Week in Pictures: L.A. Street Food Fest, East LA Meets Napa + More

7/8/11 - Rivera also made a strong showing at East LA Meets Napa as chef de cuisine Joseph Panarello presented savory corn flan with black quinoa and squash blossom in purple, yellow and naturally hued corn husks.

Every week involves a seemingly continuous stream of food, drinks and people. Of course not every taste or conversation is post-able, but the range of experiences is usually pretty amazing. Discover favorites from July 4 – 10, 2011, some of which will help to fuel full posts.

ntent/uploads/2011/07/Caffe-Capriccio-Cappuccino.jpg” alt=”Coffee San Francisco” width=”1521″ height=”1141″ class=”size-full wp-image-69603″ /> 7/4/11 – Ritual, Four Barrel and Sightglass are already well known, but it’s been interesting to discover out of the way SF coffeehouses like Caffe Cappricio, which features Ecco beans, offers WiFi and plenty of plugs, and seems to be a reliable place to write near North Beach or the Wharf.[/caption]

7/5/11 – As Matthew “Mattatouille” Kang and H.C. LA & OC Foodventures previously pointed out, The Alembic Bar makes a devastating Eagle Rare Chocolate Pudding with Eagle Rare bourbon, drunken cherries, Graham cracker crumbs and almond mousse.

7/5/11 – Tell Tale Preserve Company founder William Werner co-staffed a booth at the Ferry Building farmers market. My selection was an almond croissant, which he called “The Champ,” featuring almond cream inside and crusted almond cream outside.

7/6/11 – Dynamo Donuts is already a proven entity in the Mission district, but it was my first time eating their sticky bun, an over the top appropriation of donut dough for rich, sticky purposes.

7/6/11 – Former Angeleno Matt Straus has spent the past three years in San Francisco. The noted sommelier worked at Jardiniere and RN74 before opening Heirloom Cafe in the Mission. He also shepherds a seasonal menu, including corn soup with fried shallots and espelette.

7/7/11 – The Mighty Boba Truck made an appearance at Iota Coffeehouse (opening July 15, 2011) in support of L.A. Street Food Fest. The SGV born trio previewed boba and spicy Taiwan style fried chicken with fried basil. Both options will be available on July 16 at the Rose Bowl, alongside more than 60 other options, which will all be far from the vehicular chaos of Carmageddon. Better yet, the fest benefits Downtown Women’s Center, which has been providing housing, meals and job support to L.A. women for over three decades.

7/7/11 – To conclude the L.A. Street Food Fest preview, Iota Coffeehouse’s back patio hosted a traditional Korean tea ceremony in front of the contemporary mural.

7/8/11 – East LA Meets Napa convenes annually at Union Station to celebrate Latino chefs and winemakers and to raise funds for AltaMed Health Services Corporation, which has been providing health care to minorities and economically disadvantaged Southern Californians since 1969. This year’s event focused on Michoacán and featured a caterer from that Mexican state who’s benefited from AltaMed, Sofiy. She made carne apeche – lime-cured ground beef tostadas – and tamales.

7/9/11 – Elena’s Greek-Armenian Cuisine was firing on all cylinders during my first visit to the Glendale legend since last fall. They had juicy kebabs, tangy lentil soup and free form falafel bathed in hummus, plated with tomato and dusted with paprika and chaimen.