One of our favorite restaurants in the world is Julian Serrano’s Picasso, located in Las Vegas’ Bellagio hotel. Over the last few years we’ve become friendly with its sommelier, Robert Smith MS, who makes sure that the wines accompanying our meal are its equal in beauty and quality.

Another reason we love this restaurant is the availability, upon request (and not widely promoted) of a completely vegetarian tasting menu. Having a multi-course vegetarian feast at a AAA Five-Diamond restaurant is a true joy.

Yes, the room is gorgeous and filled with a dozen Picassos and a field’s worth of blossoms. But the food, wine and service manage to outshine the ambiance. The words dont do justice to the beauty and flavor of the meal, but heres what we ate and drank last night:

Vegetarian Menu

Heirloom Tomato Salad
Gazpacho Sauce
2007 Riesling, die Leidenschaft, Weinhof Andorfer, Kamptal, Austria

*****

Farcie
Sautéed Artichokes, Zucchini Sofrito, Pepper and Sautéed Onions
2007 Cuvée Roucaillat, Hautes Terres De Comberousse, Coteaux Du Languedoc, France

*****

Butternut Squash Ravioli
Brown Butter and Wild Sage
2005 Vouvray, Moelleux, Cuvée Château Gaillard, Vigneau-Chevreau, Loire Valley, France

*****

Vegetable Ragout
Symphony of Vegetables with Court-Bouillon Sauce
2009 Enamore, Allegrini + Renacer, Bodegas Y Viñedos Renacer, Mendoza, Argentina

*****

Fromage
2009 Chambolle-Musigny, Vieilles Vignes, Frédéric Magnien, Burgundy, France

Disclosure: Absolutely none. We paid for all our food and drink, with pleasure.

I’m a founding board member of a non-profit called Vintage Hollywood Foundation, which raises money for charitable organizations that work to improve the health and well-being of Southern California’s diverse community.

Our flagship annual event, Vintage Hollywood, will be held on Saturday, June 12 (just 6 weeks away!) from 6:30-9:00pm. It features two dozen prestigious wine producers, each represented by its winemaker and/or proprietor; a dozen of L.A.’s top restaurants and purveyors including Artisan Cheese Gallery, The Foundry, Jar, Joe’s, and Tavern; and live and silent auctions. Our celebrity auctioneer this year is the brilliant Kevin Pollak; our emcee for the evening will be KNX Newsradio afternoon host Jim Thornton.

Vintage Hollywood is a relatively intimate event – we admit a maximum of 350 guests – held outdoors, this year at the home of Mr. Ray Leonard and Mrs. Bernadette Leonard (boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard) in Pacific Palisades.

Our primary beneficiary for 2010 is JDRF / Los Angeles Chapter. JDRF’s mission is to find a cure for type 1 diabetes and its complications through the support of research. JDRF is also committed to developing new and better treatments to improve the lives of people with type 1 diabetes in the near term, and keep them healthy while they advance toward a cure.

Tickets for Vintage Hollywood are $200 apiece, and can be purchased at the Vintage Hollywood website. Sponsorship opportunities, including a private June 11 “dinner with the winemakers,” are also available; for more information, contact Annie Aft at (310) 559-6325 or email VH2010 (at) vintagehollywood (dot) org.