Los Angeles’ Food Frenzy Folk
** Hello all! Yes, I am alive — this blog is very late, yet I will be attaching aaaalllll the food memes and pics in this to ensure that it makes up for it ****
Lunchtime in the office is an extremely sacred time. Not only is it a chunk of time for clearing the head of all emails and Excels, but it is for a *chunk* of that leftover chicken picatta, smothered in cream and capers.
So today, while I ate my Starbucks to-go snack pack of cheese, crackers and (Coach’s favorite) carrots, I was taken aback when someone had gone out of their way to fetch Porto’s (an hour+ treck over the hill, if you ask me). The dedication for such a meal was a wonder, however the forty minute minute conversation about the bakery that proceeded was even more impressive. If you aren’t familiar with Los Angeles’ hub of pastries, Porto’s, then apparently, you are NOT what this blog is about:
SUBCULTURE #2:
The Food Frenzy Folk of Los Angeles, I like to call them.
And trust me, it’s a real thing — just read this article that demonstrates just how this cluster of peoples rock their guilty pleasures and have created a whole society of it.
The ones who go out of their groove, surfing the train tracks of the Metro rail for an hour or so, in order to partake in the glorious tasties that the city has to offer. Whether or not it’s “for the pic” or for the tummy, the Fx3 have created a subculture of their own.
Although all metropolitan cities have their clusters of food lovers, something about Los Angeles’ seems to stand out the most. Is it the trend? Is it out of true curiosity on what possibly could be next (I saw Pickle flavored ice cream being featured at Arts District’s Salt and Straw . . . )? For LA, the goal is to create and seek out a food that is innovative, outlandish, and whimsical. Even if the restaurant is undiscovered and kept away in the back of an alley, the journey to finding “the fried chicken on a stick on my Instagram feed” is what makes the frenzie a reality.
To go and truly hands on investigate, I went to the most Food Frenzy Folk event that could possibly be — where they gather and praise such concoctions — Smorgasburg LA.
Smorgasburg, residing in the Art’s District, is a meeting place for the foodie subculture of LA. When I mean “of LA”, this is a very specific type of “foodie.” At this cornucopia of gourmet food vendors and food hoorahs, Smorgasburg collides truffle grilled cheese with the likes of lobster nachos, presented by master chefs that only foodies would know of. And it isn’t just the taste buds that must be trickling and stimulating, it is also the visual presentation that the foodie prizes over. A food that can be Instagrammable and even slapped on a postcard that could be considered “chic.”
As I went around to a variety of groups of foodie strangers (who weren’t that difficult to relate to, because I like to think that I am also apart of the foodie subculture), I asked what makes food special to them and why they specifically define it as a culture here in LA. Food diversity, conversation starters, the celebration of the body and its sensations, the presentation (I told you!), and the events were all answers into what makes the Fx3 a unique sort of human.
These interviews brought me back to full circle: a culture can be created out of anything. All it takes is one passion to maximize in order to bring people together, regularly. Not only Smorgasburg, but hundreds of other food events, farmers markets, and foodie spots populate the greater Los Angeles area, and these are jumped to with great excitement. The experience of having a shared community, whether it be through something as little as food or as moving as a political goal, is something that heals the heart and makes profound memories. Foodies, you are doing something right!
For enjoyment, a list of some of my favorite *Frenzy Foodie Folk* spots:
- Little Damage (black charcoal ice cream, to match my soul)
- Midori Matcha (if you are into green tea, this is a *matcha* for you!)
- Birdies LA (fried chicken and the most aesthetic cake donuts you will find on the Internet)
- The Pie Hole (Lucky Charms pie DOES exist, my friends)
- The Dolly Llama (the strangest, most satisfying soft ice cream cone experience you will endure)
