Blogger Prom 2010 (Los Angeles, CA)
Blogger Prom 2010
1999 Sycamore Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90068
blogger-prom.blogspot.com
Wed 09/22/2010, 07:00p-10:00p
Given the smashing success of last year's inaugural Blogger Prom, the idea for a follow-up was a no-brainer for the Prom Committee: Caroline of Caroline on Crack, Esther of e*star LA, H.C. of LA and OC Foodventures, Lindsay of LAist, Marni of Happy Go Marni, Maya of Shop Eat Sleep, Natalie of The Liquid Muse, and Tara of When Tara Met Blog.
2009 featured the outrageous sartorial stylings of the 1980s, but this year's theme was Hollywood Confidential, calling for the mid-century glitz and glamour of classic Tinseltown. Set high in the Hollywood Hills, Yamashiro restaurant, thus, was the perfect setting for the gala.
Proceeds from the event benefitted Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline, a nutrition education program that instructs low-income families how to prepare healthy, delicious meals on a budget.
Accompanying me was none other than the inimitable Famished Foodie, looking lovely as ever in her Rita Hayworth-inspired, strapless sweetheart gown.
Our first stop was the Cheese Impresario table, where Barrie Lynn was presenting her "Interactive Artisanal Cheese Pairing Adventure Experience," in which she pairs cheese with some unusual accoutrements (e.g. chocolate-covered fruit). Barrie was joined by Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker Joe Widmer of Widmer's Cheese Cellars (pictured above).
All that cheese was making us thirsty, so we promptly headed over to the bar to sample Blogger Prom's signature cocktail, the Pinky Confidential (Pinky vodka, Chambord, lemon juice, simple syrup, optional egg white, powdered sugar), as well as a superb margarita made with Casa Noble tequila. Also featured were drinks with Zaya rum and caipirinhas made from Cabana cachaça. Cocktails not your thing? No problem, red and white wines on offer from Fresh & Easy. Alternatively, representatives from Dalmore were pouring a range of their single-malt Scotch whiskys, while The Beer Chicks were serving up locally-crafted Eagle Rock Brewery beers. Get too wasted off the free booze? Y Drive L.A. was even on hand to get you home safely.
Left: Abby, who organizes the dining club Pleasure Palate, along with group member Wasima.
Right: That's Pat Saperstein on the right, senior editor at Variety and author of Eating L.A., sort of the grande dame of LA food blogging (she started way back in '04).
When we spied Josh of Food GPS and Bill of Street Gourmet LA ferociously tearing into some tacos, we knew that we had to get in on some of that!
We waited a good 30 minutes in the taco line, but the wait was made much more bearable by Marian the Foodie and her fried Roshni.
Tunes were provided by DJ Steve. The Prom theme may have been retro, but there were no wheels of steel, no ones and twos tonight, merely a MacBook Pro.
Evelina and Wesley, the Two Hungry Pandas, looked, well, hungry (chomping on some Coolhaus). They were still noncommittal, though, on whether or not they would ever start blogging again!
Passed hors d'œuvre helped sate us while we were waiting for tacos. Here was the Japanese Rice-Cracker Crispy Chicken with Spiced Plum Sauce.
Diana Takes a Bite, with some major red-eye (in a break from the norm, I was using a P&S camera tonight).
The one and only Vinh, Yelp celebrity.
We finally made it! Chef Brock Kleweno was manning a taco stand, just like he does at the Farmer's Market that Yamashiro hosts on Thursdays. A quartet of tacos was available: Miso-Sake Black Cod, Cabernet & Soy Braised Short Rib, Hoisin Duck Confit with Black Plum Salsa, and a special Blogger Prom Kleweno Farm's Smoked Sausage with Maple-Black Pepper Aioli. Accompaniments included Ginger Pico De Gallo, Wasabi Guacamole, Sweet Chili Salsa Roja, Bread & Butter Shishitos, and Sweet & Spicy Daikon Radish.
Left: With Victoria of Vixen's L.A. Happy Hours (and fellow Table 20 best bartender contest judge) and Rachael Narins, one half of private supper club Chicks with Knives.
Right: Elliott (yes, a girl named Elliott that's not on Scrubs) of truck-centric blog F for Food.
At this point, we were looking to sit down, and joined a table with Melody Simpson from Hollywood The Write Way and Michelle Matus, brand ambassador for Pinky vodka. Here, we took full advantage of the trays of food passing by us and chowed down on Charred Albacore with Serrano Chilies, Blackened Shallots, Cilantro and Tomatillo-Ponzu Salsa on a Tortilla Chip; Hoisin-Braised Kurobuta Pork Carnitas with Scallion Risotto and Honey-Mustard Sauce; Hukilau Poke: Ahi, Teardrop Tomato, Macadamia Nuts and Soy-Sesame Marinade on a Wonton Crisp; and Asian Baby Back Ribs with House-Made BBQ Sauce.
