LA Street Food Fest 2: July 24
It's coming up soon - the second installment of the LA Street Food Fest. For round number 2, the Fest has moved from LA Center Studios to the Rose Bowl. This time, the good eats won't be marred by long lines and sold-out noms - there are only a few thousand presale tickets available, you can only purchase them online, and one price gets you all you can eat, rather than your having to wait - and then pay - at the trucks and carts once you get in. The event's also in the evening (from 5:30 to 9 PM), so there's less chance of frying in the hot sun, as queuers and eaters did at the last LA Street Food Fest in February. While you eat, you can watch a concert, vote in the Vendys-style cook-off, and hang out in the beer garden. Ooh, and the entry price includes free parking, a boon at any festival-type event.
Food truck-wise, all your favorites will be there: here's the complete list. Top three trucks I'm most excited about hitting: The Manila Machine, to try their lumpia (Filipino egg rolls); the Fox Pizza Bus, to get some wood-fired pie from a double-decker; and The Mighty Boba Truck, because I'm always up for some milk tea. Top three trucks I already love and will be hitting at the Fest: the Gastrobus, for their awesome daily specials like the plum juice they had recently; Louks, whose pitas I just cannot praise highly enough; and Coolhaus, because even though their free-ice-cream-sandwich days appear to be over for now, I will gladly pay full price for their balsamic fig and mascarpone ice cream.
Visit the LA Street Food Fest website for more information.
Silverlake Jubilee: Crepe’n Around
The Silverlake Jubilee took place on the weekend of May 22 and 23. Myra Street was closed down from Sunset Boulevard to Hoover Street, and vendors and people filled the road from 10AM to 10PM on Saturday and Sunday. There was juice you could drink straight from the coconut; serving bowls made out of old vinyl records; more hipsters than you could shake a stick at (I shook one at as many of them as I could manage); and a whole crapload of food trucks. I counted: Derbs (whose truck is tiny!), the Fatburger Fatmobile, Mrs. Beasley's, Nana Queen's, Barbie's Q, Fishlips Sushi, Uncle Lau's BBQ, Del's, Flying Pig, Louks, Dosa Truck, India Jones, Lomo Arigato, Vesuvio, TastyMeat, Slice Truck, Komodo, Buttermilk Truck, Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffee and Smoothies, Dim Sum Truck, Frysmith, and Crepe'n Around. Phamish was there, despite having endured a nasty-sounding situation the previous week in which their truck had been taken hostage: they were using a temporary truck with a banner but no wrap.
I'd been excited about visiting LA's two crepe trucks, so I was psyched to see Crepe'n Around at the Jubilee. After I set up camp (husband + toddler + stroller + bag + friends who also had all of the above) on the sidewalk next to the truck, I went to place my order. I chose a teriyaki hanger steak crepe ($6). It came in a red-and-white checked paper scoop tray, with the crepe folded over in a cone shape, like a sushi hand roll. Inside: seared hanger steak, pepper jack cheese, mixed greens, pickled onions, wonton crisps, and teriyaki sauce.
The meat was juicy, but a little fatty and tough in places. It was coated very evenly with just the right amount of sauce - I was expecting the occasional teriyaki-heavy bite of meat, but none came. The greens and the wontons added a nice crunch. I have to say I didn't even notice the cheese's presence. Perhaps its flavor complemented the other ingredients so perfectly that it simply vanished into the crepe, or maybe the chef forgot to put it on. The crepe itself was the tiniest bit overdone, but I liked it; the very slight crispiness of the browned parts added a bit of nutty flavor. My beef (get it? get it?) with the overall package: a crepe seemed like too delicate a vehicle for such a hearty sandwich. The pieces of steak weren't what I'd call thinly cut, which made the whole package kind of chunky and unwieldy. Also, the teriyaki sauce soon soaked through the crepe. I got three quarters of the way through my meal, and then, as Chinua Achebe might say, things fell apart. Maybe if I'd been eating this dish on a plate with a knife and fork, my experience would have been different, but as hand-held street food, this didn't hold up very well. I think next time I'll try a more traditional savory crepe, like ham and brie.
I couldn't resist getting a dessert crepe. While Nutella looked tempting, I asked the Crepe'n Around crew if they had any lemon juice on board: I just wanted plain old sugar and lemon ($4). They graciously obliged me. This crepe was perfectly done. It could have used a couple fewer squeezes of lemon juice, but it still absolutely hit the spot.
I appreciated the Jubilee's zero-waste effort. There was no water being sold in bottles - instead, there were a couple of water filling stations where you could bring your own bottle to replenish your H2O supply. At several points along the block-party route, there were bins in banks of three: one for trash, one for recycling, and one for composting. As ever, though, the occasional dumbass threw the wrong stuff into the wrong bin. I didn't see any event staff sorting the trash into its correct receptacles; I hope they did at some point.
