I have been burned by too many overpriced - and underfed - events that my taste for Food Bowl has soured.
Sure there have been a few that i loved - Sang Yoon’s test kitchen for example.
The Sichaun meals with Yu Bo sound interesting but i think I’ll wait till he’s up and running in a real kitchen.
Wonder what the rest of y’all are thinking…
thanks @attran99! we’re actually just about sold out! we’ll definately make sure no one’s underfed! 
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Is a “food bowl event” something in particular in LA? Not familiar with the term.
I can neither confirm nor deny that I purchased a ticket.
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Yes, Food Bowl, is a LA area event
I’m just going to go to restaurants instead unless i get another free ticket.
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Curious about the All Star BBQ, but I bet the lines are enormous for Aaron Franklin.
I signed up for a bunch of events – Yu Bo, Somni x Central, Willows Inn x Trois Mec, BBQ fest, Burger fest, and will try to jot down impressions of them.
I’m pretty excited about the Yu Bo dinner since there are 30 Sichuan dishes. Will be there 6pm May 8th. It’s only from 6-8pm, so I am pretty happy about how quick that pacing must be.
Qiu Tain Tian will open up her Westside restaurant, Mala Town, to Chengdu chef Yu Bo, featured on the show “The Mind of a Chef,” to recreate an evening previously available only to intrepid travelers. Guests will enjoy more than 30 dishes, such as the chef’s famed pen-brush pastry, four-by-four appetizers, hedgehog bun, truffle cold noodle and other dishes featuring all 24 flavors of Sichuan cuisine.
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So it is not worth going to the night market? Was interested in the taco night but for $75 still on the fence? After reading this… does not seem worth it.
7 vendors, assuming 5 bucks a taco, breakeven is 15 tacos. Math might be a little better if alcohol is included in the $75 or agua fresca or something, but it’s simply described as “food & drink included in price”.
Carnitas El Momo
Sonoratown
Tacos 1986
Chichen Itza
Broken Spanish
Teddy’s Red Tacos
Guerrilla Tacos
Is it worth it from a $/taco perspective? Probably not. But depending on how much you value your time, you do save a lot of driving…
Yeah not even as concerned about the break even. Just didn’t know how crowded these events get. More my time and if the food is even any good.
Well, the high price keeps the riff raff like me out. The vendor listing is small but good.
Maybe they are getting better but poor organization, long lines, limited food/alcohol and high price has been my take away from most Food Bowl events.
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Hi @CiaoBob,
Yah I remember your report back last year (and a few others, and some friends who went). Definitely not excited about this.
This year, some of those events sound suspect during Food Bowl. During the “Food Bowl Chinese Restaurant Week” there are SGV restaurants offering stuff like:
- Shancheng Lameizi Hot Pot - a special prix fixe hot pot for $113.35 (LOL at the exact #).
- Little Skewer - $110 (seriously?)
- Yiukee Tea Station - $20 (for Boba Tea and some dessert)
- Wu Ming Hot Pot - $80
- Ja Jiaozi - $50 for a prix fixe menu of dumplings & beef skewers.
and other places…
@ipsedixit @chandavkl @Ns1 this smells of SGV Chinese restaurants jacking up the price to cash in on the L.A. Times Food Bowl “extravaganza”? 
Is Ja Jiaozi really serving amazing dumplings worth $50 per person (+ tax & tip)? Same for Hot Pot places serving $100+ prix fixe menus.
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I can’t imagine anyone eating more than 3 or 4 tacos at Carnitas El Momo without being stuffed and they’re only $2.5 each.
Could not agree more. This all sounds overpriced.
oh for sure if we’re going for pure $$$ you basically need to camp out at GT and Broken Spanish. But from a TIME perspective? Hitting up those 7 vendors might take half a day of driving alone, if you can even make their schedule. I surely would have never had CEM if they didn’t show up at food events.
I would do what I did last time…eat half an aporkalypse taco to see what the fuss was about and move on to the next.
Better off just going to the restaurant and ordering a feast for two for that price.
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