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Just last week, we gave all of our LA folks a heads up preview of the Gourmet 5 Year Old good foods you remember and loved as a kid–a 5 year old kid. All the tasty comfort foods you can eat. Comfort food galore provided by some of LA’s most well known restaurants? Well, you already know that we were in like Flynn! Los Angeles is known as La La Land. A place where you think waif-like people walk around only eating grated carrot and alphalpha sprout salads. Well no! That’s not entirely true. There are a lot of regular folks out there who like to delve into a few of the Party that went down this last Sunday, May 31st. When we caught wind of Drink.Eat.Play’s upcoming event, we knew we had to check it out. We were lucky to attend as two Foodie Correspondents on behalf of Foodbuzz. The idea behind the event was to offer all themore interesting dishes in life. Like us. Here’s a look at everything we ate:
Cannoli Kings: Sloppy Joes
Cannoli Kings: Macaroni and heese
Tanzore: Apple Lentil Soup
San Gennaro Cafe-Butternut Squash Ravioli with Creamy Porcini Mushroom Sauce and Walnuts
The Kress: Chicken Yakitori
Maria's Italian Kitchen: Penne Pasta with Marinara Sauce and Garlic Knot
Frosting Forever: Pina Colada Cake Pops with Rum
Frosting Forever: S'more Cake Pops with Bailey's
Ketchup: Chicken Taco with Chipotle Ketchup, Geisha House: Maguro Spicy Taru-Taru on Crispy Rice, Twist: Vodka Infused Foie Gras with Grand Marnier Marmalade on Toast
Paciugo Gelato Caffe: Blackberry Cabernet, Fondente, Mediterranean Sea Salt Caramel, Pannacotta Wedding Cake
When it was all over, we were definitely full from having tasted so many plates. But did we feel 100% comforted? Well, that’s to be argued. We were a bit disappointed in some of the platters in terms of their selection as a whole (Do foie gras and maguro taru-taru count as comfort foods?) and also the taste. The macaroni and cheese lacked in flavor, the apple lentil soup was strong on curry and short on apple, and the penne pasta did not stand out from any other pasta in terms of its sauce or herbs. Eating cold chicken tacos with ketchup on them was odd to the tongue, and the squishy foie gras did not please the palate in the least. Of the savory dishes, there were only a small few that passed the test. The sloppy joes were flavorful with a nice, tangy sauce. The butternut squash ravioli’s sauce was a bit too creamy, but the filling was pleasantly sweet, smooth and worked well with the walnuts. The chicken yakitori was tender and flavorful, and the maguro spicy taru-taru was fresh and delicious, although the rice cake underneath had a slightly stale texture.
The desserts won for the afternoon though. The cake pops were fun to eat bite by bite, with pina colada coming out on top out of the two. It was fruity and sweet, and the coconut added a nice texture. The s’more pop had nothing s’more about it. Yes, it was chocolate (rich and deep chocolate), and it seemed to be coated in chopped graham cracker, but there was no marshmallow. Perhaps we just didn’t see it? As for our absolute favorite taste test of the day, it was the gelato hands down. If we lived any closer to Hermosa Beach, we’d be in Paciugo every day to get our fix of sea salt caramel and pannacotta! They were totally amazing and utterly worth the second trip to the stand for another cup. If the stuff was sold in grocery stores, the freezer would be stocked! The flavors offered in the store have us jonesing for more, so that will surely be on the list of ‘must eats’ this summer. If you’re in SoCal, check out Paciugo!
All in all, it was an afternoon of taste testing galore, and we’re psyched to have been given the opportunity to check out the event thanks to Foodbuzz. Although the Gourmet 5 Year Old Party did not offer the best of eats for a five year old (or a twenty-five year old), there were some nibbles that we won’t forget. We shouldn’t eat dessert before dinner, but we would do so any day for a Frosting Forever cake pop or Paciugo’s gelato!
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Oh that gelato caught my eye for sure! One of my favorite things ever!! What a great idea for an event, that’s cool that you got to attend!
Pina Colada pops oh yes, that sounds like me:).. Lookslike all was fantastic and you must have had a blast. Lucky!!
