Re-Inventing The Food Festival
Welcome To EEEEEATSCON
Nearly eight years after launching The Infatuation, we’re excited to announce a new chapter in the saga — our very own festival. The first-ever EEEEEATSCON is happening on May 20th at The Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California.
If you’re new to The Infatuation, allow us to introduce ourselves. We are a website, newsletter, mobile app, and series of Instagram accounts (22 to be exact), all designed to help you find the perfect restaurant for any situation. We started The Infatuation back in 20o9 because we couldn’t find a resource that spoke to us about food and restaurants like normal people — in a way that was real, honest, and (believe it or not) sometimes fun to read. And now we’re starting a food festival for all of those same reasons.
Seven million photos tagged with our hashtag #EEEEEATS and four years of curating restaurants at music festivals has made it clear to us that people all over the world are looking for a place to pursue their passion for food beyond their smartphone screen. We want EEEEEATSCON to be the place where that pursuit begins. We also just wanted to fill a giant airplane hangar with food. And people.
Here’s what you can expect from EEEEEATSCON: a bunch of great restaurants from LA and beyond, some of our favorite musicians, many ridiculous places to take pictures of your #EEEEEATS, and a full day of panels and keynote speeches from people in the food world that we think are inspiring. Restaurants participating include a greatest hits list of Infatuation favorites like Chi Spacca, Jon & Vinny’s, Salazar, Shake Shack, Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, New York pizza favorite Pasquale Jones, The Nomad Truck, special experiences from Nighthawk: Breakfast Bar and Tinfoil: Liquor & Grocery, Badmaash, Fat Dragon, Katsuya, Afters Ice Cream, Sweetfin Poke, Yeasty Boys, Ramen Hood, Dream Pops, Matcha Bar, Maple Block Meat Co., and Eataly’s first ever appearance in Los Angeles. New York duo The Knocks will headline the music portion of the day, which will also include a set from our favorite new artist, Lizzo. The day will end with a discussion with Shep Gordon, the legendary talent manager who is also credited with creating the concept of the celebrity chef, along with a talk with LA’s very own Nancy Silverton, hosted by KCRW’s Evan Kleiman.
Equally important as what you will find, however, is what you won’t find at EEEEEATSCON: we don’t do “tasting” portions, there won’t be any chef demos, and you certainly won’t see anybody wearing one of those wine glasses that hangs around your neck. So basically, it’s not your typical food festival.
And while EEEEEATSCON is definitely meant to be a place where good food and social media seamlessly intersect, let’s be clear that this event isn’t just about putting a bunch of food porn inside of one building for a day. It’s about eating good food, having a good time, getting inspired, and maybe even meeting some new friends. If you post a few photos, even better. You know what hashtag to use.
Lastly, we’re proud to announce our EEEEEATSCON partners: The Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express, Bumble, and Caviar.
See you in May.
Questions or press inquiries? Hit us up at eeeeeatscon@theinfatuation.com
