicken accompanied by creamy mashed potatoes. Lisa said it was \u201cexquisite\u201d and \u201cstole the show.\u201d\u00a0 She explains that the \u201cchicken was tender and juicy, and the breading super flavorful and crispy.\u201d She deemed this combo to be \u201ctops on my list to try again!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>