My Top Five from LA Food Fest

Better late than never...

1. Ta Bom's croquettes coxinha, filled with chicken and cream cheese

2. Jalisco's shrimp tacos, a crowd and judge favorite - deep-fried and flavorful. it's the only thing that made me eat two

3. Crepe'n Around's short rib crepes

4. The eternal favorite, the grilled cheese truck's short rib and mac n cheese sandwich

5. Last but not least, the amazing roti with beef randang, which I haven't had outside of Toronto

6. OK, I had to add one especially for newcomer Rosa's arancini

Oh, and Manila Machine's pork belly adobo, and Gastrobus' fruit salad..and...and

LA Food Fest Winners!

 The LAFF event at the Rose Bowl wasn't just a foodie wonderland, it was also a contest! Judges included Susan Feniger, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Chef Walter Manzke, Jesse Williams, Rene Lynch of the LA Times, and blogger Bill Esparza. I saw some of the judges picking around station to station, and others collecting big boxes of food to take back to the judge's table. 

Susan was doing double duty, with a booth for Border Grill. But she is always happy to smile for me. I must have more pictures of her now than some people have of their grandchildren.

Best Nouveau - Sedthee Thai's Pork Sparerib

Sedhee had at least three offerings - when I hit their table they were serving up noodles in a delicious peanut sauce, some with shrimp, or sans meat. They definitely went all out with the decorations, beautiful serving ware, and delicious food. Big thumbs up!

Runner Up - Manila Machine's Pork Adobo

I have to admit that I thought the pork belly adobo and stunningly greaseless lumpia were my top bites. I hope my sister-in-law doesn't read this, but they were the best lumpia I have ever eaten.

Best Old School - Chef Robert Dahni's Explosive Thai Bites

Sadly, I missed out on these. Sometimes you just can't eat everything.

Runner Up - Tamales Elena

This was a delicious surprise, since I always hear about these tamales at the Tamale Festival in El Indio (But it's too damn hot in Indio to actually go there, even if they do have camel races). Elena's tamale did not have a filling; it was like a sweet corn tamale with a light strawberry flavor. The texture was light and fluffy with no trace of grittiness.

The Sweet Tooth - Munchie Machine's PB&J S'Mores

There was a point in the day when I was trying to rush out by sneaking behind the booths. I was handed one of their veggie sandwiches out the back of the booth, and it was delicious. Next time on the S'mores.

Runners Up - Scoops Westside & Vintage Longboards

Again, I missed Scoops. I did hang out a little bit with the Longboards guys as they celebrated selling out their whole inventory. The chocolate-covered ice cream on popsicle sticks did look amazing.

Best in Show - Mariscos Jalisco's Shrimp Tacos

These old-school deep-fried tacos were delicious. It was the only thing that made me eat two. I think the shrmp inside were breaded and deep-fried before being sealed in a tortilla like an empenada and deep-fried. They were then topped with salsa and avocado slices at the perfect stage of ripeness.

Best Original Showmanship - Starry Kitchen's Crispy Tofu Balls

This category was added at the last minute especially for Nguyen Tran from Starry Kitchen. He told me his house is even listed on Yelp!

The People's Choice Award goes to...Starry Kitchen & Mariscos Jalisco!

So the judges weren't far off the people's palates. But I have a few more favorites of my own to talk about next time...

Photographing the LA Food Fest: The LIST

Oh my God! LA Food Fest was car-a-zay! Imagine the length of a football field length of food. Twice. It was seriously an entire football field! The Rose Bowl, which is seriously hard to find for such a famous place, was filled with food, food, food.

I suppose they couldn't drive the trucks onto the field, but it had a side-effect of them being able to fit way more food into the Bowl. The LAisters were there, Lindsay, Zach, Koga and Julie. Plus my other blog pals. I missed Tien, unfortunately. But I was on a mission. I was going to get my pictures if it killed me. Instead of flitting around drinking and chatting, I was going to get photos of every single booth on the West side of the field. If it killed me.

Val, from Trippyfood.com

When I work a big event, I have a secret list I need to fulfill before I can relax. A list of photos that I think makes for a complete event. After the food, which is the most important, I want pictures of pretty girls.

Second, cute kids (and I always ask the parents for permission to post the pic, even when I have to chase them all the way across the field)

Famous chefs

Susan Feniger

Fred Eric? Shenanigans! You don't have a truck!

Then my secondary goals are:

People serving the food

Cooking the food

And enjoying the food.

Reallyyyyy enjoying the food

And if there is liquor, an attractive bartender either shaking or pouring. Especially if his name is Julian or Michel

Done! Everything else is just cake, but I try to get the ambiance, people hamming it up, and other random activities

Longboards celebrating their sell-out

And if I can manage it, a sneaky picture of the breast of a certain friend who shall remain nameless

 Of course there is always one fatal flaw, like this delicious finger sandwich

So how was the rest of the food? Where is all the delicious food porn? Just you wait!