2017 marked the 38th year of the Planned Parenthood Los Angeles [PPLA] Food Fare, and it was certainly one for the books. The environment was extravagant, featuring spectacular lighting with a global flare and floral arrangements exceeding what you would expect at a wedding. That, and some incredible food and drink, paved the way to a hugely successful food festival. Record setting attendance had the event selling out to more than 2,000 guests, who were all comfortably accommodated in the massive Santa Monica Barker Hangar. More importantly, the event raised more than $1M for Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, another record. Culinary highlights included the focaccia from Savore, which featured goats milk ricotta, pea puree, and an explosion of fresh vegetables and herbs including pea tendrils and shoots, shaved purple radish and asparagus, purple and green kale, and a mint, parsley and chive herb salad. Quite a mouthful, but tasting as beautiful as it looked. Among sweets at the PPLA Food Fare was Mozza’s butterscotch pudding. In spite of it’s light, airy texture it was equally as rich and deep in flavor with an ever so delicate rosemary cookie on top that gave the dessert what could only be called another level of brightness. Add that to Salt and Straw’s simply unbelievable compilation of flavors, such as honey lavender and sea salt with caramel ribbons. And while it’s called the PPLA Food Fare, the drink aspect is ever present to say the least. Take, for example, the handcrafted aperitif, Jardesca which features an artisinal blend of three white wines and a double distilled Eu de Vie infused with 10 botanicals. Also pouring was Elixir G, an all-natural concentrated ginger syrup that’s as good, if not better, than most ginger beer brands in any cocktail. Tonight in particular featured margaritas and Moscow mules, which were simply pristine. The amazing food and drink purveyors are too many to list, but additional vendors included Clementine, where Chef/Owner Annie Miler was recognized as Chef of the Year, Rao’s, Doma Kitchen, Castle’s Catering, Kali, Sweet and Savory, Miro, Pettycash, Casalinda, Rosti, Pink’s, Boneyard Bistro, Chichen Itza, Craft, Sweet E’s, and Border Grill. Be on the look out for next year’s PPLA Food Fare. Buy tickets early—If it’s anything like this year, this event will sell out.
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As restaurants grow increasingly creative with their menus, interiors, seating arrangements and overall business models, they’re also changing things up with the otherwise traditional place setting. The typical setup of silverware, napkin and glass atop a tablecloth is still present and commonplace, but no longer ubiquitous at full-service establishments. The reason for most of this change: cost savings. But is it worth it in the long run? Let’s take a look at a few new restaurant place setting trends and see where they work best. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution here, so the key is to match your place setting to the atmosphere and overall brand you’re trying to create. Tablecloths Tablecloths have all but disappeared from the restaurant scene, in that very few new restaurants will use them. Why? Tablecloths cost money to wash and take time to fold, set up, take off and bring to storage. Why use a tablecloth that has to be changed with every meal when it’s so much easier to wash and dry a bare tabletop? And to many young patrons, tablecloths are ‘old school’ and give the restaurant a dated feel. When to use tablecloths Tablecloths should be used in almost any true fine dining setting. White tablecloths do give off a more ‘old school’ sense while black tablecloths come off a bit more modern. If you are trying to cast an intimate, high-end atmosphere, tablecloths will boost that vibe to justify a higher price point. Many places make the mistake of skipping tablecloths as a cost-saver while not noticing the bigger problem of the atmosphere not lining up with the food. When not to use tablecloths Restaurants with a modern look and feel really don’t need tablecloths. Tablecloths would actually detract from the vibe in these cases. However, you can skip the tablecloths if and only if your tables are nice enough on their own. Centralized silverware A growing number of restaurants will pile silverware in a glass at the center of the table for patrons to set themselves. This can be a big cost saver, allowing for quicker turnover and for servers to spend more time tending to tables with customers. It can also save hours at the end of a day that are otherwise spent rolling silverware into napkins. When to use centralized silverware Use this method if you have a higher-volume restaurant with a casual ambiance and a lower price point. Roadhouse barbecue joints are a perfect example. When not to use centralized silverware If you want to convey a classy, full-service experience, you should avoid this tactic. Customers dine out not just because they want your food, but because they want to be served. If their first impression is having to set the table themselves, it may be quite off-putting. A set table conveys a sense of luxury that puts people in a more relaxed mood, prepping them to spend more and be more responsive to upsell. Communal water Communal water at the table has similar goals to centralized silverware, with even greater cost saving potential and wider acceptance. If a server greets guests with a swing-top glass bottle almost frosted over with cold water, that’s both full service and a good first impression. Communal water drastically reduces demand on bussers, and can certainly lead a restaurant to require fewer bussers overall. When to use communal water Communal water can work in almost any setting where tablecloths aren’t a necessity. Guests are much more receptive to communal water, often preferring the freedom to refill themselves over searching for a busser over and over. With establishments on the higher end of the spectrum, however, servers should come out with both the bottle and the glasses. This extra step creates another layer of service with the experience. When not to use communal water Fine dining and other settings where you want to convey full service from start to finish should come with full water service. Restaurants with higher price points, regardless of the ‘casual’ atmosphere they’re trying to create, should consider full water service as well, to reflect the financial commitment guests are making to dine there. Table place setting techniques can be great cost-savers, but should never be used to simply cut corners. Guests recognize it when a restaurant’s shortcuts undercut its price point, and very quickly and easily at that. Just be sure that your table setting tactics are in line with your restaurant brand. From March 1-April 1, JINYA Ramen Bar will celebrate Japan’s cherry blossom season with a coast-to-coast “Ticket to Tokyo” Instagram contest, awarding one lucky winner with an unforgettable trip for two to Tokyo, Japan. The grand-prize vacation includes two complimentary roundtrip airfares, four nights of accommodations, and two meals at JINYA Ramen Bar CEO/Founder Tomonori Takahashi’s Tokyo-based restaurants, including an authentic Robata-style meal at Robata JINYA and kaiseki cuisine at Setonaisuigun. In addition to the prize trip to Tokyo, nine additional finalists will receive a $100 gift card to JINYA Ramen Bar. Here’s how to enter: 1. Follow @JINYARamenBar on Instagram 2. Visit any of JINYA Ramen Bar’s 20+ locations, snap a picture of your favorite dish 3. Post to your personal Instagram account, hashtaging #JINYATokyo and @JINYARamenBar in the caption. Ten of the best photos will be selected and regrammed to JINYA Ramen Bar’s Instagram page. The grand prize Tokyo trip winner will be chosen out of the ten finalists by Tomonori Takahashi and announced on April 28, 2017. Travel dates to be determined based on winner’s availability. All submissions must be 21+ years old, have a valid passport, and copyrights to published content. Visit JINYA online for more information and a full list of locations. |
AuthorBenjamin Brown is a seasoned restaurant writer and hospitality consultant, serving up SoCal's hottest food news and reviews. Categories
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