Chinatown Summer Nights
Los Angeles, California
Miss Chinatown sandwiched between two other celebrants
L.A. boasts a decent sized Chinatown, yet it is often culturally overlooked by the rest of the city. This recently prompted several civic organizations to plan and sponsor a festival spanning four Saturday nights in celebration of Chinatown’s diverse culture. Chinatown Summer Nights features DJs set up in several locations with live cooking demonstrations, street performances and participation of many of the local restaurants and shops who stay open late for the event. The festival also features many of L.A.’s food trucks, although oddly enough at the most recent event, only one food truck (Korean Ahn-Joo) was Asian-themed. Having the trucks at the festival was a double-edged sword; on one hand, some of the local restaurants objected to the trucks pulling away their business, but on the other hand, they attracted event-goers that might not normally come to Chinatown otherwise. The food truck population was well represented by the World Fare double-decker bus, Brazilian Ta-Bom, The Surfer Taco truck, Spring Street Smoke House (a BBQ truck), Tropical Shave Ice, the aforemetnioned Ahn-Joo, the Crepe’n Around crepe truck and the Grilled Cheese Truck, which seems to be everywhere these days. Even through the Grilled Cheese Truck had the largest line (which stretched up the block), the other trucks did a brisk business, some closing early after running out of food. Read the rest of this entry »
