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Easter and Passover 2017: Drop-Off Menu

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St. John’s Health Center Open House

After months of renovating an office building on the St. John’s Health Center campus in Santa Monica, staff and volunteers welcomed St. John’s Health Center Foundation donors and sponsors, as well as Health Center doctors and staff, to a ribbon cutting celebration and open house. Guests were invited to grab a glass of fresh strawberry-basil lemonade or a drink at the bar, some light, delicious hors d’oeuvres, and check out the beautiful new office space and its well-curated contemporary art display. Brown Paper LA was delighted to provide the food and drinks for this lovely event. Check out photos of the menu and the buffets below. Congratulations to the St. John’s Health Center Foundation on the move and the gorgeous renovation!

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Summer Grad Party 2016

We had a great time in Pasadena celebrating this year’s batch of graduates and their proud parents with some yummy, easy-going food that looked beautifully festive gathered on the dining room table along with roses handpicked from our hostess’s gorgeous garden. Scroll through to see some photos of the fun. Congratulations, Class of 2016!

The spread! Clockwise from top: tangier chicken salad sliders, Black Forest ham on focaccia, very green salad, sweet potato salad, vindaloo macaroni, and baby field salad, with beautiful fresh roses from the garden in the center.

Arugula salad, front, gets a seasonal, colorful boost from blueberries.

A drizzle of fig-balsamic reduction makes these watermelon bites all the more delicious

We love the colors in this baby field greens salad!

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Spring Garden Party

Spring has sprung - in fact, we’re already verging on summer! That means the weather in Los Angeles has been absolutely perfect for a garden party, despite some recent May Gray. So we were super excited when the Fremont Wellness Center and Community Garden asked us to cater their recent garden party fundraiser.

Fremont is a brainchild of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust and the University Muslim Medical Association, who got together when they recognized a need at Fremont High School in South LA: 40% of the students are overweight or obese, 42% are physically unfit, and a third have been exposed to violence of some kind. These are some of the poorest health rates in all of the LAUSD, and the leading causes of death in the larger surrounding community include coronary heart disease, stroke, and homicide. It also has one of the highest rates of poverty in LA County.

And so, the Fremont Wellness Center and Community Garden was founded. The 1.5-acre facilities is open to students as well as members of the surrounding community. They include a medical center with free or reduced-rate medical and behavioral services, a community garden, a medicinal garden, neighborhood green space, a greenhouse, and an orchard. The programs provide healthy food to the community, educational opportunities like cooking and nutrition classes, as well as job training opportunities, which provides employment opportunities for community residents. Finally the Center serves as a service learning area for the 2,200 students attending Fremont High School. 

As food lovers, it’s unbelievable that giving community members access to fresh, quality produce would even be debatable, but we firmly believe that it should be available to all. Every child deserves to experience the sweet juice of a fresh summer peach running down her chin, or the crisp crunch of a fall apple between his teeth. Every child - every person! - not only deserves but needs outside space and fresh air to run around and play in. Access to medical and behavioral health care is a basic human need and of the utmost importance.

We are so proud to have been involved in a fundraising event for this incredibly important program. Scroll through to check out the garden-inspired menu, featuring fruits, veggies, and herbs straight from the Fremont Community Garden, and some photos from this fun and delicious fundraising event below.

bunches of fresh chard straight from the garden adorn the cheeseboard station, featuring bright sage-infused manchego

peppers, mushrooms, melons, and root vegetables pulled from the garden that morning are piled high in rustic boxes 

fresh crackers, sourdough boules, and sweet-and-salty olive bread accompanies the cheeseboard

the rainbow spring rolls live up to their name next to garden-fresh veggies

tofu banh mi sliders and phyllo birds nests with shawarma chicken salad rest among spring wildflowers picked fresh from the garden

from-scratch lemon squares, fudgy brownies, dirty blondies, and gooey Mexican chocolate-chocolate chip cookies are adorned with garden-fresh raspberries

the crowd enjoys treats as they sip fruit and herb-infused aguas frescas and cocktails under the garden’s trees

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Party in the Arroyo

Brown Paper LA was proud to be a part of a founders’ appreciation event at the Kidspace Children’s Museum in Pasadena at the end of April. Founders and friends of the Museum were invited to sip wines and savor BPLA bites while exploring the Museum’s beautiful grounds and amphitheatre throughout the evening. To help get guests into the mood of the evening, the folks over at Kidspace asked BPLA to create a menu based off aspects of the surrounding Arroyo Seco terrain: harvest vegetables, seafood, and local birdlife. Check out what we came up with below!

rainbow spring rolls living up to their name

we love infusing our iced teas and lemonades with interesting flavors. here we’ve added rosemary and basil for a refreshing herbal twist on a classic

fresh veggies pile high around spring rolls and crudites on the harvest station

housemade hummus hides under a lense flair and a basket of harvest veg

crackers, flatbreads, and even succulents seem to flow out of the multi-board cheese and fruit display

fresh fruits, spiced pecans, and cornichons adorn brightly colored cheese boards, including this one with a pink-tinged merlot-spiked Manchego

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Gala Committee Reception at the Pasadena Playhouse

We always love working with the Pasadena Playhouse, so we were happy to bring a light meal for a recent reception they held for their hard-working gala committee last month. Scroll through for the full menu, and some beautiful photos of the appetizers and cheese boards we created for them.

