Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/807384
18 / the tasting panel / april 2017 THE MESSAGE Pigs & Pinot O n March 17–18, pork and Pinot Noir lovers from around the country gathered in Sonoma wine country for Chef Charlie Palmer's twelfth annual Pigs & Pinot weekend, held at the award-winning Hotel Healdsburg and Dry Creek Kitchen. Honored guest chefs David Burke, Nancy Silverton, Bryan Voltaggio and Elizabeth Falkner, along with world-class Pinot Noirs producers, selected by the organization's wine chair, Daryl Groom, lent their talents to raise serious funds for Share our Strength and local Sonoma County charities and organizations, topping Pigs & Pinot's total charitable funds raised since the event's inception to over one million dollars. This cel- ebrated epicurean weekend of Pinot Noir and pork is sponsored in part by DCS Appliances and Alaskan Airlines Mileage Plan Visa Signature. Chef Charlie Palmer (third from right) with contestants from the Tournament of the Pig—which divided the four celebrity chefs into two teams pitting them against each other in an Iron Chef–style competition—at the 12th annual Pigs & Pinot weekend. PHOTO: DAMION HAMILTON A lthough Laurel Point only opened in June of last year, it's already established itself as a neighborhood dining destination in Los Angeles's Studio City enclave. Its warm, open space, delicious dishes and eclectic but affordable wine list come together to create the perfect spot for a weekday dinner. Kaitlyn Chiletti, part of the Development & Operations Team of Grill Concepts, Laurel Point's parent company and progenitors of beer havens Public School and other restaurants, says her goal was to match the wine to the price point of the food. "All the wines are under $80, and I tried to get every varietal with two offerings at two different price points," Chiletti explains. "I keep it interesting by picking a popular region but a lesser-known brand, or choosing labels that are offshoots of popular brands; there are some safe wines and some funkier ones." The popularity of crisp white wines at Laurel Point pair well with Grill Concepts Chef Michael Stewart's Asian-tinged dishes. His use of popular Asian ingredients give umami-rich flavor to dishes like bonito flakes sprinkled over charred shishito peppers and chili-glazed sea bass. "We like to call it American cuisine with Asian influences," Chiletti says, noting the addition of classic seafood dishes like jumbo lump crab cakes and lobster rolls. As for the cocktails, Asian ingredients have made their home there as well, with popular sellers like The Geisha, with Tito's Vodka, ginger liqueur, matcha green tea and cucumber, or the smoky yet sweet Smoke Over Kura with El Silencio Mezcal, sake, blackberry, habanero and lime. —Jesse Hom-Dawson Cozy Cuisine at Laurel Point