I’m not a huge fan of people dressing up comfort foods for the same reasons you listed… it just doesn’t seem right! Looks like you had fun though, and those desserts do sound tasty.
lucky you guys…man talk about livin large…
WOW, what a feast! Absolutely delicious.
This sounds like so much fun! Though I am disappointed that the mac & cheese wasn’t as good as it looked. Sad! I’m all over that gelato though … anything with salted caramel has my name written all over it.
the gelato definitely looked good
i agree with the above comments; it can be hard to dress up comfort foods in the right way because one of the comforting things about them is that they’re familiar! at least there were some winners 
Cake pops with rum and Bailey’s? You’d find me hovering over that table for the entire event!
Great foods! That macaroni and cheese looks absolutely amazing.
Thanks for sharing such a great event with us, you lucky ducks!
That sounds like so much fun.. just sorry that some of the foods are disappointing.. but I’d give anything to taste that sea caramel pannacotta gelato though.. sounds fab!
Did they offer fingerpainting and naps afterwards?
Awesome concept and would make a great party theme.
What what a culinary adventure, thanks for sharing
That chicken Yakitory – are those actual live charcoal grills?
Lovely blog!
Gabi @ mamaliga.
Sounds like so much fun! I’d love to go to something like this.
Looks like you had a fun time. Wish I was there. Too bad the food fare as well as you’d hoped. At least the desserts made up for them.
Wow – I was actually intrigued with the apple lentil soup – I may have to try to recreate that one!
Thanks ladies!
I don’t think I ate anything that fancy when I was 5. Of course, I didn’t like anything when I was 5 and probably would have turned up my nose at even the mac & cheese.
Gelato sounds awesome right now.
That must have been fun. The pina colada cake pops look great, and I was just thinking I was in the mood for a pina colada!
What a fun event to attend, the desserts especially cake pops definitely look great!
Wow you go to all of these wonderful events. Thanks for the pics.
What an eclectic feast! Better than any buffet at Vegas.
Sorry you found it a bit disappointing! I would of headed straight for those yummy cake pops!
I almost made it through the night without dessert but agh, those cake pops look so good, and now I need to have dessert.
wow!! m sure you must have had a great time
thanx for sharing and the yummy foods look amazing
What a feast!! I’m drooling all over the sloppy joes.
all looks delicious especially the sloppy Joes sandwich. great stuff. good post!! kisses
xx
This must have been fun for you all,….I think that I would totally go for the Pina Colada cake pops with rum & the ice cream with sea salt caramel!!
Although not everything was up to par, it sounds like you still had a good time. Thanks for the honest assessment (but honestly, knowing what I know now, I’d still head straight for the mac’n'cheese!)
That actually looks like fun. The adult apple juice seen in the menu in the background of the first picture got my attention. Sounds like a good brunch beverage. Did you guys have any?
The Wedding Cake gelato sounds AMAZING! I’m so glad the desserts saved the day. I love that comfort food is universal.
Those deserts look terrific, wish I could have one right now!
OH MY GAH everything looks unbelievable. Especially that ravioli!! and that is the cutest little taco I’ve ever seen!
Wow! Mouthwatering sloopy joes look so good!
Looks like you have a blast!
Thanks for sharing your grand event:)
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That kind of place looks right up my alley! Too bad its so far away
FoIe GRaS!
Not for 5 year olds.
Definitely a comfort food!
Cute post.
LL
I’m stuck on that Sloppy Joe…a standout for me with all this food.
Yummmmmmmmmtastic!
Thanks for the heads up on Paciugo! I just discovered that there’s one across the street from my office (Thousand Oaks). Let me know if I should pick up some so you can relive the magic!
What a fun event and now I want that gelato. Anything salty caramel gets my vote.
I’m with Aggie, my heart belongs to the gelato!
[...] as one of the best we’ve had at a chain restaurant in a while, especially compared to the last sample we had in June. The pasta was perfectly al dente, the filling was naturally sweet, the brown [...]
[...] what’s cooking in the kitchen.” And don’t miss their perfect commentary on the Gourmet 5 Year Old Party – LA loves her “comfort food”, but sometimes hype overtakes substance, eh? When I [...]
[...] as one of the best we’ve had at a chain restaurant in a while, especially compared to the last sample we had in June. The pasta was perfectly al dente, the filling was naturally sweet, the brown [...]