Ben MesirowEven though Hipsteropolis has completely arrived as a desirable part of town (at least if celebrity residents and real estate prices are any indication), it hasn't yet lost that little-brother, underdog feeling. Like UCLA football (not arrived) and USC academics (arrived, though someone apparently forgot to tell the students), it probably never will. Would the Westside, for example, gather together and host a food festival to show off just how diverse and accomplished their restaurants are? Probably not, but that's just what a group of influential Eastside organizations has done.
On Sunday, May 15th from 1-5 p.m. at Barnsdall Art Park in Los Feliz, the Taste of the Eastside food festival will showcase almost 30 restaurants from the east and northeast L.A. neighborhoods of Silver Lake, Echo Park, Atwater, Eagle Rock, Los Feliz, Highland Park, and Downtown. Apparently nobody wanted to invite Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, or City Terrace to the party. Or maybe restaurants over there just don't count as East L.A. anymore.
The glorious huarache; Credit: Anne Fishbein
The list of restaurants that apparently do count as Eastside spots includes some standouts, though. Gold Standard veteran El Huarache Azteca will be there, as will Little Dom's, Cliff's Edge, Auntie Em's, and Silver Lake Wine, among others. Your $25 entry fee gets you 15 tickets to try the various taste-size food items over the course of the four hour event. For an extra $40 (making it $65 total) you can upgrade to the VIP package, which gives you 15 additional tickets and grants you early entry to the festival, as well as access to a special “Pharmacie Cocktail Tasting” with Heirloom LA's Talmadge Lowe.
The price may seem a little steep, but the money is going to a good cause. All of the proceeds will get divided amongst the non-profit organizations Children's Hospital LA, SEE-LA, the Barnsdall Art Park Foundation, and Rose Scharlin Cooperative nursery school. A festival of good food for a good cause? We hope the Eastside never grows up.
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