LA Vegan Beer & Food Fest 2012

I was a naughty blogger at the LA Vegan Beer & Food Fest this past weekend. I ate my way through it with reckless abandon, but barely documented any of it. I had a fully charged battery & well intentions, but I just didn’t make it happen. Apologies.

Truth is, sometimes I don’t want to be “that blogger person.” The one that lets my food get cold while I try to get that perfect shot, the one that tells everyone “hands off the food” until I get said perfect shot, the one that turns everything into a photo-op, the one that misses the party because she’s hiding behind the camera the entire time. So at the LAVBF, I decided to kick back & enjoy the party. And it was a blast!

My Pal Kory of LOVELIKEBEER

I had the pleasure of making the trek from SD to LA with the LOVELIKEBEER boys. In exchange for my driving, they treated me to food & I absolutely took advantage of that. First stop: The SEABIRDS Truck! I’ve been reading & drooling about Seabirds forever. So intrigued by the Jackfruit Tacos, & dying to try everything else they create. We ordered almost everything on the menu.

The Seabirds Food Truck

My faves:

• Spinach Artichoke Dip - spinach, artichoke hearts, white beans, panko, served with truck-made corn chips. Yum! I’m a sucker for anything artichoke & a creamy dip is one of my favorite indulgences.

• Chipotle Jack Tacos - grilled jackfruit, chipotle sauce, pickled red onion, & mango salsa. I’ve never had “pulled pork,” but everyone who had said the texture is spot on. I don’t really know how I feel about that, but I do know that these were so tasty, & full of spicy flavor.

• Avocado Beer Battered Tacos - fried avocado, creamy jalapeno-cilantro sauce, red onion, & cabbage slaw. One word: heavenly. I could happily live inside that tortilla filled with that fried creamy goodness.

My friend Kevin, my friend Andi’s husband, ordered up a bunch of yummy cupcakes from Life Is Sweet Bake Shop, which offers their decedent desserts via Seabirds.

Vegan Cupcakes from Life Is Sweet Bakeshop

He ordered one of each of the day’s special offerings:

• Chocolate Stout Cupcake & Buttercream

• Blue Moon Cupcake with Orange Buttercream

• Chocolate Stout Cupcake with Peanut Butter Buttercream

Kevin in Cupcake Heaven

Clearly, by the look on his face above he is beyond excited, & with good reason - these cupcakes were to die for! After gorgefest part 1, we settled our tummies a bit for round 2 & then hit up the Mandoline Grill Vietnamese Truck & shared the:

Tofu Bahn Mi from Mandoline Grill

• Tofu Bahn Mi with cucumber slices, pickled carrot & daikon, cilantro, jalapenos, vegenaise, & scallion oil.

• Vietnamese Nachos with crispy tortilla chips with jalapeno, mint, cilantro scallion oil, & vegan Sriracha aioli.

Vietnamese Nachos from Mandoline Grill

The Bahn Mi was good, but for me, nothing tops the one from San Diego’s Miho Gastrotruck. I did, however, love the Vietnamese Nachos. Sriracha aioli, what’s not to love?!

I’d pretty much reached my limit before a friend of the group handed me the uneaten ½ of his hot hog from The Frankenstand, LA’s horror movie-themed vegan hot dog cart.

The Frankenstand

I have a (not so secret anymore) dream of having a vegan hot dog cart. I have a thing for veggie dogs, so when I started to research the idea, I came across The Frankenstand & was instantly intrigued by their quirky concept & simple menu. You order the frank of your choice & load it up with your preferred fixins'. I’m not sure what frank my friend ordered, but it was so good that Andi & I decided to create & split our own. We ordered The Franken which is sausage with sun-dried tomato & basil. Super, super yum & only confirms my desire to be a vegan hot dog cart entrepreneur.

Vampy & Wolfie of The Frankenstand

As the day progressed, I managed to indulge in a stout & vegan chocolate ice cream float, french fries, more cupcakes, fried plantains, & the famous Buffalo Style Cauliflower from Mohawk Bend. Want more now, please!

Buffalo Cauliflower from Mohawk Bend

So that’s how one eats her way through a vegan food fest. And maybe next year I’ll arrange to stay the night in LA so I can actually enjoy the beer too! While pretty much everything that I stuffed in my face was amazing, I must say that my favorite of the day was the Avocado Tacos from Seabirds. Ridiculously delicious. This was the most fun I’d had in quite a while & wish this was happening every Saturday for the rest of my life. I’m already counting the days until next year!