Gotta love food for a good cause: Planned Parenthood Food Fare

The list of participating vendors in the annual Planned Parenthood Food Fare lured me out to the fabulous Santa Monica Civic to join other pro-choice Ladies of Leisure who are able to attend a Thursday afternoon event. All in all it was lovely, and offered plenty of enticing ways to use your dollars to support PPLA's work.

I'm a total pushover at non-profit silent auctions (if you're planning one, be sure to invite me), and I was thrilled to leave with a Kate Mantilini gift certificate, two exciting bottles of Bordeaux, and hundreds of pages of glorious ornament to flip though.

A mitzvah! And at below retail! My grandparents would be proud. 

But I showed up at Food Fare today on more on an empty stomach than I should have. While I didn't exactly leave hungry, I wasn't stuffed to the gills either. A quick scan of the room revealed that a lot of the businesses listed on the invite weren't to be found. Turns out many of the big names only come to the later shift, and the mid-day crowd misses out. At least I had dinner at A.O.C. last night, so I didn't pout about Goin goods deprivation. 

Highlights included Linda's Gourmet Latkes, which I will definitely be seeking out next time I can't stand to face pounds of potatoes and hot splattering pans of oil. La Provence in Beverly Hills (and coming soon to Brentwood) made some impressive macarons, and salad bites from newly opened Culver City hot spot Akasha had an interesting spicy surprise. Tuna tartare with shiso from Michael's is the closest I've ever been to eating at that legendary room on 3rd Street, and chicken tagine from Kitchen for Exploring Foods again proved its among the city's best foolproof catering options. I also went back for seconds of Clementine's chocolate pudding.

Events like this are not easy to organize, so kudos. And I look forward to drinking Bordeaux while looking at 15th century polychrome velvet patterns.