Great Tastes in Brentwood

This entry is LONG overdue, but I keep on putting it off because there's so much I want to write about, and not enough time.

Last Sunday, JL and I went to the food festival in Brentwood. It took place on San Vicente right by Brentwood Gardens. They cleared out about a block or two, and it was completely packed with people everywhere. I've wanted to go to a food festival for a while now, especially the Italian one in Hollywood the week before. Admission was only $2, but food samples ranged from $2-$6. The food was bought using "scrips," which basically cost $2 a piece. JL and I each purchased $20 worth of scrips, and we ventured out to each station, trying to make the most of our scrips.

The first place we went to was On Sunset at the LUXE Hotel, which was serving marinated tiger prawns satay and parmesan-truffles french fries. JL got both while I only tried the tiger prawns. They were really tasty, and they came with this salmon-colored sauce that strongly hinted of mayonnaise. I wasn't a big fan of the sauce, but I thought the tiger prawns were delicious the way they were and well worth the 2 scrips I used up for them. The parmesan-truffles french fries were good too, but a little too salty for my taste.

Next, we headed to Punch Grill and each got the spiced panna cotta with fresh berries. It was made with cardamom, cinnamon, and coconut milk. I thought it was really good, and I finished it off rather quickly, but it was a little too filling. Had to save our stomachs for the rest of the stations! I think it was also around this point where I headed to the Margarita and Wine Garden, and got myself a glass of red wine. I forgot what wine I chose, but I remember thinking it was rather tasty.

After eating all of this food, JL and I decided to walk around for a little bit to let our food digest. There was a little stage on the side where people were performing, so we went there for a little bit. There was a martial arts demonstration, and performances by the Brentwood Dance Academy.

Finally, JL and I headed to the Cafe Del Rey stand, and that was by far my favorite stand. I guess they were trying to give away their food as the day was winding down, so for 2 scrips, they gave us a sample of everything. On the menu was Rabbit Rillette on crostini with persimmon marmalade, green apple celery root soup, and chocolate truffle cookies. I thought the green apple celery root soup was rather bland, and I wasn't the biggest fan of it. JL seemed to like it, so she ended up drinking most of it. The chocolate truffle cookies were good too, very rich.

My favorite dish though, HANDS DOWN, was the Rabbit Rillette. I've never eaten rabbit before, so this was kind of a risk, but the chef reassured us that it was really good, so we tried it. It was DELICIOUS. The consistency reminded me of pate because the meat was super soft, and it was spread on top of the perfectly cooked crostini. It had the right amount of crisp, and the persimmon marmalade on it was sweet enough to balance the saltiness of the rabbit. I never thought I would like rabbit that much, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Mmm, deeelicious. What a good day for eating.