First Annual LA Street Food Fest

I was eagerly anticipating the LA Street Food Fest ever since I first heard about it from a friend. I was actually surprised I didn’t read about it first on Eater LA, Thrillist, or the other food/culture-related sites I frequent. But they soon followed suit with updates.

The Street Food Fest ran from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on February 13th. As we walked from the Metro and arrived at LA Center Studios (below), where the fest took place, we saw a line winding around the block. It was about 11 a.m., which was when the event started, but I honestly wasn’t surprised. I had seen that over 5000 people had responded “Attending” on the facebook event, and 700 pre-sale tickets had sold out, so I expected that response to be only a fraction of the crowd that would attend.

I arrived at the Grilled Cheese Invitational early last year and luckily got a place near the front of the line, but by the time they let people in there was a line hundreds of people long, so I expected a festival revolving around multiple food trucks, not just one comfort food (which of course now has its own food truck) would be packed. My only reason for not leaving from Pasadena earlier than 10:15 a.m. is that I didn’t want to ask my friends to meet at 9 a.m. or earlier on a Saturday to stand in line before the festival began. But we waited in line for about an hour to get in anyway, so better to wake up early and get at the front of the admission line and face shorter lines once inside. Go big or go home.

Sadly, some people did go home or just went to a nearby Downtown restaurant after seeing the massive line. I spoke to a girl inside the festival that waited outside in line for two hours only to be told she couldn’t go in because they were at capacity, so she waited another half hour until they let more people in. I love food and the food truck culture but honestly wonder if I would wait that long, especially since the lines were like a walking traffic jam by the time this gal got in. She said her mother was visiting from out of state and she wanted to bring her. Talk about a cultural experience.

Once we reached the admission line, it took at least a 5 minute or so walk just to find the end of it, which wound through the entire parking lot (see below). I didn’t mind, but didn’t want my friends to get restless. They were great troopers. I also keep a supply of fruit leathers in my purse for such occasions. I had one just to tide me over. I think the food trucks that didn’t participate in the festival should have parked outside to feed the people in line. Kogi didn’t participate and would have made serious moola off those people waiting a couple hours to get in.

The lines inside eventually grew to be at least 30 minutes, if not an hour or so long. Again, that was to be somewhat expected. A line for a single Kogi truck on any given day can be at least a half hour, if not an hour, so a festival attended by thousands vastly increases the wait time. That is why you attend with multiple friends and employ the “Divide and Conquer” strategy, which worked fairly well for my group of four. If I were a celebrity I’d have a member of my entourage in each line.

The main problem is that ultimately these are trucks. They are not restaurants or catering companies with large kitchens and a huge staff. You have a handful of employees making food inside a truck for thousands of people all day. It sounds like a scenario for the Food Network Show “Dinner: Impossible”. I honestly was amazed more food trucks didn’t run out of ingredients–some did, but only one we encountered (Cool Haus)–and that the trucks had enough room to store the ingredients for hundreds or thousands of dishes. Perhaps one of the nearby buildings had space designated for this because I didn’t see any additional storage near each truck.

I am absolutely going next year and I think it is phenomenal that a first-time event got such a massive response. Sure, there are many kinks to be worked out as far as decreasing wait time for admission and food, but the attendees commenting on food blogs and sites about how livid they were because of the wait time clearly don’t understand how much food trucks have exploded in popularity and didn’t research the buzz this event was getting. I was nervous about getting to the festival at 11 a.m., and that’s when it started. I may have been a Girl Scout, but the motto “Be prepared” applies to us all.

And now, for some photos of this fine food day!

Here’s (from l-r) me, Kira, Bethany, and Janelle, my friends in food. And life in general. We’re in the parking lot line and you can see the tops of some trucks behind us. So close, but still a ways to go.

Those people waiting two hours certainly built something other than an appetite. A temper!

I went to the Get Shaved shaved ice truck first while Bethany went to a Vietnamese truck so we each got items for each other.

So many amazing flavors! I hadn't had shaved ice since a trip to Hawaii last May where I experienced Matsumoto's magical shaved ice on Oahu's North Shore. I was pretty ecstatic that Get Shaved had POG flavor, since POG (passionfruit orange guava) juice is one of my favorite things to get in Hawaii but I don't see it on the mainland. Of course I can make my own, but there's something more authentic and cultural about getting POG juice in Hawaii from a supermarket or off a menu, though it's far from a truly exotic libation. If I asked for POG on the mainland, someone would probably give me an odd look and ask, "You still play with those?" FYI, I found some childhood toys in a storage unit last summer, including my original Nintendo system--still works--and my modest POG collection. Keepers for sure.

