Scenes from the Eat Real Festival: Los Angeles 2011

This past weekend was the first Eat Real Fest in Los Angeles.  The festival, which was held at the Helms Bakery complex, has been held in Oakland for three years and this was the first Southern California edition.  The festival, which is likely to become an annual event, celebrates local and sustainable producers of all things food and drink. Attendance was free, only the food, drink or merchandise purchased cost money.

Part of the local food purveyors offering food were a fleet of food trucks, which had people lining up to munch on their vittles.  Other options included the highly regarded Big Mista's BBQ, which cooked "pig candy" and chicken wings among other items.  A fellow attendee, Nick from TreasureLA, particularly enjoyed the pig candy.

I found the chicken tamales ($2.50 each) from Corn Maiden to be a nice mixture of sweet and spicy with the salsa proving a kick.  The tamales were made without lard, which was a draw for me as I do not eat pork.

There was an outdoor beer garden as well as several spots indoors to quench your thirst with beer and wine.  Above, folks lined up to get some Firestone Walker beer.

Alex Jermasek, an apprentice butcher at Lindy & Grundy, won the Chicken Breakdown competition.  Below, he hoists his chicken trophy in triumph.  Amelia Posada and Erika Nakamura, the eponymous founders of Lindy & Grundy cheered his victory.

Despite it being the weekend of Carmageddon, thousands attended the free festival, which did create some long lines and waits for food.  The demand exceeded many vendors expectations, and some like Creme Caramel LA sold out of everything they brought.

The event ran smoothly and attendees were in good spirits, so I look forward to the return of the festival next summer, and hope to try Creme Caramel's treats before then.  Keep up to date on Eat Real happenings at their website: www.eatrealfest.com

Eat Real Festival is Coming to Culver City

Next weekend, on July 16 and 17 the Eat Real Festival comes to the Helms Bakery Complex in Culver City.  Yes, that is the weekend of Carmageddon, but this event is too good to miss, so if you live far away, arrange to stay with friends as you will be kicking yourself if you don’t make it there.

Anya Fernald who founded the festival (and went to college with me) discussed the many demonstrations and workshops on offer, “from making jam, sauerkraut or bread, raising backyard chickens and bees, to seeing the artistry involved in butchering a steer or pig.”  All of the demonstrations are free as is attendance at the festival; that is a price I can get excited about.  The only cost of attending is buying food to eat, beverages to drink or shopping from the local vendors, and all prepared food will be $5 or less and incorporate regionally sourced and sustainably produced ingredients. 

I am particularly looking forward to the tomato sauce making workshop with Evan Kleiman, the host of Good Food on KCRW, and to the butchery competition with Amelia Posada and Erika Nakamura of local butcher shop Lindy & Grundy. The Beer and Wine gardens featuring local crafted brews such as the Bruery and Stone, and regionally grown wines should also be particularly fun.  If you think you will be sipping the suds, Thrillest is offering an unlimited beer and wagyu hotdogs deal for $29, which is a good value.

The LA Eat Real Festival is building off previous events in the Bay Area and should be a fun showcase for local producers of sustainable and tasty foodstuffs.  The opportunity to have a whole day of entertainment for free is reason enough to check out the fest.

To learn more, go to their website at http://eatrealfest.com/event/Los%20Angeles/California/2011