It's summer, therefore it's time for more summertime eating events. We've got high-brow, low-brow and uni-brow chowfests this weekend. We'll let you figure out which is which.
WESTWOOD: Wally's 4th Annual Central Coast Wine & Food Celebration is one of those food events that's actually worth the $100. In this case, $95 if you get tickets in advance. The event itself is small since it's held in Wally's parking lot, with just the right amount of food and wine to make a sunny afternoon quite enjoyable. Spago, A.O.C., Campanile, Mozza, The Hungry Cat, are just a few of the LA-are restos to feed you; from the central coast, the Hitching Post, Brothers' Restaurant at Mattei's Tavern, and more. The wines are some of our personal favorites: Byron, Sea Smoke, Linne Calodo, Au Bon Climat, Qupe, Sanford, L'Aventure, Beckman and many more. The event raises money for a scholarship for the U.C. Davis Viticulture and Enology program in honor of Michael Bonaccorsi, the former Spago sommelier who died unexpectedly in 2004. $95 in advance, $125 at the door. Sunday, Aug. 5, 12pm-4pm. 2107 Westwood Blvd.
LONG BEACH: Don't feel like hob-nobbin' it, then there's the Long Beach Crawfish Festival at the Rainbow Lagoon Park. The fest moved from Redondo to the LBC this year, but it should still be fun. Truckloads of crawfish are brought in (from Sacramento, but whaddaya gonna do) and boiled in giant pots, along with corn, potatoes, and spicy spice. Here's a tip: Get four beers, stand in line for the crawfish dinner, tell your friends to get their own beer. The lines are long and tend to move slow, but you're getting steaming hot crawfish and all the fixin's, so quit complaining. There's other food, too, for those who don't like to suck spicy critter heads. $33 for admission and crawfish dinner; $15 admission alone. Shoreline Drive and Linden Avenue. Saturday, Aug 4, 12pm-12am; Sunday, Aug 5, 12pm-11pm.
COSTA MESA: If you absolutely must get your fried food fix before the LA County Fair, it's the last weekend of the Orange County Fair. Someone tried to push funnel-cake hot dogs, but it was just to *mmmrrrfm* disgusting. You can always digest while watching Fergie (Fri.), G. Love and Ozomatli (Sat.) or Chris Cornell and Puddle of Mudd (Sun.). $8 general admission. Fri 12pm-12am, Sat-Sun 10am-12am. 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa.
