James Beard's Chefs & Champagne: Eating and Twittering this evening

The event is nearly 20 years old and usually takes place in the Hamptons; this year, we got lucky. For the first time, the James Beard Foundation is hosting its Chefs & Champagne shindig in Los Angeles. They're honoring Tom Colicchio, which is a little bit of a stretch since the Century City Craft is barely a year old, but on the other hand, as the CAA-repped head judge on Top Chef, he's about as Hollywood as you can get.

Participating restaurants: Craft, Hungry Cat, Angelini Osteria, Spago, Providence, Grace, the Foundry, Citrus at Social Hollywood, Saddle Peak Lodge, Fraiche, Patina and then some.

Location is Melrose Place; tickets are $275/$400 (standard vs. VIP; $195/$325 if your're a JBF member). Funds got to the JBF's philanthropic work.

Ticket info (last-minute works!) here. I'll be Twittering as I eat and drink: http://twitter.com/theknife.