Thursday, June 25, 2009

Back To Basics: Breed Street Food Fair, Boyle Heights

In this crazy competitive, detail-driven world we live in where all our "I"s have to be dotted and "T"s crossed in order to make a good impression on others or to fulfill some obsessive-compulsive need of my own, I sometimes get a little tired. Umm, wasting perfectly good cardstock from throwing out wedding favor tags that weren't perfect? Guilty. Putting six pairs of destructed boyfriend jeans side by side to see which ones had the best holes? Now that's just insane. *Raises hand in shame*

Living in LA, our everyday lives are oftentimes wrapped around people and places that certainly don’t help curb the tendency to get caught up in small insignificant details. But at the same time, there are people to see and places to go in LA that can help one get away from all that craziness. On a recent weekend night, for example, my family and I met Jeni & Dylan from Oishii Eats and Eat, Drink & Be Merry, Anjali from Delicious Coma, and a handful of other foodies at the Breed Street Food Fair in Boyle Heights.

A place where cardboard signs and clip-on lamps are all one needs for advertisement.

A place where people of all ages, sizes and ethnicities are welcome...

...and where people smile and actually mean it.

A place where we use our hands as utensils and the top of my kid’s stroller and the bumper on a truck serve as a table.

A place where industrial gourmet kitchens are nowhere to be seen and food is scooped out of, prepared on and cooked in cardboard boxes, metal carts and plastic tubs. Where a very friendly woman pounded, filled and shaped masa for my pupusa revuelta over a cardboard box, and where she laughed at me and my crazy other half when when she asked “¿Con curtido?” and he answered “no” but I immediately flipped my head around and yelled “¡Si, con curtido!



A place where I savored globules of cheeky, fatty goodness from the tacos de cabeza from the tacos al vapor cart and a place where I got to try a cemita for the first time. Where I watched a guy throw a couple of breaded steaks into a steel drum full of oil sitting on a portable burner and turn them into golden brown milanesa. Where I cringed at the pungent, cilantro-like taste of herb papalo inside but revelled at the sandwich made of milanesa, avocado, queso panela and chile once sliding the large leaf out.


A place where a perfect churro is made from what some people eating a churro for the first time at the latest rage in desserts might consider a most imperfect-looking contraption.

Losing sleep if the data in my Excel spreadsheets isn't formatted to a tee won't really matter in the long run will it? But bonding with family and friends on a weekend night over good food that's cooked, served, and enjoyed in a parking lot, hands orange and greasy from a delicious pambazo? You're damn right it will.

Breed Street Food Fair
Breed Street at Cesar Chavez, across from Big Buy Foods
Every Thursday-Sunday from 7-10 pm

Be sure to read Eat, Drink & Be Merry's, Delicious Coma's, Pleasure Palate's, and Street Gourmet LA's wonderful reviews of the Breed Street Food Fair!

11 comments:

pleasurepalate said...

I love Breed Street. The atmosphere is so festive and of course, the food is worth the trip. Next time, try the pozole from the Pozole lady who also happens to make pambazo sandwiches as well. :) By the way, have you been to the Indonesian Outdoor BBQ in Duarte? It's at the Duarte Inn from 10:30 am to 2:00 pm every Saturday.

oddlyme said...

This looks fantastic!

I was so jealous that you got to go, and I didn't - until I saw that it happens every week. Hooray!

Now to get my SO to go to... : )

Thanks for a geat post with fabulous information!

SinoSoul said...

Did you try the fried shrimp tacos inside the parking lot, across the biggest stand? They were spot on. The huitlacoche on the huaraches tasted just like... hutlacoches and huaraches. I almost wanted to barf after hanging out here for an hour. So much lard.

Colleen said...

I've been dying to get there and now will. Your photos are fantastic-- beautiful and evocative.

Daily Gluttony said...

Abby,

I am planning another trip there for sure...so many things that I didn't get to try. And the Indonesian Outdoor BBQ in Duarte has been on my list to try for a while--gotta make the trip out there one of these days.

Oddlyme,

Thanks! Now get your SO and go there now! :)

Tony,

OMG, that sounds so good! Like I said to Abby, there are so many things I didn't get to try (only so much room in mah belly!) so I need to plan a return trip soon!

Colleen,

Thanks so much! Yes, definitely go--it's really worth the trip!

Hungry Pandas said...

Wow. That food looks amazing.

Great photos as always and it was a wonderful pleasure meeting you the other night.

We have to get together when the other panda gets back. I'll be attending Gastronomer's Indonesian event in Pasadena in a couple of weeks. Are you going?

-Wesley

streetgourmetla said...

Great review! You really got this place.It is an escape to Mexico.

Did you try the barbacoa?Nina's is true DF style huaraches and sope derivatives, and the pambazo is the best in LA.

The woman who has the hard boiled egg and rice tacos makes the only "tacos de guisado" in LA, a DF style street taco stand that is everywhere in Mexico City.

And, I second the pozole!

Jean Z. said...

I just stumbled onto your site. It's wonderful. Keep up the great work. I'll definitely be back.

Fat Bastardo said...

Gluttony is GOOD!

Food Marathon said...

Yeah, suck it Xooro!

Viagra Online Without Prescription said...

Oh what a good feast that we have here, all images are very delicious talking about food and it is so incredible to see to know preparation for festival.

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