Upper West restaurant in Santa Monica starts the holidays off in the spirit of the season with a fundraiser feast set for Sunday, Dec. 7 to benefit Miracles for Kids Foundation.
It will be held at the restaurant located at 3321 W. Pico Blvd. – just off 34th Street.
The iconic “Miracle on 34th Street” film will be projected onto the front room’s main wall to add to the atmosphere of the event.
Cocktails and a silent auction will start the festivities at 6 pm, along with a gingerbread cooking decorating station with the help of children who benefit from the foundation, including 13-year-old Bailey Spoonhower who has Rhabdomyosarcoma (a cancerous tumor of the muscles that are attached to the bones) and 16-year-old Dominic Aberl who has Ewings Sarcoma (a rare bone cancer).
Admission is $120 per person plus a toy for a four-course meal, including tax, gratuity, and two glasses of wine.
The menu includes Executive Chef Nick Shipp’s own Texas rich spin on pumpkin soup, yellowtail carpaccio, braised short rib, and butterscotch crème brulee.
Chef Shipp will teach young chefs from the foundation a few behind-the-scenes tricks of the trade preparing the meal. They have been provided with chef coats and hats by the restaurant.
The young chefs will decorate gingerbread cookies at the event, to be presented as gifts to each guest.
Even as a regular participant in community projects, Miracles for Kids is special to Executive Chef Nick Shipp.
Shipp said he is a cancer survivor himself.
“I realize how very lucky I am,” Shipp said. “But during my treatment I saw patients who weren’t as lucky, and I started looking for a way to pay back. Miracle for Kids is one way. If I can think of a way to help these kids get away from the day to day treatment and the diagnoses to do something fun and something different, it makes me so happy.”
The Miracles for Kids fundraiser is a festive, giving way to start the holidays from singles (special communal table) to groups, and it is a delicious, original holiday gift idea in keeping with the spirit of the season.
For reservations and more details, contact Upper West at 310.586.1111 or visit www.theupperwest.com.
