Taste of the Town Chef Selected

L.J. Washington, winner of The Santa Barbara Independent’s sandwich contest back in February, won KEYT’s Backyard Bar-B-Que cook-off — go L.J.! … Gary Menes of Le Comptoir in Los Angeles will serve as lead chef for the 31st Annual Taste of the Town (tasteofthetownsantabarbara.com); Menes will design a five-course meal for the Connoisseurs’ Circle Pavilion, but all attendees can enjoy tastings from more than 80 top local restaurants and Central Coast wineries on Sunday, September 9. … The inaugural Bruegala Buellton goes down on October 27 at River View Park, featuring pro-am homebrew competitions and everything Oktoberfest-like (bruegalabuellton.com). … Follow the Food Feed online at independent.com/food and on Twitter @sbindyfood, and send your grub gossip to food@independent.com.