Approximately five months ago, Shawna Dawson of SauceLA told me she was cooking up the LA Street Food Fest with Sonja Rasula of UniqueLA . She said it was going to be Valentine’s Day weekend and to save the date. I didn’t blink and said I was in.
I bought VIP tickets when they were on sale for $5 off and anticipated the day along with apparently 25,000 other people. I even planned my February crawl around this event.
Chef Ludo
It was a good thing I did because that meant I had a lot of bodies to wait in various food truck lines. I sampled 7 trucks/vendors that day though I didn’t get LudoBites’ fried chicken. The friend I asked to buy the chicken for me waited 2 hours and was told it’d be another hour once he ordered so he gave up. It didn’t upset me too much since I’ve had Chef Ludo’s chicken before though it would have been nice to try it last Saturday. I was more sad he left the fest entirely without trying other vendors.
I got to the event around 11:30 and waited 15 minutes to get in. Apparently they were delayed letting in everyone because they were waiting for the go-ahead from the fire marshall. Once in, we made a bee-line for the Don Chow truck where I asked my food crawlers to meet me. I joined forces with my noodles partner so we didn’t accidentally over-eat/order.
kung pao chicken and BBQ pork tacos from Don Chow
*Photo Credit: Jenny B, my noodles partner
We tried the carne asada chow fun, kung pao chicken taco and BBQ pork taco. All were good but I was surprised how much I liked the BBQ pork (considering I don’t normally like Chinese BBQ pork). In retrospect, it was my favorite of the fest.
shrimp frankie
(side note, is my hand really that dry looking- looking for a rec on hand cream!)
Next, we hit India Jones where we got a shrimp frankie, beef paratha and samosa spring rolls. The noodles partner and I liked the samosa spring rolls the best but we also liked the raita for the beef paratha. I thought the frankie was too dry and the shrimp were rather small.
samosa springrolls
The noodles partner ran off to Popshop and gave me a bite of her popsicle. It was pretty refreshing as the day was getting warmer but we weren’t ready for more ice cream. We probably should have gotten something from Cool Haus as there was no line but I wanted more savory.
fried chicken from Fishlips
temari set from Fishlips
At this point, we were looking for our next truck. We decided the line for Flying Pig was too long and ended up waiting for Fishlips. We ordered the temari set and the fried chicken (it’s not Ludo’s chicken but what is?). I know some describe this sushi as great, better than some actual sushi restaurants but the tiny temari left me hungrier than when I started.
red velvet pancake bites from Buttermilk Truck
*Photo Credit: Jenny B (yes, that’s me holding ‘em)
I got my first deliveries while waiting in line at Fishlips. Josie of the UncouthGourmands went in search of beer for us and a friend ordered me red velvet pancake bites from the Buttermilk Truck.
I saw for myself how insane the line was for LudoBites. My thoughts to try Fresser’s Pastrami, Dogzilla, Komodo and Grilled Cheese Truck were dashed by the lines snaking in every direction. At this point, I decided to take a booze break and had a cocktail while plotting our next direction.
chicken kabob from Kabob & Roll
We opted to try the Kabob & Roll truck since there weren’t many in line (this means a “short” wait of 15 minutes). Some were ordering dolmas and decided to get back in line for more food rather than to wait in another line. I found this amusing. It’s the amusement park mentality. Find something and keep doing it rather than a new line.
acaraje from Sabor da Bahia
After trying the dolmas and the chicken kabobs, I was going up to the VIP lounge but stopped off at Sabor da Bahia where I had tried acaraje (a fritter), coxinha (a fried thingy with chicken), and a chocolate ball. When I ran into StreetGourmetLA, he mentioned to me how he was so proud of his peeps including this vendor. I am glad they stuck around unlike some vendors who didn’t show but this event was starting to sound somewhat intimidating and overwhelming with all the press it was getting. I heard they had to stop letting in people around 1:30 p.m. At this time, they gave people in the long general admission line water and gave up them updates. I really believe the founders when they said they were heartbroken not everyone got in.
Up in VIP, I was able to sample doughnuts from the Fry Girls and dim sum from the upcoming Dim Sum Truck. There was more free booze and the astroturf lounge provided a comfy area to rest.
LA Street Food Fest Poster Girl Resting
This is my friend Stephanie who’s resting after a long day at the Fest. She was the poster girl for them. Don’t believe me? Check out the great photo shoot!
Overall, I think this event was wildly successful and I’d attend again but only if I did everything exactly like I did this time around- buy pre-sale VIP tickets, go with a large group of friends and come with a relaxed attitude.
February 16, 2010 at 6:46 PM
I wanted to try it, but the lines I read about on the interwebs turned me off. I want to try those places, so I’ll just have to stalk them.
Thanks for the scoop! Glad you got to hit it up!!
N
February 16, 2010 at 6:52 PM
As someone who hasn’t chased trucks, I liked that all the trucks were in one location. Sure, going to DTLA Art Walk or First Fridays in Venice would give me access to some of these trucks too but they are not the main attraction when I go to those events.
I think my friend was right when she said Kogi had 2-3 hour long waits too when they first started. Just imagine that times a million and you got the LA Street Food Fest. Hopefully next year will be planned out over more days and at a bigger venue. Or if they do pre-pay, they max out and tell people it’s been sold out so there wouldn’t be these crazy lines.
February 28, 2010 at 8:49 PM
Hi, I’m a journalism student and I’m writing an article on the LA Food Fest. Do you think I could ask you a few questions via e-mail? Mine is theresa_greene@yahoo.com. I’d love to hear from you. =)
May 12, 2010 at 3:37 PM
[...] Beasley’s, Papas Tapas and Reggae Chicken. And of course hit up favorites like Dim Sum Truck, Buttermilk, Don Chow and Lomo [...]
June 18, 2010 at 4:29 PM
[...] February, I brought together a crew to check out the first and original LA Street Food Fest featuring over 30 trucks. They’re back next month for their Summer Tasting Event at the Rose [...]
July 29, 2010 at 4:37 PM
[...] Dawson and Sonia Rasula brought the first LA Street Food Fest together in February. I had a great time but in all honesty, I would have not attended the second [...]
August 5, 2010 at 2:33 PM
[...] croquettes and pastels. The first time I ever had a coxinha (that I knew of) was at the first LA Street Food Fest. The deep fried mashed up chicken was filling as were the potato in the Portuguese croquette. The [...]
October 18, 2010 at 12:10 PM
[...] had a chance to check out Sabor de Bahia at the first LA Street Food Fest. I want to eat this entire menu! Mmm, [...]
May 4, 2011 at 12:13 PM
[...] cheese sandos to sell, people visited more out of curiosity than the mob scene that was the first LA Street Food Fest held at the same [...]
July 8, 2011 at 3:16 PM
[...] de Jaliscos, favorite trucks like Border Grill, Dim Sum Truck (who I discovered at the first LA Street Food Fest), trying more from the new Naan Stop and checking out carts like Seoul Sausage Company, Taste of [...]
July 21, 2011 at 12:26 PM
[...] returned to the Rose Bowl this past Saturday. After producing two spectacular street food fests last year, organizers thoughtfully tweaked this year’s fest so everyone could enjoy. There were [...]