I enjoyed the Jubilee. It was like a mini-Sunset Junction. Its acoustics astounded me: unless I stood right by the stage where the bands were playing (which, sadly, I'll have to wait to do until my kid is older and has hardier ears), I could barely hear the music at all. That meant I didn't need to shout myself hoarse or lip-read my friends to have a conversation. Excellent. The only time I was silent was when I was shoving crepes in my face, or inhaling nutella louks from - where else - Louks.
Photos by Oliver Seldman
The Vendy Awards this Saturday 5/15
Photo by Oliver Seldman
This Saturday, May 15, the Vendy Awards will be held in MacArthur Park. Six finalists will battle for the title of Best Street Food Vendor in LA. The finalists are: India Jones Chow Truck, Hot Dog Kings, Bigmista's BBQ, Nina's Foods, Grilled Cheese Truck, and Tacos el Galuzo.
Tickets are $50, which at first might seem a bit steep, but once you pay, you eat and drink for free. You're also helping raise money to protect vendors' rights - and your ticket's tax deductible. LA Street Food Fest is also offering a $5 discount if you buy your tickets today (5/11) or tomorrow (5/12): buy these discounted tickets using the code "tacotruck" online here for $45. This discount code is only valid from Tuesday 5/11 to Wednesday 5/12 at midnight PST.
Find out more about the Vendys at the official site.
Dainty Cakes and Crepe’n Around at Pet Adoption Event Sat 4/10
This Saturday, April 10, from 11AM to 3:30PM, Much Love Animal Rescue will be holding a pet adoption event at Route 66 Riders in Marina del Rey. Two food trucks will be there: Dainty Cakes and Crepe'n Around. There'll also be a pet photographer and an ask-the-vet table with Dr. Heard from VCA Petville animal hospital in Venice. Come get a crepe and a cupcake, and give Boss Hogg, Melon, Currant, Ketchup or many more adorable dogs a forever home.
Find more information here.
First Friday 3/5: Willoughby, Fresser’s & Dim Sum
The first Friday of March fell on the 5th. My husband and I headed down to the monthly street festival on Venice's Abbot Kinney Blvd to get our food-truck fix. The Brig bar always hosts several trucks in its parking lot on First Fridays (and plenty of other days too): the Dim Sum truck had announced its intention to be there, and I was really excited to try it.
As we began the search for a parking spot, we saw the Flying Pig truck doing the same. Once we got over to the Brig, it was easy to see why the Pig was having trouble - food trucks ringed the Brig parking lot, with no room for any more to squeeze in. At 6:30 PM, half an hour after the official start of First Friday, the crowd was already beginning to pack the parking lot. If you weren't queuing, you were standing and eating, which created a problem I've seen before at multitruck gatherings: it was hard to tell where lines began, and if you stood too near a food truck for a couple of minutes, a queue would sometimes start to form behind you. The multitasking became overwhelming at times: I was eating, chatting, making sure I wasn't accidentally in line for a truck, moving out of the way for people coming to and from trucks, and attempting to corral a toddler who wouldn't eat anything except food other people had dropped on the ground.
Before its official launch on February 27, the Dim Sum Truck served goodies to the VIP area at last month's LA Street Food Fest. I hadn't tried it yet, so the truck was my first stop when I got to the Brig. I ordered bao, or baked BBQ pork buns (2 for $3). The bread was sweet, egg-glazed on top, with tangy shredded pork inside. The pork-to-bread ratio was, in mathematical terms, probably 1:2. In nomological terms? Perfect. Next I opted for the Peking duck taco. It needed a touch more hoisin sauce and a touch less fat. I like the method they use to take orders: there are paper menus with checkboxes out front of the truck, and they take your sheet of paper when you've checked what goodies you want.
Next up was Willoughby Road. Chefs Adrian Ochoa and Jeshua Garza went to high school together, then studied at the Cordon Bleu in Pasadena before paying their sous-chef dues under Ludo Lefebvre and Ming Tsai respectively. The Eagle Rock Farmers Market was where Ochoa and Garza first sold their BBQ with Asian- and African-influenced flavors; their truck has been on the road since January 11.
We got the brisket tacos ($7), which my food-hating toddler devoured. They came with cotija cheese and smoked tomato salsa. The brisket's marinated in harissa, which is Moroccan chili sauce. (My son was soon also marinated in harissa.) Our sides were creamy mac and cheese ($3), and black-eyed peas with dirty rice ($3). I am a devotee of Asian Soul Kitchen's BEP/rice combo, and I'm sorry to say that Willoughby Road's version did not quite measure up. It was already mixed, depriving me of the right to choose my own ratio of peas to rice (ratios again! I haven't done this much math since grade school). Willoughby's peas were cooked till they fell apart, whereas ASK's peas had a bit more bite to them. I prefer my peas firm. (Get your mind out of the gutter.)
