Taste of Hope
The St. Joseph Center’s Taste of Hope returns for a fundraising evening of small plates, drinks and live entertainment. On June 3, the nonprofit’s annual tasting night will take place in front of the Miracle Theater with food from L.A. restaurants including Earle’s on Crenshaw, Nueva Venice and Kogi BBQ plus raffles, cooking demos, cocktails, an auction and live music. Tickets range from $100 to $250 and will aid unhoused families as well as struggling restaurants that were affected by the pandemic.
The St. Joseph Center is a nonprofit whose mission is to provide working, low-income families and homeless men, women and children with resources to become stable and self-supporting. Its programs include housing, mental health, educational and vocational services, and a food pantry, cafe and street outreach.
When one of my local favorites, Hereâs Looking At You, closed its Koreatown doors early in the pandemic, it seemed like my entire neighborhood was mourning the loss of its inventive cocktails and spicy, polycultural small plates. The one bright spot: Their sister restaurant, the All Day Baby diner in Silver Lake, was open. But just barely. With the perseverance of owners, the notoriously friendly managing partner Lien Ta, chef Jonathan Whitener, and pastry chef Thessa Diademâwho makes the best biscuits in townâthey stuck it out, through pop-up bake sales and takeout brought to the curb and placed carefully in your backseat. One highlight of our work-and-school from home year has been an occasional fried chicken sandwich lunch for four. (Warning: The menu is indulgent. Itâs called âAll Day Babyâ not âEvery Day Baby.â) Now that the world is slowly opening again, weâre looking forward to breakfast on the patio ASAP.Â