Monday, September 14, 2009

Foodbuzz Community Table at Beso

Early last month, I received an email from Foodbuzz saying they were having a raffle to take ten LA food bloggers out to dinner at Beso. I decided to enter not really thinking I would make it. A few weeks later I received another email saying I was one of the lucky chosen to dine courtesy of Visa Signature. I have heard of Eva Longoria's and Todd English's restaurant before, but had never been so I was definitely up for a new experience.

Since LA traffic always sucks, I arrived about twenty minutes late so when I arrived the bloggers behind Sippity Sup, The Culinary Image, Pleasure Palate, Pink Stripes, South Bay Foodies, TableConversation, Viva LA Foodies, The Food Addicts, and Food Art LA were already seated as well as our hosts from Foodbuzz, Dorian and Ryan. Luckily I didn't miss too much with my lateness. I still got to sample the avocado guacamole and artichoke guacamole and have some tasty sips of sangria.

Beso Red Sangria

The appetizers then came. A taqueria tasting, shrimp and chorizo flatbread, and margarita flatbread were all good. There was also a grilled flatbread served with a red pepper hummus that I really enjoyed and normally I don't like red pepper anything.

Flatbread and Red Pepper Hummus at Beso

Of these I sample the chicken adobo, steak, and plantain. The steak was the best.

Taqueria Tasting at Beso

"Margarita" Flatbread at Beso

I wish there had been a few more pieces of shrimp on the sides

Shrimp and Chorizo Flatbread at Beso

One of the highlights of the meal was the seared diver scallop. It was served on top of an oxtail rosti and topped with a horseradish cream. It was delicate and flavorful without being too fishy. It was also the first time the chef had made the dish for diners to sample. Lucky us!

Seared Diver Scallop at Beso

At this point, I was starting to feel very full, but I pressed ahead with the entrees. The chili rubbed skirt steak had that always loveable balance of salty and sweet.

Chili Rubbed Skirt Steak at Beso

I think I was the only one that didn't get a bite of the crispy onions that topped the chicken, but it was a good dish though it got lost a bit with the steak and paella.

Jidori Chicken at Beso

I can be really picky about paella. I'm pleased to say that this one was quite excellent.

Paella at Beso

After seeing all this food, you're probably wondering how I had room for dessert. Well, I didn't really, but I managed a bite of each. Unfortunately, the first dessert I tried was my least favorite. I am huge fan of manchego cheese, but I don't think it belongs in a cheesecake dessert.

Manchego Cheesecake at Beso

The hit of the dessert table was the Nutter Butter. I assume you can probably guess what this tasted like, it was heavenly. Such peanut buttery and frozen deliciousness.

Nutter Butter at Beso

The light crispy churros were a great way to round out the extensive meal.

Churros at Beso

At some point during our dinner, the owner of the restaurant herself came out to say hello to us as well as the chef. It was almost like we were the celebrities which was kind of funny to me. Overall, I thought it was a very good dinner. I really enjoyed the wine pairings with each dish especially the La Posta organic Malbec. I think Rico put it best when he said it was a good dinner, nothing extraordinary, but very good. I've been tweeting with Abby for a while now so it's good to put a face with a name and I got to see Michael again. I am looking forward to seeing these same faces and more at Foodbuzz's blogger festival in a couple of months!

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17 comments:

Dolce said...

The desserts look very beautiful, especially the nutter butter plate, with the brush pattern on the plate (is this "in" or "on" the plate?)

Erica said...

I'm so jealous! What a great meal. The grilled flat bread looks so tasty and I am going to look up a recipe for artichoke guac (Josh would love this!). Yum yum

vanillasugarblog said...

Yes indeed I would have pressed on even if I was full.
I love paella too, but what's up with all the parsley on top?
Love that horseradish sauce!

Mary Bergfeld said...

What a fantastic meal to have in the company of such fantastic people. Everyone of those dishes had an appeal all its own. I couldn't pick a favorite if I had to.

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

Amazing food, what a great night. I would love that dessert.

Jenn said...

You got lucky!!! I've heard about the place before. The food looks really good. I want that nutter butter dessert. haha... Sounds like a fun night.

Diana said...

So jealous! The nutter butter dessert looks awesome! I smell a Sugarbomber!

Didn't know that you aren't a fan of red peppers... they're a fave of mine!

Unknown said...

wow, that nutter butter dessert is calling my name :)

Reeni said...

The food looks delicious! Sounds so fun to meet fellow bloggers!

Esi said...

Dolce I think the brush on the nutter butter plate was on the plate.

Erica, lemme know if you find a recipe for the artichoke guacamole.

Dawn, I think it was cilantro. I don't really remember, we just took it off and dug in!

Maria said...

This post made me hungry:)

Krissy @ The Food Addicts said...

Hi Esi! I finally got to read your post about the dinner at Beso. Your pictures turned out great, even for a point-and-shoot! So guess what? We are officially registered for the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival! We're stoked. We haven't booked a room yet, but we will most likely stay near the festivities. Look forward to seeing you there again!

The Food Librarian said...

Esi, What a fun dinner!! All the dishes look delicious..and I want those churros!

Alicia Foodycat said...

That looks like a fantastic dinner! I am surprised about oxtail rosti with scallop, but it sounds like a combination I really want to try.

angela@spinachtiger said...

I'm very jealous. The food looks great and the company wonderful.

angela@spinachtiger said...

Will you be at the food blogger festival?

Yum Yucky said...

So my eyes just about popped out my head over hat pizza...and the cheesecake.