Le Temps des Cerises cocktail by Guillaume Jubien

You’ve heard of beer-paired dinners and even Kahlua-paired dinners but rarely the dinner with vodka, I bet. I guess it sounds like it would be too easy. I consider vodka the tofu of the spirits, it can mix with pretty much anything. But at the Grey Goose Vodka dinner at Checkers Downtown this Wednesday, the cocktails they’re pairing with the food sound, well, complex and savory. Consider their use of ingredients like cardamom bitters, lemongrass and crème de griotte. Hmmm and mmm.

And the five courses created by their Chef de Cuisine Dave Baker are just as exotic with flavors like chili oil, red curry risotto, ginger bbq glaze. Sounds like they had fun coming up with the dishes and drinks.

So a seat at this special dinner will cost you $80, and the price is not too shabby considering most downtown cocktails nowadays cost about $12. So it’s basically like you’re spending about $72 on cocktails and $8 on five courses!

Check out the menu:

• Reception cocktail is Motown Cocktail with Grey Goose Le Citron, peach liqueur, passion fruit syrup and apple juice
• Seared Japanese Hamachi with chili oil and mango sashimi paired with Yukuzu with Grey Goose Le Citron, Yuzu juice, orange curacao, agave syrup, mango puree
• Tempura Caledonian Prawns with grilled tofu and green bean salad, lemongrass vinaigrette paired with India Summer with Grey Goose L?Orange, blood orange puree, egg white, cardamom bitters, curry syrup
• Crisp Confit Jidori Chicken with red curry risotto paired with Cloud Nine with Grey Goose La Poire, sake, lychee fresh juice, lime juice, lemongrass
• Braised Natural Beef Shortribs with Napa cabbage slaw, ginger bbq glaze paired with Green Eye with Grey Goose La Poire, St Germain Elderflower, pear nectar, lime and cucumber juice, mint, basil, oregano, agave syrup
• Valhrona Chocolate Panna Cotta with toasted hazelnuts and a cherry-balsamic glaze paired with Le Temps des Cerises with Grey Goose, Morello Cherries, crème de griotte, Licor 43, lemon juice, Frangelico, Dry Sherry, chocolate bitters __

I’m not a big vodka drinker but I’m feeling those Yukuzu and India Summer cocktails.

Grey Goose vodka brand ambassador and master mixologist Guillaume Jubien will be on hand to discuss the thinking behind each pairing during the dinner.

EVENT: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25 at 6:30pm

Checkers Downtown
535 S. Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90071 (map)
Reservations: email tylerd at hiltoncheckers.com or call (213) 891-0526
Facebook: CheckersDowntown
Twitter: @checkersdt