Prom Committee member HC of LA and OC Foodventures, with his date Jen. A much better photo of him compared to last year's, no?
Time for the sweet stuff! ChocolateBox Cafe served up a fabulous spread of cacao-laced treats, while Crumbs Bake Shop brought out a bevy of mini cupcakes. Rounding things out was Coolhaus, doling out their legendary ice cream sammies.
Connie of Hey Hey Scenesters! and sister Jenny of The Next Big Ng, with their respective boy toys.
Left: Remil--not really a blogger, but a legend on Twitter.
Right: With Rachael Narins, again. Check her out at Test Kitchen, Thursday 9/30.
Left: Nastassia of Let Me Eat Cake, and most recently of The Manila Machine food truck. LAist's Sam Kim in the background.
Right: That's Lucy Lean of Ladles and Jellyspoons, who was formerly the editor of Edible LA.
Left: With BakeSpace founder Babette Pepaj, who perhaps runs the most highly-traffic blog out of all of us.
Right: Prom Committee member Esther, Rachael again, PR man Edward Allen.
Left: Hong, one half of Ravenous Couple; Wes, one half of Two Hungry Pandas; and Danny, the whole of Kung Food Panda.
Right: On the way out with Mary Hall, the Recessionista.
This year's Blogger Prom afterparty was held at none other than the white-hot pop-up concept Test Kitchen. This was a booze-only affair, featuring gratis pours of Moonshine clear corn whiskey, Bacardi rum, Landy cognac, Luksusowa vodka, and Real de Mexico tequila. Manning the bar were Julian Cox (Rivera), Joel Black (Caña), and Pablo Moix (La Descarga).
Left: Right away, we ran into TK's resident photographer Ryan Tanaka and Helen of I'm Hungry and Proud of It.
Right: Michelle Woo with hubby Matt. Also Trevor Chang, Director of Partner Outreach for Project by Project (who I met at this year's Plate by Plate).
Chef Brian Redzikowski from the Thompson Beverly Hills hotel was guest cheffing tonight.
We have to end with a shot of our Prom King, Neil of Food Marathon, who, along with Queen Joz of Jozjozjoz, will reign supreme until next year rolls around. Congrats to the cute couple!
For more embarrassing and awkward photos, check out the official Blogger Prom photographer Heather Kincaid.
And the swag:
1999 Sycamore Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90068
blogger-prom.blogspot.com
Wed 09/22/2010, 07:00p-10:00p
Given the smashing success of last year's inaugural Blogger Prom, the idea for a follow-up was a no-brainer for the Prom Committee: Caroline of Caroline on Crack, Esther of e*star LA, H.C. of LA and OC Foodventures, Lindsay of LAist, Marni of Happy Go Marni, Maya of Shop Eat Sleep, Natalie of The Liquid Muse, and Tara of When Tara Met Blog.
2009 featured the outrageous sartorial stylings of the 1980s, but this year's theme was Hollywood Confidential, calling for the mid-century glitz and glamour of classic Tinseltown. Set high in the Hollywood Hills, Yamashiro restaurant, thus, was the perfect setting for the gala.
Proceeds from the event benefitted Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline, a nutrition education program that instructs low-income families how to prepare healthy, delicious meals on a budget.
Accompanying me was none other than the inimitable Famished Foodie, looking lovely as ever in her Rita Hayworth-inspired, strapless sweetheart gown.
Our first stop was the Cheese Impresario table, where Barrie Lynn was presenting her "Interactive Artisanal Cheese Pairing Adventure Experience," in which she pairs cheese with some unusual accoutrements (e.g. chocolate-covered fruit). Barrie was joined by Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker Joe Widmer of Widmer's Cheese Cellars (pictured above).
All that cheese was making us thirsty, so we promptly headed over to the bar to sample Blogger Prom's signature cocktail, the Pinky Confidential (Pinky vodka, Chambord, lemon juice, simple syrup, optional egg white, powdered sugar), as well as a superb margarita made with Casa Noble tequila. Also featured were drinks with Zaya rum and caipirinhas made from Cabana cachaça. Cocktails not your thing? No problem, red and white wines on offer from Fresh & Easy. Alternatively, representatives from Dalmore were pouring a range of their single-malt Scotch whiskys, while The Beer Chicks were serving up locally-crafted Eagle Rock Brewery beers. Get too wasted off the free booze? Y Drive L.A. was even on hand to get you home safely.
