Early this month (yes, I’m delayed in posting this and being on this blog in general – what else is new?), I was invited to a VIP reception to celebrate the launch of the The SoCal Restaurant show at The Winery Restaurant and Wine Bar. It was an animated affair, a clash of two different chef personalities, and a test of my reserved culinary tastes. The show airs every Saturday at 10:30AM on AM 830 KLAA.

The gregarious Chef Jet Tila started the night with an educational sushi demo. If you know me at all, I’m not a big seafood fan. It mostly has to do with texture and smell. If you can somehow manage to bypass that, I will eat it and love it. However, the lively demonstration of the Crunch Roll (a specialty at Wazuzu at Encore at Wynn Las Vegas) left me craving more. While practically salivating, we learned proper sushi rice handling and how to turn sushi into a $40 dish with fancy rice pearls. Paired up with Chef Yvon Goetz’s Seared Rare Ahi Tuna and I was in heaven. The Ahi itself was light and refreshing.

I was also happy to see that Chef Yvon’s Alsatian Pizza was on the menu for the night. This is my favorite dish at The Winery and is prepared with creme fraiche, applewood smoked bacon, gruyere, and onions. As much I love the Alsatian, I think the real winner was the Chicken and Waffles and I don’t say this lightly. There is nothing about chicken and waffles that appeals to me at all. Everyone has been trying to get me to go to Roscoe’s but even without venturing there, I could tell you now that Roscoe’s has nothing on Chef Jet Tila’s Chicken and Waffles. The breaded chicken breast is served on top of a thick (I want to say Belgian) waffle with a Sriracha maple syrup. Yes. Sriracha maple syrup! I practically inhaled that dish. The savory/sweet components of this dish played well together and it was pure harmony to my taste buds. I am tempted to road trip out to Santa Monica for Sunday brunch at the Charleston. Who wants to join me?

To listen to more thoughts about my adventure that night, check out my podcast below:

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