Community Corner

Culver City Serves Up Taste of the Nation Sunny Side Up

Glorious sunshine, delectable food and drink and smiles all round were the order of the day at Media Park on Sunday where Taste of the Nation was held.

The aromas could be smelt all the way down Venice and Washington boulevards and hundreds of foodies came out to sample over 50 different dishes and down a variety of beers, wines and sodas at the 25th Taste of the Nation event in Culver City’s Media Park on Sunday afternoon.

Chefs from some of Los Angeles’ best restaurants stood in the bright sunshine behind their tents firing up their grills and scooping everything from ceviche to cake onto little plates for hungry attendees.

Susan Feniger of  STREET was madly frying up  crispy yucca fries with coconut curry and pickled corn succotash, and Ray’s and Stark Bar chef Kris Morningstar had a line of hungry foodies waiting to try his BBQ rib sandwiches.

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 Local Culver City eateries were also well represented, among them Roy Choi’s A-Frame offering peel-n-Eat Shrimp with Kaffir Lime Leaf dust and Akasha Richmond tempting attendees with Punjabi chicken wings, Masala slaw and stone fruit chutney.

The event, which people paid over $100 a ticket for wasn’t just an opportunity to sample some of the best food L.A. had to offer, it was also an opportunity to raise funds for Share Our Strength – which is working to stamp out child hunger in America, through the purchasing of the tickets and both a live and a silent auction.

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Mayor Jeff Cooper and Vice Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells and Councilmember Jim Clarke were also on hand to open the festivities, as crowds gathered for a burger battle between Fig Restaurant’s Ray Garcia and Kris Morningstar, aided by child sous-chefs  7th-grader Paul Ponce, 6th-grader Julie Quintero and 6th grader Nayeli Tapia.

All three students were winners in the Taste of the Nation Essay Contest on ‘Why Ending Hunger is Important.’

Food Network’s Aida Mollenkamp, LA Times Food Critic Jonathan Gold and KCRW Good Food Host Evan Kleiman judged the contest.

Garcia won the battle with his chorizo-stuffed chile relleno burger, over Morningstar’s truffle burger. Garcia’s prize was $5,000, which was donated to Share Our Strength.

And in addition to the food and drink on hand, the event was green, with everything being served in recyclable containers with recyclable cutlery. Vigilant volunteers were on hand with plenty of trashcans, directing attendees to dispose of their plastic water bottles in one bin and their recyclables in another.

 


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