The Great Street Food Fest

 

5th Annual Street Food Fest Photo Cred: Roaming Hunger
5th Annual Street Food Fest Photo Cred: Roaming Hunger

One of the most prestigious street food events in the world, LA Street Food Festival, took place at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.  Hours before the start of the fest, eager foodies were lined up along the gates of the bowl, excited for all that awaited them inside.  Nearly 1,500 VIP admission and 3,500 general admission tickets were available for pre-sale, and from looking out into the crowd practically every patron showed up.

VIP guests were provided with a plate to help hold all of their goods throughout the event, a roped off and shaded area with seating, as well as early admission, an entire 2 hours prior to the general admission.  All of the opportunities afforded to VIP proved to be well worth cashing out the extra dinero, as the lines just about tripled upon the allowance of the general admission crowd into the fest.

Ceviche -Ceviche Project Photo Cred: Roaming Hunger
Ceviche -Ceviche Project Photo Cred: Roaming Hunger

The entire festival was divided up into sections, as to provide ease when trying to locate your favorite vendors, with cocktails and drinks throughout.  At the entrance was the Latin section, where the booming music could be heard from afar and you were immediately engulfed by the smell of  al pastor and mariscos.  A popular truck, verified by their line that was long from the beginning to the end of the fest, was Vaka Burger Food Truck known for serving up 100% grass-fed burgers. It was their signature Truffle Burger and Brioche Bread Pudding that drove them to be LA Street Food Fest award winners.

A few fan favorites in the Americana section were the Grilled Cheese Truck and CJ’s Wings, which were located right next to each other and had lines spanning out in opposite directions. The Grilled Cheese Truck was serving up its, oh so popular, Cheesy Mac Grilled Cheese Sandwich that was packed with Macaroni and Cheese and Sharp Cheddar. CJ’s Wings Truck was serving up crispy golden fried chicken, the ultimate comfort food.

Over in the Europe and Asia section of the festival The Urban Oven and Currywurst trucks dominated with impenetrable lines. The Urban Oven provided slices of their Tre Fungi and Fennel Sausage Pizza, made fresh in their custom built wood-fired oven food truck, that was a hit with foodies of all ages. While The Currywurst truck served samples of bratwurst with their secret curry ketchup sauce.

Ice Cream Social Photo Cred: Roaming Hunger
Ice Cream Social Photo Cred: Roaming Hunger

At the tail end of the fest was the Ice Cream Social area that provided any delicious sweet you could think of, from ice cream and popsicles, to beignets and wedding cake samples. The stand-out vendors in this section were hands down the Salt and Straw Truck and Churro Borough.

Salt and Straw Truck Photo Cred: Roaming Hunger
Salt and Straw Truck Photo Cred: Roaming Hunger

Salt and Straw, that has shops and carts in the Portland area, made its way down to the fest as they will soon be opening a brick and mortar location in Larchmont.  A few of the flavors they served to the sweet tooth foodies in attendance were, Sea Salt Caramel, Papis Peanuts, which consisted of peanuts, asian spice and marshmallow fluff, and a freckled woodblock chocolate flavor made using old-time ice cream making techniques.

Churro Ice Cream Sandwich Photo Cred: Churro Borough
Churro Ice Cream Sandwich Photo Cred: Churro Borough

While Churro Borough, a Los Angeles-based dessert company, has been trending lately due to the fact that they are currently only doing pop-ups and event catering,  which makes them hard to come by. Throughout the fest they had a tremendously long line that weaved in and out of the crowd of festival goers. Churro Borough offered up mini Churro Ice Cream Sandwiches with chocolate, vanilla or orange creamsicle flavored ice cream placed between two pieces of freshly fried churro rounds.

Overall the turnout by vendors and consumers to the 5th Annual Los Angeles Street Food Festival was great! The energy was high, the variety of food available was vast and everyone was left with full bellies and expanded stretchy pants. We’re looking forward to what bigger and better things they may bring next year!

 

-Roaming Hunger