Left: Abby, who organizes the dining club Pleasure Palate, along with group member Wasima.
Right: That's Pat Saperstein on the right, senior editor at Variety and author of Eating L.A., sort of the grande dame of LA food blogging (she started way back in '04).
When we spied Josh of Food GPS and Bill of Street Gourmet LA ferociously tearing into some tacos, we knew that we had to get in on some of that!
We waited a good 30 minutes in the taco line, but the wait was made much more bearable by Marian the Foodie and her fried Roshni.
Tunes were provided by DJ Steve. The Prom theme may have been retro, but there were no wheels of steel, no ones and twos tonight, merely a MacBook Pro.
Evelina and Wesley, the Two Hungry Pandas, looked, well, hungry (chomping on some Coolhaus). They were still noncommittal, though, on whether or not they would ever start blogging again!
Passed hors d'œuvre helped sate us while we were waiting for tacos. Here was the Japanese Rice-Cracker Crispy Chicken with Spiced Plum Sauce.
Diana Takes a Bite, with some major red-eye (in a break from the norm, I was using a P&S camera tonight).
The one and only Vinh, Yelp celebrity.
We finally made it! Chef Brock Kleweno was manning a taco stand, just like he does at the Farmer's Market that Yamashiro hosts on Thursdays. A quartet of tacos was available: Miso-Sake Black Cod, Cabernet & Soy Braised Short Rib, Hoisin Duck Confit with Black Plum Salsa, and a special Blogger Prom Kleweno Farm's Smoked Sausage with Maple-Black Pepper Aioli. Accompaniments included Ginger Pico De Gallo, Wasabi Guacamole, Sweet Chili Salsa Roja, Bread & Butter Shishitos, and Sweet & Spicy Daikon Radish.
Left: With Victoria of Vixen's L.A. Happy Hours (and fellow Table 20 best bartender contest judge) and Rachael Narins, one half of private supper club Chicks with Knives.
Right: Elliott (yes, a girl named Elliott that's not on Scrubs) of truck-centric blog F for Food.
At this point, we were looking to sit down, and joined a table with Melody Simpson from Hollywood The Write Way and Michelle Matus, brand ambassador for Pinky vodka. Here, we took full advantage of the trays of food passing by us and chowed down on Charred Albacore with Serrano Chilies, Blackened Shallots, Cilantro and Tomatillo-Ponzu Salsa on a Tortilla Chip; Hoisin-Braised Kurobuta Pork Carnitas with Scallion Risotto and Honey-Mustard Sauce; Hukilau Poke: Ahi, Teardrop Tomato, Macadamia Nuts and Soy-Sesame Marinade on a Wonton Crisp; and Asian Baby Back Ribs with House-Made BBQ Sauce.
Prom Committee member HC of LA and OC Foodventures, with his date Jen. A much better photo of him compared to last year's, no?
Time for the sweet stuff! ChocolateBox Cafe served up a fabulous spread of cacao-laced treats, while Crumbs Bake Shop brought out a bevy of mini cupcakes. Rounding things out was Coolhaus, doling out their legendary ice cream sammies.
Connie of Hey Hey Scenesters! and sister Jenny of The Next Big Ng, with their respective boy toys.
Left: Remil--not really a blogger, but a legend on Twitter.
Right: With Rachael Narins, again. Check her out at Test Kitchen, Thursday 9/30.
Left: Nastassia of Let Me Eat Cake, and most recently of The Manila Machine food truck. LAist's Sam Kim in the background.
Right: That's Lucy Lean of Ladles and Jellyspoons, who was formerly the editor of Edible LA.
Left: With BakeSpace founder Babette Pepaj, who perhaps runs the most highly-traffic blog out of all of us.
Right: Prom Committee member Esther, Rachael again, PR man Edward Allen.
Left: Hong, one half of Ravenous Couple; Wes, one half of Two Hungry Pandas; and Danny, the whole of Kung Food Panda.
Right: On the way out with Mary Hall, the Recessionista.
This year's Blogger Prom afterparty was held at none other than the white-hot pop-up concept Test Kitchen. This was a booze-only affair, featuring gratis pours of Moonshine clear corn whiskey, Bacardi rum, Landy cognac, Luksusowa vodka, and Real de Mexico tequila. Manning the bar were Julian Cox (Rivera), Joel Black (Caña), and Pablo Moix (La Descarga).
