4th Annual L.A. Street Food Fest

Between navigating through traffic, fighting for parking spots, and hurdling over foodies and photographers, getting a bite to eat in the sprawl of LA can get to be a little troublesome. Asking yourself: "What's good around here?" The answer is: "Everything." The LA Street Food Fest returns for a fourth year at The Rose Bowl (Pasadena California), hosting over 100 vendors to feed your incredibly needy palate. As with each year, LA Street Food Fest presents us with a variety of culture through it's food vendors.  

This year's theme was "Taste of Mexico" highlighting LA's best tacos, taquitos, ceviche, and all your taqueria favorites. Casa Oaxaca brings LA a taste of Oaxaca with squash blossom quesadillas topped by spicy jalapeno & huitlacoche mole sauce. Ceviche Project wowed us with their sushi grade Tuna Ceviche with smoked nori, micro greens, and mango chutney. Easily, one of the best tastes of the day was brought to us by Javier Plascencia/ Erizo. His Tijuana Surf & Turf is a mixture of amazingly tender octopus and tripe coupled with cilantro and pickled radish stuffed into a crispity hard shell. Loteria Grill challenged the crowd and invited them to try some more "unconventional" meats.Their Birria taco, piled high with beef tongue, tendon, and tripe, chopped onions, cilantro, radish and a chile puya salsa, garnered my attention -- I am a man who loves the odds-and-ends of all animals. Loteria Grill brought out a second taco, Los Tres Cochinitos (The Three Little Pigs) again, piled high with bacon, carnitas, and chicharron, with a salsa Morita -- three ways to fry pork on a taco, what's not to love?

Loteria Grill: Los Tres Cochinitos

Loteria Grill: Birria Taco

Ceviche Project: Tuna Ceviche

Javier Plascencia/ Erizo: Tijuana Surf & Turf

Our stomachs now protruding with "The Taste of Mexico," we waddle to the other side of the map where we are amazed at the amount of food still waiting to be consumed. Our first stop, Luckdish Curry, where we sample the Chicken Curry with garbanzo beans over basmati rice. The chicken curry has a mild heat but is full of Indian flavor. Fred 62, a favorite of any drunkard wanting to sober up quickly, brings us the taste of America in a fried ball, Smoked Pork Belly Mac N' Cheese ball to be specific. Mama Musubi reintroduced me to musubis, a popular Hawaiian dish, and I am loving it. Mama's Musubi's Miso Chicken & Mama's Special Musubi, feel more like rice balls than pressed musubis -- regardless, delicious. Dog Haus Dogs' "The Reuben Dog" pastrami sausage with a Gruyere cheese sauce, haus slaw, Russian dressing, all overflowing in a grilled King's Hawaiian bun.

Mama Musubi: Mama's Special Musubi

Dog Haus Dogs' "The Reuben Dog" 

Time for dessert. The Ice Cream Social was a perfect treat to cool us from the summer heat. ICDC's smoked vanilla buttermilk glazed doughnuts are more addictive than Krispy Kreme. Where Krispy Kreme melts in your mouth on contact, ICDC's doughnuts not only melt, but leave an intense flavor that is not overly sweetened in your mouth. Currywurst created an impromptu dessert as their supplies were running low, Nutella Grilled Cheese, need I say more? A Nutella French toast, banana, and powder sugar to top, I was glad to have gotten one of the few served. Finally, Manhattan Beach Creamery unleashes its Cream'wiches. Sold. Manhattan Beach Creamery ice cream -- fantastic. Fresh baked cookies baked by Manhattan Beach Creamery -- Fantastic. Combine the two and create a fantastic dessert to sell in your local market.

LA Street Food Fest brought forward a great food experience showcasing the pure diversity Los Angeles has to offer Angelenoes and all traveling foodies. I am excited to see what menus these vendors have to offer their patrons this year. Whatever it is, I know I'll be in line to check it out.       

Photos by: Nina Semaun

Original post can be seen at: http://la.tasteterminal.com/2013/07/08/la-street-food-fest-2/