flickr user revrev

A (Good) Dinner With Sculpin IPA

​Ah, the early January New Year's Resolution dinner party effects. If there is ever a time to stay home and watch Dinner With Friends rather than going to your friend's house for dinner, it is now. But we love our friends, low-carb, gluten-free, fat-free pizzas and all. And so we go to their diet-restrained kitchens this time of year with beer. Lots of beer.

Which beer to bring when dinner is likely going to be somewhat lacking, to put it politely? We asked Patrick Rue of The Bruery to give us his favorite liquid solution, the one caveat being the beer could not be his own. He also offered up some wise general food-pairing advice that might just forever change how you define a "special occasion" that deserves a really good beer or glass of wine.

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Flickr user foodforfel

A glass of wine with your crsipy green tofu ball?

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The restaurant that began in an apartment keeps finding new ways to bring its food to the people. Husband-wife team Nguyen and Thi Tran of Starry Kitchen are partnering up with Domaine LA and the Mandoline Grill Vietnamese food truck for a unique food truck/wine pairing event.

On Sunday, October 24th, Domaine LA will be partnering with Luis Moya of San Francisco's Vinos Unico, giving a tasting out five wines for $15. The wines will include a rare Vinho Verde, a Basque Txakolina, a Spanish Tempranillo, and some Cavas.

While wine is poured inside, the Starry Kitchen couple will be operating the Mandoline Grill truck. "The truck basically just parks outside," said Nguyen Tran. "[It's] kind of a dual event. The wines are pretty complementary."

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Anne Fishbein

Mr. Gold, with dim sum menu

​Dear Mr. Gold:
Great Mexican food and yummy, salty margaritas: I find, in L.A., it is very hard to reconcile these two seemingly well-matched priorities. Either the food stinks and the drinks rock, or vice versa. Tons of great Mexican restaurants content themselves with just beer and wine.

El Compadre on Sunset, and Antonio's on Melrose work okay, but there must be something else out there. Where do you wet your whistle and tweak your tongue -- south-of-the-border style?
Gracias,
--Dr. Wollman

Dear Dr. Wollman:
Yours is one of the true philosophical questions of the age. How often have we all nibbled on delicious Texcoco-style barbacoa while gazing longingly at the tawdry tequila mill across the street? Or gummed our way through the subpar enchiladas rancheras that bore the same relation to the top-shelf margaritas we were drinking that a filter does to a Camel cigarette? I once worked near a Silver Lake cantina whose food was so soft and so bland that it actually inspired nostalgia among many of its habitués for New York City
Mexican food, yet has endured even longer than Jerry Brown's political career. And some of the best tequila bars in town serve no food at all.

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JackDaniels.com

The man behind the alcohol

​The real Jack Daniel died 99 years ago, not of alcohol poisoning, which would have been somewhat poetic, but rather, of blood poisoning. He forgot the combination to his safe, kicked it, then his toe got infected and he died. Clearly, if I'd lived back then, I would have died of something pretty stupid too. But doctors and medicine have improved since then, and fortunately, so has food.

So rather than drinking a shot of Jack with that new-fangled invention "canned tuna", tomorrow at Villa Sorriso in Pasadena you can drink it with a 4-course tasting menu including things like roasted pear wrapped with prosciutto and sage. The dinner will feature a different Jack Daniel's beverage to pair with each course, and all combined it will set you back $60 a person.

See the full menu after the jump.

Villa Sorriso, 168 West Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, (626) 793-8008‎. Dinner With Jack, March 24th.

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Wine-and-cheese is such a classic combination that you might not think of going beyond it. But beer is a pretty terrific match for cheese too, and this is just the week to switch out your glass of Cab for a pint. Consider it an homage to the biggest beer drinking holiday of all: St. Patrick's Day.

Sure you can drink your Guinness with whatever cheese you've got on hand, but there's an art to it too. We've gathered a few great suggestions from some Los Angeles cheese sources. Turn the page for 6 great beer and cheese pairings.

SParenti

Edwin's and Mahleur 12 at The Mercantile LA

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It feels only appropriate to celebrate cheese during the amorous month of February. In addition to being the main ingredient of one the most iconic romantic food symbols--the fondue pot--cheese-making is pretty much a craft of pure passion.

So this Valentine's season, perhaps on a break from writing odes, you should definitely treat yourself and celebrate the love that is cheese by enjoying the finest Valentine's inspired selections you can get your hands on. The following picks are suggested by some of L.A.'s best cheese vendors. All are enjoyable with both lovers and friends alike and, yeah, love at first bite.

sparenti

Minuet by Andante Dairy

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The Culver Hotel

​Harry Culver's birthday was January 22, and the celebrations will continue throughout February. Only Harry won't be there. The founder of Culver City, Culver was born in 1880 and died in Hollywood August 17, 1946. For several years he kept an office in the Culver Hotel. And so the hotel is honoring him with a special menu that traces his life.

The courses represent his childhood in Nebraska, service in the Spanish American War, early jobs in Manila and his entry into real estate. In 1913, Culver announced plans to form Culver City, which was incorporated Sept. 20, 1917. The hotel opened in 1924 and is now on the National Register of Historic Places (the cast of The Wizard of Oz famously stayed there during filming). Peter Dickinson, food and beverage manager, has designed the biographical menu and optional drink pairings.

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American Tea Room in Beverly Hills is a high end retailer of organic and non-organic teas, accessories and accoutrements, a spot where you can mosey on in after shopping (or window shopping) on Rodeo Drive, after grabbing a bite to eat with the posh 90210 crowd at Enoteca Drago across the street. Since 2003, the tea shop on Canon Drive has held tasting events, but did not offer a menu or a place to sit with a pot of tea on a daily basis. As of last weekend, you can now order American High Tea (a spin-off of the British sorts) for $30, which comes with an array of sweets that don't include lemon curd or cucumber sandwich triangles.

Celia Soudry

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The Spanish greats at The Cheese Store of Silver Lake

​Another year, another chance to take a new bite out of life. For motivated foodies looking for the latest and greatest edibles to sink their teeth into, this approach translates literally. The food lover is ready already to start planning their 2010 eats.

The perfect place to start, like with any meal, is cheese. With cheese-- the culinary craft oozing with artisanal, unique flavors, enticing and funky aromatics and textural bliss-- there is so much potential to try something new and tantalizingly tasty. After asking our top Los Angeles cheese experts and shops for their picks for the new year, this is more than true. Take a look at this list of beauties and start eating immediately.

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A classic Partida margarita

​You don't have to write anything in your date book. Just remember the number 4. Then you'll know that on the 4th day of the work week, Thursday, you go at 4 p.m. to FOUR at Hilton Checkers Los Angeles. From 4 until 8 (which is twice 4), you can buy drinks and small plates for $4 each. Just be sure you get your math straight before you start drinking.

This Thursday, PartidaTequila will set up a margarita bar. They'll put out fruits and vegetables such as raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cucumbers, bell peppers and, whew, jalapenos and herbs such as basil and mint. The mixologist will turn your choices into a margarita made with Partida Tequila and agave nectar, no margarita mix, nothing that isn't fresh.

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