Jimmy Kimmel, April Bloomfield, Team Animal and More Rally for Alex's Lemonade Stand

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This past Saturday, some 1,000 guests filled the grounds of Culver Studios for LA Loves Alex's Lemonade Stand with hosts Suzanne Goin, David Lentz, Caroline Styne and celeb addition Jimmy Kimmel (Neil Patrick Harris was not feeling well). The now annual food tasting event supports Alex's Lemonade Stand, the foundation aimed at raising money to cure childhood cancer.

Three years ago the cause and community captured Suzanne Goin's heart, and with the help of her team (Caroline Styne, David Lentz), she brought Alex's Lemonade Stand to LA in the form of a grand food event. What makes this event a hot ticket is that this is one of the few food events in LA that draws chefs and their fans from all over the country. Not only were local favorites Jon Shook, Vinny Dotolo, Michael Voltaggio, Michael Cimarusti, and Neal Fraser serving up tasty bites, but Chris Bianco (Pizza Bianco), Michael Tusk (Quince and Cotogna), April Bloomfield (The Spotted Pig) and Jonathan Waxman also manned booths.

Bianco's pizzas — made one at a time, fired in a borrowed wood-burning oven on wheels — Cimarusti's Ipswich clam sandwiches from forthcoming Connie & Ted's, Michael Tusk's tender, bright orange eggplant ravioli and Donald Link's (Herbsaint) Boudin and Cajun sausage plate were clear standouts. The churros from Lucques/Tavern/AOC pastry chef Christina Olfson and the dessert spread from Zoe Nathan's Huckleberry stood out among the sweets. This year, there was no coffee sponsor, though there was plenty of lemonade from (oddly) Red Robin and juice from Pressed Juicery. Cocktails, wine and beer were as free flowing as the money. Once again, chef dinners and other items up for auction brought in more than $100,000 for the foundation. Three cheers for that.
·All Alex's Lemonade Stand Coverage [~ELA~]