Getting All Food Fancy And Such At The Fall 2014 Artisanal LA

Southern California has such a diverse culture that appreciates many different things. Nowhere else does this diversity appear more in than within the cuisine here. Southern California houses so many different types of food that keeping track of them all turns into a job rather than a chore. Luckily, Southern California has food events, such as Artisanal LA, that allow visitors to experience what Southern California has to offer to your curious tastebuds. Artisanal LA returned for its semiannual show this past weekend to LA Mart in Downtown Los Angeles, bringing along with it a slew of local designer goods for our eyes and mouths. At Artisanal LA, this two-day all-ages event allows visitors to stroll through the numerous aisles filled with local artisanal vendors, where visitors can sample products, purchase products, or receive information about services for future business. At select times during the weekend, seminars would take place, where visitors can sit down to listen and watch demos or learn about things. The endless aisles contained so many vendors carrying such neat products, many of which attended the Artisanal LA that took place in April earlier this year.

In no particular order, I would like to give props to:

• Bad Pickle Tees: Food puns t-shirts. Their punny shirts can relate to anyone. I always appreciate seeing them wherever I travel to.
• Owl’s Brew: Tea-flavored mixer for cocktails. The mixer itself comes as a concentrate, and also works well in non-alcoholic beverages.
• Grateful Spoon: Small-batch gelato and sorbets. Of all the cold treats at this event, I found myself craving more of their cold treats.
• Maya Brigadeiro: Traditional Brazilian brigadeiros handmade at home. I challenge you to find better brigadeiros in Los Angeles.
• Esperti Coffee Collection: Cold-brewed coffee. All the hipsters swear by cold-brewed coffee nowadays.
• Les Beaux Chocolats: Artfully crafted artisanal chocolates. They look like party favors, and taste just as vibrant.
• Choctál: Single-origin ice creams. Very rich, like ice cream should taste.
• Califia Farms: All-natural beverages, including aguas frescas. Great beverages for a hot day, and they do not taste watered down.
• Try My Tea: Southern-style sweet tea. I bought one of these because after a sample, they hooked me.
• Surprise Surprise Bake Shop: Cake pops. These cake pops put the Starbucks cake pops to shame.

Who did I miss? I definitely did not see Mwokaji Cakery, Velvet Rope Bake Shop, Krave Jerky, ProCakes, Buff Bake, or Joia Soda. I mention these because they stuck in my mind the most from previous iterations of Artisanal LA. But hey – we like variety, and we like to see new things instead of the same things over and over again. I mean, what other ways exist to sample some of the great products that Southern California has to offer other than at Artisanal LA? Remember that Artisanal LA takes place twice a year, so keep an eye out for news of next year’s events. Like the Artisanal LA Facebook page for more information about their upcoming events as they release it.