My husband had been chasing Fresser's for weeks; recent truck troubles meant they'd had to cancel a few scheduled stops. He got the hot pastrami sandwich ($9.25). I don't like pastrami; I tried a bite, however, and was pleasantly surprised by how juicy and lean it was. I was too stuffed to order anything of my own from Fresser's, but next time I'm going to have the pot roast sandwich ($9.25). This Yelp review makes me want to try the white chocolate coconut fudge, too.
This weekend: Food Truck Block Party at Silverlake Art* Craft and Vintage Market
This weekend (February 27th and 28th), the Silverlake Art* Craft and Vintage Market is hosting its first monthly Food Truck Block Party. The market is held at Micheltorena Elementary School on the last Saturday and Sunday of every month from 10 AM to 4 PM. Barring rain, the lineup is as follows. The trucks will be arriving at the listed times and staying until around 4 PM.
Saturday, February 27th:
Slice Truck - 10:30
King Kone - 11:30
Grill 'Em All - 11:30
Willoughby Road - 11:00
Tasty Meat - 11:45
Don Chow Tacos - time TBA
Sunday, February 28th:
Yum Yum Bowls - 9:30
Buttermilk Truck - 10:00 (leaving 1:30 - being replaced by Asian Soul Kitchen)
Phamish - 10:00
Louks To Go - 11:00
LA BBQ Guy - 11:15
Del's - 12:00
Silverlake Art* Craft and Vintage is at 1511 Micheltorena St. (at Sunset Blvd), Los Angeles, CA 90026. For more information, visit silverlakeartcraftvintage.com.
Review: LA Street Food Fest
The LA Street Food Fest kicked off Saturday at downtown's LA Center Studios. An insanely large crowd showed up. At 11:30, the line for general admission ($5) stretched for blocks, and at times during the Fest, the wait for entry was two hours long. VIP ticket holders paid $30 for guaranteed entry to the festival, a private bar, access to indoor bathrooms, a spot on the upstairs VIP patio (where I hear there were donuts and dim sum!), and a goodie bag (which they ran out of by 3:30 PM, sadly). Their line to get in was also much shorter - a perk well worth the ticket price.
Festival staff handed out maps as we entered. They also functioned as punch cards: if you ate at six trucks or stalls and had each one punch your card, you could then turn it in and enter a Citysearch LA giveaway featuring prizes like cooking lessons, hotel stays, and dinner for two at restaurants including Grub, sugarFISH and Rush Street. Inside the studio grounds, the main drag was lined with trucks and food stalls. Lines were long almost everywhere. In true street-food style, people perched on flights of stairs, curbs, and low cement walls to eat their hard-won truck noms. Others ate as they wandered among the stalls at the mini arts/crafts marketplace.
Most of the trucks had tasting menus specially for the Fest, with smaller plates from $1-$5. I took the opportunity to visit three trucks I hadn't tried before. First up: Piaggio On Wheels. I ordered three chicken empanadas, at a dollar each; one for me, one for my husband and one for my son. They were piping hot, and full of cubed chicken, onions and peppers. I'm not a big fan of cooked peppers, but these added a sweetness and tanginess to the empanadas, and I didn't notice the slimy texture that normally turns me off them. The pastry was soft and chewy rather than flaky and crispy - when it comes to empanadas, I prefer the former, so I was very happy.
Next up was a spicy tuna roll from Fishlips Sushi. It came in four cut pieces, with tiny servings of wasabi, ginger and soy sauce. Fishlips doesn't use mayo in its spicy tuna rolls - as a result, the hot sauce is less creamy and the roll is a little drier overall, plus the spice seems more intense. It was still pretty f-ing good, and only cost me $3.
For dessert, I hit up The Sweets Truck. I got a mini cupcake ($2), intending to give it to my son. He fell asleep in the car on the way home, so I took one for the team and ate it myself. Aren't I a selfless mom? It was yellow cake with chocolate frosting. The cake was moist, and the frosting was rich. Unlike other people, I don't love a ton of frosting on my cupcakes (I know that sounds dirty), and this little cupcake had just the right amount for me. I also got a Crack Bar, aka a chocolate fudge cookie bar ($3). My husband identified the crumbled cookies on top of the bar as Famous Chocolate Wafers, which are a key ingredient in the much-loved dessert known as icebox cake. The rest of the bar was just as good - melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cookie gave way to a thick fudge filling. My favorite sweet from the Sweets Truck, however, was the cupcake and pudding shooter ($3). It came in a miniature cup with a spoon, and featured alternating layers of cake and pudding. I got the lemon cake and cheesecake variety. I wished it came in a bucket instead of a little cup.
