Now that LA Street Food Fest is under our belt, we're looking forward to yet another food fest on the horizon: The Taste, an annual celebration of Southern California's best food and drink hosted by the LA Times. The three-day event (Sep 4-6) is always a fantastic mix of demos, samples from LA's best and newest restaurants, and panels from local culinary figures. The lineup just came out, and the mix of both established and recently opened eateries is already making us long for Labor Day weekend.
The Taste kicks off with Opening Night on September 4—primarily an industry night, tickets to this event are extremely limited (but still available here). BierBeisl Imbiss, Downtown's new Austrian street food spot from chef Bernhard Mairinger, will be offering samples, along with Horse Thief BBQ, Sotto, Coni'Seafood and more. On Saturday, two events are available depending on where your interests lie: Field to Fork or Dinner with a Twist. Field to Fork will see demonstrations from Jessica Koslow (Sqirl), Sherry Yard (Helms Bakery) and Niki Nakayama (n/naka), as well as a round table moderated by Times food writer Russ Parsons (there will be restaurants handing out bites as well). Dinner with a Twist highlights the marriage between great restaurants and LA's talented cocktail scene, with spots like Love & Salt, Melrose Umbrella Company, Diablo Taco and Guelaguetza showing off their goods.
There are two events on Sunday as well. Sunday Brunch and BBQ highlights the city's brunch gurus and pitmasters as Times food editor Amy Scattergood leads a discussion on the use of fire in the kitchen. Later in the evening, Flavors of L.A. will focus on LA's most iconic and exciting spots to dine at the moment: Guerrilla Tacos, Gasolina Cafe, Maude, Ramen Champ and more.
If you're off exploring Joshua Tree or Palm Springs on Labor Day weekend, enjoy yourself. But if you're sticking around LA, we can't think of a better way to spend the holiday than learning from our culinary heroes (and eating everything in our path). Score your tickets here (they're not exactly cheap, so choose your events wisely), and invest in some stretchy pants.