The much-anticipated menu for just one of the components of the Music Tastes Good Festival has been released, offering some sweet and savory dishes to test and ultimately satisfy your palate during the festival’s unique dining experience on Saturday.
Officially called the “Farm-to-Taste Experience,” Saturday’s farm-to-table dinner will be held on the second night of the three-day festival in downtown Long Beach, specifically at the Latin-inspired gastro-pub Padre’s Restaurant.
The meals will feature locally-sourced food prepared by six top Long Beach chefs who will team up with guest chefs of their choice, according to longtime Long Beach resident and event organizer Josh Fischel.
Lola’s Luis Navarro said he wanted to bring a powerhouse from Mexico City, so he reached out to his friend and private chef Diego Isunza Kahlo, who is also the great-grandnephew of legendary Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
“We come with a very long working history together,” Navarro said of Kahlo. “I’m very fortunate to call him my friend and when this opportunity came across I couldn’t think of anyone better than him to showcase [the food].”
For Navarro, taking part in the dining experience was a no-brainer. He saw it a way to highlight Long Beach as not only Los Angeles’ sister or sister-in-law, but also solidify Long Beach as a food destination.
“I just felt that with our experience, Long Beach always gets overlooked, so whenever it comes to media, food coverage, even the restaurants through our retail boutique, we always get overlooked,” Navarro noted.
It seems as if Long Beach is a bit too far north from Orange County and just a little too far south for Los Angeles County, Navarro remarked.
“We wanted to flex our muscle and really trying to flex and showcase this is Long Beach,” Navarro said. “We are Long Beach, these are our ties, these are our friends who we cook with on our down time and it stretches further than LA, further than San Francisco.”
According to organizers, guests of the “casual outdoor urban dinner experience” will not only get to experience six amazing courses, but they will do so with chef interaction, beverage pairings with Greenbar Distillery using its small batch, organic liquors and liqueurs, and special guest DJ sets from DJ Maseo of De La Soul and Andres Renteria, who is the drummer for Jose Gonzalez.
Check out the menu and the chefs that will prepare the tasty concoctions below:
- Eddie Ruiz of Public Beer and Wine and Michael Puglisi of Electric City Butcher
Lambchetta taco with hongo enchilado, chayote, sweet lady peppers, and queso anejo
- Luis Navarro of Lola’s Mexican Cuisine, Mexican chef Diego Isunza Kahlo and Emiliano Ayala Barreda
Seared veal tongue with roasted quajillo chile bone marrow salsa
- Arthur Gonzalez of Panxa Cocina and Rahm Fama, former host of the Food Network’s “Meat and Potatoes”
Spot prawns with greens and spatzle, finished with urchin aji cream
- David MacLennan of James Republic and Makoto Okuwa of Makoto
Tomato tartare with capers, chives, spicy aioli, and quail egg yolk
- Philip Pretty and Yesenia Martinez, both of Restauration
Fig upside-down cake with spiced vanilla anglaise + housemade chamomile ice cream
- Paul Buchanan of Primal Alchemy Catering and David Coleman
Castillanut Pumpkin Fritters with Chili Dipping Sauce. Farm Lot 59 Salad, Beet Pasta Lasagnette w’ Kale, Onion, Mozzarella & Sun Choke Béchamel
While food is not typically highlighted at music festivals, Fischel said his passion for both music and food is what inspired him to combine and showcase both components at the festival.
“I grew up cutting the celery at three years old,” said Fischel, who noted that both his mother and brother are chefs. “We are all very, very serious about food. We travel a lot, we eat food, and we love music. It just kind of made sense to put this all together.”
Fischel also noted the growth of Long Beach cuisine in the past decade as a drive to highlight the great food.
“One of the big ideas behind this is to bring people into Long Beach and show Long Beach off,” Fischel said.
The dinner will be served four times between 5:00PM and 10:00PM. Time slots are available every hour at 5:00PM, 6:00PM, 7:00PM, 8:00PM, or 9:00PM. Reservations are encouraged but guests can come to Padre’s, located at 525 East Broadway, any time after 4:30PM to check for availability.
Only VIP ticket holders will be able to enjoy the dinner. Three-day VIP tickets cost $240 and Saturday-only VIP tickets cost $175. Those with a regular Saturday-only ticket can upgrade with a $100 purchase. Click here to buy your tickets.
A portion of the dinner proceeds will go to Long Beach Fresh.
Photos courtesy of Music Tastes Good.