Go Go’ers, clearly, bikini season is over.
From Downtown to Long Beach to Torrance, the best Friday-to-Sunday events are all about food.
Just call this the Weekend of the Traveling Stretchy Pants.
Just do the Mash…the Lobster Mash
Here are some questions you may be asking yourself.
Q – Will the Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival and Music Weekend serve $20 Maine Lobster meals all weekend long? A – Yes.
Q – Will there be music including Big Black Delta, Dead Sara, English Beat, LA Font, Sad Robot, and Echosmith? A – Yes indeed.
Q – At the Festival, will there be stilt-walking pirates, Monster Lobsters to order ahead, and a special arrangement for vegans/vegetarians that is NOT tofu lobster? A – Yes to all of the above.
Q – Will the Port of Los Angeles and San Pedro Fish Market attempt to add three more Guinness World Records — “The Most Lobsters Served in 8 hours”, “The Most Lobsters Cooked in a Single Cooker”, and “The Largest Serving of Lobster” — to their 2009 World Record for the “The Most Seafood Served at an Outdoors Event”? A – Yes. They. Will.
Got it? Now go wrestle some crustaceans.
PORT OF LOS ANGELES LOBSTER FESTIVAL — Fri, Sept 13; 5-11pm; Sat, Sept 14; 11am – 11pm; Sun, Sept 15; 11am – 7pm. $10 – $41 VIP; kids under 12 FREE — Ports O’Call Village, 1190 Nagoya Way, San Pedro http://lobsterfest.com/ Service Animals only
Slurp City, Here We Come
In Japanese, yokocho literally means “alleyways off a main street.” It can also refer to the small pubs and bars that often line these narrow lanes.
Basically, it’s where you go for the perfect combination of bar food and comfort food.
That’s why the 1st Annual Ramen Yokocho Festival‘s 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. schedule works for a hangover-curing breakfast, a fortifying lunch, or a pre-barhopping dinner. Billed as the “largest ramen festival in the U.S.”, the Weekly LaLaLa‘s Saturday and Sunday event features a small-but-mighty band of ramen masters.
Go Go’ers, the band is small, not the masters.
The multiple L.A. locals include Little Tokyo’s veteran Daikokuya with a new “Spicy Miso with Powdered Bonito” and Iroha’s “Toyama Black Mapo Ramen”: a three-time champion on the Tokyo Ramen Show. Plus, Fest exclusive: Ramen Burgers from Jidaiya.
Yes, Ramen Burgers.
Hawaii’s Gomaichi represents with their “Best of Honolulu” Ramen Soup; Monta from Las Vegas offers a fusion soup; Shalala from San Jose presents a miso ramen; and Japan’s Kitakata Ramen Bannai does an artisanal take on classic ramen with charshu pork.
Want to mix it up a little? Lines-out-the-door Tsujita will be serving nigiri sushi along with Fest-exclusive cold ramen and Hannosuke will be serving their Jonathan Gold-approved ten-don, which is not a body part but rice topped with tempura,
Making the drive to Torrance even more palatable? Free admission, free parking, and bowls of ramen for only $8.
Get in that car and drive.
1ST ANNUAL RAMEN YOKOCHO FEST — Sat, Sept 14 & Sun, Sept 15, 10am – 8pm; FREE admission — Torrance Cultural Arts Center, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance 90503 http://ramenyokochous.com/index.html
Chicken, No Egg
Think fried chicken is as American as…fried chicken? Think again.
Crispy poultry will make an appearance in myriad global guises on Sunday’s Food GPS Fried Chicken Festival where eleven of L.A.’s most innovative chefs will offer creative takes on everybody’s favorite white meat.
Dine on prawn paste fried chicken with Chinese honey mustard and laksa leaf from Bryant Ng of Spice Table, fried chicken with red wine glaze, pickled chilies and parmesan from Jason Neroni at Superba Snack Bar, and fried chicken with truffle honey and kohlrabi/cabbage slaw from David LeFevre (Fishing With Dynamite + M.B. Post).
It’s a far cry from the Colonel.
Other notable and award-winning chefs frying fowl at the Downtown Arts District’s trendy Lot 613 include Susan Feniger (STREET), Daniel Mattern and Roxana Jullapat (Cooks County), Chris Oh (Seoul Sausage), Matt Poley (Heirloom LA), Eduardo Ruiz (Corazon y Miel), Ernesto Uchimura (Plan Check Bar), and Ricardo Zarate (Mo-chica, Paiche + Picca).
Wet your whistle with three craft beers from Firestone Walker Brewing Company or be a Big Spender and spring for the VIP package, which includes early entry, reserved seating, and a special cocktail created by food-driven mixologist Matthew Biancaniello.
Your alt-Indian Summer feast gets the perfect sweet finish with desserts from McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams and Sugarbloom Bakery. Even sweeter? A portion of the proceeds from the Fest directly benefit My Friend’s Place; a charity that helps homeless youth achieve self-sufficiency.
Now that’s an event you can sink your teeth into.
FOOD GPS FRIED CHICKEN FESTIVAL — Sun, Sept 15, 4 – 7pm; $55 – $90 — Lot 613, 613 Imperial St, DTLA 90021 http://nightout.com/events/foodgpsfriedchicken
Ready? U Know U Want 2 Go Go….