That stunning emerald green running through that semi-hard cheese is organic sage, which lends the cheese a slight herbaceousness and an eye-popping color. At Christmas we pair it on cheese boards with a brilliant red cheese that gets its color from soaking in merlot.

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Easter and Passover 2016

Brown Paper LA is available for full-service Spring Holiday parties this year, whether that means an intimate Easter Sunday brunch or a Passover seder for the whole family, our chefs, bartenders, and servers are here to help. Give us a call to discuss some fun and different menu options. Or, just let us take care of the food! We’ve created a drop-off menu for Spring Holiday parties this year. Check out the menu below, and if you’d like some fresh, seasonal, and truly delicious BPLA food at your next spring gathering, contact us by 1pm the day before delivery. We’ll make sure it gets to you on time the day of your event. The rest is up to you!

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Lunch Drop-Off Menu

Did you know that Brown Paper LA delivers tasty snacks right to your front door? It’s true! The next time your office wants to order lunch together, you have a catered meeting coming up, or you just feel like treating yourself and some friends, let us know. If you’re ordering for 10 or more people, just give us a call or email us by 1pm the day before delivery, let us know what you’d like, and the time and place it’s being delivered. We’ll take it from there! Check out our menu below.

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Super Bowl 50

Can you believe we’ve already celebrated FIFTY incarnations of one of the world’s biggest sporting events? That’s right, the Super Bowl, the holiest of American Sundays, celebrated its 50th birthday last week, and just like every year before it, beers were cracked and tons of fun was had. (Well, by everyone except Cam Newton, maybe.) But we here at #BPLA believe that food is the most important part of a successful Super Bowl party - and America must agree, given that the day of the Big Game is the nation’s biggest eating holiday, second only to Thanksgiving. Who knew? (Probably our waistlines.) So we were glad to help our gracious host and longtime client, Roslyn, serve a hungry crowd on Super Bowl Sunday with steaks, pasta, and lots of tasty snacks.

Scroll through for a peek at the delicious menu and some shots of our Game Day spread. It’ll make you hungry for next year!

taglietelle, coleslaw, sliders, sweet potato salad, and savory bread pudding all piled high in the kitchen around a small TV set guarantee you never have to miss a minute of the game just because you’re feeling peckish 

coleslaw, taglietelle, sweet potato salad, a classic Caesar with housemade dressing and croutons, and a gorgeous canyon view

artichoke and Parmesan bread pudding

the delightful taglietelle pasta with fresh veg gets its close-up

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"You are Here” and “Outpost” : Rebecca Campbell and Michael C. McMillan Artists’ Reception at LA Louver

This gallery is the best. Always representing fascinating, exciting artists with equally engaging work, we love catering their opening receptions, if for no other reason than to check out the ever-impressive art on display. It doesn’t hurt that their clientele is impossibly cool yet always approachable, or that the gallery is located literally steps away from the sands of Venice Beach. For all these reasons and more, the BPLA team was happy to be back for LA Louver’s January 13th opening of a joint exhibition: “You are Here,” a series of striking greytone acrylic portraits offset by hints of blush and coral by Rebecca Campbell, and “Outpost” by Michael C. McMillan, featuring three-dimensional structures of ghost ships, industrial compounds, and wire towers.

Click through to check out our menu and some photos of the show. Head over to LA Louver’s website for more photos of Campbell and McMillan’s shows. (Note: BPLA’s staff was mainly situated in the downstairs section of the gallery, which is the only reason we weren’t able to snap any photos of Campbell’s gorgeous work on the 13th. Make sure to check it out on the gallery website!)

Grilled, prosciutto-wrapped figs stuffed with blue cheese and crushed pecans

Housemade mint and pea pesto on crostini with honeyed cherry tomato chutney

”Outpost,” McMillan

“Transmitter,” McMillan

“The Pequod II,” McMillan

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UCLA Open House

On December 3, UCLA celebrated a recent remodel to the Fielding School of Public Health building with a ribbon cutting open house - and the Brown Paper LA staff was glad to be on the scene with celebratory seasonal snacks. Check out the menu and some photos below!