It took a bit of strategizing to deal with the crowds and the plethora of food options. The LA Times interviewed a group of friends who'd beaten the lines by splitting up, waiting in different truck lines and ordering extra food for one another. Since there were two-hour wait times at some trucks (the much-anticipated LudoBites fried chicken truck, for example), this idea was a good one.
The turnout was so enormous that lots of people didn't get into the festival at all. A commenter on Eating LA suggested that a truck walk, like downtown LA's Art Walk, might be a better format: holding the Fest inside a gated area meant everyone spent even more time waiting in line. It was also the first hot day in a couple of months, and queuers were getting sunburned and thirsty as well as hungry. Some non-Fest-attending food trucks showed up and parked by the line to get into the Fest. Great business initiative!
After yesterday's event, Fest organizers Shawna Dawson and Sonja Rasula tweeted that they were "heartbroken" to have to turn people away, and that they'd be "back... better... soon!" No word yet on whether this'll be an annual festival, or an event that pops up in different locations from time to time. Once the initial kinks are ironed out, the Fest should be a satisfying experience for everyone.
Ludo Lefebvre Fried Chicken Truck at LA Street Food Fest
Chef Ludo Lefebvre, mastermind of traveling LA restaurant event LudoBites, is bringing his own food truck to the LA Street Food Fest on February 13. He'll be making one dish: his fried chicken, in bite-size servings. This is a very interesting incarnation of LudoBites. It has all Ludo's usual ingredients - small plates, small kitchen, pop-up location - plus the hottest accessory for a chef right now: a truck. Unlike most LudoBites events, though, the LudoTruck will be around for one day only.
LA Street Food Fest
LAist is reporting that 36 food trucks and food carts will be at the LA Street Food Fest on February 13. The festival will take place at LA Center Studios from 11 AM to 5 PM. LA Center Studios is downtown, by the 110 freeway: its entrance is at 500 S. Beaudry Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90017. 5th St. is the cross street.
Find out more information at the LA Street Food Fest's official site, or follow them on Twitter at @lafoodfest.
TLofts Food Trucks For Haiti: Review
This Saturday’s Haiti fundraiser at TLofts had an enormous turnout. 25 food trucks lined the intersection of Tennessee and Butler Avenues in West LA, and, from 11 AM to 4 PM, seemingly thousands of people showed up to eat for charity. Participating trucks included Nom Nom Truck, Bool BBQ, Buttermilk Truck, Get Shaved, Fishlips Sushi, India Jones Chow Truck, and many, many more.
I ran into a fellow food-truck aficionado; too overwhelmed to order yet, we stood and chatted for a while. Like me, he was stunned into inaction not only by the Disneyland-long lines at each truck, but also by the staggering variety of food on offer. The problem with such a concentration of trucks in one area is that you can’t possibly eat everything that looks good. By the time I left, I’d only managed to make it through a meatball sub from Vesuvio, a Del’s frozen lemonade, and a chocolate milkshake from King Kone. It would have been great if each truck had prepared smaller portions of some or all of its dishes, so customers could sample more than one truck’s cuisine: although maybe it’s to a truck’s advantage to fill customers’ bellies so full that they can’t fit anyone else’s food in there. I asked a woman at Vesuvio if she could make me a half-sandwich instead of a full order; she told me they “don’t really do that.”
The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly: everyone wanted to know what everyone else was eating and which truck it’d come from. At Vesuvio, I waited with two other women for arancini (savory rice balls), and we cursed our luck together when the staff told us they’d run out. My friend accosted a man eating a good-looking tostada, and he directed her over to LA FuXion. Sadly, they were all out too.
By 3:15, almost all the trucks began to run out of food. Willoughby Road had erased most of its blackboard menu; one or two lonely items remained. Don Chow Tacos held off on taking orders, unsure it even had enough food left to fulfill the ones already on the docket. Asian Soul Kitchen took off, honking its horn triumphantly (or perhaps simply attempting to clear the road of chatting diners). The Grilled Cheese Truck and Louks To Go left next. Ridiculously full, I departed soon afterward.
Notable absences: Frysmith, who had a prior commitment at the Natural History Museum; Marked5, who tweeted today that it’ll be “coming back soon;” TastyMeat (its truck was in the shop); Baby’s Badass Burgers; Kogi BBQ; and Grill ’Em All – as a huge fan of both burgers and Metallica, I was sad this new truck wasn’t there today.