Hungry Cat’s birthday, bubbles and caviar with Alain Giraud, Cur-ATE

Hungry Cat Hollywood’s birthday bash: The Hungry Cat in Hollywood is throwing itself a birthday party on Friday in celebration of the restaurant’s eighth anniversary. The bash will pay tribute to chef and owner David Lentz’s hometown of Baltimore by featuring an outdoor barbecue, pit beef sandwiches, grilled oysters, a raw bar and $8 cocktails on the dinner menu. Call for reservations. 1535 N. Vine St., Hollywood, (323) 462-2155, www.thehungrycat.com.

Alain Giraud at the Strand House: Champagne and caviar are what’s on the menu for the next dinner in the Strand House’s Culinary Masters series. On March 11, chef Alain Giraud will be joining the restaurant’s chefs, Greg Hozinsky and Neal Fraser, in the kitchen where a five-course menu will be prepared. The menu will feature a course of four specialty caviars from Petrossian Paris paired with Perrier Jouet Champagne and a cheese course with cheeses from the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills. Dinner is $200 per person and includes wine pairings. Call for reservations. 117 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Manhattan Beach, (310) 545-7470, www.thestrandhousemb.com.

“Cooking in Captivity”: On Saturday, food historian Barbara Haber will discuss her research on American civilians in the Philippines who were captured by the Japanese and imprisoned during World War II. During “Cooking in Captivity: How American Civilians Survived WII in Japanese Prison Camps,” Haber will share stories of internees, like Natalie Crouter, who recorded experiences around food during the war years in the camps. The talk will be held at 10:30 a.m. at the Downtown Central Library and is free and open to the public. www.chscsite.org.

“Alexander the Great” talk with Cur-ATE: LACMA’s Cur-ATE dinner series is back on the events calendar for another year of food-themed art history tours led by Maite Gomez-Rejon of Artbites. Each tour will explore “the role of food in a historical and social context as displayed in art” and include a three-course meal at Ray’s & Stark Bar. The next dinner in the 2013 series, “Trail of Alexander the Great,” will examine art from Greece to India on March 11 and 12. Tickets, which include the tour, dinner and parking, are $90 for LACMA members and $100 for non-members. Purchase tickets online. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., (323) 857-6010, www.raysandstarkbar.com.

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