STARTING WITH WHISKEY: Gourmands who keep in the know about rare and story-filled supping events have a few must-tries on their horizon. It might be eating an abalone atop a bluff on the North Coast or sipping a specific wine in a cellar ten kilometers north of Florence or chowing down on a Chicago hot dog at a White Sox game (a frankfurter dusted with extra celery salt, of course). And a major line item on many a gourmetist's have-to-go roster? Participating in a multi-dish tasting event that's involved with the Templeton Rye Heritage Pork Project. The farm-to-table concept has gained a lot of notice in recent years via its pig roasts, roasts that involve animals that have been "fed a special diet that is formulated to best utilize the spent grain by-product from Templeton Rye whiskey." There are "only 25 of these pigs in existence" and PigOut 3.0, which lands at The California Scenario (Noguchi Gardens) in Costa Mesa on Sunday, Aug. 24, will feature one.
CHEFLY CREATION: A few top toques from the region, including Haven Gastropub's Greg Daniels, Old Vine Cafe's Mark McDonald, Amar Santana of Broadway by Amar Santana, and Eric Samaniego of Little Sparrow, will oversee the day's flavorful creations ("unlimited food samplings" are part of the $75 ticket). Creative cocktail-o-logists shall tend to the shakers and stirrers, and a few Q&As and demos will festoon the event (think conversations involving modern pig farming and the care and keeping of knives).
THE BENEFICIARY: Inspire Artistic Minds, a community cultural project "that provides scholarships and educational experiences to advance the areas of taste, sight, and sound, with a strong focus on the food and beverage industry," gets part of the proceeds from PigOut 3.0.
