Ride or Fry. A vegetarian-friendly food truck revolution.

Food trucks are to restaurants what the made for TV mini series are to film. An inferior substitution. That's in general.

But Dante Fried Chicken food truck isn't anything general. It's like a teenage mutant ninja truck. Awesome. And super powered. And, um, anthropomorphic?

I tried out DFC last week at the Adidas Blue Launch Party. What could possibly have led a vegetarian to step within several feet of a fried chicken truck, you ask?

How about we start with the fried soy chicken. Then let's move on to the weekly variety of Cheese 'Mac Up.'

Then let's discuss how DFC is more than a truck--it's a multimedia experience.

Dante is a real guy. And he hosts a real little web show where he cooks with emerging and not-so emerging artists. Like Santigold, Major Lazer, and other Mad Decent characters.

In an interview, Dante says that 'DFC’s mission is to be a catalyst of interdisciplinary art, dance, music, design, community culture and cuisine.' That is such a sexier mission statement than wanting to serve fusion Korean tacos with no overhead and less frequent health inspections.

Follow DFC on Twitter and get your grit on.

LA Street Food Fest. I went. I ate. I ate some more.

On Saturday night, we packed a blanket and an appetite and headed east to Pasadena where the LA Street Food Fest was giving things a second go (the organizers' first attempt at the fest sounded awesome but a bit more unruly) at the ginormous Rose Bowl. The lines were still long (like, really long), but there was plenty to distract us as we waited in line after line for samples from the city's most popular food trucks (who were, incidentally, stationed at tented booths and not trucks--I was as confused as you are), including dancers, indie sounds from The Deadly Syndrome, a speech read off a crumpled paper by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and plenty of colorful characters stuffing their faces with 20 different kinds of ice cream and Singha Beer.

Note to my vegetarian brethren: I definitely didn't eat my $45 ticket's worth. Restos were giving out only 1 or 2 samples each, and most of these weren't veg-friendly. I'd complain, except events like these clearly aren't meant for diets like mine. And I knew that. Many thanks to Starry Kitchen though for the amazingness of their tofu balls (see banana below for reference) which won the hearts of vegetarians and carnivores alike.

This summer. Food, film and the great outdoors.

In case the Hollywood Forever cemetary screenings have gotten too crowded for you, you're tired of chasing down food trucks on the street, and/or you just need an excuse to gorge yourself on popcorn, there is a new outdoor screening/eating/lounging around fest in town.

The Outdoor Cinema Food Fest will launch this summer, with free weekly screenings at Exposition Park. That's that park near USC that you may have passed on your way to a nearby rave or the butterflies at the Natural History Museum at some point. But anyway, it's big, it's grassy, and it's about to be home to what the Fest's website is currently calling 'LA's Top Food Trucks.' Hmm.

Despite the shroud of vagueness concerning the food, the schedule of films is listed and it's a doozy. The fest opens with Avatar, includes other recent hits like The Hangover and Twilight and gets a little old school on us with classics like The Breakfast Club and Fight Club.

Sold. I will pack my extra salt for the popcorn now.

Food Find: Ketel One Canteen says thanks, happy hannukah and bon appetit.

Sometimes vodka gives you a massive f+cking hangover. Sometimes (the better times) it gives you potato pancakes and awesome free grub. This weekend, catch Ketel One's ultimate guerrilla marketing ploy, the Ketel One Canteen, in Hollywood. The food truck (of course it's a truck--who bothers with stationary anymore?) will be doling out FREE food prepped by Ilan Hall of Gorbals Restaurant and Top Chef fame. And Hannukah-themed fare no less. Because us Jews--we like vodka. And you gentiles--you like Jewish food. It's win-win, really.

 

Though the truck won't actually be serving alcohol, it will be accompanied by a fleet of cars to drive you home if you've had one too many libations somewhere else along the Cahuenga Corridor.

Ketel One Canteen
@ Cahuenga between Hollywood and Selma
Thursday - Sat: 12 a - 2 a

[via Thrillist]

Food Find: Coolhaus, my favorite new food truck.

With all the brick and mortar places to get grub in LA, the allure of chasing down a truck to get a snack has dumbfounded me since the fad began.

Well, I'm a changed woman now. Last night Coolhaus made an appearance at the event I was working. And I'm in serious like with the mobile store. Coolhaus' specialty? Customizable ice cream sandwiches!

Cookie choices included chocolate, sugar, and chocolate chip. And ice cream flavors ranged from the simpler (just don't say plain) to the whimsical (Earl Gray) to the awesome (Blue Honey &Pine Nut) to the intoxicating (White Russian).

The truck itself--a boxy, little vehicle, somewhere between a Smart Car and a Taco Truck--is the creation of two young architects and is as cool as the desserts inside.

You can, of course, follow the truck's journeys [and try your own ice cream creation] on Twitter.