Truck 1: Vietnamese truck that I forgot to get the name of since I quickly looked at their menu and told Bethany my order before heading to the Get Shaved truck. I just know this wasn’t the Nom Nom truck, which is the good Vietnamese truck. But I figured this baguette with lemongrass chicken and vegetables would still be quite scrumptious. Alas, ’twas not. The bread was dry, not fresh tasting at all, and had 2-3 small slivers of chicken, which were good but not enough to save the whole sandwich. I might expect this from a truck after it’s served thousands of people, but this was only an hour into the festival so there was no excuse for this sorry sandwich, which I think was $4. I can get a bigger, equally bland Subway creation with fresher bread for less than that.

Truck 2: Get Shaved

Now this is why I came to the LA Street Food Fest. The ice was shaved fine enough that it didn’t clump together and the POG (passionfruit orange guava), coconut, and pineapple flavors I got were a tropical dream. It was hot that day too so this was the perfect refreshing treat. Oddly enough, they didn’t have a long line when we went. It wasn’t as phenomenal as the North Shore shaved ice I had, but it came very close. I’d absolutely go to this truck again. A post-beach Get Shaved truck stop is on my summer to-do list.

The Grilled Cheese truck line was long, as expected. See that orange truck to the right? Ya, that’s how far away it was from the end of the line. And the line switched back a few times too. After being excited about this truck since September before it even rolled onto the streets, and being evaded quite a few heartbreaking times, I had to wait in line. Not just for grilled cheese, but for the principle. The Grilled Cheese Truck was finally in front of me–over a two-hour wait in front of me, it turned out, meaning I could have driven from my Pasadena-area home to one of its usual LA/Hollywood locations and back a few times–but this is the LA Street Food Fest. Waiting is to be expected. But a big plus was dividing the troops to other locations. Janelle and Bethany waited in line at Dogzilla’s Japanese style hot dog truck and brought Kira and I their succulent hot dogs while we waited in line.

I ordered the Dogzilla hot dog from the menu, even though I rarely eat bacon.

Getting closer to The Grilled Cheese Truck! Though we found out we had a couple switchbacks to go through first. Building that appetite!

I love butternut squash so I decided to order the Harvest Melt. And the nutella, marshmallow and banana Dessert Melt also sounded irresistible so I decided if I was going to wait in a line for two hours I might as well try that too. Mind you these are half-size portions.

Truck 3: Dogzilla

Bethany and Janelle brought us Dogzilla while we were in the GCT line! I had ordered two (sample size dogs) since I was pretty hungry and knew it would be a while before we got some grilled cheese love.

I rarely eat hot dogs but these were amazing! Fresh, juicy, and well-complemented by all the accompaniments. Avocado and teriyaki sauce added flavor and tang, not sogginess, and the crunchy small bits of bacon contributed a perfect crunch and smoky flavor. Balance is the name of the game here and Dogzilla wins.

Truck 4: Gastrobus

While in the gargantuan GCT line, a couple helpful guys told us that there was no line for the Gastrobus. This seemed impossible to me as every truck had at least a half hour wait, but we had nothing but time, so Kira held down the GCT fort while I beelined it for the Gastrobus. To my shock, they had NO line. I walked right up and ordered! That would normally be a bad sign that a truck is sans line, but the Buttermilk truck’s line curved in front of the Gastrobus and seemed to steal potential clientele. Bonus for me!

The sign below brings a smile to my face because while it’s fun to enjoy indulging from time to time (i.e., pretty much this whole post) I am grateful when I find organic and healthy options. I eat mostly organic and healthy at home, but it’s harder to find that food in restaurants, or at least in comfort food form.

The menu was quite enticing and food is an adventure so I love trying a bit of everything — the sample size idea enabled me to do just that! Well, three things. I knew the GCT was still in my future. I ordered sweet potato fries, organic beets (yes, beets. I was grateful to have something healthy in the midst of Food Truck Land), and the limon relleno, which I had eyed other festival goers eating.

And now, Gastrobus! Starring: organic beets, sweet potato fries, and limon relleno.

Organic Beets: Tangy, sweet, and refreshing!

Sweet potato fries: Crunchy with that soft sweet potato inside. I waited a little too long to eat them so they weren’t at optimal temperature. I’d love to try them again though.

Limon Relleno: I love lemon bars so this hit the spot. It had a sweet and sour lemon curd-type filling under the meringue. And how exquisite is the presentation?

Truck 5: The Sweets Truck

After the Gastrobus I quickly walked around to see if there was a short line I could get in to grab more treats to enjoy while in the GCT line. The Sweets Truck was genius and had a couple employees walking around, selling a couple items out of baskets. I got two of the “crack bars” so I could share with my cohorts. No one wanted one at the time, so I tried this later in the day after we left the fest.

