Considering Last Night's Bite Night with Jonathan Gold

Grid View

• La Casita Mexicana
• Jonathan Gold
• Ari Taymor of Alma
• Team Night + Market
• The Hart & the Hunter
• Ori Menashe of Bestia
• Suzanne Tracht of Jar
• Tar & Roses
• Guisados
• Zak Walters of Salt's Cure
• Corazon y Miel
• Mozza
• Chichen Itza
• Spago
• Spago
• SQIRL

With Restaurant Critic Jonathan Gold firmly planted at the Los Angeles Times, his annual Gold Standard tasting event from days back at The Weekly took on new form as Bite Nite, a collection of Gold's 23 favorite on and off the beaten path restaurants, which set up stands last night inside the LA Times building downtown. There were chicken and lamb hearts from Corazon y Miel and Bestia, meticulously arranged cups of Dungeness crab with summer squash, almond milk, quinoa and basil from Alma chef Ari Taymor, and the Guisados team plated up incredibly juicy chicken and lamb tacos, adding that their next restaurant at 6th and Spring will open late next year. And, who could miss Bell favorite La Casita Mexicana and its monumental table of food from pistachio mole to ceviches to flan.
Chef Roy Choi parked a Kogi truck outside the building and runners carried up freshly made tacos from the ground to level six, Wolfgang Puck was in attendance representing CUT and Spago with NY steak over a caramelized summer corn salad, and a single raviolo filled with an egg yolk and ricotta topped with guanciale. Other highlights were Sqirl's rabbit rillettes with rhubarb chutney, and The Hart & the Hunter's trout toast. Funny lady Kathy Griffin made the rounds, stopping to post for photos with fans.

With about 300 tickets sold, guests didn't much have to wait in line for bites, although by around 8:40 p.m. (the event ran until 10 p.m.) many restaurants ran out of food. And, surprisingly, nobody served dessert except for La Casita's flan and Bestia's walnut shortbread. All in all, a well curated event, though perhaps next year more eateries will participate and tickets will open to the public, not just to LA Times subscribers.
·LA Times Bite Night with Jonathan Gold Coming May 21 [~ELA~]