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A Food Gal Giveaway: Two Seats at A Special Tomato and Wine Pairing Dinner in Los Gatos

Two of my favorite places in Los Gatos are joining for one night to celebrate “Fruits of the Vine,” a salute to summer heirloom tomatoes and stellar wines.

Sept. 15, the owners of Enoteca La Storia wine bar will be supplying copious amounts of their 25 varieties of home-grown, organic tomatoes to Restaurant James Randall for a vine-to-table five-course feast.

Chef Ross Hanson’s menu will include dishes such as Dungeness crab croquettes with tomato relish; tomato braised beef with creamy polenta and Pecorino; and roasted tomato and peach shortcake.

The  6 p.m. dinner is $95 per person, which includes wine pairings. Tax and gratuity are not included.

Advance ticket purchase is required.

Contest: One lucky Food Gal reader will get a chance to attend the dinner with a guest — for free (though a tip for the servers would be appreciated, I’m sure). Entries, limited to those who can make it to Los Gatos on the evening of Sept. 15, will be accepted through midnight PST Sept. 8. Winner will be announced Sept. 10.

How to win?

Just tell me about the best tomato dish/preparation you’ve ever enjoyed. Best answer wins.

Here’s my own response:

“I’ll never forget the tiny scoop of tomato sorbet at the French Laundry years ago. Imagine the ripest, most flavorful tomato ever. Then amp that up to the 100th power. That’s what that tomato sorbet tasted like. It was the purity of tomato distilled to its very essence and concentrated beyond belief. I’ll also never forget the reaction by my two dining companions when they tasted it, either. My girlfriend took a taste, fairly swooned, then turned to her husband imploringly: ‘Why can’t your spaghetti sauce taste like this?’ ”

More: My Visit to Enoteca La Storia