The organizers of the illustrious Pebble Beach Food & Wine Festival apparently decided that Northern California wasn’t enough, so they expanded south with a similar concept, Los Angeles Food & Wine. They gathered prominent chefs from around the country from October 13 – 16 and filled a four-day calendar with dozens of events, small, medium, large and gigantic.
On October 14, several Los Angeles chefs hosted intriguing out-of-towners in their kitchens for high profile lunches, which happened concurrently across the city. FIG Santa Monica chef Ray Garcia hosted Chicago chef Graham Elliot and Napa Valley winemaker Beth Nickel at the LAFW Simply Seasonal Lunch, and they jointly demonstrated a Garcia hallmark: seasonal flair.
The event started with chit-chat and hors d’oeuvres in Fig’s front room. Guest sommelier Staci Miller from the Little Door poured Far Niente 2009 Chardonnay, which displayed oaked acidity.
Chef Garcia prepared a series of small bites to tide us over, including The Gulp. Garcia graced glutinous pulled pig trotter and shoulder meat with a light panko crust before deep frying the tiny patty and bun-ing with punchy jalapeno aioli. No, bun-ing isn’t a real word. Not even close.
Garcia also contributed crostini with fresh pulled mozzarella, pesto and colorful roasted tomatoes. Other tray-passed crostini hosted Mission figs, ricotta, tangy balsamic and crispy prosciutto.
Spiced pistachios appeared in a butcher paper cone on a monogrammed wood plank.
Garcia came up with the day’s most clever presentation. His flower pot of crudite – radishes, green beans, asparagus, radishes – came topped with salt, pepper, Green Goddess dressing and ground cardamom, which resembled “dirt,” but tasted way better.
A signature Fig baguette arrived in butcher paper with seasoned arugula butter.
It was interesting to see Graham Elliot’s take on the Caesar Salad after eating the original version in Tijuana the weekend before this meal. Elliot has a reputation for being progressive, so he wasn’t going to go by the book. His Deconstructed Caesar featured gem lettuce, a crisp, buttery brioche “Twinkie” piped with Parmesan fluff, a single Spanish anchovy and a pepper dusting. The flavors were pretty similar to a classic Caesar, but the salad appeared in a new form.
Beth Nickel presented wine pairings throughout the meal, and when servers poured her 2009 Nickel & Nickel Truchard Vineyard Chardonnay, she shared an abbreviated version of her story. Beth Nickel moved with her now-late husband Gil from Oklahoma to Oakville in the late ’70s to produce Cabernet and Chardonnay, “the king and queen of wines.” They started with Far Niente and expanded to single vineyard wines with Nickel & Nickel. She concluded her presentation by saying, “It is a big thrill for me to come to the big city,” not that her “country” is ordinary, as that particular stretch of Napa Valley is known as the “silk stocking.”
In a meal with alternating courses, Ray Garcia next presented Fall Harvest Pot au Feu.
Garcia is known for being passionate about pork (and bacon), but his entree was decidedly meat-free. The white bowl hosted orange Hubbard squash, purple Brussels sprouts, white thin shaved matsutake mushrooms, purple veined herbs, lima beans, a firm rutabaga cup filled with mushroom puree and rutabaga discs. Our server poured a mushroom broth over the top.
The wine they paired with the umami-tinged soup was 2009 EnRoute Pinot Noir, “Les Pommiers.”
Graham Elliot presented a far different Beef Stroganoff from what you’d normally find, with no leaden sauce or butter noodles in sight. We received seared Wagyu flat iron steak, peppered spaetzle, lobster mushrooms, shallot marmalade, creme fraiche, dill oil and beef jus mushroom puree. The pairing was a complementary 2008 Far Niente estate-bottled Cabernet Sauvignon.
For dessert, Ray Garcia served deconstructed Pound Cake with plump Pudwill Farm’s blueberries, lemon verbena and a panoply of textures and a blend of sweet and tangy flavors. The pairing was 2006 Dolce, a golden, sweet but by no means cloying Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc blend.
To conclude the day’s lunch, host chef Ray Garcia joined guests Graham Elliot and Beth Nickel for a photo opportunity and appreciative applause from the diners.
Note: Fig Santa Monica hosted me for what otherwise would have been a $125 lunch.
Leave a Comment