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Under the sweltering Saturday sunshine over 600 people packed into Siren Studios to support Meals on Wheels West and help Thrillist name "The Best of the Best" of five L.A. food trucks.
Parked in an ad hoc "food truck alley" adjacent to an air-conditioned soundstage, Frysmith, Dante Fried Chicken, The Dim Sum Truck, The Lardon Truck, and Komodo exchanged attendees' individually color-coded tickets for sample-sized tastes showcasing the best of their menu. For those who needed something more than small bites at the end of long lines, each truck was selling items off their regular menu.
Hearty, savory Rajas fries from Frysmith, shu mai and har gow from the Dim Sum Truck, mini Bacos from Lardon, Asian Chicken Tacos from Komodo and a trio of tastes (Chicken nuggets, tofu nuggets, and brisket on a biscuit) from Dante Fried Chicken were handed out as fast as they possibly could be, as Bacardi Limon drinks were mixed at near-empty bar tables, and ladies offered buckets of beer bottles to the sun-soaked crowd.
Early on in the 3-hour event a contortionist worked the floor inside the chilly-aired soundstage, who was ultimately replaced by rapper Pigeon John, whose not-so-PG-rated rhymes were blasted out into the courtyard via speakers looming over the snaking lines of hungry guests. A lucky few found shade and a seat under umbrellas set up by one event sponsor: Pepto Bismol. Perfect!
The goal was to have guests Tweet out a code to cast a vote for the "Best of the Best," an honor eventually bestowed upon Dante Fried Chicken, who probably scored points for feeding the line out their truck window with trays of samples and whose irreverent @KFCRIP Twitter handle drew plenty of chuckles. Their fried tofu trumped anything they did with real meat, and, in an unusual upset, contributed to beating out the much-beloved bacon-bacon-bacon as offered by Lardon.
But the biggest winner was Meals on Wheels West; the event raised $3,494 for the charity.
