Top 5 Weekend Food Events: Margarita Dinner, Union des Grands Crus, Meat 101, Soba Workshop, Art Soup Night, DineLA

By Elina Shatkin Wed., Jan. 18 2012 at 9:00 AM

Categories: Events & Festivals

Margarita Dinner
This four-course dinner from executive chef Alex Moreno features a different margarita (made with Don Julio tequila) to complement each dish. The menu includes lobster ceviche, braised pork belly with an artichoke sunchoke ragout and arroz con leche.
WHEN: 7 p.m., Thu. Jan. 19
WHERE: Border Grill Santa Monica
COST: $55 ($50, Border Grill VIP members). Reservations required: (310) 451-1655.

Union des Grands Crus 2009
Wally's Wine & Spirits teams up with a gaggle of Bordeaux producers to host a tasting of the 2009 vintage, which wine writer Robert Parker said, "may turn out to be the finest vintage I have tasted in 32 years of covering Bordeaux."
WHEN: 7-10 p.m., Fri. Jan. 20
WHERE: Petersen Automotive Museum
COST: $59 (buy tix here)

Meat 101
Learn about the different cuts of meat and aging techniques while sipping beer, wine or whiskey at this downtown L.A. steakhouse. The class occurs the third Friday of every month. This time, the focus is on game birds such as partridge, pheasant, grouse and others.
WHEN: 8 p.m., Jan. 20
WHERE: Nick & Stef's
COST: $60. Reservations required. (213) 680-0330.

Soba and Rice Workshops
Part of Common Grains, these workshops showcase different preparations of rice and soba so guests can learn how to cook basic Japanese meals at home.
WHEN: 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Sat. - Sun. Jan. 21 and 22
WHERE: Tortoise General Store
COST: $65. RSVP at (310) 314-8448

Art Soup Night
Imagine a reality show, a fundraising pitch, an art project and big bowls of soup all thrown into a metaphorical blender. The result would be Art Soup Night. Hosted by NELAart, artists present their works in progress. After the presentations, the soup-eating audience votes on their favorite, and the winner pockets the grant. $10 buys you a vote and a bowl of soup from Ba chef James Graham.
WHEN: Jan. 21
WHERE: Ba (5100 York Blvd., Highland Park)
COST: $10/bowl of soup

BONUS: DineLA Restaurant Week starts on January 22. This two-week affair, which runs Jan. 22-27 and Jan. 29-Feb. 3, includes over 300 restaurants. If you've been hankering to try some upscale restaurant but don't have the dough, this may be the perfect time to check them out with a more affordable prix fixe meal: $16 to $28 at lunch and $26 to $44 at dinner.

Elina Shatkin is a staff writer at LA Weekly. Follow her at @elinashatkin or contact her at eshatkin@laweekly.com. (For event listings to be considered for print, we need them at least two weeks in advance.)