Your food event calendar: Vegetarian feast, Oktoberfest and more

Because sometimes it’s fun to get out of the house and attend special food events -- dinners by visiting chefs, cooking classes, charity evenings and beer parties at excellent restaurants -- here are five upcoming food and drink occasions that you might want to check out, including one tonight and one tomorrow. Eat well, drive safe and good luck with those lederhosen.

Vegetarian feast -- Former Spago pastry chef Sherry Yard and New York Times Recipes for Health columnist Martha Rose Shulman are hosting a four-course vegetarian dinner at Tanzy restaurant in Westwood to mark the season finale of the restaurant’s Farmers Market Dinner Series. $50, optional wine pairing an additional $30. Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m., 10840 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, tanzyrestaurant.com/westwood. Call (310) 307-7022 for reservations.

Preserving summer -- Learn how to preserve the best of summer’s fruits and vegetables with chef Bruce Kalman (Union) and pastry chef Hedy Goldsmith at this event benefiting Common Threads, a national organization that provides cooking classes for kids through after-school programs. $90. Thursday, Sept. 24 at 6:30 p.m., at the New School of Cooking, 8690 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (310) 842-9702, cookingschoolsofamerica.com/newschoolofcooking.

#foodislove -- Grand Central Market in downtown L.A. is hosting an event to benefit St. Vincent Meals on Wheels. Taste dishes from many of the market’s food and drink vendors and check out a cookbook authors’ panel from the Last Bookstore, all while raising money to help St. Vincent bring nutritious meals to homebound seniors and other vulnerable L.A. residents. Tickets are $20, $40 or $65. Sunday, Sept. 27, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., at Grand Central Market, 317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles. Buy tickets at stvincentmow.org/donate/foodislove.

Oktoberfest at BierBeisl Imbiss -- Austrian chef Bernard Mairinger is holding his first official Oktoberfest at his downtown restaurant, with oversized beers, giant pretzels, pork shanks and spaetzle, beer flights, Austrian doughnuts, knoedels and sausages. Dust off your dirndls and lederhosen, as the best outfits will get a prize. $30 includes beer, pretzel and a T-shirt. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 10 and 11, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 541 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, (213) 935 8035, bierbeisl-imbiss.com.

Valentino Sicilian dinner -- Valentino owner Piero Selvaggio is hosting a Sicilian dinner by chef Peppe Barone of Fattoria delle Torri in Modica, Selvaggio’s birthplace in Sicily. Barone is bringing his protege, chef Antonio Colombo of Locanda Gulfi, to make the desserts for the dinner, called Una Cena Siciliana a Quattro Mani (or a Sicilian dinner by four hands). Dishes include pasta with uni, ricotta and candied lemon; rabbit agrodolce; and almond-stuffed suckling pig. Dinner is $95 with select wines for $30 per bottle. Monday, Oct. 12, 6 p.m. to closing. 3115 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 829-4313, valentinosantamonica.com.

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