meh, I’d buy the ticket if I weren’t going to be in SF already.
It’s just my opinion. I should qualify this with the fact that I don’t care for crowds, and these events are about drawing crowds.
Too many people, too few resources, accommodations are usually horrible. Food can be wonderful - try to get it. Queue, queue, queue. It’s like paying to sit in rush hour traffic, but your 4-seat vehicle has eight people sitting in it, and which one of you didn’t take a shower? 
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I hear ya’. I’d rather eat dirt than go to the Playboy Jazz Festival again. Between the daylight and the overcrowding it set my teeth on edge. On the other hand, we went to the H. Bowl last month (at night) with the youngest pup, to see La La Land with a live orchestra and it was fabulous. Sandwiches from Jones on 3rd were fantastic btw.
I trust your opinion Mr. Man. Have you been to Tacolandia and if so, what did you think? Anyone feel free to jump in. Because I badgered our friends to go and hope it’s worth it. One is a street taco lover. She looked at the list and knew all the East L.A. hole-in-the-wall vendors. She was surprised at how many will be at this seemingly trendy event. It got me excited. That’s someone I want to go with.
We’re treading into those waters again at the end of the month for this. The vendors will be a food geeks dream.
https://arroyoseco-2017.squarespace.com/s/asw17_poster.jpg
I used to have issues with the crowds at events like this. But mostly because I worked in the music biz and got the all-access passes and such. I was that jerk who wouldn’t dream of general admission. I’ll re-evaluate now and let you know how I feel after this summer.
I’ve gone the past few years and it’s worth going if you’ve never been. Get there early and have a game plan for which places you want to try and hit those first because the lines ain’t gonna get any shorter and they will most likely run out of food.
Pro tip, divide and conquer. Split up and stand in as many lines as your group allows.
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The Playboy Jazz festival had a great line up this year, just requires proper planning we usually buy extra seats for the food/wine. That way everyone is more comfortable
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[quote=“aaqjr, post:25, topic:5358”]
we usually buy extra seats for the food/wine. That way everyone is more comfortable
[/quote]See now, that’s a good idea.
Ahhh yes… I remember that spread. Thanks for the pro tips! Perfect.
I have not been to Tacolandia and have no desire to do so. My decision is based on reports from past Tacolandias. It has all the issues that I prefer to avoid. I know many of the vendors are awesome, but I’d rather think of them in a good light in a more pleasant environment than a solarized mosh pit.
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Well okay then…
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@TheCookie I have been to tacolandia multiple times.
The first one was great not too many crowds and a cheap price point (I believe it was 25 dollars that year) and it was in a smaller venue which was easier to navigate.
By the third year the vendors had gotten too numerous and the lines too crazy long. I agree that you should go early and have a partner in crime that agrees to split food with you so you can divide and conquer. If you’re dying to try some of these unique taco vendors, I would encourage you to go because there’s a lot of pretty famous and well known vendors that you might not be able to sample on a day to day basis. That being said it’s a pretty big shi*tshow, be prepared for crowds and since it is during the day it can be super hot downtown.
Another alternative is to wait for the Taste of Mexico, which features quite an overlap of vendors (more of the hispanic ones, less of the fusion/americanized places that frequent Tacolandia) , it’s held at night in the early fall, so it’s cooler, tickets are chepaerm and even though there are a ton of people, there’s tons of free booze.
My plan is to hit the vendors from Mexico first. After that is all bonus.
La Guerrerense will be my first
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Is the game plan to show up before three and literally be waiting for the doors to open? Like if I get there at three, will I be able to consume a few tacos without huge lines, etc?
TBH this is my first time and I am not quite sure what to expect.
I did buy VIP tix and do plan to come early so I can be sure to hit up La Guerrerense right when doors open. I bought tickets strictly for this vendor, again anything else is bonus. I been drooling over La Guerrerense tostadas for years. I hope they do have the pismo clam and sea urchin tostada
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If you have normal tickets there likely will already be a huge line to get in. Except for the 2nd year (where I feel they were very underprepared for the event to become so big), the entrance line was was quite long but moved decently So yeah just run to your favorite vendors first.
@JeetKuneBao take a trip down to ensenada this summer, there’s a lot of nice airbnb’s or walled of compounds to stay at, plus there’s great breweries, wines, and a lot of new age mexican cuisine in the guadalupe valley, ensenada, and tijuana. Plus you can always go eat a ton of seafood at the potpotla fishing village. Your dollar definitely goes pretty far down there
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Hi @hungryhungryhippos -
Tix already bought, so guess we’ll have to see for ourselves. The Taste of Mexico in the fall seems pretty cool.
Thanks!
Be there an hour before the start time and your first hour of actual eating will be awesome. Afterwards it gets kind of insane.
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P.S. bring sunscreen, it’ll be hotter than two hamsters fucking in a wool sock in hell.
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That’s pretty hot
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