photo by One More Bite Blog, used under a Creative Commons license.

As a film noir enthusiast, the idea of an event built around the genre from screening of classic noir to themed food is nothing short of heaven. With very high expectations and an open mind to accommodate the interpretation of food as noir, last weekend I made my way to the block of Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles shut down for the evening for LA Times’ The Taste’s Food Noir event.

The event was packed. Lines were extremely long, particularly at very high end restaurants. As such, I was only able to try about five or six places. Further, I noticed that a lot of the venues phoned it in or went cheap. There was a lot of pasta served (and none of it black, which would have been a stab in the right direction for me). Cole’s inexplicably was serving what appeared to be bits of brownie rather than a selection of their classic food. Some of the more renowned vintage inspired restaurants in Downtown Los Angeles were pointedly missing.

The two stand out restaurants (that I was able to get to) were Rivera and 1321. Rivera is the brainchild of the brilliant Chef John Rivera Sedlar featuring cooking styles dating back thousands of years. He took the Taste seriously and offered a corn flan with black quinoa in individual corn husks. It was absolute art. Further, the chef sent to represent the restaurant was charming and very knowledgeable. Even if I hadn’t know about the history of his boss, I would have learned listening to him. The inclusion of 1321 confused me. It’s located in Torrance, not Downtown Los Angeles. But they also gave value to the Taste and brought roasted peanuts with garlic and lime as well as exquisite individual tostadas.

The purveyor of adult beverages were, at least, giving the theme some seriousness. Gin was flowing, I found some moonshine and plenty of the cocktails I saw floating around were period.  My personal favorite libation of the night was a cheeky little rose named Whispering Angel by Chateau D’Esclans.  Leave it to me to find the one french dame in the joint.

As for the theme, besides the beverages, the only thing noir about the night (an evening punctuated by a summer thunderstorm that came and went like a ghost) was the marquee of the Orpheum and the occasional woman dressed in vintage clothing.  The Los Angeles Conservancy was also on hand screening vintage film reel and trailers.  I assume film noir was shown. I saw cartoons.

My disappointment aside, there were some notable things about the event, noir or not. People attending were incredibly well behaved (even with all that free alcohol) and friendly. Given that we all had to share the few tables and seats available, it was refreshing. Well done, Filthy Angels of the City.