It’s good, not amazing. Mostly just really sweet. I think the “crack bar” name is attributed because your blood sugar probably races through the roof (like a hyper crackhead) after a few bites. It’s like Oreo cookie crumb-covered chocolate frosting. It’s a little fudgier and thicker than frosting, but not as thick as fudge. Sweets Truck INDEED.

Truck 6: CoolHaus

After I returned to the GCT line and we finally ordered and waited for our sandwiches, food angels Janelle and Bethany brought over CoolHaus ice cream sandwiches. Bethany kept calling it the Diddy Riese truck since the ice cream was sandwiched between two cookies, like it is at Westwood/UCLA favorite Diddy Riese.

By the time they ordered at CoolHaus, the only ice cream flavor left was spicy Mexican chocolate, and the cookie flavors were chocolate chip and something else. I wanted spicy Mexican chocolate and chocolate chip anyway when I’d seen a little larger array of flavors. A chocolate peanut butter combo would have been ideal though.

Unfortunately, the cookies were pretty mediocre and didn’t have a homemade flavor and texture. The spicy Mexican chocolate ice cream lived up to its name. On first bite, it tasted like chocolate ice cream, but then a burning sensation crept along my tongue. I was hoping “spicy” meant spices like cinnamon had been added and likely a bit of a fiery kick, but the spiciness consumed the ice cream and overwhelmed the chocolate. Not uber impressed.

Truck 7: The Grilled Cheese Truck

Not long after we ended our CoolHaus session–Janelle and I couldn’t even finish our hunka hunka burning treats–my name was called at the Grilled Cheese Truck. Victory!

May I remind you that I’d waited since September to try the Grilled Cheese Truck. I’ve attended the past two Grilled Cheese Invitationals and will be in full force at this year’s event, covering it for publications as well.

The Chariots of Fire theme accompanies this photo quite well.

However…I must be honest that I was quite disappointed with the Harvest Melt. I tasted no butternut squash, but instead mostly onions (leeks) and cheese. Grilled onions are good on a burger, but not in large amounts coupled with cheese. If you’re going to scrimp on butternut squash, then just give me the cheese.

I tried a bite of Kira’s cheesy mac and rib melt (the GCT specialty) and ordered it on my second Grilled Cheese Truck visit a month later. I’ll be posting pics of that later. A much tastier experience.

This was a team victory. Well done, All! I didn’t clock the exact time it took to receive our grilled cheese sandwiches, but it was a bit over two hours. Ridiculous, you say? Well, if we had only stood there and experienced nothing else. But our divide and conquer strategy enabled us to get fare from Dogzilla, the Gastrobus, Sweets Truck and Coolhaus, all while waiting in the Grilled Cheese Truck line. Trying five trucks in a little over 2 hours makes the wait time 30 minutes or less per truck (and that’s not counting the Vietnamese truck and Get shaved truck we had at the beginning that took less time). A 30-minute wait at a food truck nowadays is a short amount of time, so I deem the day a success.

I waited a bit to eat my GCT Dessert Melt (Nutella, banana and marshmallow) so it was luke warm/room temp by the time I tried it on the walk back to the Metro. While I enjoy the shot I took below of my melt against a Downtown backdrop, the sandwich was sort of underwhelming. I like nutella, bananas and marshmallows. My favorite crepe fillings are Nutella and banana together. But combining all these things in a sandwich–between two pieces of bread that are obviously thicker than a paper-thin crepe–means that in order to really taste the filling, there should be more of it to compensate for the bread. However, the filling to bread ratio was lacking and if sweet brioche bread was used as stated in the GCT menu then I didn’t taste it. The bread was lackluster and dry for a dessert sandwich. I’d advise the GCT to put more filling in their Dessert Melt.

And here’s a gratuitous shot I took of the skyline just because I’ve fallen in love with Downtown. As you may tell I’m already quite enamored with iPhoto.

At the end of our long day it was a relief to take advantage of public transit. Plus it heightens the local tourist experience, truly making me feel transported. Nothing like a daycation near your own city.

LA Street Food Fest final thoughts:

Fave food: Tie between Get Shaved’s POG, pineapple, and coconut shaved ice and Dogzilla’s namesake hot dog.

Does the event need to be more organized next time? Yes. But as I said before, these are ultimately trucks with limited cooking space and staff. Accommodating hundreds to thousands of people will take time. A food truck line on an average day can be easily over an hour, so a festival full of people vying for the most popular trucks is bound to include some waits.

We won’t even have to wait a year for the next LA Street Food Fest since they’ll be throwing one in the spring, according to their Facebook page.

Get there early–as in, AT LEAST an hour before the fest begins (maybe two), and arrive with foodie friends and appetites in-tow. I know I will.

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