The James Beard Foundation announced Awards finalists in L.A. at A.O.C. on March 15. Clearly, you can’t gather writers and chefs without feeding people, and Suzanne Goin and Caroline Style are two of the best in the business. They fed the ravenous hordes pistachio apricot scones and muffins aplenty before the announcement, and punctuated the event with cazuelas overflowing with market lettuce tossed with cucumber, beets, avocado, and walnuts; wood-oven baked eggs with chickpeas, cavolo nero, feta, and sumac; and mini Spanish fried chicken & cornmeal waffles. Servers also distributed Mimosas and, my choice, green iced tea.

Of course A.O.C.’s iced tea wasn’t standard issue. They dressed green iced tea with mint, cucumber, lemon juice, and arugula syrup and served over ice in Collins glasses. The next time you’re at A.O.C. and would like to take your tea up a notch, bartender Christiaan Rollich created a Green Goddess cocktail with green tea infused vodka, cucumber, arugula, jalapeño, and absinthe. If you’re a teetotaler, rest assured that mocktail version won’t disappoint.