“The Los Angeles Times has two intimate evenings planned for its subscribers. Each night, restaurant critic Jonathan Gold has handpicked 20 restaurants to please your palate as you sample your way through some of L.A.’s best signature dishes.”

i managed to snag two tickets for the first night! there was also a limited quantity of tickets that came with a tour of the times' olympic printing plant, which i simply could not turn down. needless to say, it was an amazing night, filled with amazing food, and even a few celebrity chef sightings. i won't bore you with the details and just cut straight to the pictures and the food.

taco maria: suzuki ceviche - meyer lemon, serrano, nori tostadita.

rustic canyon: deviled cook pigs ranch ham sandwiches.

trois mec: smoked eel and white chocolate mashed potatoes.

park's bbq: galbi (marinated prime beef short rib).

n/naka: english pea soup with snow crab and ikura.

terrine: braised beef short rib with barley risotto, ramps and black truffles.

baco mercat: hamachi with abkhazian spices, zhoug, bacon and mixed grains

jar: char siu pork croissant.

maude: english pea and buttermilk veloute, candied almonds, pickled ramps, almond espuma

and that's just the first floor! up to the second floor we go..

salt's cure: chilled early squash soup with rustic bread and lardo

shunji: sweet shimp tartar mixed with truffles and topped with uni.

corazon y miel: beef taco tartare.

animal: hamachi crudo, apple ponzu, serrano chili, seeds, scallion.

meals by genet: doro wot, potato, carrot, green beans, onions and ethiopian salad.

alimento: cracked farro salad with raw vegetables, dried tomatoes and young pecorino.

jitlada: green curry with beef, and i don't know the rest because i dropped a photo and my memory is bad..

chicken itza: mini tortas de poc chuc (mesquite grilled pork).

racion: citrus cured salmon with ajo blanco, cherry, salmon skin and trout roe.

marche moderne: foie gras terrine, australian truffle pickled sweet onion, smoked sea salt, tarine.

guelaguetza: mole negro with chicken.

sqirl: "flower pots" - baccala, dehydrated quinoia, flowers.

the event started at 7.30pm, and at 9pm, the tour of the printing plant started! our wonderful (and humorous) tour guide took us through rooms of rolls of paper that weigh a ton and are transported by robots!

we got to walk amongst the giant, giant printers and see the room where their aluminum plates are made and the ink room. it was amazing to see parts of it in motion!

edit: due to squarespace slowness with large posts, i've removed the printing plant tour photos and will put them into a separate post on another date.

2000 E 8th St, Los Angeles, CA 90021