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Thanksgiving 2015

Check out our delicious, cozy, take-out offerings for this year’s holiday. Call us at 424-209-2320 or email at brownpaperla@gmail.com for pricing details, or to book your upcoming holiday party. We still have dates available in November and December!

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Urban SOS 2015

A few nights ago, the BPLA team was lucky enough to feed the crowd who gathered to see proposals for Urban SOS 2015: AECOM’s Global Student Competition.  Hosted by the international engineering design firm, the event took place at the A+D Museum in the Mid-Wilshire area of Los Angeles.

The top three student teams who made the shortlist formally presented their submissions for “more resilient food, water, and energy systems for supplying cities and regions today and in the future” at the event, unveiling their designs to an interdisciplinary panel of judges in the hopes of winning the $25,000 prize and the chance to turn their idea into a prototype.

The interesting event certainly drew a crowd - even Mayor Garcetti showed up. Scroll through for a look at the menu we created for this evening of science, technology, and inspired design.

Yellowtail Tartare

Brie Sliders

Pea Pesto and Honeyed Cherry Tomato Crostini

Vegan Banh Mi Sliders

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Coming Up Roses at LA Louver

We were so pleased when LA Louver asked us to cater the opening reception for Tom Wudl and Charles Garabedian, whose joint exhibitions are currently on view at the gallery. The servers’ attire for the evening was inspired by Garabedian’s surrealism and Wudl’s geometric roses, and Brown Paper LA unveiled some new seasonal appetizers with warm, autumnal flavors. Read on for the opening reception’s menu and some photos of the delicious food - and the people who served it!

Moroccan Chicken Empanadas - an LA Louver favorite, dusted in fresh chopped parsley and chives

Caramelized onion, mushroom, and gruyere galettes welcome autumn to LA Louver.

A rare photo of the team at work! 

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Silverlake Served Dinner

A gathering of new friends and old makes a great excuse for a dinner party, and that’s exactly what we made happen for our clients Scott and Bryan at their gorgeous hilltop home in Silverlake this summer. Twenty-two of their good friends gathered around tables among twinkling tea lights and under the diffused light of white lanterns to enjoy a six-course meal. It was a warm summer evening, perfect for clean and classic Californian fare. Scroll through for the menu and photos of the serene lakeside setting.

The venue: Scott and Bryan’s gorgeous Silverlake home, for which we designed a beautiful backyard table setting

The view to the Lake from one of 22 place settings

Several mini-stations of seasonal, Mediterranean finger foods hang out between place settings

Another view of the Lake, shrouded by paper lanterns and the glow of fairy lights

Two-tone chilled corn and asparagus soup en masse

Two-tone chilled corn and asparagus soup gets a close-up

Gorgeous and refreshing, the two-tone theme extends to this double-melon salad’s checkerboard plating

Fresh, housemade lemon sorbet scooped into hollowed out lemons.

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Schedule Your #BPLA Tasting

A few weeks back, we had the pleasure of giving the folks at Flintridge Prep a tasting of some of our seasonal offerings at their beautiful La Canada campus. Chef Joe prepared lots of colorful and tasty end-of-summer dishes that left everyone full and happy. Scroll through for photos!

And, if you’d like to schedule a tasting for your office, school, organization, or home for an upcoming events or series of events, get in touch with us! We’d love to cook up something special for you to try. Call us at 424-209-2320 or drop us a line at brownpaperla@gmail.com.

[clockwise from top left] Arugula salad with grilled peaches, figs, and fresh chives; lemony roasted asparagus; shredded black kale and purple raddichio tossed with a citrus vinaigrette and topped with raspberries and burrata

Seared tenderloin with cucumber and bleu cheese relish

left: Moroccan couscous with spiced chickpeas, sweet red and yellow peppers, and crumbled feta lower right: grilled Tuscan lemon chicken with a tahini-yogurt sauce

Polenta fries with housemade sweet marinara dipping sauce

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A Mediterranean Buffet for Women in Film

Women in Film, an organization whose purpose is to empower, promote, and mentor women in the entertainment and media industries, invited us to provide the buffet for a meeting they had in Century City earlier this month. The organization wanted something fresh and clean, but full of flavor - we knew a Mediterranean-inspired feast was the way to go. Scroll through for photos of the gorgeous buffet we built for them, with tons of yummy food to boot.

a cheeseboard with manchego, emmental, frying cheese, and brie, with sliced dried apricots, dried cranberries, fresh grapes, and shelled walnuts

The beautiful Mediterranean spread on the buffet

left: Moroccan Chicken Salad Sliders right: Veggie Banh Mi Sliders

Veggie Bahn Mi Sliders up close

Our Cauliflower Tabbouleh and homemade hummus are always big hits