Wednesday, June 15, 2016

10 Must-Try Eats at the LA Vegan Beer + Food Fest


The Los Angeles Vegan Beer and Food Festival is almost here and I cannot wait! This Saturday, June 18th hordes of vegan and veg-curious folks will descend upon the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to eat and drink all the vegan things! I have been drooling over all the photos from last weekend's Portland Vegan Beer and Food Fest (I MUST go next year), and I am so, so excited for this weekend to get here! I've been stalking a lot of the restaurants that will be serving up delicious food in just a few days, and a few have really popped out at me as being "must-try" eats! FYI - I'm in it for the food rather than the booze, so I don't have any beverage recommendations for you (though I am looking forward to kombucha and cold brew!).


There are SO many vendors this year, so I had to put together a list of dishes I am most looking forward to and kind of prioritize what I want to eat. Once I jotted down my must-try dishes, I figured I would share them here, both for those going and those who may want to live vicariously through me this weekend (if you want to, you can follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat [thespookyvegan] to see everything I'm eating on Saturday)! It was REALLY HARD to narrow it down to a top 10, but I did it! As of right now, these are my top 10, however many restaurants haven't released what they will be serving up yet, so I'm sure my priorities may shift when I'm actually there!

For now though, here are the top 10 Must-Try Eats at the Los Angeles Vegan Beer and Food Fest!

1. The Herbivorous Butcher is traveling all the way from Minnesota to bring us the Vegan Double-Down, a chicken sandwich packed with garlic pepper havarti, bacon, ranch, lettuce tomato and onion! I think this is everyone's first stop at Vegan Beer and Food Fest!


2. Jaycelab's Strawberry Cheezecake Chimichangas - a strawberry cheezecake filling wrapped inside a flour tortilla then deep fried to crispiness and dusted off with cinnamon and powdered sugar. OMG be still my heart! Don't these look amazing?!

A photo posted by Jason (@jaycelab) on

3. Clara Cakes - No word on exactly what sweet treats she will be baking up, but she did give us this tease! And pretty much anything she makes is guaranteed to be delicious, so whatever it is I'm in! UPDATE: Per her Instagram, she will be serving up mac n cheese waffles, peanut butter cannoli, inception cookies, and sexy cake!

A photo posted by Clara Cakes (@claracakes) on

4. Frankenstand will be serving up all their classic hot dogs (like their "Frighteningly Delicious" concoction below) plus The No-Kiel Basa! I'm so happy they will be there, not only do I LOVE their spooky-themed vegan hot dog stand, they are the sweetest and make the best vegan dogs around!


5. Blue Window - I will gladly eat whatever Blue Window (from the geniuses of Mud Hen Tavern) serve up - it looks like they will be serving up their falafel battered onion rings and kimchi fries this year! Perfect for soaking up excess beer and/or kombucha!


6. Taqueria la Veganza - This taqueria is coming from the Bay Area and I'm so happy since I have been drooling over their tacos and tamales! At Beer Fest they will be serving their tacos in flavors like Birria con consommé (spicy, smokey, meaty, unctuous, savory with a splash of rich consommé made from the "meat juices"), Barbacoa (smokey, sweet, savory, slow roasted mexican BBQ), Tripas (gamey, salty, crunchy, oily a Mexican delicacy), as well as their Tamales!


7. Garden Grill is coming back out from Las Vegas to serve up their popular "Thrillist" burger! It's a Southern-fried crispy chick'n patty topped with melted provolone, bacon, shredded romaine lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and a creamy chipotle aioli, all nestled between a glazed donut bun from Ronald's Donuts in Vegas!


8. Charlie's Brownies will be serving up brownies and blondies topped with ice cream and toppings, like this Caramel Blondie Sundae with crushed almonds and coconut bacon! TO DIE FOR! And the ice cream will be perfect since it's supposed to be a billion degrees this weekend.


9. Snackrilage, based in Portland, Oregon, is coming down to LA to serve up their Notorious B.L.T., with their signature seitan bacon topped with herb and olive oil, white wine baked tomatoes with arugula and served with creamy balsamic atop a fresh French roll. And I NEED one of their tees (horns up for veganism!).


10. It's too hard to pick number ten, especially since so many menus are yet to be revealed, so let's just say I'm looking forward to what Little Pine, Sun Cafe, Shojin, Doomies, Donut Friend, Pizzanista, Organix, etc. will be serving up!

Will I see you at the LA Vegan Beer and Food Festival this weekend? What are you most looking forward to trying?

Tickets may still be available, for more info check out the Vegan Beer and Food Festival website!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...