A Broad Palate : Taste of Encino Showcases Restaurants, Wineries

For those who sampled the tastes at the seventh annual Taste of Encino, Saturday was a lovely day. The sun was shining, the crowds weren’t too bad and they could pile their plates with pickings from 25 San Fernando Valley restaurants and six wineries.

But for those who cooked all that food over open grills, with smoke in their eyes and the sun on their necks, Saturday was just plain hot.

“I’m on my second shirt--I sweat through the first one,” said Linda Fay as she grilled 10 of the 500 marinated chicken kabobs the Pango Pango catering service had prepared to sell Saturday. “It’s very warm.”

The first person assigned to do the grilling gave up midway through the afternoon, Fay said, pointing to a man sleeping in the shady bushes behind the booth.

But neither the cooks nor the organizers nor the 8,000 to 10,000 attendees were complaining too loudly--and not just because their mouths were full.

Neighborhood restaurants, selling just-more-than-bite-sized portions for $1 to $3, got a chance to tempt the palates of potential customers. Area schools, the beneficiaries of the Encino Chamber of Commerce-sponsored event, will get much-needed supplies from wish lists submitted to the chamber.

And visitors got a whole lot of food--everything from chicken tandoori at Taj Mahal Cuisine of India to shredded chicken salad at Chin Chin to gnocchi from Viva la Pasta to artichoke-and-spinach dip from the Beachhead Cafe.

Steve Mack of North Hills licked his fingers after polishing off a plate of ribs from Adam’s Rib and declared that he wanted to try everything. Having run through his first set of 10 $1 tickets, Mack said, he was planning to head back to the ticket booth for 10 more.

“This is really a taste of the Valley,” he said. “You’ve got all these different foods, ambience, a wonderful mixture of different lifestyles. It’s just one great big bite.”

Rib cook Luis Zarate has been a chef at Adam’s for 14 years, he said. Even with steaming barbecue sauce dripping on his hands and sweat running into his eyes, Zarate smiled when some customers sneaked behind the tent for extra condiments.

“You should be in our kitchen,” he said. “This is kind of like a break.”

The Taste also offered live music, children’s shows and a chance to meet other Angelenos--the limited number of umbrella-covered tables forced folks to double up.

Mark Howard, who came to the event from Beverly Hills with his girlfriend and daughter, sought refuge from the heat at a table already occupied by a mother and daughter from Woodland Hills.

“The sun makes everyone really friendly,” Howard explained. “You have to share the shade.”

The festival continues today at the Courtyard Shops of Encino, 17401 Ventura Blvd., from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. with food, drinks and entertainment. Admission is $2, $1 for senior citizens and free for children under 5.

Birmingham High School, Taft High School, Zane Grey High School, Emelita Street Elementary, Encino Elementary, Nestle Avenue Elementary and Mulholland Middle School will benefit from this year’s event.