Los Angeles has long been known for its vibrant and ethnically diverse food scene. Given this rich culinary canvas, if you’ve ever dreamed of being a food writer and being able to sample a wide swath of this cornucopia of food, you are in luck.
Just mark your calendar for the annual three-day weekend festival called the Los Angeles Times Food Bowl. This event is held at the Paramount Pictures Studio Backlot each year at the end of September.
Presented by City National Bank, this food fest brings together culinary giants and emerging stars from restaurants and food trucks across the southland. Immerse yourself in the movie sets, as you stroll, sip and savor the night away.
Your admission ticket gives you access to unlimited tastes, beverages, live cooking demos, cookbook signings, music and more. Each of the three days featured different restaurants and culinary talent. For maximum pleasure and exposure to the current food scene, the best strategy is to plan your whole weekend around this event.
Better yet, plan on joining the VIP’s next year. They have preferred parking and early access to the tasting booths to savor at leisure before the crowd enters. VIP ticket holders also have exclusive access to premium beverages and tastes in the VIP Designated Lounge, as well as access to an immersive experience. This year it was entrance to “Meteora,” a simulated Amazon jungle walk featuring the cultivation of cacao with tastes presented by Michelin star chef Jordan Kahn.
The festival also honored this year’s Gold Award winner, Mariscos Jalisco, and The Times Restaurant of the Year, Baroo, during Friday evening’s presentations. Both winners showcased their signature dishes during the festivities.
Besides the obvious gustatory pleasure of this event, you are supporting the L.A. Regional Food Bank, that is the charity beneficiary of the Food Bowl.
Some of the highlights of the 2024 Food Bowl are featured here.
Wolfgang Puck’s Beverly Hills Restaurant, CUT, presents a “Wagyu Beef Kebab with Heirloom Tomato Salsa and Pita Herb Crumble.”
And if steak is not enough, how about lobster? West Hollywood’s Saltie Girl Restaurant offers a “New England Lobster Roll with Kewpie Mayo, Lemon, Chives on a Buttered Brioche Bun.” (And the roll was crispy-crunchy!)
And another stand-out dish—presented by celebrity French Chef Ludo Lefebvre--from Sherman Oaks based restaurant Petit Trois “Tapioca Parmesan Piment d’Espelette.” This dish was a melding of South American Tapioca (extracted from the Cassava plant) with Italian Parmesan cheese.
A memorable Thai restaurant from Westchester called Ayara Thai offered a succulent sample of their cuisine: “Hokkaido Scallop Glass Noodle Salad,” and it was spicy!
Just in time to cleanse the palate was this dish mixed together in a crisp salad: “Fried Cheese Curd Cobb with Iceberg Lettuce, Blue Cheese Dressing, Sungold Tomatoes, Bacon Crunch,” from Pasadena’s Agnes Restaurant and Cheesery.
And now, how about some dessert? Janté Cheesecake from Woodland Hills presented two creamy and beautifully balanced Basque-style cheesecakes—one with Sour Cherry Luxardo and Strega Mist and the other one topped with Astrea’s Caviar and Lemon Zest.
And of course one dessert is never enough. We tried “Brioche French Toast Served with Peanut Butter Coconut Maple Syrup, Toasted Coconut Chips and Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream” presented by Los Angeles based Brique French Toastery. This was a “melt-in-your-mouth” culinary bite.
Throughout your culinary experience, many libations are free-flowing and poured upon request—both with and without alcohol. A good choice for a sweet ending is Coppola Diamond Prosecco, so refreshing with a lively lemon, peach, and honeysuckle flavor.
If this brief tour is tempting your taste buds, plan on next year’s Los Angeles Times Food Bowl, to enjoy the bounty that Los Angeles has prepared for you.
