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Food lovers flocked to Malibu on Sunday for Los Angeles Magazine's sixth annual The Food Event. Unlike last year, the weather cooperated beautifully as 2,500 Angelenos enjoyed the rolling green hills of Saddlerock Ranch.
While there were chef demos and some light live music, the real stars of the afternoon were the 42 restaurants churning out delectable bites. Among the most buzzed about dishes of the afternoon was Sotto's braised lamb neck alla griglia with stewed fresh shelling beans and dry cured olives. Other contenders for best dish of the day goes to The Royce at The Langham's Wagyu beef with potato in squid ink and Rivera's corn flan with black quinoa and squish blossom. Another highlight was watching Michael McCarty laying on the charm, something he does exceptionally well at his restaurant Michael's Santa Monica, as he served duck confit salad and poured wine from his own Malibu Vineyard. Sweet endings were provided by f�?nuts, Bread Basket Cake Co., and Coolhaus.
There were also a few familiar dishes for LA food festival regulars. The Foundry on Melrose brought their award-winning grilled cheese, and Waterloo and City served their delicious smoked salmon and foie gras terrine - which begs the question, what will they serve at these events once the foie ban goes into effect?
In addition to the impressive roster of restaurants present, 33 wineries, breweries, and spirit companies were keeping everyone cool and (socially) lubricated. The longest line of the day belonged to Stella Artois, but Pisco Portón, Karma Tequila, and VeeV also supplemented the wine offerings.
Like last year, many of the vendors ran out of food half way through the event - but there were enough restaurants which planned ahead to fill the bellies of latecomers who underestimated the drive to Saddlerock Ranch. We're already looking forward to next year, but that may be because we already miss the zebras, bison, camels, llamas, and horses we drove by on our way to the event.