Left: Right away, we ran into TK's resident photographer Ryan Tanaka and Helen of I'm Hungry and Proud of It.
Right: Michelle Woo with hubby Matt. Also Trevor Chang, Director of Partner Outreach for Project by Project (who I met at this year's Plate by Plate).
Chef Brian Redzikowski from the Thompson Beverly Hills hotel was guest cheffing tonight.
We have to end with a shot of our Prom King, Neil of Food Marathon, who, along with Queen Joz of Jozjozjoz, will reign supreme until next year rolls around. Congrats to the cute couple!
For more embarrassing and awkward photos, check out the official Blogger Prom photographer Heather Kincaid.
And the swag:
- Slurpee keychain and vouchers for a free glaze donut and iced coffee at 7-Eleven
- Free ticket to a film at an American Cinematheque theatre
- $20 dining certificate to Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger's new Border Grill in Downtown
- $10 dining certificate to the Border Grill Truck
- "100 Things To Do in L.A. Before You Die" card from Caroline on Crack
- 3oz Triple Berry Dark Chocolate bar from Cost Plus World Market
- Spray bottle of Degree Natureffects Orange Flower & Cranberry body mist and bar of Honeysuckle & Tea Tree Oil anti-perspirant
- Dermalogica sampler (Ultracalming pack, $20 coupon, Climate Control lip treatment, Daily Microfolinat, Skin Hydrating Booster, Multivitamin Powder, skin analysis voucher)
- Stylish canvas Mickey tote from the Disney Store (which held all the other swag)
- $25 account credit from Blogger Prom donation processing sponsor Goldstar
- Free ticket to visit the GRAMMY Museum at L.A. Live
- Voucher for a free non-alcoholic beverage from Hugo's Restaurant
- Coupon for $1.00 off Lovin' Scoopful ice cream
- $100 gift certificate towards a full lash extension service at LuxLash
- Voucher for one free ube cupcake from Manila Machine
- 500mL bottle of Goodberrymint water from Metromint
- 8.5oz box of Coconut Water from O.N.E. (One Natural Experience), which is supposedly a hangover cure
- Coupon for $4.00 off Oroweat Sandwich Thins, as well as a grocery list pad
- Swirly Goodness Access Card with $5.00 for use at Pinkberry
- 50mL bottle, sticker, pamphlet, and The Liquid Muse's Pinky Confidential recipe card from Pinky Vodka
- 130-pack of Oil Blotter Sheets from Proactiv
- Voucher for one free cupcake from Sprinkles Cupcakes
- Sample size bottles of Unite Moisturizing Shampoo, Moisturizing Conditioner, and 7Seconds Conditioner leave-in detangler
- Orange pen from When Tara Met Blog
posted by kevinEats at
7:00 PM
12 Comments:
Nice! Awesome presentation of your swag. :)
AWESOME blog post Kevin! I love the pic of Roshni feeding me lol! Hope to see you and Famished Foodie again soon =)
glad i saw everyone at test kitchen afterwards! everyone looked so great! :) and all the swag looks awesomeeeee
Wow, you will never let that drunken pic of HC die. lolololol
looks like fun times. I need to get my a** over to FM at Yamashiro for those tacos
Hah. We're getting there Kevin. Stay tuned and check our blog after noon today.
kevineats is the go to blog when i need to put a face to a blog. swag shot...love it.
Oh man, I do not recognize anyone in these pictures. I am officially out of the loop now.
Always a pleasure Kevin... and I'd hardly call myself a Yelp celebrity hah
ahhhh great post! love the pic of the swag! mind if i use the pic of my sis and me and the boy toys?
Jennifer: Thanks, figure I gotta give a nice shoutout to all the companies that helped make the event possible.
Marian: Definitely one of the hottest pics of the night. ;)
Helen: It was a pleasant surprise seeing you there as well. =)
Connie: No, I wont!
Stephanie: Get the short rib one with the daikon, it's the best.
Wesley: I didn't think you'd do it, but you actually posted. Now, the question becomes, how long will you keep it up?!?
Amy: Ha, thanks, I try.
Aaron: Many of the food bloggers from your era are still around and active, but there seems to have been an explosion of new faces since your departure. When are you going to be back?
Vinh: Oh please, Mr. Elite.
Jenny: Sure, go ahead and use the pic. Just be sure to link back to here!
Smart check and luxurious fabric give this our cashmere sportcoat touch of silk gives
. Check; front darts. Notched lapels; two button front. Long sleeves with button cuffs. Chest welt pocket; front flap pockets. Side vents.
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