[dropcap size=big]N[/dropcap]ew year, same hungry you.
Once you’ve realized that balance and moderation beat any “clean-eating” trendy diet you vowed to take on in January 1st, Smorgasburg LA has announced six exciting vendors that will be making a debut this Sunday, January, 12th. The list spans from handmade noodles to a promising new carnitas vendor. This new wave of 2020 pop-up eateries brings the total count of food vendors at the weekly free-to-enter food event at ROW DTLA to a whopping 67 food vendors.
10 of which specializing in tacos, making taqueros the most popular type of food vendor at Smorgasburg LA.
“Obviously we are insanely proud of all of the regional and modern Mexican food we have. But I won’t be happy until you can do a taco crawl of every single one of L.A.’s best regional tacos at Smorgasburg,” says Zach Brooks, Smorgasburg LA’s general manager.
The OG foodblogger and talent scout who approves all vendors informs L.A. Taco that he receives “many hundreds” applications from vendors a year and while “they feel bad that it’s so difficult to get in,” this painstaking integrative process allows Smorgasburg LA to “grow as organically as possible without adversely affecting the vendors that already vend with us.”
A quick check of their vendor list indeed does show that none of their featured taquerias specialize in the same dish.
As for their promising new taquero, Los Cochinitos, Brooks informs us that it is owned by “two young brothers with strong family roots in Los Angeles and Michoacán.” He first encountered their tacos and tortas ahogadas at the El Faro Swapmeet (next door to the Alameda Swapmeet) and he is confident that they will carry the torch left behind from Carnitas El Momo, one of the founding vendors of Smorgasburg LA.
“They make amazing carnitas and we’re excited to be able to help them take the next step with their new business.”
L.A. Taco was able to confirm that you can choose your carnitas by cut at Los Cochinitos, just as you can in Michoacán. From pork butt, pork skin, stomach, ear, tripe, heart, tongue, kidney, and snout—all of which is slowly cooked for four hours.
Here is the rest of the five vendors.
Burmese Please - Run by Compound Butter co-founder Jessie Nicely, Burmese Please features of a menu of Burmese specialties like tea leaf salad, roti with potato curry, and mohinga, a hearty catfish and noodle stew that is Myanmar’s national dish.
Chinese Laundry - Before becoming one of the breakout stars of York Boulevard’s street food scene, Chinese Laundry was one of the original Smorgasburg LA launch vendors. Chef Leo Lamprides and his crew are making their triumphant return to the market with their juicy roasted duck and the live hand-pulled noodle Biang Biang Mian.
Dante’s Fried Chicken - DFC runs as a delivery-only service out of Cassell’s Burgers in Koreatown, but Smorgasburg will be the only place you can get his famous fried chicken tenders, tastes like chicken tofu nuggets, and delicious biscuits live and fresh out of the fryer.
Mano Po - A new concept brought to you by the creators and founders of Lobsterdamus, featuring a taste of food from their home county the Philippines. Chose between chicken inasal or Manila BBQ chicken, both cooked over mesquite and served with rice and pickled green papaya.
Paratta - Paratta is a modern Desi concept bringing South Asian street food to the masses. Their menu features their namesake, a flaky buttery paratta, wrapped around 100 percent halal meats and vegetable dishes, with flavors from both India and Pakistan. Started originally as a food truck, Paratta will be setting up in a booth for the very first time at Smorgasburg, as they continue their journey towards eventually opening up a brick and mortar restaurant.
