Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/611718
THE MESSAGE 18 / the tasting panel / december 2015 #JOEYxJamesBeard = Phenomenal Flavor L os Angeles–adjacent Woodland Hills has gained a taste of Vancouver and the Pacific Northwest with the addition of JOEY Woodland Hills. The JOEY team opened its first restaurant in 1992, taking over what was originally an Italian joint and rebranding it with a new menu and approach. Now with 24 locations in four Canadian provinces and Washington State, JOEY Restaurant Group plans to expand within Los Angeles. In advance of the first area location opening, Executive Chef Chris Mills and his team hosted a preview dinner at popular event venue Carondelet House in downtown L.A. Chef Mills was invited back to cook at the exclusive James Beard House in New York for the third time this fall. He wowed us with his award-worthy dinner of five courses paired with wines equally of diverse character, including: a bright beet salad paired with an effervescent, mineral Mission Hill Family Estate 2013 Martins Lane Riesling, British Columbia and a warm, crisp British Columbia apple and toasted walnut pie with intensely salty "next level" double caramel ice cream accented by the decadent Chateau Ste. Michelle 2013 Eroica Gold Late Harvest Riesling, Columbia Valley. If this dinner was any indication of the level of care and service consistent throughout JOEY restaurants, then Southern California is in for a real treat from its neighbors to the north. —Becky Tsadik PHOTO COURTESY OF JOEY RESTAURANTS #JOEYxJamesBeard = Phenomenal Flavor Phenomenal Flavor area location opening, Executive Chef Chris Mills and his team hosted a preview dinner at popular event venue Carondelet House in downtown L.A. Chef Mills was invited back to cook at the exclusive James Beard House in New York for the third time this fall. He wowed us with his award-worthy dinner of five courses paired with wines equally of diverse character, Chef Chris Mills, Executive Chef of JOEY Restaurants, transforms seemingly ordinary dishes into works of art, like this heirloom beet salad with avocado, Santa Barbara pistachios, mandaquat (mandarin orange and kumquat) and ruby streaks. Courvoisier Cognac Toasts Tinseltown I n September, French brandy authority Courvoisier Cognac painted the town floral by hosting a tasting at a discreet parfumerie on Beverly Boulevard. Bites, like steak frites from next door neighbor and L.A. hotspot Terrine, were as on-trend as the local bartenders who mixed innovative cocktails featuring a range of expressions of the spirit. The setting—EB Floral Gallery & Parfumerie, from famed florist-to-the-stars Eric Buterbaugh—was the perfect backdrop for the Toast the Town event that celebrated the esteemed Cognac (the shop's floral-inspired fragrances are housed in custom crystal bottles inspired by brandy decanters). National Brand Ambassador Zahra Bates poured tast- ings of the spirit in five expressions and provided tasting notes to guests, all the while explaining the history and distillation process of Courvoisier: 12 Year Old, graded by age, like whisky; 21 Year Old, made from eaux-de-vie aged in Tronçais oak barrels that impart notes of dried hazelnut on the nose and candied orange on the palate; XO, a mature blend expressing vanilla and crème brûlée on the nose; VSOP Exclusif, a smooth and complex blend of spirits from four crus in the Cognac region; and Napoleon Fine Champagne, matured for up to 20 years. —B. T. Lady in Red: Una Green, of Belcampo Meat Co., pours Courvoisier VSOP Exclusif. Lady in Red: Una Green, of PHOTOS COURTESY OF COURVOISIER COGNAC A Pêche Prince cocktail—Courvoisier 12 Year Old, peach cordial, lemon juice, cinnamon syrup, Lustau Sherry, Earl Grey tea and a refreshing spritz of lemongrass.