Photos from the Wounded Warrior Project benefit at LA Live

Monday evening was the opening night for the 1st Annual Rocktoberfest at LA Live, which began with a charity jam with the proceeds from this evenings function going to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. Gene Simmons got on stage and played a set with the band along with several others. Wolfgang Puck provided the food for an Octoberfest meal with a California twist. There were lots of celebrities whose names I do not know, but James Gandolfini, Nikki Sixx and Bill Engvall were among those I did recognize. The true stars were the Wounded Warriors that attended tonight’s event. Besides …

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Chef Shafer’s 17th Annual Halloween Ball, benefiting the Pediatric Therapy Network

These photos are from Chef Shafer’s 17th Annual Halloween Ball, benefiting the Pediatric Therapy Network which was held yesterday in Old Torrance. Chef Shafer is the owner of The Depot and Buffalo Fire Department restaurants, both located in downtown Torrance. He was also the recipient of this year’s Torrance Citizen of the Year Award and I suspect that this event is one of the reasons he was presented with this honor. Chef Shafer said when he started this fundraiser there were less than 50 attendees and he was able to host it in his restaurant. Yesterday’s event had more than …

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South Bay Craft Beer Celebration at Abigaile, Hermosa Beach

Thursday night, The Brewery at Abigaile hosted a “celebration of local craft beer” and the release of the October issue of Beach Magazine which is pretty much dedicated to the craft beer scene in the South Bay area. I know it sounds like I spend a lot of time at Abigaile and The Brewery at Abigaile; but this place is so much fun and they have such good beer and food available, that it is worth making a detour over there every once in a while. Last night was no exception. As part of the celebration, Abigaile brought in all …

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Fall Gathering Open House at Abigaile, Hermosa Beach

Last night we went to the Abigaile Fall Gathering open house in Hermosa Beach. If you read this blog with any regularity you have probably heard me mention them on numerous occasions as they house The Brewery at Abigaile. We discovered them during American Craft Beer Week when the manager at The Rockefeller recommended them to us. We quickly became big fans. Not only did they brew a wide variety of beers, but they had some nice plates on their menu that made it interesting to experiment. I soon learned of their Chef Tin and was immediately impressed. The guy …

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1st Annual Rocktoberfest at LA Live, benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project

Back in April, when I made my first visit to Rock & Brews, I was walking around checking out the artwork decorating the place, I could not but help notice among all the rock and roll images was a lone banner on the center of the main wall. On it was the image of one soldier carrying another, obviously wounded soldier, with the words, “Wounded Warrior Project” below. Upon closer inspection I could see that it had been signed by many people from different branches of the armed forces. I made a mental note to investigate the Wounded Warrior Project …

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South Coast Botanic Garden, Palos Verdes

These photos were taken last week at the South Coast Botanic Gardens. Every once in a while we need to get out of the house with nothing that has to be done, and Tanya really enjoys taking photos of flowers; so we will head off to somewhere like the South Coast Botanic Garden. The place is huge and after two visits there, we have just scratched the surface. Of course, with Tanya’s limitations due to her Rheumatoid Autoimmune Disease, we don’t usually get more than an hour or two there. It was a nice day; she got some sunshine and …

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Photos of Sausage Fest at FIG in Santa Monica

These photos are from last night at the 1st Annual Sausage Fest, held at FIG Restaurant in the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica. Our friends at Smog City Brewing are celebrating their first year in business and are pouring their fine brews at many events this October. When asked if I would not mind covering the event, I was honored and more than happy to do so. Over the years I have attended many events that might be described as a sausage fest, but this was the first one I attended that actually served sausage. In fact, if it …

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3rd Annual BAM Fest Santa Monica

Saturday, October 6, was the 3rd Annual BAM Fest (Beer, Art and Music Festival), which is a fundraiser benefiting the 18th Street Arts Center. I have been talking to many of the local brewmasters about this event and I heard nothing but good things about it; now I know why. This was a very fun event with beautiful weather, beautiful people, good food, good music and some really great beers. All of the local micro breweries were represented with Strand Brewing, Monkish Brewing, The Brewery at Abigaile, El Segundo Brewing and Smog City all showing up. There were over 30 …

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Business & Beer returns to The Rockefeller, Hermosa Beach

These photos are from our 13th Business & Beer gathering which was held at The Rockefeller in Hermosa Beach, which is one of our favorite gastropubs in the South Bay area. The Rockefeller offers some great menu selections and has about 25 beers on tap; which makes it perfect for Business & Beer. While driving over there we discussed how many people we should expect. We knew that many of our regular attendees had other commitments so I was hoping for maybe 10 people to show up. I said that I would like to see one or two new faces …

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Business & Beer comes to Tortilla Cantina, Torrance

It was Day 8 of LA Beer Week (LABW) and Business & Beer made their first appearance at Tortilla Cantina in Old Torrance. From what I heard and saw, everyone had a great time. Tortilla Cantina is a “taco bistro” that boasts 18 different kinds of tacos and 35 beers on tap. Most of the beers are craft beers with several local options available. We had about 15 people with a few first timers and a couple second timers; it looked like they were all enjoying the networking opportunity. Next week, Business & Beer will return to The Rockefeller, a …

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