As someone who loves good food and good music, it’s not often I can find them in the same place. I love to explore new restaurants and discover up and coming chefs, just like I enjoy discovering new music or finding artists who fly under the commercial radar.
Fortunately for me and other music-loving foodies, local Los Angeles promoter Henry Lawrence Presents has created a musical series of concerts called Beats Bistro, all taking place at fabled West Hollywood concert venue The Troubadour. The shows merge cutting-edge LA chefs with some of today’s hottest musical performers.
I attended the inaugural night, Beats Bistro: LA Soul, which celebrated exactly that, soul; soul food and soul music. Food was provided by local chef Alisa Reynolds of My Two Cents and it was delicious. My favorites were the turkey meatball sliders and the amazing, seriously amazing lemon tart with blueberries. Multi-talented Anderson .Paak was the first performer, who was a really cool discovery for me. Next up was local legend female MC Medusa, who just killed it. Great rap / funk / soul performance with horns. Singer Rozzi Crane was the featured performer and she did not disappoint. I really liked her covers (done in her own style) of some pop songs, many reaching back to the 80s. Crane is poised to be a new superstar, the first signing to Adam Levine’s record label and currently touring with Maroon 5 and Kelly Clarkson.
The second in the series, Beats Bistro: Rock & Roll, happened March 2, with food from Starry Kitchen, a very popular Singaporian fusion spot in LA. The Moth & The Flame, Rachel Goodrich & The Grrrls, Breach The Summit and Black Crystal Wolf Kids provided the musical flavor.
Episode three, Beats Bistro: LA Seoul is planned for April 27 and will focus on Korean culture, food and music. The event, happening right after the popular Korean Night Market, will also feature Korean hip-hop artist DANakaDAN and Canadian-Korean beatboxer KRNFX. Food will be a special highlight as it’s from Kokio Korean Fried Chicken. The LA hotspot features Korean fried and BBQ chicken with all kinds of delicious and unique spicy flavors.
The final installment, Beats Bistro: Mexicali will feature Mexican food and culture and take place on May 18, with a chef and musical line-up both to be announced. Given the great success and musical-culinary harmony of the past shows, I know that installment of Beats Bistro will offer both tasty food and tasty beats.
Freddy Sherman is a world traveler and editor of the travel blog luxuryfred.com. You can follow him on Twitter -@luxuryfred and check out his travel photos on Instagram – @luxuryfred.
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