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Meet the Meatless: 11th Annual Tofu Festival
This weekend marks the annual Tofu Festival, where fans of the soy based food product of Chinese origin can gather together in celebration of what to so many is an acquired taste. The festival is taking place in downtown on San Pedro Street between 2nd and 3rd on Saturday from 2-10 p.m. and Sunday from noon-9 p.m. General admission is $8, with kids (5-12) and seniors (60+) at $5 a piece. Of course, the real payoff for attending any food fest is the food itself, and food is purchased at the Tofu Festival with $1 scrip tickets, with most dishes ranging from 1-4 tickets, and drinks, including alcohol, can run anywhere from 1-6. This year's event will feature a Celebrity Chef Cooking stage, which offers presentations from local legend Tommy Tang, Iron Chef Morimoto, and one of the loveable (and SoCal native) losers from Bravo's culinary competition show Top Chef, Candice Kumai. The foodstuff is being touted on the fest's site as dishes that are "imaginative, creative, and [...] quite exotic." The booths are being sponsored and food served up by an array of local Asian and Asian inspired restaurants, including Chandra Thai, Bamboo Hut, Mowie Wowie, and Blue Hen (reviewed last year by LAist). The full listing is available here. There is also the requisite tofu eating contest, live entertainment, a raffle, and something called a Wi-Fi Scavenger Hunt (the festival is boasting free WiFi, so we're guessing you can click your mouse in one hand and wrangle your BBQ Tofu in the other). We do like tofu, and we might even make it out to the fest. But, hey, if you do, be sure to send us an email from the grounds. Just be sure to wipe that sauce from your Tofu Satay off the keyboard.
The 11th Annual Tofu Festival
Saturday August 12th (2-10 p.m.) & Sunday August 13th (Noon-6 p.m.)
237 South San Pedro Street (between 2nd & 3rd) in Downtown L.A.
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