The sixth annual LA Loves Alex’s Lemonade fundraiser, which benefits Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, took place on Saturday, September 12, 2015. With 50+ chefs and restaurants participating, it’s impossible to cover even just the food comprehensively without turning this report into a 12-part miniseries. So, as with other recent events, I’ll highlight my favorite bites, but this time I’ll actually rank them. Since this is the 6th LALAL, I’ll count down from…
6. Braised Chicken from Chris Phelps & Zak Walters (Salt’s Cure). I generally prefer other proteins to chicken, unless it’s fried chicken, but this comforting dish really won me over with how moist and flavorful the chicken was!
5. Lamb Chop “Scottadita” from Nancy Silverton (Mozza Restaurant Group). This was very similar to Chi SPACCA’s lamb skewers dish at LA Times The Taste‘s Flavors of LA the previous weekend, which was my favorite dish of that event, but made with the much more tender chops.
4. Pork & Shrimp Dumpling from David LeFevre (MB Post, Fishing with Dynamite, The Arthur J). I was quite impressed with the dumpling skin, which was as good as any I had in SGV. The combination of flavors and textures in this dish worked amazingly well together.
3. Veal Tartare from Ben Ford (Ford’s Filling Station). This was one of my first bites of the event, and one of my last bites. All the ingredients were fresh and delicious, but what really got me was the fried capers, which just edged this dish over the others that preceded it above.
2. Rosé and Waffles from Tyler Malek (Salt & Straw). I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I was really struck by Malek’s strawberry shortcake dessert at LAFW. He continued to impress here! The best part was the candied rhubarb strips!
1. BBQ Beef Sliders from Adam Perry Lang. The longest lines of the event was for this dish, though many opted to go carbless and just get plates of smokey, fatty, moist cubes of beef rib meat. This was definitely the best BBQ beef I’ve had.
The above half dozen dishes barely scratches the surface of deliciousness available at LA Loves Alex’s Lemonade. The fundraiser drew nearly all of the best chefs in Los Angeles, and many from across the country. Below are just a few more of the food highlights from the event.
The out-of-towners brought some fantastic dishes from the far reaches of Seattle (Maria Hines), Chicago (The Publican), Phoenix (Pizzeria Bianco), and New Orleans (Donald Link), among other locales.
Of course, the locals were no slouches, with the likes of Ray Garcia (Broken Spanish), Kris Yenbamroong (Night+Market Song), Bruce Kalman (Union), and Neal Fraser (Redbird), producing wonderful dishes showcasing the varied cuisines found in LA.
Bridging the gap between the visiting chefs and home chefs was recent Miami transplant Hedy Goldsmith and her amazing Chocolate Toast. Scott Conant, who bounces around the country with his varied projects, also made an appearance with his Beverly Hills restaurant Scarpetta and its executive chef Freddy Vargas.
Believe it or not, the dishes highlighted above cover only half of the shots I posted on Instagram—hashtag #offalolemonade—and I didn’t even get to try everything at the event! LA Loves Alex’s Lemonade was an embarrassment of riches as far as food went, and, fortunately for the charity, also as far as many of the attendees pocketbooks.
Organizers announced today that LA Loves Alex’s Lemonade raised over $1 million for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation on Saturday! That is a tremendous accomplishment, and I’m sure Suzanne Goin, Caroline Styne, and David Lentz considered this year a huge success! Here’s to hoping next year’s even more successful!
[For more on LA Loves Alex’s Lemonade, check out Eater LA‘s coverage, which includes my non-food photos—yes, I take those too!]
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LA Loves Alex’s Lemonade
UCLA Royce Quad
Los Angeles, CA 90095
http://lalovesalexslemonade.org/
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