If you're like us, and you've been to The Grove once or twice over the eleven years it has called Third & Grove Drive home, you likely get this feeling around each June: Is it time for The Grove's Christmas tree to go up yet?
Because that tree has a way of showing up long before you expect it. (Us, we're glad, because it heralds the faux snow, and faux snow=festive fun times.) And, nope, the tallest tree in LA will *not* be assembled this weekend at the shopping center's park, but a festivity of a different sort is due, and one that has a bit of holiday-style food flair, at least in terms of eating.
It's the Taste of the Grove, which unfurls on Saturday, June 29.
Taste has a number of culinary components packed tightly into one afternoon. Like? Well, chef demos, for one -- Neal Fraser of nearby BLD , Anthony Jacquet of The Grove's own Whisper Lounge, and Phil Kastel of Public School 310 will be doing the stirring/spooning/chopping duties -- and tastings.
Now, about those tastings: A tasting pass is twenty bucks and will include bites from The Grove's restaurants (so think Morel's, the Fat Cow, and, yep, Whisper Lounge, to name a few). That's on from 2:30 and 4:30 and the best of the best will be chosen by Kat Odell of Eater LA. (The best dish gets Cadillac Taste Dish crown, Cadillac being the host of the day.)
Other foodly happenings, like prix fixe menus over both weekend days, and other carly happenings, like Cadillac test drives, round out the event.
It's true, we kind of anticipate the big Christmas tree, even in June, and Santa's sleigh flying high above The Grove's park. But any celebration, especially a flavorful one, will keep us sated while we await a certain star fir to make its way to the shopping destination. Trust. That day will be here before any of us can say "Taste of the Grove" three times in a row.
