Generation Next

Anywhere else, the man in the brushed silk shirt would be picking up on the young artist, flaunting his connections, at least pretending to pay attention when she talked about her work. But on the patio of Michael’s restaurant Sunday afternoon, even as the crush of party-goers pressed him into the woman’s batik-clad torso, it became clear that the object of his desire was actually just beyond her bare shoulder.

L’Orangerie chef Ludovic Lefebvre had just set out a fresh batch of foie gras croquettes drizzled with a syrupy Port reduction, and the only flesh the man could contemplate at the moment was that square centimeter of fried duck liver, crusted outside and melting into hot liquid within. Suddenly lunging to snatch a plate, he almost knocked the artist over, then popped the tiny fritter into his mouth. He smiled like a man totally fulfilled.

A couple of yards away, JiRaffe co-chef Josiah Citrin fought his way through the throng. Citrin--one of the nearly 20 young chefs and dozen winemakers gathered on this Sunday afternoon by Michael’s owner Michael McCarty to celebrate the next generation of California’s food revolution--was trying to deliver to his station at the far end of the patio a trayful of potato-wrapped rare tuna, each slice nestling a nugget of foie gras. But the crush of bodies held him captive, and so he gave in, lowering his tray briefly and watching with wonder as the plates were picked clean within seconds.

One lesson this new generation of chefs has learned from the old: Never underestimate the power of foie gras.

“Isn’t this wild?” asked McCarty, surveying the crowd. Two years ago McCarty, whose restaurant helped set the stage for California’s food revolution nearly 20 years ago, shook up the recession-depressed restaurant scene by throwing a massive reunion party that even brought ‘80s celebrity chef Jonathan Waxman temporarily back to the fold. “We’re going to bring Los Angeles back,” McCarty insisted at the time.

These days, the only guy trash-talking the economy may be Alan Greenspan, and McCarty, never one to miss a chance to generate heat--or publicity--has put his hope, or at least his arts-organization fund-raiser, into the hands of a younger generation of chefs and winemakers.

McCarty assembled a remarkably sharp roster of chefs and winemakers, and each of them seemed determined to impress both peers and the assembled taste-makers, including guidebook moguls Tim and Nina Zagat and especially Wolfgang Puck and Barbara Lazaroff, who made a late but dramatic entrance.

“Try some duck, Wolfgang,” said Morton’s Matt McLinn, trying to draw Puck’s attention from Bill Marinelli’s assortment of fresh oysters and goose barnacles. First, Puck checked the lobster-and-crab risotto made by Jennifer Naylor, his new chef at Granita; he looked happy. And there was plenty more to eat.

Pinot Bistro’s Octavio Becerra served wood-plank-smoked salmon, nicely rare, with a crumble of apple-smoked bacon; the Chez’s Chris Milman topped a tangle of seaweed with an incredibly fresh sliver of scallop sashimi; 2424 Pico’s David Wolfe paired seared tuna with spicy shrimp grits; Primi’s Enrico Glaudo set forth elegant comfort food in the form of a spinach and ricotta cheese roll-up in a beautifully austere tomato sauce. McCarty’s own chefs, Christopher Bocchino and Catalino Echeverria, used their home-court advantage to present several dishes; best of all was their sauteed shad roe, a rare and pricey indulgence. Vida’s Fred Eric, always a couple of steps ahead of the curve, served his latest take on the corn dog--spherical this time and filled with tender, slow-cooked pork.

The rumblings of a new generation were felt even in the wines being poured (Au Bon Climat, Alban, Qupe, Ojai, Babcock and Andrew Murray were among the mostly Central Coast wineries represented). This had to be one of the few food events where Viogniers outnumbered Chardonnays two to one. And hardly anyone complained.